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ECC Agent/Editor Speed Networking Recap | October 7, 2016

by Brittany Pearlman (Macmillan Children's Publishing Group)

When it comes to the ECC Events Calendar, only two things are certain: Trivia Night and the Agent/Editor Speed Networking event. On Wednesday, September 28, the ECC proudly presented the Annual Speed Networking Event for the fifth year in row.

It’s hard to gauge precisely how effective an event of this nature is. There’s a lot of chatter, a lot of movement, and sometimes, a lot of eye-rolling at the emcee who keeps shouting into the mic, encouraging participants to move on to the next person. Despite the somewhat intangible quality that defines networking events, this was quite a success*!

Twenty-six agents sat directly across from twenty-six editors, and despite the accidental game of musical chairs that occurred in the first five minutes, everyone found a partner. Editors and agents engaged in lively conversation; discussing current projects, personal tastes, and similar experiences that only comes from working in an industry as small as publishing. After a few minutes, the emcee called, “Switch!”, at which point the editors would stand up and move on to the next victim (or agent), and so on and so forth.

The speed dating style proved to live up to its name. The editors were able to mix and mingle with almost all twenty-six agents, moving around the tables in a “round robin” fashion. Most of the agents and editors who participated were in the first five years of their career, perfectly situated to take full advantage of the objective of this event: to make contacts and form new professional relationships.

Food and beverages were provided, and in a sweet moment of surprise, the event coordinators discovered to their utter delight that multiple bottles of wine were leftover for participants to take home. The event ended with an exciting, impromptu raffle, announcing ten winners who could take home a bottle of their choice of red or white.
The ECC hosts the Speed Networking Event every year, and is extremely proud of to continue this tradition. We are so pleased with the success of this year’s event, and are grateful to the editors and agents who signed up to participate.

*Precise measurements were not taken to determine the success level.