Manuscript Status: Finished
Mentor Name: Kristen Lepionka
Mentee Name: Rheea Mukherjee
Title: MALAISE
Category: Adult
Genre: Literary Fiction with elements of psychological thriller (#ownvoices)
Word Count: 55,000 words
Pitch:
Young Indian widow, Mira, witnesses a beautiful woman faking a seizure at the park. She’s pulled into an obsessive relationship with the woman and her husband. As Mira unravels the couple’s mystery through the lenses of history, philosophy, and urban irony, she realizes finding the truth not only risks experiencing loss again but will challenge her understanding of sanity.
Excerpt:
Take my story like you would a large pill. Place it on your tongue and swallow it in one gulp. I intend to write the truth. The truth is perspective, and I have been scrupulous with mine.
Suryam, like most Indian cities was hot in summer, cooler in the winter, and the rains unpredictable. We did have one thing that grew in this city that no other town, city, or village had. The Rasagura fruit was pink on the outside, yellow inside, and speckled with tiny brown seeds. A micro-ecosystem that offered a global paradox. Its replication has been tried of course, in the fertile soils of many other places, here in India and around the world. No, there was something in the air that made its way into the soil. The fruit is just there, and I’ll try not to mention it again. I digress, just to find the right moment to start my story. Because the Rasagura certainly has nothing to do with it. My story starts with Sara.
The first time I saw Sara
Sara was sitting on park bench. I came to West Point Gardens every Sunday for a 5 kilometer walk. She couldn’t see me, but I stopped walking explicitly to stare at her. I looked at her for three reasons:
(1) Her face was twisted in contemplation
(2) she was wearing a beige kurta with a transparent golden dupatta
(3) she was fucking gorgeous
17 Comments
Saba Sulaiman · November 1, 2017 at 1:27 pm
Hi Rheea,
I’m intrigued, and I’d love to read more! Please send a query, synopsis, and the first 25 pages (Word documents will suffice) to ssulaiman@talcottnotch.net — and don’t forget to mention #PitchWars in your subject line. Thanks—looking forward to my read!
Good luck,
–Saba
Kimberly Brower · November 1, 2017 at 1:51 pm
Please send me the full manuscript and a summary (spoilers ok!) in Word format to kimberly@browerliterary.com. For the subject line, please write PITCH WARS: Title Name. Can’t wait to read this!
Heather Flaherty · November 1, 2017 at 2:09 pm
Hi there Rheea, I would love to see more of this, it sounds fantastic!
Please send:
– Query + 10 pages pasted in the body of the email
– Attach FULL ms as well!
– with subject line: PW ADULT + Title
to: flahertyqueries@thebentagency.com
Thank you so much!
Heather Flaherty (The Bent Agency)
Penelope Burns · November 1, 2017 at 2:29 pm
Hi Rheea,
I am SO intrigued. Can you send the full to penelope@gelfmanschneider.com with your query in the body of the email and #PitchWars and title in the subject line? Thanks so much, looking forward to reading!
Penelope
Patricia Nelson · November 1, 2017 at 2:37 pm
So curious to know what happens next! I’d love to read more. Please send a query (in the body of the email) along with the first 50 pages as a Word doc attachment, subject line “Pitch Wars: [Your Title]” to patricia@marsallyonliteraryagency.com.
Thanks, and looking forward to reading!
Patricia
Hillary Jacobson · November 1, 2017 at 3:35 pm
I love a good obsessive relationship story! 🙂 I’d love to read more. Please send the full manuscript as a word document to hjacobson@icmpartners.com. Thank you!
Pete Knapp · November 1, 2017 at 4:16 pm
I love the voice here and would love to read more! Please send the full manuscript to queries@parkliterary.com attached as a Word document with the query in the first page of the document. Put “PITCH WARS REQUEST – PETE KNAPP” in the subject. Please also include a one page synopsis if available.
Thank you!
Pete
Danielle Burby · November 1, 2017 at 5:35 pm
I’d love to read this! Please include a query letter or brief synopsis in the email and attach the full manuscript as an attachment to querydanielle@nelsonagency.com. In the subject line, please write REQUESTED PITCH WARS + the title of the manuscript. Looking forward to reading more!
Joanna · November 1, 2017 at 5:51 pm
Such a confident voice! I’d love to read the full. Please email me at queryjoanna@nelsonagency.com. In the subject line, write PitchWars and the title of your project. This will help ensure that your query isn’t accidentally deleted or caught in our spam filter. Please include your query. Thanks!
Rena · November 1, 2017 at 6:12 pm
I’d love to read this! Please send the full manuscript to: rena (at) thedeborahharrisagency (dot) com
Thanks!
Ann Leslie Tuttle · November 1, 2017 at 10:28 pm
I would love to read this. Please send me the complete at atuttle@dystel.com. Thank you,
Whitley Abell · November 1, 2017 at 11:37 pm
I’d love to see more! Please submit your query, synopsis, and first 50 pages to https://querymanager.com/query/inklings_whitley/PitchWars. I can’t wait to dive in!
Suzie Townsend · November 1, 2017 at 11:56 pm
Wow!! This sounds so amazing! I’m all in — I would love to read the full ms! Please send the full manuscript to suzie@newleafliterary.com attached as a Word document with the query in the first page of the document. Put “PITCH WARS” in the subject. Please also include a dreaded synopsis if you have one. Thank you! Can’t wait to read!
Stefanie Lieberman · November 2, 2017 at 11:39 am
I’d love to see more! Please send the full manuscript as a Word document to submissions@janklow.com and include your query in the body of the email. Make sure to include “Pitch Wars – Stefanie Lieberman” in the subject line. Thanks!
Stephen Barbara · November 2, 2017 at 4:46 pm
Hi Rheaa: I’d be interested to continue reading MALAISE. Could you send the full manuscript to stephen@inkwellmanagement.com? I was very impressed with the excerpt though brief. Best, Stephen
Annie Bomke · November 2, 2017 at 4:47 pm
Oooooh, very intriguing! I’d love it if you could send me a query, synopsis and the first 100 pages to submissions@abliterary.com!
Jennifer Azantian · November 3, 2017 at 2:07 am
I would love to read more!
Please send your query, 1-2 page synopsis, and first 100 pages (in an attached word doc.) to queries at azantianlitagency dot com with “PitchWars: TITLE by Name” in the subject line. Thanks!
I look forward to reading on!
Jennifer Azantian
Azantian Literary Agency
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