Pitch:
WINTER COUNTS meets DROWNING IN FIRE in this heart-pounding narrative that explores gender identity through folklore. Girls, including Anna’s sister Grace, are going missing on the Tonnica Indian reservation, and Anna—silent and unseen as a maid at the tribe’s casino/resort—will do anything to get Grace back, even putting her faith in an old Tonnica tale that brings her close to death while revealing her two-spirited identity.
Excerpt:
Anna Horn’s classmates bowed before her at school, in the cafeteria and in the gym locker room. “All hail the king!” they said. The smirks on their faces stripped the declaration of any majesty it might possess. Anna wished to say something biting in return, but there were dozens of them and there wasn’t anything she could say to slay them all. She clenched her cinnamon gum between her teeth instead.
Silence was often Anna’s best defense, even if it was forced upon her. But sometimes silence hurt her too. She dragged her feet through the dirt and told herself not to think about it. Or them.
The steady beep of a reversing truck and the grumble of heavy machinery carried across the Tonnica Indian reservation. The noxious scent of hot asphalt came with it. The road beneath Anna’s feet was hard-packed dirt, but it wouldn’t be for long. A construction crew hired by the Tonnica Tribe, to which Anna belonged, had begun paving over the reservation’s dirt roads a month earlier. Soon the reservation would be linked by smooth streets like the ones in town, and gone would be the days when shoes got covered in dust from trampling over the uneven dirt roads. It was just one more change made possible by the Grand Nacre Casino and Resort on the rez, which had triumphantly opened its doors two years earlier.
I would love to take a look at this! Please feel free to send me this query and the first 50 pages as a Word attachment to larissa@jillgrinbergliterary.com, with your name, title, genre, and “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. (Also, if you have requests from two or more of us at JGLM, please do pick and send to only one of us.)
Dear Nick,
I am so gripped by this story! I would love to read more.
Could you please send through the first 50 pages of your MS for our consideration? I am hooked.
My email is anya@peonyliteraryagency.com
Can’t wait, and I hope you are doing as well as possible at this uncertain time!
All best,
Anya
Peony Literary Agency
Hi Nick,
Your pitch sounds fantastic and I’d love to read more!
Please send the query and full ms to amanda@transatlanticagency.com with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. You can read more about me and Transatlantic Agency at: https://www.transatlanticagency.com/about-us/agents/amanda-orozco/.
Please only submit to one agent at Transatlantic at a time and feel free to reach out with any questions. Many thanks!
Sincerely,
Amanda Orozco
Dear Nick, a quick introduction – I’m an agent at Regal Hoffmann & Associates, who represents Andrew David MacDonald, Erica Dawson, and Michael Jeffrey Lee, among others. Your novel’s description grabbed me by the throat, and it reminds me of Stephen Graham Jones’ recent novel. I’d absolutely love to keep reading. Would you send me the full manuscript as a Word document to grace@rhaliterary.com? Please include Pitch Wars in the subject line. Best of luck to you! – Grace Ross
This sounds amazing. I would love to take a look. You can submit the full manuscript through my Pitchwars link on Query Manger.
QueryManager.com/Jessica_Faust/PitchWars
Thank you so much for giving me the chance to consider your work.
–Jessica Faust, President
BookEnds Literary Agency
Hi Nick,
I’d love to take a look! Please email the full to medwards @ stonesong . com with PitchWars and the title in the subject line.
Thank you!
All best,
Melissa
Congratulations on completing Pitch Wars! I’d love to read more. If you think we’d be a good fit, please send your query + full manuscript to Lauren@triadaus.com, and put “PW Request” in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you! ~Lauren
This sounds amazing. I suspect one of my BookEnds colleagues beat me to a request but, if not, I’d love to give it a read. Please upload your manuscript, synopsis, and query at this link: http://www.QueryManager.com/JessicaAlvarez/PitchWars. Thanks!
Jessica Alvarez, BookEnds Literary
Hi Nick,
Congratulations on successfully completing PitchWars! You must be thrilled!
I have to say that your writing and the pitch about exploring gender through folklore really captured my attention. There aren’t nearly enough stories featuring indigenous and queer rep. I’m dying to continue reading! I’d love to request the full manuscript.
If you’d like to share it, please send the query in the body of an email, with the full manuscript and synopsis attached as a Word doc.
The subject of the email should be “Pitch Wars Request: YOUR TITLE for Root Literary” sent to submissions@rootliterary.com.
Although not all of Root Literary is participating in Pitch Wars, please feel free to query whoever feels like the best fit! We’re happy to coordinate internally.
All the best,
Samantha
Will take a look at this – full manuscript please, as a Word doc, to ashane@writershouse.com
Hi,
I enjoyed your sample and pitch, and would like to read more. Please send your query, synopsis, and the first 100 pages (Attention Gina Damasco) through our portal: https://www.serendipitylit.com/component/rsform/form/11-submission-fiction. Please be sure to include information related to any background/personal connection and/or the inspiration for the story.
Thanks!
I’d love to read more! If you are interested in submitting to please, do send the query and full manuscript through https://www.stimolaliterarystudio.com/Submissions – I look forward to hearing from you! -Allison Hellegers
Hi Nick! You’re welcome to send your full manuscript to christine@leshneagency.com. Please include “Pitch Wars” and your book title in the subject line. Thanks, Christine
I’d love to read this! Please send the full manuscript, synopsis and query to chquery@mcintoshandotis.com with Pitch Wars request and the title of the manuscript in the subject line. –Christa Heschke, McIntosh & Otis