Pitch Wars Blog Archive

PW #220: Middle Grade Contemporary: HOLD ME UP

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor Name: Melyssa Mercado Mentee Name: Dana Kramaroff Title: HOLD ME UP Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 48,000 Pitch: Eleven-year-old Nat’s got aching knees she’d like to trade in—and a busted friendship she only wishes physical therapy could cure. When Nat’s paired with the girl who started the whole BFF mess for a one-take video project, she’s got to find a way to heal her bones and her broken friendship Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago

PW #221: Middle Grade Paranormal Mystery: GHOSTBESTIES

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor: Kara Seal Mentee: April Wall Title: GHOSTBESTIES Category/Genre: Middle Grade Paranormal Mystery Word Count: 45,000 Pitch: Winnie Birchwood lives for the dead. Sadly, her principal doesn’t, and demands Winnie’s ghost-hunting club prove spooks exist in thirty days or else be disbanded. Consumed with chasing ghosts, Winnie neglects her flesh-and-blood friends and realizes her biggest challenge just may be communicating with the living rather than the dead. Excerpt: Nestled beneath the shadows Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago

PW #222: Middle Grade Mystery-Twist of Magical Realism: HEARST’S GREATEST TREASURE

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor: Jenna Lehne Mentee: Tara Creel Title: HEARST’S GREATEST TREASURE Category/Genre: Middle Grade Mystery with a twist of Magical Realism Word Count: 52 000 Pitch: When thirteen-year-old Amelia’s parents ship her off to her Grandpa’s in California, she discovers a clue to Hearst’s greatest treasure and her boring summer turns into a treasure hunt. But when artifacts go missing, Grandpa’s job is in jeopardy. The treasure and the artifacts are linked, but if Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago

PW #223: Middle Grade Contemporary: OPERATION: NORMAL

Manuscript Status: 6 Weeks Delivery Mentors: Dee Romito and Jen Malone Mentee: Elizabeth Dimit Title: OPERATION: NORMAL Category/Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Word Count: 33,000 Pitch: When ten-year-old Avery Lawson learns she has ADHD, she launches Operation: Normal—a plan to prove she’s (mostly) like every other kid in class. Because if she can’t stop staring at her teacher’s furry eyebrows or resist her unrelenting need to doodle, she’ll never prove she’s more than a diagnosis. RAMONA Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago

PW #224: Middle Grade Contemporary Mystery: THE CAROUSEL KEEPER

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor: Rebecca Wells Mentee: Hope Grietzer Title: THE CAROUSEL KEEPER Category: Middle Grade Genre: Contemporary Mystery Word Count: 43,000 Pitch: Following a family tragedy, Maggie makes a secret wish on the rumored-to-be-magic carousel at her uncle’s island amusement park. When mysterious sabotage endangers the wooden horses and her wish, Maggie must race to unmask the culprits. The carousel’s fate, the park’s destiny, and even Maggie’s future will depend on finding her courage. Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago

PW #225: Middle Grade Contemporary: RUBY IN THE SKY

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentor: Laura Shovan and Tricia Clasen Mentee: Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo Title: RUBY IN THE SKY Category/Genre: Contemporary Middle Grade Word Count: 46,000 Pitch: Ruby Moon Hayes (12) is as silent and invisible as a new moon in the frozen Vermont sky. She doesn’t want kids at her new school to ask about her past or find out her outspoken mother has been arrested. Ruby’s only friend is the town’s reclusive Bird Lady. Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago

PW #226: Middle Grade Science Fiction: THE ADVENTURES OF KIRBY DARING

Manuscript Status: Finished Mentors: Elly Blake & Ron Walters Mentee: David Kane Title: THE ADVENTURES OF KIRBY DARING Category/Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction Word Count: 35,000 Pitch: Kirby Daring is such a nerd. Action and adventure? So not his thing. But when evil aliens threaten the Space Station he calls home, Kirby must hero-up big time to save everything he cares about. Excerpt: Kirby Daring was full of great ideas. He also had good ideas Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago

PW #227: Middle Grade Contemporary Humorous Fantasy: SAMTO DIES AGAIN

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, snakes, fires and floods, it’s all heroic training for a boy who’s gonna save his town and break an ancient Curse—even if he dies a Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago

PW #228: Middle Grade Contemporary: LIGHTS! CAMERA! BRAINS?

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 face foreclosure. Now Marty must summon his inner corpse to save his home, even though being undead just may kill him. Excerpt: It wasn’t called Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago

PW #229: Middle Grade Fantasy, illuminated MS w/excerpts from scientific field journal: IN THE NARROWS

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 all the world sees. But when a botched interview for science camp lands Riley and her family in Pangaea, an alternate Earth where science is magic, Riley Read more…

By Heather Cashman, ago