Pitch:
QUEENPIN meets MISS FISHER’S MURDER MYSTERIES in this feminist noir set in Roaring Twenties New York.
Aspiring reporter Ginny Dugan’s always looking for a good time and a great story. She finds both when a wild night out ends in her witnessing the kidnapping of a torch singer at Harlem’s hottest speakeasy. Ginny teams with a brooding private eye to crack the case— but the dirt they dig up under her glittery world might be the death of them.
Excerpt:
It’s long past midnight, but Ginny Dugan is wide awake as she jumps out of the cab on Lenox Avenue, stretching her arms towards the sky. The lights of Harlem’s finest nightclubs bounce off the blue scales of her dress. Tonight, these swank joints will draw big crowds with their velvet cords and gleaming silverware, promising polite waiters and dancers who never stop smiling, but Ginny’s been around long enough to know better. The best thrills in this city are hidden in the shadows, and you can snag some real sparkle if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.
Mary has to hurry in double time to catch up with Ginny’s quick steps. A few stray curls come undone from her barrette, the scarab beetle in its center winking in the low light.
“You sure this is the place?”
A dull yellow streetlamp flickers against an old brownstone with no distinguishing marks except a crooked bronze eighty-three. As the summer breeze rattles a discarded newspaper past the entrance, Ginny wonders if they made a wrong turn. But the rhythmic hum beneath their feet is unmistakable, and her painted lips stretch wide as she pulls her friend towards the door.
“There’s no doubt about it. This is our night, Mary, just you wait.”
Please send your query, synopsis, and first two chapters of your book using the following link: QueryManager.com/renae/PitchWars
Congratulations on completing Pitch Wars! This sounds great. 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
Dear Olesya,
I was really drawn to the premise here and loved your excerpt. I’d be interested in reading your full manuscript. Please use this link to upload your pages:QueryManager.com/1353/PW2021
Thanks,
Joanna
Hi Olesya,
Congratulations on completing Pitch Wars! You must be thrilled!
I’m a sucker for the 1920s and you only hooked me in further with “kidnapping” and “speakeasy” haha. I’d love to request the full manuscript to read more!
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: GLITTER IN THE DARK 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,
Samantha
Hi Olesya, I’d love to read more! Could you please send your query with the full manuscript attached as a Word doc? spelletier@dystel.com
Thanks!
Sharon Pelletier
Dystel, Goderich & Bourret
I would like to see this. Please send your query letter (in the body of the message) and your full manuscript (as a Word attachment) to carlisle @ fuseliterary .com with the subject Pitch Wars requested material: TITLE.
If you get a request from more than one agent at Fuse Literary, please choose one of us to send your work to; we don’t compete with each other for titles.
Thank you!
Hi there! I’d love to read the first 50 pages of this! Please send them attached to rena (at) dhliterary (dot) com.
Thanks so much and I look forward to reading more!
Best,
Rena Rossner
The Deborah Harris Agency
I’d love to read more! Could you please send a query letter + 50 pages to shannon@marsallyonliteraryagency.com? Thanks for the chance. –Shannon
Hi Olesya,
I really enjoyed your pitch and your sample. Could you please send the full MS of Glitter in the Dark to my email address, with PitchWars in the subject? Thanks, and looking forward to reading more.
All the best,
Josh Getzler
Hannigan Getzler Literary
HGLiterary.com
josh@hgliterary.com
I’d love to take a look at your work (manuscript and synopsis), if someone hasn’t snapped it up already! It’s right up my alley. arosado@stonesong.com
I enjoyed these opening pages and would love to take a look at the full manuscript! Please feel free to send it along as a word document to andrea@harveyklinger.com. Include the query letter in the email, and put “Pitch Wars Requested Manuscript” within the subject line. And if multiple agents at Harvey Klinger have requested, please feel free to send along to all of us but just let us know who else is considering. Thanks! – Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger Inc.
Hi Olesya! You’re welcome to send your full manuscript to christine@leshneagency.com. Please include “Pitch Wars” and your book title in the subject line. Thanks, Christine
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!
Hi Olesya,
I’m intrigued here! If you’re interested, can you send your query and first 50 pages to penelope@gelfmanschneider.com, with PitchWars in the subject line? Thank you!
All best,
Penelope