Pitch Wars Blog Archive

PW-8 (MG): HOWARD WALLACE, P.I.

MENTOR: Naomi Hughes MENTEE: Casey Lyall TITLE: HOWARD WALLACE, P.I. CATEGORY/GENRE: MG Mystery (Noir) WORD COUNT: 27,000   PITCH: Eleven year old P.I. Howard Wallace gets by with a semi-reliable bike, a lucky trench coat, and a corner office in the school yard. But when his smart-mouthed new partner ropes him into a hot case of blackmail, the perp targets the agency. If Howard wants to stay open for business, he may have to cross the line between investigator and Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW-9 (MG): THE YEAR OF LIGHTNING

MENTOR: Stephanie Funk MENTEE: Ryan Dalton TITLE: THE YEAR OF LIGHTNING CATEGORY/GENRE: MG Mystery WORD COUNT: 78,000   PITCH: When twins Malcolm and Valentine Gilbert encounter a house with no doors, they discover it hides a machine that does far more than create deadly lightning storms. And if they can’t stop it, their entire town will disappear. Monster House meets Back To The Future.   EXCERPT: Malcolm never noticed the old house until it was Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW-10 (MG): LUCKY ME!

MENTOR: Jennifer Malone MENTEE: Erin Elisabeth Conley TITLE: LUCKY ME! CATEGORY/GENRE: MG Contemporary WORD COUNT: 32,000   PITCH: Twelve-year-old Francophile/YouTube chef Clementine Sterling has bigger dreams than her boring life, and she’s got some questions for the Universe about the delay. But life gets crazy fast when her mom marries a chump and a mysterious new girl ropes her into a shocking plot to humble the school snob.   EXCERPT:  Lucky me!: Mom agreed to let me stay home alone Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW-11 (YA): THE SEA WOLVES

MENTOR: Stacey Lee MENTEE: Bethany Smith TITLE: The Sea Wolves CATEGORY/GENRE: YA Literary Thriller WORD COUNT: 75,000   PITCH:  17-year-old Anna stirs up trouble in an isolated Pacific Northwest community when she discovers a number of unexplained deaths, including her father’s, are connected to a mysterious pod of orca whales, and local folklore hides a dangerous truth.   EXCERPT:  If I were a mapmaker charting the waters off Washington State, I’d label Skana Island here be dragons and paint serpents Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW-12 (YA): HEART OF SPARKS

MENTOR: Elizabeth Briggs MENTEE: Audrey Coulthurst TITLE: HEART OF SPARKS CATEGORY/GENRE: YA Fantasy WORD COUNT: 90,000 PITCH: When Princess Denna falls in love with the defiant, horse-training sister of the prince she’s supposed to marry, she’ll have to sacrifice her crown and use her forbidden magical gift if she wants to stop a war and save the girl she loves.   EXCERPT: My life since the age of six had been a rehearsal for this moment. The door of Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW-13 (YA): ETERNAL

MENTOR: Erica M. Chapman MENTEES: Leah and Kate Rooper TITLE: ETERNAL CATEGORY/GENRE: YA Fantasy WORD COUNT: 90,000 PITCH:  After Jane drowns and wakes up in the Egyptian underworld without her heart – the only ticket to paradise – she’s offered a deal to steal the heart of King Tut. But falling in love with Anubis, the guard of the underworld, wasn’t part of the plan.   EXCERPT: Adventure is overrated. I can explore any world I want through my laptop Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW-14 (YA): THE SCALES ON OUR EYES

MENTOR: Molly Lee MENTEE: Felicia Anderson TITLE: THE SCALES ON OUR EYES CATEGORY/GENRE: YA Fantasy Romance WORD COUNT: 62,000   PITCH:  When Leila discovers a connection between school tyrant Hazel and her missing father, she’ll have to use new-found powers to save him from a shared fate. Trouble is, he doesn’t want to be saved.   EXCERPT: Fox Academy’s gothic architecture loomed atop the snow-covered hill like the crown of a brand new king. Empty, Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW-15 (YA): AMPED

MENTOR: Sarah Nicolas MENTEE: Amanda Klase TITLE: AMPED CATEGORY/GENRE: YA Weird Western WORD COUNT: 106,000   PITCH: Teenage mercenary Cervena vows to give up killing after she triggers a brutal, uncontrollable superpower. When her warlord grandfather schemes to keep her on the battlefield, she flees to the Free West, a bizarre and treacherous land, in search of a cure.   EXCERPT: Throwing a fight is easier than winning one. At least that’s what I thought Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW-16 (YA): PHANTOM LIMBS

MENTOR: Lindsey Sprague MENTEE: Paula Garner TITLE: PHANTOM LIMBS CATEGORY/GENRE: YA Contemporary WORD COUNT: 89,000   PITCH: Sixteen-year-old Otis copes with grief by swimming, training to fulfill the lost Olympic dream of his tyrannical one-armed friend/self-appointed coach, Dara, but her hold on him is threatened when the only girl he’s ever loved moves back to town, forcing Otis to face the tragedy that drove them apart.   EXCERPT: When I finally heard from Meg, it Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PW-17 (YA): HUNTER HIGH

MENTOR: Megan Whitmer MENTEE: Tara Harte TITLE: HUNTER HIGH CATEGORY/GENRE: YA Horror/Comedy WORD COUNT: 86,000   PITCH: When horror movie lover Barbra discovers she’s the granddaughter of the original zombie hunter, she’s forced to master her brain-bashing skills STAT and figure out who’s behind the zombies shuffling through town. Her survival as new kid at Hunter High—a secret military school where zombie hunters scratch and scrape the bottom of the popularity pole—depends on it.   EXCERPT: Monday Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago