Can I sign up for just one summit? Yes, you are welcome to join us for only May, only July, or both.

How much does everything cost? Registration for each summit is $150 for GrubStreet members and $170 for nonmembers, which is the same price as a 6-hour GrubStreet class. Manuscript Mart meetings are $180 each, for a 20-minute meeting with an agent or editor who has read the first 5 pages of your work, and a highly encouraged query letter and/or synopsis (important pitch documents that agents and editors can also provide excellent feedback on).

Do I need to register for a summit to purchase Manuscript Mart appointments? Yes. May Manuscript Mart appointments are only available to people who register for the May virtual summit, and July Manuscript Mart appointments are only available to people who register for the July virtual summit.

Why did the Manuscript Mart sample length change to 5 pages? For many years, the Manuscript Mart consisted of a 20-minute meeting with an agent or editor who had read 20 pages of your manuscript. However, feedback from attendees and publishing professionals over the years suggested that a 20-minute conversation was not the best format for receiving a 20-page manuscript critique (should the attendee focus on taking notes or asking questions? will the publishing professional be able to cover everything there is to say about 20 pages in that time? will they have time to address anything but the pages?). More importantly, attendees often felt that receiving a 20-page critique was not the best use of their 20 minutes with an agent or editor. We hope changing the page count gives attendees and publishing professionals the chance to have a more relaxed and well-rounded conversation, where agents and editors are able to give feedback on the overall project concept and its marketplace positioning, making the query letter and synopsis documents themselves stand out, and other career questions the writer may have, in addition to the robust discussion of craft elements that agents and editors are experts at assessing from the first 5 pages. If the project is a good fit for them, they will ask for more pages! The new page count also allows us to keep the widest variety of accomplished and busy publishing professionals accessible to our attendees while lowering the price of an appointment.

When is the deadline to submit Manuscript Mart samples? For the May Manuscript Mart, appointment sales will close on Monday, April 10, at 1:00 PM EST, which is also the deadline to submit 5-page samples. For the July Manuscript Mart, sales will close and samples are due on Monday, June 19, at 1:00 PM EST.

How do I submit my Manuscript Mart sample? Please find the full instructions here!

Will the summits have craft sessions? No. While we at the Muse love craft sessions, we also know that writers have many opportunities to work on their craft, such as by taking a class at GrubStreet, and fewer opportunities to connect with and learn directly from publishing professionals about the business side of building a writing career. We are focusing on this for our 2023 spring and summer series, though we may introduce more craft offerings again in the future.

Can I propose a craft or publishing session to present at the Muse? We are not open to proposals at this time, but hope to reintroduce this opportunity at a later date. Sign up for the Muse mailing list to make sure you don’t miss any announcements about future calls for proposals.

What parts of Muse 2023 are in-person? It is possible to participate in Muse 2023 entirely remotely if you choose! We will also host in-person parties at GrubStreet’s Center for Creative Writing in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood (50 Liberty Drive, Suite 500) on the evenings of Saturday, May 20, and Saturday, July 29.

I’m an Incubator student. How will this impact me? All students currently enrolled in GrubStreet's Incubator programs will receive registration to both the May and July summits, which will feature unprecedented access to the timely insights 60+ publishing professionals, including the opportunity to ask questions of any participating agent or editor during the Shop Talk Roundtables and recordings of all Roundtables to view after the event. Incubator students will also receive two 20-minute Manuscript Mart appointments, each of which can be used in either May or July. The Muse team will reserve your appointments with your top choice professionals before registration day. The Muse team will reach out directly to Incubator students in the weeks before registration opens with more details.