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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 #05: THE WITCH OF SHADOW GAP WOODS (Mystery)
Mentee:
Katie Bohn
Mentored by:
Kate Lansing
Book Title:
THE WITCH OF SHADOW GAP WOODS
Category:
2019 Adult Entries
Genre:
Mystery
Word Count:
92,000

Pitch:

True-crime junkie Avery Tensley wishes life were as easy to predict as an episode of Forensic Files. After botching her law school application, she finds work at a used bookstore, only to be consumed by a murder mystery surrounding its former occupant. As suspects emerge and small-town secrets unravel, Avery finds herself on the trail of a killer—while reckoning with her role in the death of a childhood friend.

 

Excerpt:

If it weren’t for Jeffrey Dahmer, the whole thing may not have happened.

I was cruising downtown in the Buick, a podcast blaring from my phone, when I missed the stop sign. I should have been paying attention, but the episode featured Dahmer’s former neighbor, and her story about a suspicious sandwich Dahmer once gave her was far more interesting than watching for traffic signs.

That was totally a people panini, I thought, as the woman described what she had believed at the time was a sloppy joe.

It was a humid, late-summer day and I was headed home from filling a prescription for my roommate and best friend. Kaitlyn was bogged down with prepping for law school—and I, well, wasn’t—so I had offered to fetch it. The pharmacy was in the next town over, nestled on its quaint, old-fashioned main street. The prescription secure in my bag, I flicked on my podcast and pulled onto the street, confident I could navigate home without GPS. But distracted by Ms. People Panini, I sailed through the intersection without even a perfunctory pause at the stop sign, unaware of my mistake until I was almost T-boned.

The dusty maroon pick-up slammed on its horn and screeched to a stop, narrowly missing crashing into me. I swerved the Buick, coming to a stop in the thankfully empty sidewalk, my heart racing.

19 responses to “PW2019 Adult #05: THE WITCH OF SHADOW GAP WOODS (Mystery)”

  1. Kim Lionetti says:

    Hi Katie: This sounds great! I’d love to see the synopsis and full manuscript. Please upload them here: QueryMe.online/KimLionetti/PitchWars. Can’t wait to read! – Kim

  2. Amanda Jain says:

    You had me at people panini! I’d love to read more of this. Please send your query letter, synopsis, and full manuscript as a .doc attachment to ajain@bookendsliterary.com with PitchWars in the subject line. I look forward to reading!

  3. REBECCA STRAUSS says:

    What a fantastic voice! A people panini! I’d love to read more. Please put ‘Pitch Wars Requested’ in your subject line and send the full manuscript and query letter to me at rebecca@defliterary.com. Ms can be an attachment. I look forward to reading more. Thanks so much!

  4. Lori Galvin says:

    Dear Katie, I would like to see the full ms, please. But full disclosure–it might be too dark for me–but I am intrigued. Query letter and ms to lgalvin@aevitascreative.com with subject like Pitch Wars. Thanks very much.

  5. 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 your Project)”.

  6. Sarah Phair says:

    Dear Katie,

    This sounds interesting, and I’d love to take a look. Could you please send me the first 50 pages as a word document with your query letter as the first page? You can send it to sphair@sjga.com, and please mention Pitch Wars in your subject line.

    Best,

    Sarah

    Sarah Phair
    Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, Inc.
    55 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003
    (212) 206-5611 | http://www.Greenburger.com

  7. Jana Hanson says:

    Hi, Katie —

    I would love to read more about THE WITCH OF SHADOW GAP WOODS. Please send the first 5 chapters to me at your earliest convenience (jhanson@metamorphosisliteraryagency.com).

    Thank you so much, and best of luck with Pitch Wars!

    Jana

  8. Michelle Richter says:

    Hi Katie, I love the voice here! I’d love to see the full manuscript. Please submit your query and pages here: QueryMe.online/MichelleRichter/PitchWars.

  9. Lauren Spieller says:

    Congratulations on completing Pitch Wars, Katie! I’m a true crime junkie, so I’d love to keep reading. May I please see the full manuscript + synopsis? It would also be great if you could include ‘Pitch Wars Request’ in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you! 

    Lauren Spieller, TriadaUS Literary Agency
    lauren@triadaus.com

  10. Hi Katie – this sounds fantastic. I’m a true crime podcast junkie myself. I’d love to read the full manuscript. Could you send it to me at QueryMe.online/1353/PW20192020
    Looking forward to the read,
    Joanna

  11. Rosie Jonker says:

    I’m intrigued! Would you send the first three chapters, pasted in the body of an email, to Rosie@Rittlit.com with [QUERY] and [PITCHWARS] in the subject line?

  12. Jennifer Unter says:

    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!

  13. Amy Elizabeth Bishop says:

    Dear Katie,

    This sounds positively delicious! I’d love to take a look at the first 100 pages! 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

  14. Penelope Burns says:

    Hi Katie,

    I would love to see this! Can you send your query and full manuscript to penelope@gelfmanschneider.com, with #PitchWars in the subject line? Thanks so much!

    All best,
    Penelope

  15. Julie Gwinn says:

    I love this premise and your voice. Would love to see three chapters and proposal if you have one (other novel ideas, social media platform, previous publishing).

  16. Suzie Townsend says:

    This sounds fantastic. I can’t wait 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.

  17. Jessica Watterson says:

    I would love to see the full of this with synopsis and query pls! send to queryme/online/jessicawatterson/pitchwars. I hope you will send to me! 🙂

  18. Dawn Dowdle says:

    Dear Katie,

    Thank you for your pitch. Your manuscript sounds very interesting. I would like to read more.

    Please follow the query instructions at http://www.blueridgeagency.com and make sure to put “Pitch Wars” in who referred you.

    Thank you! Looking forward to reading more.

    Dawn Dowdle

  19. Ashley Blake says:

    Hi Katie, I’d love to take a look at this! If you’d like, send the full manuscript to ashley@reesagency.com and put QUERY PITCH WARS in the subject line. Hope to hear from you soon!