It’s here! The Pitch Wars Agent Showcase and the passing of the Managing Director’s torch.

The Agent Showcase is here! Make sure to scroll down for some exciting news!!

For those who don’t know what Pitch Wars is, it’s a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each to mentor. Mentors read the entire manuscript and offer suggestions on how to make the manuscript shine for the Agent Showcase. The mentor also helps edit their mentee’s pitch for the showcase and their query letter for submitting to agents. Mentors can participate solo or pair up and co-mentor.

During the Agent Showcase, each mentee is featured on a post that includes their pitch and the first page of their manuscript. Last year, we had nearly sixty agents participate in the showcase. Participating agents view the posts and make requests. With the help of 2016 Pitch Wars, more than 50 authors were offered representation with many snagging book deals shortly after the showcase ended!

Over the past seven years, Pitch Wars has changed many lives. Countless authors have been matched with agents and even gone on to book deals and successful careers. We’re over 300 successes as of 2017!! But most importantly, Pitch Wars has grown into a writing community that connects author with author, creating an atmosphere of camaraderie as we go through all stages of revision and publishing.

The entries for the 2018 Pitch Wars mentees are now live on the showcase site here:  https://showcase.pitchwars.org/

Unlike in past years, we’re keeping agent request comments hidden this year, which means you won’t see requests until the showcase has ended. This is a change we decided on to reduce stress on both our mentees and our agents.

Here is the showcase schedule …

• February 6: Adult entries go live at 12:01 am ET
• February 7: MG entries go live at 12:01 am ET
• February 8: YA entries go live at 12:01 am ET
• February 11: Showcase ends at 11:59 pm ET
• February 12: All agent requests are made visible.

Now, for some other news. With the end of the showcase, there will be a changing of the guard so to speak. There have been so many wonderful and much needed changes to Pitch Wars. I want to thank all the mentors and committee members for making Pitch Wars great this season.

But most of all, I want to give a huge THANK YOU to Kellye Garrett for managing this year. She took charge with grace and strength. She worked hours upon hours. Her actions prove how much she cares about everyone and about Pitch Wars. I couldn’t have picked a better person to lead us into this new Pitch Wars model. She may be leaving the 2018 Managing Director position behind, but she will still be with us as a board member and committee member. Thank you again, Kellye! Job well done!!

From our 2018 Managing Director, Kellye Garrett …

We made it! Thank you to our mentors for volunteering your time to help other writers. Thank you to our mentees for trusting us with your work. Thank you to our agents for participating in our Agent Showcase. Thank you to the entire #pitchwars community for your support, your passion and your wisdom. We literally couldn’t have done this without each of you. And as I take a step back to focus more on my own writing and just life in general, I want to thank you for making this experience as  Managing Director so amazing. I’ll still be very active in the committee and on the board of directors. I just won’t be in the driver’s seat.

For me, this past year was a testament to how many people love Pitch Wars. We made some big—but very necessary—changes. We moved to a committee format. We had a stricter mentor application process. We created a longer mentoring period. We opened agent showcase registration and decided to do hidden commenting. And even though I’m sure not everyone agreed with every change, I do hope that folks realized they were all decided by our committee because we felt it was best for Pitch Wars overall. Having had the opportunity to be Managing Director, I learned very quickly that this is not a one or even two-person job. That’s why I’m so thankful for our committee for always sharing your honest opinions and having such great dialogue. If I thanked you all individually and shared what you done, this post would be a novel in itself. You can find them by clicking HERE.

I also want to thank Brenda. Working with her so closely has made me even more in awe of her. First because putting on this program is not a one person or two person job yet Brenda did it by herself for many years. And even when she had help, it was not a 15-person committee like we have now. Second, I am in awe of how Brenda so graciously handed us her baby, stepped back and said I am here however you need me. And she was, providing guidance and doing whatever we needed. Brenda has always been and will always be the lifeblood of Pitch Wars!

As I know many involved behind the scenes with the committee will agree, Sarah is the obvious choice to take the reigns of Managing Director this year. They have been involved with Pitch Wars since its inception. And although their official title was Social Media Director, Sarah has been instrumental in every aspect of Pitch Wars from mentor selection to figuring out the best way to handle issues that have come up. They were the frick to my frack. I’m so excited for Sarah to continue Pitch Wars amazing legacy and continue to help Pitch Wars evolve.

From our incoming Managing Director, Sarah Nicolas …

I’m so honored to have been chosen to succeed the absolutely iconic Brenda Drake and the awe-inspiring Kellye Garrett. Those are some truly fabulous shoes to fill. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to match their grace and wisdom. In 2012, I was humbled when Brenda asked me to be a mentor for the first ever Pitch Wars. I had no idea at the time the wonderful impact joining this community would have on my life. I now accept the Managing Director position with the same mix of excitement, sense of responsibility, and trepidation I had seven years ago.

I want to thank the committee, Brenda, and Kellye for their faith in me and their endless encouragement and support. I’m so glad you’ll be here in the upcoming year to advise and assist.

To the Pitch Wars community – past, present, and future – thank you for everything you’ve done to grow and shape our organization. I look forward to serving you in the coming year.