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Pitch Wars Showcase

Please note: These are the entries for the Pitch Wars season beginning in 2021 and continuing through 2022. Please note that our Agent Showcase ends at 9:00 p.m. ET on Monday, February 14, 2022. Agents will not be able to leave comments requesting material after that time.
PW2020 YA #14: PEOPLE LIKE US (Contemporary #OwnVoices)
Mentee:
Myah Hollis
Mentored by:
Lane Clarke
Book Title:
PEOPLE LIKE US
Category:
2020 Entries
Genre:
YA Contemporary #ownvoices
Word Count:
80,000
Manuscript Content Warning(s):
Mental Illness (Anxiety and Depression), Self Harm, Mentions of an Eating Disorder, Drug and Alcohol Use, Death

Pitch:

WHAT I CARRY meets EUPHORIA. Fleeing her toxic ex, 17-year-old Amélie Cœur wants to rebuild her life in NYC. New foster family. New love. New beginning. But a secret sister and a shocking death force her to face her demons before they destroy her future.

 

Excerpt:

He does not sleep over. He shows up at 12:30 and leaves by two. When Sue and Dave are deep in REM sleep. I wave, mumble something synonymous with goodbye, and roll over. It’s a simple system.

But he’d fallen asleep and I figured I could give him, like, thirty minutes to rest before kicking him out. And this is why you can give boys nothing.

“Hayden!”

I crawl over the body in my bed to turn on the lamp. Soft, golden light pours onto a face completely swaddled in my sheets. Head nestled into the pillow. Comforter pulled up to the chin. Eyelids fluttering, like he’s dreaming of a vacation. Like this boy’s on a boat off the coast of a place with a Spanish name. In my bed.

I slap him.

“Ouch! Damn!”

“It’s 5:47.”

My voice is barely audible, but the look in my eye speaks for itself. He stares at me as he slowly begins to materialize in this present moment. His eyes flicker to the clock on the nightstand. They return to me with the appropriate amount of alarm.

Yes. Welcome to hell. It’s chaotic here.

He jumps up. We don’t talk. We just spiral, gathering his clothes from my floor. His phone and wallet from my desk. His shoes from under the bed.

I crack the door, listening for any sounds of my foster parents. I will die if they catch him here. I’ll spontaneously combust from embarrassment. They’ll have to scrape me out of the carpet.

8 responses to “PW2020 YA #14: PEOPLE LIKE US (Contemporary #OwnVoices)”

  1. Mary C. Moore says:

    Would love to read more! Please use this link to send: QueryManager.com/Mary_C_Moore_KCA/PitchWars

  2. Shannon Snow says:

    Hi Myah,

    Your story definitely caught my eye. I would love to take a look. Please send the first three chapters, synopsis and a short bio to shannon@cmalit.com. Please put “Requested Materials-Pitch Wars” in the subject line so it will be sure to stand out in my inbox.

    If more than one person requests materials from my agency (Creative Media Agency, Inc., or CMA) just pick one of us. If it doesn’t work for that person, we will share it around.

    Thank you and I look forward to seeing your story very much! Best of success with Pitch Wars!!

    Shannon

  3. Alex Rice says:

    Myah, would love to see more! Please send me your query and first 50 pages to alex.rice@caa.com. Please let me know if you are sending to more than one agent at CAA. All my best, Alex

  4. Amy Giuffrida says:

    Your comp to Euphoria reeled me right in! I’d love to see the full submitted here: QueryManager.com/AmyGiuffrida/PitchWars

    I wish you all the luck!
    Amy

  5. I would love to see this! Please send your query, the full MS, and a synopsis (if you have one!) to jessica@dhliterary.com. Looking forward to reading!

  6. Penelope Burns says:

    Hi Myah,

    I’d love to see this! If you’re interested, can you send your query and full manuscript to penelope@gelfmanschneider.com, with PitchWars in the subject line? Thank you!

    All best,
    Penelope

  7. Peter Knapp says:

    This sounds fantastic; I’d love to read more. Please send a query in the body of the email to queries@parkfine.com with “Pete Knapp – Pitch Wars: PEOPLE LIKE US (YA)” in the subject line. Please attach the manuscript as a Word document, and include a short synopsis (either in the beginning of the same document as the manuscript or as a separate attachment). Thank you, and I’m looking forward to reading!

    Pete Knapp // Park & Fine Literary and Media

  8. Ashley Blake says:

    Hi Myah! You had me at “Euphoria.” And this voice! I’d love to see more, so if you’d like to query me, please include your query letter and upload your full manuscript using the link below. If you query more than one agent at Rees, that’s fine, just let us know you did so in the query. Thanks and I look forward to reading. Congrats on all your hard work!

    QueryManager.com/AshleyBlake/PitchWars