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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.
YA #38: THE GRAVITY OF MISSING THINGS (Contemporary #OwnVoices)
Mentee:
Marisa Urgo
Mentored by:
Stephen Morgan
Book Title:
THE GRAVITY OF MISSING THINGS
Category:
2018 Entries
Genre:
Contemporary #OwnVoices
Word Count:
65,000

Pitch:

It’s been forty-three days since Violet vowed to stop hurting herself.

Forty-three days of working behind the scenes at her high school theater.

Forty-three days of secretly yearning to take to the stage and make her commercial-pilot mom proud.

But on the biggest night of Violet’s life, her mother’s plane disappears without a trace.

Worse, investigators believe one person is to blame. Violet’s mom.

Desperate to find her mom and prove her innocence, Violet races to solve the mystery, even as the search reveals family secrets better left behind the curtain.

 

Excerpt:

Everything ends. I knew that, but it didn’t make it easier.

I clutched the dark curtain and poked my head out ever so slightly. If you can see the audience, they can see you, which is like, totally illegal in theatre. You get thrown in stage crew jail if that happens. But it was the last five minutes of the fall play, my last play ever. Okay, maybe not ever, but at least in high school.

My family sat in the middle row, center. My older sister, Savannah, thumbed through the Playbill. Looking for my name, maybe. Next to her, my Dad’s eyes darted around the set, no doubt taking in the designs I made. It had taken me hours to paint the grand staircase they wanted for the backdrop, but I got to use acrylic paint, which costs way more than what I earn working at the local pickle store after school (yes, we have a local pickle store. Don’t ask). And my mom –

Wait.

Where was Mom?

An empty seat sat next to Dad.

Maybe they weren’t sitting together. That was our new normal.

Either way, she better get back soon. I didn’t want her to miss my bow.

9 responses to “YA #38: THE GRAVITY OF MISSING THINGS (Contemporary #OwnVoices)”

  1. Marisa,

    That pitch!!! You had me right there! Fantastic!!! Can you send me the pitch, the full, and a synopsis (2-4 pages)? Please use Times New Roman, size 12, black, double-spaced text, 1” margins all around, and ½” paragraph indents. Attach the manuscript and synopsis as two separate Word documents (docx). Sent to: lynnette (at) theseymouragency (dot) com and add “Pitch Wars Request” along with your title in the subject line. Thanks.

    If more than one agent from The Seymour Agency likes your entry, please send requested material to the agent you feel will be the best fit. #OneAgentAtATime

    Looking forward to reading more.

    Best,

    Lynnette

  2. Zabé Ellor says:

    This looks absolutely fantastic and I can’t wait to see more! Please send the query, synopsis, and first 30 pages to me via QueryManager (http://queryme.online/ZabeEllor)

    If more than one JDLA agent requests your project, please submit to the one you feel will be the best fit!

  3. Ginger Clark says:

    Hi, I would love to see this. Please send the full manuscript as an attachment (a PDF, RTF, or Word Document is fine) to my email address which is gc@cbltd.com . Please include “Pitchwars 2019 Request” in the subject line. Thank you very much.

  4. Stacey Donaghy says:

    Dear Marisa,

    I would love to read the full MS.
    Please send your query to http://queryme.online/Stacey_PITCHWARS
    Be sure to add #PitchWars In front of your book title on the query form. Once your query arrives, I will request the full!
    All the best,
    Stacey

  5. Devin Ross says:

    Hi Marisa- I’d love to read the full manuscript. Please send it to dross@newleafliterary.com with “pitch wars request” in the subject line. Excited to read!

  6. Marlo Berliner says:

    Interesting! I’d love to see more! Please submit your query and first 30 pages via my Query Manager: http://QueryMe.Online/marloberliner
    If more than one JDLA agent requests, simply submit to the agent you feel would be the best fit. Be sure to only submit to one JDLA agent at a time. If the first agent passes, you are welcome to try the next.

  7. Hi Marisa,

    Loving your sample and premise! I’d really like to take a look at more of this manuscript. Here is the link for my Query Manager form:

    QueryMe.Online/CortneyRadocaj/Requested

    Please send the first 50 pages of your manuscript. I’m looking forward to reading it!

    Warm Regards,

    Cortney Radocaj
    Agent Apprentice
    Corvisiero Literary Agency
    http://www.corvisieroagency.com

  8. Laura Bradford says:

    I am super into this missing pilot mom element. I am imagining something like MH370 with a YA context for the ones left behind and I’m all in. Please send me the full ms + synopsis at laura@bradfordlit.com and put Pitch Wars in the subject line. Can’t wait to read this one!

  9. Nicole Payne says:

    I’m intrigued! Please send the query, synopsis and first five chapters to nicole@goldenwheatliterary.com with Pitch Wars in the subject line. Thanks!