Mentor Name: Meredith McCardle Mentee Name: Ron Walters Title: THE GOLEM INITIATIVE Category: Young Adult Genre: Speculative thriller Word Count: 73,000 Pitch: Overwhelmed by Prague’s relentless winter, 17-year-old Aaron unearths a pocket watch from World War II that gives him the power to raise golems and thrusts him into a Read more…
Mentor Name: Molly Lee Mentee Name: Barbara Britton Title: PROVIDENCE Category: Young Adult Genre: Historical Word Count: 59,000 Pitch: When the cursed daughter of a priest flees Jerusalem with a sympathetic guard, they are captured by an enemy army commander with a curse of his own. Curing the commander is Read more…
Mentor Name: Mónica Bustamante Wagner Mentee Name: Susan Gray Foster Title: HOW TO MAKE A HEARTBEAT Category: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary with a Speculative Twist Word Count: 80,000 Pitch: When his childhood-crush-now-prom-date dies in an accident, Daniel brings her back to life with a genius experiment. So what if her Read more…
Mentor Name: N.K. Traver Mentee Name: Marisa Hopkins Title: CHARMING THE DEAD Category: Young Adult Genre: Speculative Mystery Word Count: 82,000 Pitch: When 15-year-old necromancer Fontaine discovers a centuries-old unsolved murder in her sleepy magical town – and accidentally unleashes a dangerous spirit using forbidden magic – she must master Read more…
Mentor Name: Rachel Lynn Solomon Mentee Name: Nikki Roberti Title: THE TRUTH ABOUT TWO-SHOES Category: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 78,000 Pitch: Abandoned by her friends and unable to conceal her baby bump, Mississippi pastor’s daughter Ellie joins a slacker gang hell-bent on plotting her baby daddy’s revenge. But Read more…
Mentor Name: Rebecca Yarros Mentee Name: Carrie DiRisio Title: FATHERS, FENDER GUITARS, AND OTHER F-WORDS Category: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 74,000 Pitch: Screw fifteen minutes of fame; 16 year old, cardigan-wearing Laney just wants five minutes of normal. But a surprise hall of fame nomination for her dad’s Read more…
Mentor Name: Renée Ahdieh Mentee Name: Traci Chee Title: THE READER Category: Young Adult Genre: Fantasy Word Count: 96,000 PITCH: When her only remaining relative is kidnapped, Sefia vows to save her. But rescue means learning to read in a world where literacy is forbidden and sacrificing the boy she Read more…
Mentor Name: Ricki Schultz Mentee Name: Phil Stamper Title: STORM CHASER Category: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 56,000 Pitch: Sixteen-year-old Imogen knows chasing tornadoes is reckless. But after a doctor says she’ll blind two years, her dream of being a professional storm chaser slips away. Now, she’s got one Read more…
Mentor Name: Sarah Guillory Mentee Name: Kip Wilson Title: THE MOST DAZZLING GIRL IN BERLIN Category: Young Adult Genre: LGBTQ Historical Word Count: 65,000 Pitch: In 1930, two desperate, poverty-stricken girls couldn’t be more different: Lena is a Nazi sympathizer and Gisela a queer singer. When Nazi violence strikes their Read more…
Mentor Name: Sarah Nicolas Mentee Name: Elly Takaki Title: THE FROST KING Category: Young Adult Genre: Fantasy Word Count: 80,000 Pitch: Ruby is one of the last Firebloods in a land ruled by Frost. To save the kingdom from an ancient curse, she must ally with her enemies, control the Read more…