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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.
PW2020 Adult #30: SUGARHIGH (Contemporary – Dark)
Mentee:
Lyz Mancini
Mentored by:
P. J. Vernon and Kelly J. Ford
Book Title:
SUGARHIGH
Category:
2020 Adult Entries
Genre:
Contemporary - Dark
Word Count:
86,000
Manuscript Content Warning(s):
Substance Abuse and Addiction, Profanity, Sexual Themes

Pitch:

EUPHORIA meets VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Gutter-punk, Xannie addict Gia spirals after her musician boyfriend abandons her for rock stardom in Los Angeles. But when a video of his fatal overdose goes viral, details from the media’s tragic accident narrative don’t add up. Gia’s suspicions drive her to LA to seek vengeance on the clique of internet-famous party piranhas who are now exploiting his death. But once Gia arrives, a terrifying question emerges: Is this in-crowd planning the same fate for her?

 

Excerpt:

During the fluorescent hours of a Saturday morning, Pixie and I perched on the filthiest corner of the Portland bus station, trying to look doe-eyed enough for someone to buy us a breakfast sandwich.

Hungover and shivering, her from an unclear kind of withdrawal and me from a seething, sharpened needle rage, we slurped coffee left by a man sprinting for the 10:15. I’d plugged my phone into a stray outlet and jammed the power button over and over, glaring into its spider-webbed screen.

“Jesus, Gia.” Pixie wrapped herself in a pink, pilled blanket from Goodwill. “Will you stop doing that? My brain is going to explode.”

The dusty concrete numbed my ass; the searing overhead lights tightened the ache in my head. A metallic handbag sized for a toddler sat opened in front of us, a few coins like jewels at the bottom. The air smelled like piss and pork sausage.

“Shut up,” I said through gritted teeth. “I just need to… check something.”

My unanswered calls had become unanswered texts which had dissolved into prickly static, and that’s when I’d found the photos. The sticky glitter gloss. The biting lips. The tossed hair. And I knew the plane ticket he’d sworn was coming wasn’t. 

Ryder was cheating on me, and I needed to stalk Her.

12 responses to “PW2020 Adult #30: SUGARHIGH (Contemporary – Dark)”

  1. Anya Goncharova says:

    Dear Lyz, this is an incredible story — I would absolutely love to read more. Could you please send through the first 50 pages of your MS for our consideration? I am hooked. My email is anya@peonyliteraryagency.com Can’t wait, and I hope you are doing as well as possible at this uncertain time! All best, Anya; Peony Literary Agency

  2. Amy Giuffrida says:

    I am super intrigued by your concept—I’m a huge fan of EUPHORIA. The dark and grittiness comes through immediately, which is something I have been searching for in an adult title. I’d love to see the first 50 pages of SUGAR HIGH. Please send me your query, synopsis, and first 50 pages as a .doc to: QueryManager.com/AmyGiuffrida/PitchWars

    I wish you the best of luck!

  3. Lori Galvin says:

    Dear Lyz,
    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

  4. Michelle Richter says:

    Hi Lyz, I’d like to see the full manuscript and synopsis. Please submit to me at QueryManager.com/MichelleRichter/PitchWars. If more than one Fuse Literary agent requests, please choose just one of us.

  5. Jenny Bent says:

    This is a great opening. Can you please send the full to me at pitchwars@thebentagency.com, and put “pitchwars” in the subject line. It’s perfectly fine to send to multiple agents at TBA if you get those requests, just please do let us know who else you are sending to so we can coordinate on responses.
    Thanks!
    Jenny

  6. Victoria Cappello says:

    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!

  7. Jennifer Unter says:

    Hi Lyz,
    We’d love to take a look! Please forward the opening 50 pages, as a Word attachment, along with your query pasted in the body of an email to jen.nadol@theunteragency.com.
    Thanks!

  8. Elizabeth Copps says:

    Dear Lyz,

    I would love to read the first 50 pages of SUGARHIGH!

    To submit to me through Copps Literary Services, please use Query Manager and note “Pitch Wars Request” in the subject line: QueryManager.com/QueryManager_ElizabethCopps/PitchWars 

    If you receive multiple requests from the agency, please refer to our Teams page to choose which agent feels like the best fit for you and your work: https://www.coppsliterary.com/our-team.

    Warmly,
    Elizabeth

  9. Haley Casey says:

    Dear Lyz,

    This description of your work immediately had me hooked. I would love to read more!

    Would you please send your full manuscript, a synopsis of the project, and a short bio about what you do and any of your previous publications to Haley@CMALit.com? Each should be a separate attachment in Microsoft Word or PDF format. To ensure your email doesn’t get lost in the shuffle, please include “Pitch Wars” in your subject line.

    The two other agents at Creative Media Agency, Paige Wheeler and Shannon Snow, are participating in Pitch Wars with me. Should one of them also request your manuscript, we would appreciate it if you would choose the agent you’d most prefer to work with and only send them the requested materials. Should they pass on the project for any reason, and you find yourself still seeking an agent, then you are of course free to resubmit to another member of CMA.

    Thank you for taking the time to send me more of what you’ve written!

    Sincerely,
    Haley Casey

  10. Stefanie Lieberman says:

    I’m excited to read more of this! Please send the full manuscript to submissions(at)janklow(dot)com and write the following in the subject line: Stefanie Lieberman, Pitch Wars material. Thank you!

  11. Melissa Danaczko says:

    Hi Lyz, I’d love to read more. If you think I might be a good fit to represent you, can you please send the full manuscript to mdquery@skagency.com? Thank you!

  12. Penelope Burns says:

    Hi Lyz,

    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