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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 MG #09: JUNK JUNCTION (Horror #OwnVoices)
Mentee:
Sara Codair
Mentored by:
TJ Ohler
Book Title:
JUNK JUNCTION
Category:
2020 Entries
Genre:
Horror #Ownvoices
Word Count:
50,000
Manuscript Content Warning(s):
Brief discussion of a supporting characters experience with transphobia

Pitch:

SMALL SPACES + DOLL BONES

Edi (12, non-binary) and their antique-dealer mom don't have much besides each other. When a vengeful ghost turns Mom into a mannequin, Edi races against time to defeat the ghost. They team up with a haunted doll and a young psychic who helps them find their confidence and supernatural abilities. If Edi fails, they’ll lose their mom and new friends, and unleash a murderous spirit upon an unsuspecting town.

 

Excerpt:

My Top Three Rules for Antiquing:
1.     Never look a mannequin in the eyes. You might turn into one.
2.     Respect the shop dogs. They’re the best and deserve all the treats.
3.     Don’t touch sharp and/or breakable objects. You drop things when you see their stories.
-Edi’s Journal of Hauntings and Weird Antiques

 

Chapter 1

“Edi, will you flip me a coin?” called Mom from the driver’s seat.

Mom got indecisive when she was stressed, but I didn’t want to rely on a coin toss to determine whether we sold the creepy lamp today or Sunday.

Digging into my pockets, my fingers brushed a cracked pen, a skeleton key, and some sticky substance of unknown origin. “Mom, do you have one?”

After getting a month’s notice to move out of our apartment, we packed our snacks, changes of clothes, the lamp that turned on and off by itself, and hit the road. That was an hour ago. We were almost to where the highway split. One route took us to an area of New Hampshire riddled with lakes and antique stores. The other brought us to Vermont and Junk Junction, where a psychic would take the willful lamp off our hands.

It lurked behind my seat, where I imagined it flickering and buzzing. That lamp had a story, but I didn’t want to see it.

 

21 responses to “PW2020 MG #09: JUNK JUNCTION (Horror #OwnVoices)”

  1. Jennifer Herrington says:

    Hi Sara,

    You have a great pitch! I am intrigued. I would love to see more.

    I hope you’ll consider submitting to me. You can send query, synopsis, and the first three chapters to QueryManager.com/JenniferHerrington/PitchWars2021

    Thanks! I hope to see your submission!

    Jenn

  2. Hi, Sara.

    You had me at “teaming up with a haunted doll.” I’ve been searching for spooky MG, and this sounds just right. I would love to see more.

    If you head to my agent page (jdlit.com/savannah-brooks), you’ll find my submission guidelines and link to QueryManager. Please be sure to include that this was a Pitch Wars request somewhere in the query.

    I look forward to reading more!

  3. Alec Shane says:

    This sounds fun -would love to see the full. Please send as a Word doc to ashane@writershouse.com

  4. Erin Clyburn says:

    Hi Sara! I was hooked by this premise and excerpt and would love to see more of JUNK JUNCTION. Please send your query, synopsis, and full manuscript through my QueryManager link: QueryManager.com/ErinClyburn/PitchWars. If you receive requests from multiple JDLA agents, feel free to submit to whichever of us feels like the best fit. I’m looking forward to reading your work!

  5. Kelly Peterson says:

    Yesssssss, ghost stories are my jam!! Sara, I love this! Can you send your query, synopsis, and full manuscript to me at http://querymanager.com/kellypeterson/pitchwars? I’m so excited to read this!!! – Kelly

  6. Alexandra Levick says:

    Hi Sara,

    I’d love to see this again! Please send your query letter and the first 75 pages of your manuscript (attached as a word document) to me at alevick(@)writershouse(.)com. I would appreciate it if you could note in the subject line that your message is a Pitch Wars request.

    Additionally, if more than one agent from Writers House requests your work, please note you may only submit to one of us at any given time.

    Thanks very much!
    Alexandra

    Alexandra Levick | She/Her | Writers House

  7. Kurestin Armada says:

    Hi Sara, Congratulations on successfully completing PitchWars! I love the spooky set up you have here. I’m dying to continue reading! 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, Kurestin

  8. Laura Bradford says:

    Ooooohhhh….I want to know more about all the creepy antiques! Please email me the full manuscript + synopsis at laura@bradfordlit.com. Please put Pitch Wars in the subject line and paste the pitch into your email. Thank you!

    Laura Bradford

    *If more than one agent from the Bradford Literary Agency has requested this, go ahead and send it to those agents and just let us know

  9. Haley Casey says:

    Dear Sara,

    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

  10. Ashley Blake says:

    Hi Sarah, this sounds like so much fun! I’d love to take a deeper look. If you’d like to query me, please include your query letter and upload your full manuscript using the link below. If you end up querying more than one agent at Rees, that’s totally fine, just let us know you did so in the query. Congrats on all your hard work! I look forward to reading.

    QueryManager.com/AshleyBlake/PitchWars

  11. Katelyn Detweiler says:

    Sara, this pitch/excerpt is fantastic and I’d love to read more! Could you please send the query and full manuscript to me at katelyn@jillgrinbergliterary.com with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line? (Please note, if multiple agents from Jill Grinberg Literary Management request your ms, we ask that you only share with one.) Thank you! 

  12. Penelope Burns says:

    Hi Sara,

    I would 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

  13. Kaitlyn Johnson says:

    Hi Sara!

    I know I saw this pre-PW, but I would absolutely love to see this new, revised version. This concept is still so awesome, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it =] If you find us a fit, please send your query, synopsis, and full manuscript to QueryManager.com/KaitlynJohnson/Contests

    Best,
    Kaitlyn Johnson
    Belcastro Literary Agency

  14. Hi, Sara!

    OMG I can never seem to get enough MG horror…

    I’d love to see the full. Could you please submit it via QueryManager.com/JenniferWills/PitchWars2020? I’d also love to see your query letter and a synopsis if you have one.

    Thanks so much!
    Jennifer Wills
    The Seymour Agency

  15. Peter Knapp says:

    This sounds great! 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: JUNK JUNCTION (MG)” 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 considering. Warmly, Pete

  16. Rebecca Eskildsen says:

    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!

  17. Zabé Ellor says:

    What a cute idea, and I can’t wait to see how spooky it becomes! I would love to read more!

    Please could you send the query and first fifty pages to me, as an attachment, at zrellor.books@gmail.com? Please paste your query on the first page of your attached sample pages, and also in the body of the email, and include PITCH WARS in the subject line. If more than one JDLA agent requests, feel free to first submit to the one you think is the best fit.

  18. Renae Moore says:

    Please send your query, synopsis, and first two chapters of your book using the following link: QueryManager.com/renae/PitchWars
    Please feel free to apply to more than one agent at Tobias simultaneously. We will handle multiple submissions on our end.

  19. Lee OBrien says:

    This sounds awesome and I would love to read!

    To query me, you can send the query and full MS to lee.queries@irenegoodman.com with the words “Pitch Wars” in the subject line! If another agent at Irene Goodman requests your manuscript, please submit to just one agent at a time. If they pass, you are welcome to resubmit to another.

  20. Sarah Gerton says:

    Hi Sara! As a big MG horror fan, I was intrigued by your pitch & sample page and would love to read more. You can check out my bio at curtisbrown.com/agents and if you’re interested, send me the full manuscript at sg@cbltd.com (please put “PitchWars” in the subject line). Thank you so much!

  21. Christa Heschke says:

    This is totally up my alley! I’ve eagerly been looking to represent more horror on my list 🙂 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