Welcome to the Pitch Wars Agent Round! For those unfamiliar with Pitch Wars, it’s a contest where published/agented authors, editors, or interns chose one mentee plus an alternate each and offered critiques on how to make their work shine. Over 1200 writers entered the Pitch Wars contest this year, and Read more…
Mentor Name: Ben Brooks Mentee Name: Erin Latimer Title: THE SAD STATE OF EMMALINE BLACK Category: Middle Grade Genre: Gothic fantasy Word Count: 60,000 Pitch: Found guilty during England’s witch-hunting frenzy, Emmaline Black is sent to St. Clements, London’s most prestigious witch correction facility. After she uncovers the awful truth Read more…
Mentor Name: Brenda Drake and Brooks Benjamin Mentee Name: Donna Munoz Title: A JAR FULL OF BUTTERFLIES Category: Middle Grade Genre: Literary Fiction Word Count: 50,000 Pitch: After leaving Mexico to live in Texas, Graciela’s beloved traditions are slipping away. But when her plan to get her family back home Read more…
Mentor Name: Brooks Benjamin Mentee Name: Melyssa Mercado Title: LITTLE MISS BLOGALOT Category: Upper Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 49,000 Pitch: Thirteen-year-old Ami Sanchez is DONE being the victim of mean-girl sabotage. So when she discovers anonymous blogging, she can’t resist plotting a secret-revenge scheme to take down the Read more…
Mentor Name: Cat Scully Mentee Name: Sarah Cannon Title: ODDITY Category: Middle Grade Genre: Science Fiction Word Count: 65,000 Pitch: Oddity, New Mexico is a haven for everything from evil puppets to tiny aliens, and eleven-year-old Ada Roundtree is its reigning queen of shenanigans. When her twin wins a mysterious grocery store sweepstakes and disappears, Read more…
Mentor Name: Mentee Name: Amanda Hill Title: GRIMM AND BEAR IT Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Word Count: 69,000 Pitch: Jack’s supposed to protect the world from fairy tales, not get dragged into them. Especially not as some mooching bear character. To lose both tale and tail, Jack must Read more…
Mentor Name: E.M. Caines Mentee Name: Ellen Hill Title: THE CONSPIRATORS’ CLUB Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Mystery Word Count: 52,000 Pitch: For thirteen-year-old Peter Holm, boarding school is as fun as a freezing shower in winter until his new friend, Samantha, asks him to help her start a Conspirators’ Read more…
Mentor Name: E.M. Caines Mentee Name: Ellen Hill Title: THE CONSPIRATORS’ CLUB Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Mystery Word Count: 52,000 Pitch: For thirteen-year-old Peter Holm, boarding school is as fun as a freezing shower in winter until his new friend, Samantha, asks him to help her start a Conspirators’ Read more…
Mentor Name: Gail Nall Mentee Name: Marilee Haynes Title: AMELIA FOOTE ROLLS ON Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 32,000 Pitch: When her best friend moves to Santa-something, California, Amelia faces a fifth-grade year filled with lonely lunches and solo sleepovers. Armed with a list of “must-haves,” she embarks Read more…
Mentor Name: Joy McCullough-Carranza Mentee Name: Elizabeth Dimit Title: PHOEBE FRANZ’S GUIDE TO PASSPORTS, PAGEANTS, AND PARENTAL DISASTERS Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 35,000 Pitch: Travel-loving, house-cleaning Phoebe Franz enters a local beauty pageant to win first prize: a trip to Ecuador. Even though she’s not-so-skinny and slightly Read more…