Manuscript Meetup: Breaking Down Barriers to Publishing
Possible Futures
New Haven, CT
Oct. 31, 2026
“To be for real, P. could be charging for this,” whispered Crystal Mayo during P. Paramita’s Manuscript Meetup with journalist and author Benny B. Peterson.
I agreed. Meeting an author is always thrilling for me as an avid reader and writer. Imagine getting the chance to meet Michelangelo and getting the inside scoop on how he painted the Sistine Chapel.
So I was thankful to be amongst a group of aspiring authors at Possible Futures on Saturday listening to Peterson dispense advice from their publishing journey. Not only was I dying for behind-the-scenes lore of a book I loved, but I was also trying to learn the details behind crafting such a gripping story.
I also wished I could shake their hand and have some of their talent transferred to me via osmosis, but alas they met us over Zoom. Still, their warmth radiated through the screen.
Peterson spoke frankly, stating that the process took 10 years, “which is insane. I didn’t know what I was doing. It took a really long time to figure out what a draft even looks like. And I went through so many different versions of it, so many different revisions.”
Clearly, it takes time to achieve perfection, which is how I felt about Peterson’s debut, The Maidenheads. It’s a gripping story of members in a once-promising band entangled in a toxic relationship. They get a second chance at stardom, but at a cost. The book, which came out in May, was named most-anticipated book of 2026 by outlets such as LGBTQ+ Reads, Goodreads, Electric Literature, Debutiful, Autostraddle, and Bookshop.org.
“I really did not expect to publish this book,” they admitted.
Peterson’s honesty was so heartening. I thought back to compulsively reading the book, only stopping to work to support my cat. I yearned when the characters yearned. When they were on stage, I was right there with them burning under the lights. As an aspiring novelist, I was so impressed by what The Maidenheads achieved. The characters and their lives lingered in my mind long after I put it down.
After Peterson’s admission, I thought, if they could do it, I can.
That’s precisely Paramita’s goal with “ungatekeeping” the publishing industry through her series “Manuscript Meetup: Breaking Down Barriers to Publishing.” There are so many writers out there, why not show them the way?
Manuscript Meetup is a free series of workshops for writers looking to get published. Paramita first started the event in the summer of 2025 and brought it back later this year due to considerable demand. She created the gathering to provide the New Haven writing community with avenues to the publishing industry and share everything she learned as a debut author, from the craft of writing to the business of it all. Her book Appetite came out August 2026.
“New Haven is so underrated,” said Paramita. “I feel like New York gets all the fun events, and there really is no event or series dedicated towards people who have finished a manuscript or are writing a manuscript and then are looking for the next stage.”
Paramita added that since many attendees aren’t full-time writers, she tries to bring in guests who are also juggling multiple things.
People living as far as New York and Boston have said they want to drive over to attend Manuscript Meetup, despite the Zoom option. Industry people have been reaching out to Paramita, asking if they can be guests.
Paramita has brought some real power players in publishing to New Haven.
Editors from Random House. Book agents. Award-winning journalists and authors. What’s even more exciting is that some of these guest speakers are right in our backyard. Pulitzer Prize finalist Anelise Chen (Clam Down: A Metamorphosis) lives in New Haven. Formidable Random House editorial director Caitlin McKenna was born, raised and currently lives in New Haven.
On Saturday, it was fascinating to watch a veil get lifted as Peterson shared the ups and downs of the publishing process as a debut author.
They described how much they loved doing extensive research on music and D.C.’s history to make the book feel more real, the querying process and their pretty seamless path to finding an agent. With the agent – who Peterson was pleased represents mostly writers of color and trans and queer writers – they spent two years honing their work.
But what they didn’t love was the promotion of it all. Overwhelming for anyone, but especially Peterson who considers themselves to be a shy person. Book events were exposure therapy for them. Thankfully, their contacts from their 20-year journalism career garnered them press, and being in the smaller market of D.C. was an advantage. Peterson said it helps to not live in New York when putting a book out as so many come out regularly in that city.
“Nobody tells you how much of it you have to carry yourself. But there’s so many books out there and the teams are kind of saturated,” added Paramita.
Peterson was candid about the challenges that come with every stage as you advance in your career. Insecurities can come with being published: comparing yourself to other authors, wondering why your book isn’t selling more. Peterson makes deliberate efforts to remember that writing brings them joy.
“I do know that sales from my book weren’t that high. I think they were fine, but I’m not selling out my advance. Like, I’m not getting royalties,” they said.
Writing enough books to quit your job? Ehh, may not happen, according to Peterson.
But writing is gratifying on a personal level. Connecting with readers — particularly queer and trans — and building community was the most rewarding aspect of publishing the book for them.
Peterson also got vulnerable and shared that during the 10-year period of writing the book, they discovered they were queer then came out as non-binary and eventually transitioned. That experience affected some elements of the book; their own journey helped them realize the character Jamie was gender nonconforming.
“Characters teach you stuff,” they said.
I was thrilled to get the chance to ask Peterson about their next book. They’re currently revising a family saga set in Loudoun County, Virginia, and structured as a double narrative following the story of a trans man from the 1960s to the present day and a single mother raising a trans son in 2021. Eventually, the two storylines connect. Peterson revealed that it’s based on a family story.
I need the book now. Or at the very least, I need to take Peterson’s advice and finish my own. (Their tips on writing in the first person were clutch!)
“People tell me all the time that they started writing a book based on attending Manuscript Meetup, or they’ll say, ‘Oh I was able to connect with one of these guests that you have, and they helped me do XYZ,’” said Paramita. “So, it’s all kind of a circle of everyone giving back to the community. Everyone supporting each other. I really believe that community, not competition, should be the thing that’s driving us as writers.”
Visit pparamita.com or possiblefutures.com for the next Manuscript Meetup dates. There are only two workshops left for this year (Nov. 14 and Dec. 12), but it’ll come back in the spring.
