Pitch:
WILDER GIRLS x THE DEVOURING GRAY
Sixteen-year-old Wren never questions the magic of her family farm—famous for its miraculous, rainbow-hued wheat—not until a black blight slithers up from the soil. Now, people are disappearing into the woods, coming back feral with rotting bodies. Wren's own parents are missing, and she's coughing black mold. As a dark whisper beckons from the forest, Wren must team up with her boy-next-door ex to stop the blight, even if that means losing everything she holds dear—including her mind.
Excerpt:
So, it had finally come to kill us, too.
The sickest part was, I’d started to believe we were invincible—that the miracle of our farm might protect us. I’d seen Rainbow Fields survive crackling lightning, hail, devouring armyworms, eyespot fungus. Whatever came from sky or earth, the field behind our house still swayed with towering wheat, each vibrant wave like a stripe of the rainbow: crimson, orange, yellow, all the way to my twilight-blazed favorite—hot, violent violet.
My whole life, the wheat lulled me to sleep through my bedroom window with its whispering rustles, sweeter than any lullaby. Or at least any my mom knew.
My whole life, until now. When I realized even rainbows could rot.
I stood before the violet stalks, their heads bowed in a broken sigh. Sickly black mercury crept from their roots, wound up their bodies, and dripped from their tips. So far, only six plants had fallen victim. The ones at the back of the field, closest to the shivering forest.
The rot in those woods had slithered toward us for months. Every day, noxious quicksilver devoured more of our neighbors’ crops. Every night, grim white eyes rose like restless stars, watching us from behind the silver-slicked trees.
And no one knew the worst part: it was all my fault.
Hello! My name is Emmy Nordstrom-Higdon, and I am an agent in training with The Rights Factory! I just started building my list, and I’m so lucky to have Sam Hiyate as my mentor. If we end up working together, you’ll get the best of both worlds – the wisdom of an agent with 16 years in the biz, and my enthusiasm and attention as a new agent with just a handful of select clients so far. Part of why your manuscript caught my eye is because I was a HUGE fan of your comps, and if this story can stand on its own merit, I not only think it’s marketable, but I’d also just be dying to read it myself. Also? Zombie dog buddy? Amazing. I am thrilled to request a full manuscript from you, which you can send to assistant@therightsfactory.com. Please include a query letter and write PITCH WARS in the subject line. In the meantime, you can check out my bio and what I’m most interested in at https://www.therightsfactory.com/about-us, and my blog at http://www.booksbeyondbinaries.blog, if you want to know a little more about me. Really hoping to hear from you soon, and congratulations on participating in Pitch Wars!!
I’d love to see more! Please send your query, synopsis, and first 30 pages to https://querymanager.com/query/MeganManzano/PitchWars
I’d love to read the full manuscript! Could you email it to me at slandis@sll.com? Thanks!
This sounds great, and I’d love to take a look at a partial. Please send the first 50 pages to: QueryMe.online/MarisaCorvisiero/PitchWars
Thanks,
Hannah
Hi Ann,
I would absolutely love to read this – will you send me your query and first 20 pages to tara@emliterary.com at your convenience, and mention Pitch Wars in the subject? There’s no timeline on my end, just whenever you feel ready!
Thanks so much!
Tara Gonzalez
Associate Agent
Erin Murphy Literary Agency
http://emliterary.com/
Hi, Ann,
This pitch gave me the chills!!! *Grabby hands* Can you send me the full and a synopsis (2-4 pages)? Please use Times New Roman, size 12, black, double-spaced text, 1” margins all around, and ½” paragraph indents. Paste your pitch in the body of the email and attach the manuscript and synopsis as two separate Word documents (docx). Sent to: lynnette (at) theseymouragency (dot) com and add “Pitch Wars Request” along with your title in the subject line. Thanks.
If more than one agent from The Seymour Agency likes your entry, please send requested material to the agent you feel will be the best fit. #OneAgentAtATime
Looking forward to reading more.
Best,
Lynnette
DEVOURING GRAY was one of my favorite reads last year! I’d love to see this. Please use the link below to submit the full along with a synopsis and query letter.
Thank you for considering me! If more than one Corvisiero agent shows interest, please choose one of us to submit to and let them know who else liked the pitch, so that we can share it with each other.
QueryMe.online/TaraGilbert/Requested
I’m so intrigued by your pitch and excerpt, and I’d love to see your full manuscript! If you’d like to submit to me, you can do so through this link: QueryMe.online/ErinClyburn/PitchWars.
Creepy! I’d love to read more! Please send the full with Pitchwars YA in the subject line to marlo.jdlit@gmail.com. Looking forward to reading!
I’m intrigued. I’m curious to know more. If you want, please query me at QueryMe.online/natascha/PitchWars. Thank you, Ann!
Best,
Natascha Morris
BookEnds Literary
Hi Ann,
I would love to read more! Please send the full manuscript as a word document to hjacobson@icmpartners.com
Thank you!
My best,
Hillary
Hi Ann,
Am loving what I’ve read so far! Please submit the first 50 pages and a 1-2 page synopsis to arsubmissions@foundrymedia.com, cc’ing in flmasst@foundrymedia.com, with the subject line “Pitch Wars: QUICKSILVER HARVEST.” Thanks so much, and looking forward to diving in further!
Adriann
Hi Ann,
I would love to take a look at this! Could you please send me your query + the full manuscript as a Word doc attachment to patricia@marsallyonliteraryagency.com? Please make sure to put “PitchWars Request” in the subject line.
I’m looking forward to reading!
Patricia
I’m really intrigued by this! I’d love to see more. Could you please send your query and first three chapters to john [@] foliolit.com?
I’d like to see this! Please send 10 pages and a query letter to carlisle @ fuseliterary .com with the subject PItch Wars – TITLE. Thanks!
Hi Ann,
I would love to take a closer look at this! Could you send the query and first 50 pages to me at alevick(at)writershouse.com? Please label your email with ‘PITCH WARS’ if you wouldn’t mind!
So excited to dive in!
Alexandra
Alexandra Levick
Literary Agent, Writers House, LLC.
http://www.writershouse.com
Hi Ann,
I would love to see this! Can you send your query and full manuscript to penelope@gelfmanschneider.com with #PitchWars in the subject line? Thanks so much!
All best,
Penelope
I love how visual and atmospheric this is–I can totally picture it! I’d love to see more! Please email me the full ms + synopsis and make a note in the subject line that this is a Pitch Wars entry. laura at bradfordlit dot com.
Laura Bradford
Bradford Literary Agency
Hi Ann,
I adore your premise and your first pages and would love to see more!!
Please submit the first 50 pages of QUICKSILVER HARVEST, along with your query and synopsis, here:
QueryMe.Online/CortneyRadocaj/Requested
Please also make sure to put “Pitch Wars” in the referral line or mention that I requested here in your query.
I look forward to reading! 😊
Warm Regards,
Cortney Radocaj
Associate Agent
Belcastro Agency
http://www.belcastroagency.com
Creepy and haunting. Would love to see more – please send the full manuscript in PDF format to staitz@wmeagency.com. Thank you! — Sabrina Taitz @ WME
What a unique plot and voice! I’d love to read the full. Please submit to QueryMe.online/KaitlynJohnson/Contests. Looking forward to diving in!
Best,
Kaitlyn Johnson
Literary Agent
Belcastro Literary Agency
Dear Ann,
QUICKSILVER HARVEST sounds SO great, and I really enjoyed your sample. I’d love to read the full MS if you’re interested in sharing – I’m at amorrison@writershouse.com.
I hope to hear more!
My best,
Andrea
Hi Ann,
QUICKSILVER HARVEST sounds so good! The atmosphere that comes through from just that one excerpt is chilling; I immediately want to know what happens next. If you think we’d be a good fit (you can find more about me and my tastes here: https://www.jdlit.com/savannah-brooks and here: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/savannah-brooks/), head to http://queryme.online/1346 to submit more info and a 20-page sample. Be sure to put Pitch Wars 2020 in the referral section or as part of the title (ex: QUICKSILVER HARVEST: Pitch Wars 2020).
I’m looking forward to reading more!
Best,
Savannah
Hi Ann,
I’d love to read this! Please email me directly at colleen@adventurewrite.com. Paste your query and synopsis directly into the body and attach your full. Thanks and looking forward to reading!
Colleen
Colleen Oefelein
Associate Agent
The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency
245 Park Avenue
39th Floor
New York NY 10167
212-372-8989
colleen@adventurewrite.com
http://www.jdlit.com
Facebook: Colleen Oefelein
Twitter: @eerie_o
Celebrating 19 years of making dreams come true!
Wow! This voice and pitch are absolutely killer! I’d love to read more
Please send the query and synopsis (in the body of an email), and full manuscript (as an attachment) to zrellor . books @ gmail . com. I’m looking forward to diving in!
Hi! I’d love to see this. Please send a query and 25 pages to symondsqueries@thebentagency.com with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. I’m looking forward to reading more!
Lyrical horror?!!! This sounds so good! I’d love to see this. Please send the full manuscript and query to chquery [at] mcintoshandotis [dot] com. Please put “Pitch Wars request” and the title in the subject line. Can’t wait to read!
–Christa Heschke, McIntosh & Otis
I’d love to take a look! Please send the query and the first twenty pages to querybridget@awfulagent.com. Thanks – can’t wait to read more!
I’d love to see more of this! Please send the first 50 pages as a Word doc or PDF attachment to melissa@rpcontent.com with Pitch Wars in the subject line. Thank you!
-Melissa Nasson, Rubin Pfeffer Content
You excel in setting the tone! Right off the bat and I already had chills running down my spine! I’d love to see the full manuscript of this. If you think we might be a good match, please submit your full manuscript using this link: QueryMe.online/kerstinwolf/Pitch_Wars
I am obsesssssssed with this one! I love the voice, the concept, the title, and would like to see more! Please send this pitch in the body of an email, synopsis and full manuscript attached as a Word doc, with YA PITCHWARS and your title in the subject, to Jennifer@theseymouragency.com.