Pam Gruber is a literary agent with Highline Literary Collective.

She is seeking: “My list spans adult and fiction categories, along with the occasional nonfiction project that strikes a personal chord. My clients write in all genres, including contemporary fiction, rom-com, speculative fiction, satire, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and graphic novel. As a former Big 5 editor, I’m a very hands-on agent who believes in collaboration, communication, creativity, and mutual respect. I gravitate toward stories that are cinematic and slightly left of center, with a strong hook and elevated yet accessible writing — often with a sense of humor. No matter the genre or audience, I’m drawn to work that’s gripping from page one, whether that’s due to the voice, world building, or premise. I love the thrill of discovery and I’m looking for those stop-everything-tell-everyone reads that will keep me up at night until they sell.

“I’d like to see more middle grade contemporary, a la the 8yo girl who drove herself to Target; YA with the vibes of an Olivia Rodrigo song; adult speculative fiction with a Studio Ghibli aura; genre mashups — HorrorMance anyone?; unexpected takes on familiar stories, like Kevin Can F*ck Himself; dystopia for adult readers; and platform or expert-driven nonfiction on aging and style.”

Clients: Tracy Banghart, Patrick Barb, G.M. Berrow, Jennie Burke, Chris Butera, Andrea Corbin, Kitty Curran, Deva Fagan, Erika Ho, Sarah G. Pierce, Heather Roth, J. Scott, Jeff Somers, Monica Sanz, Sam Tschida, Adam Trest, Katy Upperman

Pam became a literary agent when she realized her favorite part of the publishing business was working closely with authors and artists, helping them to shape not only their stories, but also their careers. She got her start in publishing as an editor, working for over a decade at Hachette Book Group and went on to serve as the Editorial Director at children’s media startup Rebel Girls before shifting gears.

As an agent, Pam aims to sign authors, not just individual books, and she believes in collaboration, communication, creativity, and mutual respect. She is a graduate of NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study where she crafted her own major combining studies in art history, linguistics, and folklore. This has led to an eclectic list of clients, writing in all categories from children’s and YA, to adult SFF, “weird” fiction, and contemporary rom-com. Pam’s authors love the collaborative process of finessing their projects from idea to finished manuscript with her, and appreciate her tenacious drive to find every book the right home. She brings an inscrutable eye for detail to every story she gets her hands on, and her prior experience at a publishing house gives her insight into how editors think, and what they’re looking for.

In her life outside of books (as if!), Pam is an aspiring art collector, avid window shopper, experimental baker, and Pilates enthusiast slowly fixing up the antique house she lives in with her husband, son, and feline familiars.

If you are coming to 2026 San Diego Writing Workshop, you may be thinking about pitching our agent-in-attendance or editor-in-attendance. A face-to-face pitch is an excellent way to get an agent excited about both you and your work. Here are some tips (from a previous workshop instructor) that will help you pitch your work effectively at the event during a 10-minute consultation. The instructor advises that you should:

• Try to keep your pitch to 90 seconds. Keeping your pitch concise and short is beneficial because 1) it shows you are in command of the story and what your book is about; and 2) it allows plenty of time for back-and-forth discussion between you and the agent. Note: If you’re writing nonfiction, and therefore have to speak plenty about yourself and your platform, then your pitch can certainly run longer.
• Practice before you get to the event. Say your pitch out loud, and even try it out on fellow writers. Feedback from peers will help you figure out if your pitch is confusing, or missing critical elements. Remember to focus on what makes your story unique. Mystery novels, for example, all follow a similar formula — so the elements that make yours unique and interesting will need to shine during the pitch to make your book stand out.
• Do not give away the ending. If you pick up a DVD for Die Hard, does it say “John McClane wins at the end”? No. Because if it did, you wouldn’t buy the movie. Pitches are designed to leave the ending unanswered, much like the back of any DVD box you read.
• Have some questions ready. 10 minutes is plenty of time to pitch and discuss your book, so there is a good chance you will be done pitching early. At that point, you are free to ask the agent questions about writing, publishing or craft. The meeting is both a pitch session and a consultation, so feel free to ask whatever you like as long as it pertains to writing.
• Remember to hit the big beats of a pitch. Everyone’s pitch will be different, but the main elements to hit are 1) introducing the main character(s) and telling us about them, 2) saying what goes wrong that sets the story into motion, 3) explaining how the main character sets off to make things right and solve the problem, 4) explaining the stakes — i.e., what happens if the main character fails, and 5) ending with an unclear wrap-up.