WriterFest Team

Ami McConnell is an author, writer, and editor with over 20 years of experience in-house at major trade book publishers. She is also the Founder and President of Ami McConnell Literary Agency. She formerly served as Editor-in-Chief and VP of Howard Books/Simon & Schuster and as an acquiring editor at HarperCollins. Having edited numerous New York Times bestsellers and award winners, she now works with authors of all stripes to create bestselling books. She’s a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller having collaborated with singers, songwriters, psychologists, doctors, therapists, film/tv actors, and artists. She serves on the board of Women’s National Book Association/Nashville Chapter and lives in the Nashville area with her family.

Find Ami on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or at amimcconnell.com.

Sara Wigal is an Associate Professor and Director of Publishing at Belmont University, a unique undergraduate degree that equips students with necessary skills and knowledge to enter the book world. She serves on the leadership council of Next Chapter Society, a section of the Nashville Public Library Foundation. Over her multi-year tenure with NCS she has led the organization as a co-chair, as Fundraising Chair, and most recently as the originator of the Author Ambassador program and a member of the Membership Committee.

She is the Executive Director of the WriterFest Nashville conference for writers of book, song, and screen, and of Ami McConnell Literary Agency. She is the founder of the Nashville Publishing Meetup, a group for industry contacts to network without being client-facing, which has since become WriterFest Pros. In her capacity with AMLA she acts as a literary agent, manages staff, designs and co-hosts event series, and runs A Dolly Good Time, an annual benefit for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

Wigal has been published by Library Journal, The Tennessean, Publishers Weekly, Writer's Digest and various literary journals. She is an aspiring historical fiction novelist and writer of the personal essay. Find her frequently on Instagram or on LinkedIn.

Madeline Law joined WriterFest in 2024 as Administrative Coordinator. She helped launch and manage STUDIO by WriterFest, which offers a la carte editing and publishing services. Madeline graduated from Saint Mary's College in 2023 with a degree in English Literature and Communication Studies, having interned with best-selling author Adriana Trigiani and worked with student writers as both a Writing Tutor and copyeditor for the tri-campus newspaper. She’s returned to working with students as the Academic Advising Assistant in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University. In her free time, Madeline enjoys volunteering at her local Nashville Public Library in the Children's section, reading, finding outdoor adventures, reading, and taking boxing classes. Oh, and reading! 

Find Madeline on LinkedIn.