Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor: Sarah Cannon Mentee: Elle Evans Title: SAMTO DIES AGAIN Category/Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Humorous Fantasy Word Count: 55,000 Pitch: When Samto bounces back to life after a tragic hot dog incident, he and his best friend Max decide Samto’s the hero their Cursed swamp town needs. Braving gators, Read more…
Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor Name: Brooks Benjamin and Caroline Thompson Mentee Name: M. L. Brown Title: LIGHTS! CAMERA! BRAINS? Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 49,000 Pitch: When Marty, a squeamish seventh-grader, takes a role in a zombie sitcom to earn money for space camp, his biggest headache is eating brains–until his parents Read more…
Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor Name: J.C. Davis, Addie Thorley Mentee Name: Laura Lashley Title: IN THE NARROWS Category: Middle Grade (upper) Genre: Fantasy, illuminated manuscript with excerpts from scientific field journal Word Count: 66,000 Pitch: Tween scientist Riley has been classified and labeled: she has autism spectrum disorder, and that’s Read more…
Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor: Shanna Rogers Mentee: Katharine Manning Title: THE WILDCATS Category/Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Word Count: 30,000 Pitch: Ten-year-old Hailey dominates the Wildcats soccer team with her fierce footwork. But when a new player shows up who thinks she’s all that and a jelly doughnut, Hailey has to Read more…
Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor: Jessica Vitalis Mentee: Yael Mermelstein Title: EIGHT TIMES CRAZY Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary (with a dash of magic) Word Count: 59,000 Pitch: When twelve-year-old Orville receives a clue to his long-lost dad’s whereabouts, he’s determined to drive cross-country and bring him home. But after discovering Dad Read more…
Manuscript Status: Finished Mentors: Gail Nall and Abby Cooper Mentee: Rebecca Bischoff Title: HOLE IN THE ROCK Category/Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Word Count: 58,000 Pitch: Eleven-year-old Lizza, a dedicated vegan, thinks nothing can be worse than her dad’s taxidermy business – until she sabotages it and Dad moves the family Read more…
Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor Name: Kevin Springer Mentee Name: Erin Fry Title: A TALE OF TWO ROLFS Category: Middle Grade Genre: Mystery Word Count: 53,000 Pitch: Two years ago, twelve-year-old Rolf Malus was imprisoned inside a book by his aunt. Since then, he’s been forced to relive her tale as an insufferably boring boy, whose only friends Read more…
Manuscript status: Completed Mentors: Wade White & Timanda Wertz Mentee: Triona Murphy Title: SHIFTING GEARS Category: Middle Grade Genre: Science Fiction Word Count: 57,000 Pitch: When 12-year-old mechanical genius Edie accidentally hitches a ride to a parallel world, she discovers a secret organization that keeps thousands of Earths safe from dimensional cross-contamination. She’s determined to join Read more…
Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor Name: Kate Foster Mentee Name: Melanie Dixon Title: THE WITCH CATCHER Category: Middle Grade Genre: Fantasy Word Count: 43000 Pitch: When thirteen-year-old Evie accidentally smashes a bottle from Mom’s secret cabinet, Mom’s demands for music practice become the least of her troubles. Ferocious storms, fires, falling Read more…
Manuscript Status: Two weeks delivery Mentor: Patrice Caldwell Mentee: Zareena Nazimudeen Title: DEVASURA Category/Genre: Middle Grade Horror Word Count: 49,000 Pitch: Stranger Things meets Singaporean mythology when twelve-year-old Zhen Yu, with the help of his best friend, his younger sister, and fickle and friendly spirits, must defeat an ancient creature before it possesses his Read more…