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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 YA #09: STITCHWITCH (Contemporary Fantasy)
Mentee:
Annika J. Cosgrove
Mentored by:
Anna Sortino
Book Title:
STITCHWITCH
Category:
2020 Entries
Genre:
Contemporary Fantasy
Word Count:
79,000

Pitch:

As future matriarch of her Minnesotan threadwitch clan, Katerina follows every rule. But when she interrupts rival witch Dominic’s illegal wraith summoning, the creature binds to her. So they make a deal: he’ll hide the evidence if she helps find his missing brother. They just have to control the sassy, soul-devouring wraith without anyone discovering what they’ve done. 

SERPENT & DOVE meets Holly Black

 

Excerpt:

Over, under, loop-at-two. Under, over, two strands through.

The threads pulsed beneath my fingers, magic flowing to the fibers in a steady stream. My nose tickled, but I ignored it. A misplaced strand could introduce an abnormality in the spell. If I wanted to be the first matriarch of our clan, my weavings had to be perfect.

Even caskets for dead goldfish.

A knock on the door broke my concentration. I sighed. “One minute!”

“Hurry up, Kat!”

I ignored it. The final knot was the trickiest. I had to tuck the thread in precisely to secure the spell without altering the weaving. My tongue pressed against my teeth as I pulled the strand through. There. The magic cut off, like taking the first deep breath after emerging from underwater. Oxygen filled my lungs and a satisfied, sleepy feeling overtook me.

“Kat!”

“I’m ready, Remy, geez.” I yanked the door open and pressed the damask box into my best friend’s hands. “Where’s Adi?”

“Downstairs.” Remy’s footsteps thundered despite the thick rugs throughout the house. His six-year-old sister waited on my front porch. Adela shifted impatiently, clutching a cardboard box. It might have been silly to do a traditional Vlakno funeral for a goldfish, but Adela was insistent, and Remy was a softie when it came to her whims. Of course, I’m the one who ended up having to weave the miniature coffin with the traditional two-toned fabric.

9 responses to “PW2020 YA #09: STITCHWITCH (Contemporary Fantasy)”

  1. Amelia Appel says:

    Dear Annika,

    This sounds so fun! I’d love to read more. Please send along the full manuscript as a Word doc. attachment to amelia@triadaus.com at your earliest convenience. Please include the pitch, full synopsis, and author bio, pasted into the body of the email, and “PITCH WARS REQUEST – STITCHWITCH” in the subject line.

    Thank you so much and I can’t wait to read!

    All best wishes,
    Amelia

  2. Rick Richter says:

    Hi Annika! This sounds like a fantastic project and I’d love to read more. Could you send a full manuscript in .docx (or .doc) format to me at rrichter@aevitascreative.com and cc my assistant at cmarsiglia@aevitascreative.com? Please use “pitch wars” somewhere in the title. Hope to hear from you soon!

  3. Tara Gonzalez says:

    Hi Annika! I would love to keep reading STITCHWITCH! If you could send me a query with the full manuscript attached to tara@emliterary.com, with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line, that would be fantastic.

    Tara Gonzalez – Associate Agent at Erin Murphy Literary Agency

  4. Alexandra Weiss says:

    Hi Annika! As a Minnesotan and fan of all things with witches, I’m super interested. I’d love to request the first 50 pages, which you can submit here: https://querymanager.com/query/AlexandraWeiss/PitchWars2021

    Looking forward to reading more!

    Alex Weiss
    Azantian Literary Agency

  5. Maggie Kane says:

    Hello Annika,

    I would love to see the full of STITCHWITCH! Please send it as a Word Document to maggie.queries@irenegoodman.com. If another agent at Irene Goodman requests your manuscript, please submit to just one agent at a time. If they pass, you are welcome to resubmit to another! Thank you!

    Best,
    Maggie

  6. Sarah Gerton says:

    Hi Annika, I hope you’re having a great PitchWars week! As a native Minnesotan and someone who’s fascinated by sewing, weaving, and textiles in general, I’m super intrigued by STITCHWITCH and would love to read the full! You can check out my bio at curtisbrown.com/agents; if we seem like a good fit, please send the manuscript to me in Word doc form at sg@cbltd.com. Thank you so much!

  7. Renae Moore says:

    Please send your query, synopsis, and first two chapters of your book using the following link: QueryManager.com/renae/PitchWars
    Please feel free to apply to more than one agent at Tobias simultaneously. We will handle multiple submissions on our end.

  8. Christa Heschke says:

    Oo I love all things witchy and thread witches sound so intriguing!Please send the full manuscript, synopsis and query to chquery@mcintoshandotis.com with Pitch Wars request and the title of the manuscript in the subject line. –Christa Heschke, McIntosh & Otis

  9. Kari Sutherland says:

    Hi Annika,
    Ooh, this sounds intriguing and also humorous! I’d love to read more. Please send the full via this form: QueryManager.com/Kari_Sutherland_Query_Form/PitchWars. If more than one Bradford Literary agent requests it, you can send to multiple of us, just let us know so we can coordinate. Many thanks! Kari