Books & Books at The Betsy presents Alia Hanna Habib

Books & Books and The Betsy, internationally recognized as a leading literary arts hotel, launch a new monthly literary series + mini residency in South Beach. Beginning Sunday, January 25, the year-round series will bring nationally acclaimed authors to The Betsy for a residency in The Betsy Writer’s Room and a curated community conversation.

The series debuts with Alia Hanna Habib, a prominent literary agent and author of Take It from Me: An Agent’s Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch. Known for representing Pulitzer Prize winners, National Book Award finalists and MacArthur Fellows, Habib offers an insider’s perspective on the publishing world, making her the ideal inaugural guest for a series dedicated to the power of storytelling. She will be in conversation with Julie Marie Wade.

“An invaluable resource.”—Clint Smith, author of How the Word is Passed
“I really, really wish I had this book when I was starting out.”—Robert Kolker, author of Hidden Valley Road

🎟 Free & open to the public · RSVP recommended

The series marks the return of Books & Books’ beloved literary programming to Miami Beach, following the closure of its Lincoln Road location during the pandemic. It also champions a 20 year partnership between Betsy co-owner Jonathan Plutzik and bookstore entrepreneur Mitchell Kaplan, both pacesetting leaders of distinguished South Florida business concerns – with a profound commitment to the power of literature to build community.

Events will take place on the last Sunday of every month at 4 p.m. in Bbar, The Betsy’s intimate underground art-filled venue. Each salon-style gathering will feature a visiting author - selected by Books&Books in partnership with major publishers -, and an audience Q&A. Admission is free with RSVP. Signed copies of books will be available for purchase. Valet and street parking will be available.

Alia Hanna Habib remembers what it was like to be on the outside of the publishing world, looking in. Arriving in New York, a first-generation college student with a love of reading and loads of ambition, she had no idea how to break into the business of books. Now, years later, in her career as an agent, she hears from prospective clients who, whether they’re experts at the top of their fields or wholly new to the writing game, consider finding success in publishing to be a mysterious and daunting endeavor. Ever determined to flout the stereotype of agent as gatekeeper, however, Habib is prepared to hand emerging writers the key.
Drawing on wisdom from her star-studded list of clients, including Hanif Abdurraqib, Judy Batalion, Merve Emre, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Clint Smith, Habib provides context and clarity to each step of the publishing process, from the germination of a book idea to finding an agent to represent it, from crafting an engaging proposal to navigating the perils of publicity. Readers will find real-life samples of her authors' pitch letters and book proposals, as well as templates writers can use when querying agents or promoting their work on social media. She also incorporates the advice of trusted industry colleagues—attorneys, accountants, editors, publishers, publicists, and more—gifting readers with a full team of experts to answer all the questions they’ve had about the publishing world, but were too afraid, or didn’t know, to ask.
Essential for both the aspiring novice and the seasoned professional, Take It from Me is a guidebook writers will return to again and again. At times laugh-out-loud funny, at others brutally honest about her own experiences in publishing and in life, Habib offers a clear-eyed look at the challenges facing today’s aspiring nonfiction writers and then gives them the comprehensive, expert guidance they need to put those roadblocks in the rearview mirror.

Alia Hanna Habib is a Vice President and literary agent at The Gernert Company, where she represents MacArthur Fellows, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, National Book Award finalists, and numerous New York Times bestselling authors. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Julie Marie Wade's recent collections include The Mary Years (Texas Review Press, 2024), selected by Michael Martone for the 2023 Clay Reynolds Novella Prize, Quick Change Artist: Poems (Anhinga Press, 2025), selected by Octavio Quintanilla for the 2023 Anhinga Prize in Poetry, and The Latest: 20 Ghazals for 2020 (Harbor Editions, 2025), co-authored with Denise Duhamel. A finalist for the National Poetry Series and a winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir, Wade teaches in the creative writing program at Florida International University. Her new memoir, Other People's Mothers, was published in September 2025 by University Press of Florida.

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