Pitch Wars Blog Archive

28. WINTERSOUL – Young Adult Fairytale Retelling

Mentor Name: Jessie Humphries Mentee Name: Mara Rutherford Title: WINTERSOUL Category: Young Adult Genre: Fairytale Retelling Word Count: 70,000 Pitch: Raised in Russia by her Japanese-American father, 17-year-old Akira is as different from her classmates as her sword fighting is from her ballet lessons. When she discovers chilling links between a serial killer and her grandfather’s fairytales, Akira must battle an immortal hell-bent on adding her soul to his collection. Excerpt: Listen carefully, child, and Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

29. THE MEMORY OF OBJECTS – Young Adult Paranormal Mystery

Mentor Name: Kate Karyus Quinn Mentee Name: D.A. Mages Title: THE MEMORY OF OBJECTS Category: Young Adult Genre: Paranormal Mystery Word Count: 80,000 Pitch: Megan Brown has four weeks to clear her dead brother’s name before the police brand him an addict and a criminal. When she discovers she can see memories attached to the objects he left behind, she finds herself hunting not just her brother but the legacy of a famous assassin. Excerpt: Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

30. THE HALF-LIFE OF HEARTACHE – Young Adult Contemporary

Mentor Name: Kelly Loy Gilbert Mentee Name: Lilly Barels Title: THE HALF-LIFE OF HEARTACHE Category: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 90,000 Pitch: Hawaii isn’t all coconuts and rainbows. Seventeen-year-old Indigo Woods is trapped with her violent, alcoholic mother. She scrambles to find ways to escape, but it’s not until the summer newspaper internship and meeting her boss, a complicated college grad, that she finally feels relief. When a devastating car accident merges the world Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

31. FALSE START – Young Adult Magical Realism

Mentor Name: Kes Trester Mentee Name: Jennifer Hawkins Title: FALSE START Category: Young Adult Genre: Magical Realism Word Count: 79,000 Pitch: Friday Night Lights meets The Raven Boys. Delaney will do anything to help her football-star-bestie score college recruitment—even open her family’s playbook of cursed magic. But when she accidentally gives him a love potion, he kisses his undefeated season goodbye. Delaney’s mistake reveals dark truths about her family, exposes quiet racism in her hometown, Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

32. AETERNIUM – Young Adult Fantasy

Mentor Name: Lauren Spieller Mentee Name: Allison Ziegler Title: AETERNIUM Category: Young Adult Genre: Fantasy Word Count: 87,000 Pitch: When the Church launches a hunt for spell-casters in her city, apprentice sorcerer Hazel pledges the fire in her fingertips to fighting back. But as murder and magic mingle in Allegheny City, Hazel may have as much to fear from her fellow sorcerers as the Church that wants her dead. Excerpt: Hazel Congelier weaves her way Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

33. HIS KISS – Young Adult Contemporary

Mentor Name: Trisha Leaver/ Lindsay Currie Mentee Name: Jen Vincent Title: HIS KISS Category: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 63,000 Pitch: Sixteen-year-old Nina Whitfield has never been kissed. Last summer, her crush, Hayden, made his move, but she panicked. Now Nina’s relying on her best friend Ev, a lip-lock pro, to coach her through her first-kiss fears. When Ev’s advice is unreliable, Nina ends up with three suitors, a heart-divided, and the need to Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

34. WHERE YOU FOUND ME – Young Adult Contemporary

Mentor Name: Lori Goldstein Mentee Name: Justine Winans Title: WHERE YOU FOUND ME Category: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 61.000 Pitch: Six weeks ago, Estelle Graham fell in love. Four weeks ago, the first body was found. Two weeks ago, Estelle’s entire world shattered. Now, locked away in a psychiatric hospital, whenever Estelle sees sunflowers, she thinks of murder. Today, it’s time to confront why. Excerpt: Estelle Graham hated routine. The idea of doing Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

35. DOES THIS APRON MAKE ME LOOK AMISH? – Young Adult Contemporary

Mentor Name: Maggie Hall Mentee Name: Fiona Ivey Title: DOES THIS APRON MAKE ME LOOK AMISH? Category: Young Adult Genre: Contemporary Word Count: 81,500 Pitch: When sixteen-year-old fashion-obsessed blogger Milan Worthington violates her mother’s trust by secretly applying for a Hollywood reality show, she is banished to Amish country. There, far away from her cell phone and stilettos, she discovers her self-worth is not dependent on her looks. Excerpt: I may be the only person Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

36. THE SILENT SALT SHAKER – Young Adult Fantasy

Mentor Name: Marieke Nijkamp Mentee Name: Brandi Ziegler Title: THE SILENT SALT SHAKER Category: Young Adult Genre: Fantasy Word Count: 70,000 Pitch: A royal heist is supposed to be her greatest stunt yet, but when a mute sixteen-year-old acrobat discovers the object she’s forced to steal is a powerful relic, she must choose between loyalty to her glee troupe and protecting the faith that’s helped her survive. Excerpt: Beyond the deerskin curtains, the crowd rumbled Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

37. THE GOLEM INITIATIVE – Young Adult Speculative Thriller

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 world of spies, mercenaries, and alchemists, all desperate to claim the device for themselves. Excerpt: A hollow snap like fractured bone filled the air as Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago