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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.
PW2019 Adult #14: THE LIGHT OF ETERNAL SPRING (#OwnVoices Magic Realism)
Mentee:
Angel Zhang
Mentored by:
Michelle Hauck
Book Title:
THE LIGHT OF ETERNAL SPRING
Category:
2019 Adult Entries
Genre:
#OwnVoices Magic Realism
Word Count:
71,000

Pitch:

When NYC photographer Amy Wu learns her mother has died, grief blurs her sight and her photos. She travels to her childhood home in Manchuria and seeks her mother through memories, stories, and photos. The artistic ambition that tore Amy from her family may be the only thing that can reconcile them and allow Amy to see clearly. Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune meets My Name is Lucy Barton.

 

Excerpt:

My mother died of a broken heart, or so the letter said.

I was standing in a vegetable stall in Manhattan’s Chinatown, next to eight-for-a-dollar garlic and bok choy by the pound. The old Manchurian woman who translated for me spoke a broken, heavily accented English. She looked up from her lawn chair, and I stiffened under her gaze. I honestly didn’t know how to feel. Death was an abstract thing for me; I had never been to a funeral.

“When?”

“Well, this letter say written Friday—”

“Four days ago.” I choked out a laugh, terribly inappropriate. “What else does it say? How did she… when is the funeral?”

“Just that. Your mother dead.” The old woman half-gave, half-threw my letter back at me and circled two fingers in the air to ward off evil. She turned to serve a customer who was choosing peppers.

I looked at the sun directly overhead. The sky was a painful blue unmarred by clouds. I looked down and saw the pavement at my translator’s feet was cracked like the calluses that peeked through her torn embroidered sandals. Dazed, I lifted my camera from where it hung on a strap at my hip and took a photograph of her sandals, the wrinkles on her feet and the pavement laid with scars.

35 responses to “PW2019 Adult #14: THE LIGHT OF ETERNAL SPRING (#OwnVoices Magic Realism)”

  1. Kim Lionetti says:

    Hi Angel: I love the sound of this! Please upload the synopsis and full manuscript here: QueryMe.online/KimLionetti/PitchWars. I’m looking forward to reading! – Kim

  2. Marlo Berliner says:

    This is off to a great start and I’d love to read more! Please send the full with Pitchwars Adult in the subject line to marlo.jdlit@gmail.com. Looking forward to reading!

  3. Sarah Landis says:

    I’m so intrigued! I’d love to read the full manuscript. Please do email it to me at slandis@sll.com. Thanks!

  4. Lori Galvin says:

    Dear Michelle, I would love to see the full please. Thank you.

  5. Melissa Edwards says:

    Hi Angel,

    I’m intrigued! I’d love to see the full manuscript as a .doc. My email address is medwards @ stonesong dot com. Looking forward!
    All best,
    Melissa

  6. I’d love to see more. Please email the full manuscript with the query letter, proposal/synopsis, and an author bio to EWRquery@mcintoshandotis.com. Please attach all materials as Word documents, and include in your subject line: “PITCH WARS REQUEST – (Title of Project)”.

  7. Michelle Richter says:

    Hi Angel, I’d love to see the full manuscript, your query, and a synopsis if you have one. Please submit to me at QueryMe.online/MichelleRichter/PitchWars

  8. Ann Leslie Tuttle says:

    Dear Ms. Zhang,

    The premise for THE LIGHT OF ETERNAL SPRING sounds engaging, and I’d welcome the chance to read further. Please do send the complete manuscript to me at atuttle@dystel.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

    Best,

    Ann Leslie Tuttle

  9. Hello Angel, I would be very happy to take a look at the synopsis and first three chapters of THE LIGHT OF ETERNAL SPRING. If you like you can send me a Word file attached to an email: rosenberglitsubmit@icloud.com. I generally take three – six weeks to respond to a partial, but sometimes I’m able to jump on things more quickly.
    I wish you much success with Pitch Wars.
    Barbara Collins Rosenberg
    @RosenbergLit

  10. Mollie Glick says:

    Hi Angel,

    This looks really interesting. Please send the full manuscript my way at mollie.glickasst@caa.com.

    Best wishes,
    Mollie Glick

  11. John Cusick says:

    I’m hooked! I’d love to see more of this and would be thrilled to see your query + ten pages at john [@] foliolit.com.

  12. Adriann Ranta Zurhellen says:

    Hi Angel,

    Am loving what I’ve read so far! Please submit the first 50 pages to arsubmissions@foundrymedia.com, cc’ing in flmasst@foundrymedia.com, with the subject line “Pitch Wars: THE LIGHT OF ETERNAL SPRING.” Thanks so much, and looking forward to diving in more!

    Adriann

  13. Kristin Nelson says:

    What a lovely opening! I’d be delighted to take a look at your full manuscript. I’ve created a special Pitch Wars link so you can send the manuscript my way.

    Query Manager Event Link
    QueryMe.online/1350/PW20192020

    Pls also include your query letter as the first page of your full manuscript to help orient me when I dive in for the longer read starting on the 11th.

    It’s also okay to send to more than one agent at NLA if you have received multiple requests. We’ll coordinate on our end.

    Congrats on being a part of Pitch Wars. I can’t wait to read.
    Kristin

  14. Sami Isman says:

    I’d love to read further! Please send your pitch, a short bio, and the first 50 pages in the body of the email to sisman@sjga.com with the subject line “#PitchWars Submission – THE LIGHT OF ETERNAL SPRING – Angel Zhang”.

  15. Rebecca Podos says:

    This had me with the NATALIE TAN comp, and kept me through that fantastic opening. I’d so love to read the full at Rebecca@reesagency.com!

  16. Serene Hakim says:

    Dear Angel Zhang,

    I’m most intrigued by the description and sample of your project. I would love to read more and to get a conversation started.

    If you could send me your full manuscript to queries@pandeliterary.com, that’d be greatly appreciated. I hope to hear from you!

    All the best,
    Serene Hakim

  17. Dana Murphy says:

    I love this excerpt. Please send the first 50pgs and a query letter to submissions@thebookgroup.com, with my name in the subject line and #PitchWars somewhere in the body of the email.

    Looking forward to reading. Good luck!

  18. Jennifer Unter says:

    Great opening – would love to read more! Please forward the first 50 pages as a Word attachment to jen.nadol (at) theunteragency (dot) com with PW Request in the subject line. Thanks!

  19. Amy Elizabeth Bishop says:

    Dear Amy,

    Oh, this is already so heartbreaking and lovely! I’d love to take a look at the full manuscript! Would you kindly send that and your query along as a Microsoft Word attachment to abishop (at) dystel (dot) com, with #PitchWars in the subject line?

    Thanks so much – can’t wait to read!

    Best,

    Amy

  20. Dorian Maffei says:

    I absolutely love this! I would be thrilled to read the full manuscript! 🙂 You may submit your materials via my online submission form:

    http://QueryMe.Online/dorianmaffei

  21. Ashley Blake says:

    Hi Angel, I’d love to see the first three chapters of your book! Query me at ashley@reesagency and put QUERY in the subject line. Hope to hear from you soon!

  22. Hi Angel. This is absolutely gorgeous. I am so totally drawn to stories that about the relationships that make us who we are – and the ones between mothers and daughters are especially intriguing. I’d love to read the full manuscript. Could you email it to me at QueryMe.online/1353/PW20192020

    Thanks,
    Joanna

  23. Cindy Uh says:

    Angel,

    You had me with the opening line! I’m so drawn to this setting, and I’d love to read more about Amy’s exploration of grief and reconciliation and the journey it sets her on.

    If you’d like to send the full manuscript, please email me at cindy.uh@caa.com with “Pitch Wars Submission” in the subject line.

    Best,
    Cindy

  24. Shannon Hassan says:

    Angel, this sounds terrific! I would love to read more. Please send a query + 50 pages to shannon@marsallyonliteraryagency.com. Thank you!!

  25. Alexandra Levick says:

    Hi Angel,

    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

  26. Laura Bradford says:

    This is a juicy hook and the excerpt has me craving 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

  27. Jessica Kasmer-Jacobs says:

    Hi! I’d love to see the full manuscript. Please send to jessica@thedeborahharrisagency.com.

  28. Suzie Townsend says:

    I love this! You’re writing is so fabulous and I’m dying to read more. Please send me your full manuscript with your query pasted into the first page (a word .doc is best but an .rtf will also work). Send to suzie@newleafliterary.com. You can put PITCH WARS REQUEST in the subject line.

  29. Jessica Faust says:

    This sounds terrific. I would love to consider the full manuscript. You can send it through my Query Manager link: QueryMe.online/Jessica_Faust/PitchWars I look forward to reading it. Thanks again, Jessica Faust, BookEnds

  30. Elizabeth Bewley says:

    Dear Angel,
    I would be excited to read your full manuscript. Please email it to me at ebewley@sll.com.
    Thanks!
    Elizabeth

  31. Sharon Pelletier says:

    Looking forward to seeing this!

  32. Sandy Lu says:

    Hi Angel,

    This really resonates with me. Please send the full manuscript with your bio and complete synopsis (all in one Word document) to sandy@lperkinsagency.com. I look forward to read more.

    Best,
    Sandy Lu
    L. Perkins Agency

  33. Johanna Castillo says:

    Hi Angel,

    I’m intrigued! I’d love to see more. Would you send me the first 50 pages to jcastillosubmissions@writershouse.com?

    Thanks,
    Johanna

  34. Stefanie Lieberman says:

    I’d love to read more! Please send the pitch and the manuscript to submissions@janklow.com with the following subject line: for Stefanie Lieberman – Pitch Wars 19. Thank you!

  35. Chelsea Eberly says:

    I love the voice here and the sense of place. I hope you will send me the full manuscript with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line to: submissions (at) greenhouseliterary (dot) com. Thank you!