Pitch:
Amid growing anti-magic sentiments, outcast witch Rivka must tap into a family curse as she races to unmake a masterless golem. Unraveling the mystery of its origin puts her in the sights of a power-hungry politician, who leads her down a trap-laden path where failure means the destruction of both Rivka and the Jewish Quarter.
Excerpt:
Rivka counted to ten. In English, then Hebrew.
Make the customer happy.
Rolling her shoulders like a boxer about to step into the ring, Rivka left the stockroom of Sentinel Peak Books, wooden door swinging shut on boxes of books and kitsch they sold for tourists. She focused on the older woman at the front, and wiped dusty palms on her apron.
“Well, did you find it?” The woman’s voice was a haughty, raspy sniff.
Rivka fixed her best customer service smile on her face. “I’m afraid we’re out of that title, ma’am.”
“You said it was back there.” The brutal summer heat made everyone cranky, but the woman had been smiling right up until she spotted Rivka. Was it the witch or the Jew part? Only one was even mildly socially acceptable, but funnily enough, cute little white-girl witches with stolen sage and crystals never bothered anyone.
“I’m sorry, ma’am.” Rivka gritted her teeth to keep from saying anything stupid. Not pissing off the customer was easy enough in theory. Friends swore it was easier for Rivka to please literal monsters, but even dybbukim were more reasonable than customers.
The woman’s wrinkled face twisted, gaze dropping to Rivka’s neck. Some people didn’t like the charms hanging there. The Star of David, the Chai, the hand-shaped silver Hamsa emblazoned with a tiny blue-beaded nazar amulet to ward off the evil eye. One would have been acceptable. All four whispered to their worst fears.
Dear Sari,
I’m so intrigued by the sample, I’d love to see more. You can send the full manuscript my way at QueryManager.com/evascalzo/PitchWars2020.
Cheers,
Eva
Speilburg Literary
I always am game for a witch story, but I am so intrigued by the unique premise of your story. I’d love to see the full of this. Please submit your query, synopsis, and full manuscript here: QueryManager.com/AmyGiuffrida/PitchWars
I can’t wait to read!
This sounds intriguing! Could you send me your official query in the body of the email, “Pitch Wars” in the subject line, attach the first 50 pages (Word doc preferred) to laura(at)triadaus(dot)com, please? I look forward to reading more.
–Laura Crockett, TriadaUS Literary Agency
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
Hi Sari! This sounds great! I’d love to see the first 50 pages. If you’re interested, please send them to samantha@thompsonliterary.com. Thanks!
Hi Sari,
Congratulations on successfully completing PitchWars! This is such a great concept, and your voice is really pulling me in. I’d love to continue reading!
If you’d like to share the full MS, please send the query in the body of an email with the full manuscript and synopsis attached as a Word document.
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 whomever feels like the best fit! We’re happy to coordinate internally.
Best,
Melanie
Hi Sari,
I would love to read the first 50 pages of BREAD AND SALT! To submit to me through Copps Literary Services, please use Query Manager and note “Pitch Wars Request” in the subject line: QueryManager.com/ChelseyEmmelhainz/PitchWars
If you receive multiple requests from the agency, please refer to our Teams page to choose which agent feels like the best fit for you and your work: https://www.coppsliterary.com/our-team.
All best,
Chelsey
Contemporary fantasy with Jewish witches, YES PLEASE. This sounds amazing. I’d love to see the full at Rebecca@reesagency.com!
Hi there! Needless to say this is incredibly up my alley. I’d love to read this full manuscript! Please send it attached as a word document to: rena (at) dhliterary (dot) com
Can’t wait to read!
Best,
Rena Rossner
The Deborah Harris Agency
Hi Sari, I would love to see more material about this project! If you would like to submit to me, please use the following link to send me your query letter, synopsis, and first 3 chapters/50 pages (whatever is longer): QueryManager.com/emlysaght/Pitchwars2020
Hi Sari,
I love your pitch and sample!! Could you please submit your query, synopsis, and first 50 pages to my Query Manager?
QueryMe.Online/CortneyRadocaj/PitchContests
Please mention this is a PitchWars request at the beginning of the query, or in the referral section of the form. If another Belcastro agent requests, please make sure to only submit to one of us (we’re good at sharing!).
I look forward to seeing your pages!!
Best,
Cortney Radocaj
Literary Agent
Belcastro Agency
http://www.belcastroagency.com
@CortneyRadocaj
Hi there! I’d love to read this one. Could you send the full manuscript in Word format to aimee@browerliterary.com with “Pitch Wars” in the subject heading? Thank you!
Note: if you notice that another agent from my agency (Brower Literary & Management) has also requested your manuscript, could you please let us know so we can coordinate on our end?
Dear Sari,
This description of your work immediately had me hooked. I would love to read more!
Would you please send your full manuscript, a synopsis of the project, and a short bio about what you do and any of your previous publications to Haley@CMALit.com? Each should be a separate attachment in Microsoft Word or PDF format. To ensure your email doesn’t get lost in the shuffle, please include “Pitch Wars” in your subject line.
The two other agents at Creative Media Agency, Paige Wheeler and Shannon Snow, are participating in Pitch Wars with me. Should one of them also request your manuscript, we would appreciate it if you would choose the agent you’d most prefer to work with and only send them the requested materials. Should they pass on the project for any reason, and you find yourself still seeking an agent, then you are of course free to resubmit to another member of CMA.
Thank you for taking the time to send me more of what you’ve written!
Sincerely,
Haley Casey
Hi Sari,
I’d love to take a look at more of this! I’ve really enjoyed what you’ve created so far and would love to look at the first 50 pages. I’ve set up a special link for the Showcase, so I can stay on top of these: QueryManager.com/MWBelford/PitchWarsShowcase. Please fill out the form and upload your first 50 pages as an attachment so I can take a look.
If you receive requests from two or more agents at the Tobias Agency, please send your materials to all requestors. We will coordinate internally and discuss the projects that we’re interested in!
Thanks,
Matt Belford
I’m so eager for more of this! Please send the full manuscript to submissions(at)janklow(dot)com and write the following in the subject line: Stefanie Lieberman, Pitch Wars material. Thank you!
Hi! I would love to see this story in my inbox. If you would like to submit your manuscript to me, please send a query letter and the first 50 pages to reskildsen@writershouse.com. Please include “Pitch Wars” and your title in the subject line, and please only submit to one agent at Writers House at a time. Thank you!
Hi! I’d be very interested in reading this in full. If you could please submit your work to elle@triadaus.com with the email header “PITCH WARS: [Title]”, the query pitch, and the full MS attached in .doc format, I’d be very appreciative. If another agent from TriadaUS has requested your manuscript, please submit to each of us–we will sort it out on our end. Thank you so much!