Book editors Heather Osborn and Kate Seaver and literary agent Rachel Ekstrom will participate in a “State of the Industry” panel discussion Saturday, June 28, 2014, at Seton Hill University. The panel presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. in Cecilian Hall on Seton Hill University’s Greensburg, Pa. campus. The event is sponsored by Seton Hill University’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program. For more information, please call 724-830-4600.

Heather Osborn is a longtime lover of the written word and has spent her entire adult life figuring out ways to surround herself with books. A former bookseller, Heather made the transition to editing 10 years ago, starting out with digital publishing, then making the move to traditional publishing by running the romance line at Tor Books, and now returning back to her digital roots by becoming the Editorial Director at Samhain Publishing ??When she’s not busy working, Heather can be found reading for pleasure, obsessively playing RPG video games and watching entirely too much Ninja Warrior.

Kate Seaver is a senior editor at Berkley Publishing Group where she acquires and edits a wide range of fiction and nonfiction, including romance, women's fiction, and mystery titles. After graduating from Vassar College with a degree in history, Kate entered the business world working in marketing, sales and accounting. She later decided to follow her passion for books to the publishing world. Kate looks for well-written novels that stand out for their originality and that are so engaging they make her miss her subway stop.

Rachel Ekstrom serves as an agent at the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. Her decade of experience working in the publicity departments at St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Penguin’s Dutton and Gotham imprints has given her an insider’s view of the publishing industry. With a knack for book promotion, she’s honed her skills building the careers of debut authors and #1 New York Times bestsellers. Rachel is passionate about a variety of genres, including young adult, women’s fiction, new adult, mysteries, thrillers, romance, and the occasional quirky work of nonfiction.