Pitch:
TESS OF THE D’URBERVILLES meets SECRETARY
In the workhouse, games of dominance and submission give young Marian and Valentine the comforting illusion of control. But when they are hired as a maid and footman to a master who turns their game violently against them, they must draw the line between servitude and surrender—confronting their repressed desires along the way.
Excerpt:
14th February 1867
Dear Friend—
I wasn’t sure whether to address you by first name or last, after everything that has happened.
Even this solution seems wrong—“friend” is too familiar, surely. A presumptuous claim to make on you. And yet, it is woefully inadequate in describing your claim on me.
The tailoring shop is open now, and I’m busy sewing, but my mind drifts often to Valor Rise—to Mr. Bornholdt’s death, and the part I played in it. I’d be ashamed, if I still believed in perfect justice. But if I am a blight upon ordered society, it is society’s order that has made me so. My victim had power enough to take away nearly all my choices; it is not my fault the one choice he left me was fatal to him.
Not that I’m at peace. When I imagine you, utterly alone because of my crime, the guilt is terrible—worse than any jealousy. So, tell me you found someone else who cares for you. Tell me she’s as good as I meant to be—that she’s better.
As I preach honesty, I’ll admit I’m not entirely well. I live as if every person were police and my wrongdoings were written right across my face. I stick myself with pins as often as whatever cloth I’m aiming for.
But don’t pity me. I almost deserve this. The way some women long to be rescued, I have always longed to be captured.
I would love to take a look at this! Please feel free to send me this query and the first 50 pages as a Word attachment to larissa@jillgrinbergliterary.com, with your name, title, genre, and “Pitch Wars” in the subject line. (Also, if you have requests from two or more of us at JGLM, please do pick and send to only one of us.)
Dear Briana,
Thank you for sharing your work. I would love to read more. Could you please send the full and query letter to lgalvin[at]aevitascreative[dot]com. Thanks again.
Lori Galvin
Thank you for your participation in Pitch Wars. I found your project intriguing and would very much like to see the first two chapters of the manuscript. Please email me at paige@cmalit.com the following attachments in Microsoft Word format (not PDF):
1. the first two chapters,
2. a synopsis of your project,
3. a short bio including any previous publications.
To expedite the review process, please use “requested material-pitch wars” as the subject heading of your email.
As a professional courtesy, please let me know if any other agents are considering your work. Also, if you do get an offer, please contact me so that I may be able to review and respond accordingly.
I look forward to reading your work!
Kind regards,
Paige Wheeler
paige@cmalit.com
I am intrigued. I’d love to give it a read if none of my BookEnds colleagues have already requested. Please upload your manuscript, synopsis, and query at this link: http://www.QueryManager.com/JessicaAlvarez/PitchWars. Thanks!
Jessica Alvarez, BookEnds Literary
Hi – Could be an interesting premise and I like the first page:-)
Please send first 50 pages and I’ll take a careful read…
ETA: email Kimberley@kimberleycameron.com with “Pitch Wars” in subject
Hello! I’d love to see this. Please submit your query, synopsis if you have one, and the first 50 pages to jessica@dhliterary.com and include “Pitchwars” in the subject line. Looking forward to reading!
What great pitch, I’d love to read more. If you’d like me to consider, please send the full manuscript as a word doc to victoria@thebentagency.com and put ‘Pitch Wars’ in the subject. If another agent here at TBA also requests, that’s totally okay, we’d just be grateful if you would let us know if more than one of us has your work. Thank you!
Wow, this sounds so intriguing. I would love to see the full manuscript at rebecca@reesagency.com!
Best,
Becca
Dear Briana,
I’d love to read this! If you’re interested in sending, could you please email the full manuscript to tamara.kawar@icmpartners.com and make sure to include “PW2020” in your subject line?
Thank you!
Best,
Tamara
Hi Briana,
I’m very intrigued here and would love to see more – if you’re interested, can you send your query and first 100 pages to penelope@gelfmanschneider.com, with PitchWars in the subject line? Thanks so much!
All best,
Penelope
Briana, this sounds really intriguing, and I would love to read. 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!
Hi Briana,
I really enjoyed your pitch and your sample. Could you please send the full MS of On Good Authority to my email address, with PichWars 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 see a query, synopsis, bio, and full manuscript. Please send as Word documents to EWRquery@mcintoshandotis.com. Looking forward to reading more!
Hi Briana! I’m so excited to see your project come to fruition in Pitch Wars. I’m still very excited about your project and would love to consider it as part of the event. 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!
I’d love to read more! Please email me the full manuscript at diana at foxliterary dot com.