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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 YA #40: THE OTHER SIDE OF DIVINE (Fantasy #OwnVoices)
Mentee:
Ava Tusek
Mentored by:
Jamie Howard
Book Title:
THE OTHER SIDE OF DIVINE
Category:
2019 Entries
Genre:
Fantasy #OwnVoices
Word Count:
100,000

Pitch:

WINDWITCH x WICKED SAINTS

It’s been 1,000 years since the gods were slaughtered. Another five since Valeska Svetskova became a conartist in exchange for having her self-destructive magic silenced. When her girlfriend, Naya, mysteriously vanishes, leaving only a cryptic note behind, Valeska must unravel the truth of where Naya went and why she disappeared in the first place. But Naya has been running a con of her own, and it isn’t long until Valeska discovers the gods aren’t as dead as they seem—and neither is her magic.

 

Excerpt:

Of all the events Valeska was forced to attend, executions were her favorite.

It wasn’t death itself that intrigued her, but the short relief of knowing the axe was falling upon someone else’s neck. Though, truthfully, it would take more than death to bring her to justice.

This execution, however, made her nervous.

The Bone Palace loomed behind her, its behemoth shadow a reminder that if her lies faltered, she’d find herself on that ivory platform, her neck bent over the brown-crusted block, her blood joining the stains they’d stopped bothering to wash away.

Seated beside the king’s throne, she had a perfect view of Miculce’s nobility, their gloved hands sketching symbols to ward off evil. Valeska swallowed the urge to empty her untouched wine goblet over their heads, if only to distract herself from the choking grip of her high-collared gown.

Beneath her woolen gloves, her palms began to itch. As she stared at the prisoner, she wondered if he could sense her, one criminal to another. Their blood had betrayed them, and the black Mark scrawled on his skin had sentenced him. The only difference between them was that Valeska was a better liar. If King Danek found out—whether he wanted to marry her or not—he’d drag her to the platform himself.

19 responses to “PW2019 YA #40: THE OTHER SIDE OF DIVINE (Fantasy #OwnVoices)”

  1. Kelly Peterson says:

    Hey Ava!

    You know I can’t pass up asking to see this again! Can you send your query, synopsis, and full manuscript to Kelly@reesagency.com? You can simply attach your manuscript as a Word document, and make sure to put “Pitch Wars Requested Submission” in the subject line!

    Wishing you all the best of luck, and looking forward to reading this!

    -Kelly Peterson

  2. Sarah Landis says:

    I’m hooked! I’d love to read the full manuscript. Please email it to slandis@sll.com. Thanks!

  3. Beth Phelan says:

    Oooh this sounds good!

    please send the first 50 pages (word doc) to querybeth@galltzacker.com with your query letter in the body of the email and “pitch wars” in the subject line. looking forward to reading!

    <3 beth

  4. Marlo Berliner says:

    Great start! I’d love to read more! Please send the full with Pitchwars YA in the subject line to marlo.jdlit@gmail.com. Looking forward to reading!

  5. Samantha Wekstein says:

    I’d love to see your first fifty pages! If interested, please send them as an attachment to Samantha@thompsonliterary.com with your query in the body and #pitchwars in the subject. Thank you!

  6. John Cusick says:

    This has me hooked! I’d love to see a query and the first three chapters from you, please: john [@] foliolit.com. Looking forward to reading!

  7. Jordy Albert says:

    I would love to take a look! Please send a query along with your full manuscript as a Word attachment and #Pitchwars in the subject line to me at jordy@thebookeralbertagency.com. Thanks!

  8. Ginger Clark says:

    I would love to take a look at this. Can you email me the first fifty pages as either a PDF or DOCX or RTF? Put the words “Pitchwars 2020 request” in your subject line. Thank you so much!

  9. Penelope Burns says:

    Hi Ava,

    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

  10. Cortney Radocaj says:

    Hi Ava,

    I adore your premise and your first pages and would love to see more!!

    Please submit the first 50 pages of THE OTHER SIDE OF DIVINE, along with your query and synopsis, here:

    QueryMe.Online/CortneyRadocaj/Requested

    Please also make sure to put “Pitch Wars” in the referral line or mention that I requested here in your query.

    I look forward to reading! 😊

    Warm Regards,

    Cortney Radocaj
    Associate Agent
    Belcastro Agency
    http://www.belcastroagency.com

  11. Rena Rossner says:

    Hi Ava!

    I’d love to read this full manuscript! Please send it attached as a word document to: rena@thedeborahharrisagency.com

    Excited to read!

    – Rena Rossner

  12. Laura Bradford says:

    I love me some con artist stories! Can’t get enough of them! 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

  13. Sandy Lu says:

    Hi Ava,

    What a fantastic opening! 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

  14. Christa Heschke says:

    Everything about this sounds awesome and I love the writing! Please send the full manuscript and query to chquery [at] mcintoshandotis [dot] com. Please put “Pitch Wars request” and the title in the subject line. Can’t wait to read!
    –Christa Heschke, McIntosh & Otis

  15. Bridget Smith says:

    I’d love to take a look! Please send the query and the first twenty pages to querybridget@awfulagent.com. Thanks – can’t wait to read more!

  16. Melissa Nasson says:

    I’d love to see more of this! Please send the first 50 pages as a Word doc or PDF attachment to melissa@rpcontent.com with Pitch Wars in the subject line. Thank you!

    -Melissa Nasson, Rubin Pfeffer Content

  17. This sounds so interesting and compelling! Please send this pitch in the body of an email, synopsis and first fifty pages attached as a Word doc, with YA PITCHWARS and your title in the subject, to Jennifer@theseymouragency.com.

  18. Kerstin Wolf says:

    This pitch is just spot on! It caught my attention immediately! Dead gods that aren’t as dead as you think? Yes, please! I’d love to see the full manuscript of this. If you think we might be a good match, please submit your full manuscript using this link: QueryMe.online/kerstinwolf/Pitch_Wars

  19. Diana Fox says:

    I’d love to read more! Please email me the full manuscript at diana at foxliterary dot com. (Including “Pitch Wars Request” in the subject line is also helpful but not required.)