Pitch Wars Blog Archive

PITCH WARS! ALT B-3: BLACK HEART, RED RUBY

Name: Teresa Yea Mentor: Elizabeth Briggs Title: BLACK HEART, RED RUBY Genre: YA Gothic Horror Word Count: 74K Pitch: 17-year-old Ava Nolan’s life as an amateur relic hunter is filled with backstabbing—not to mention literal stabbing—when her quest for an occult ruby pits her against her graverobber uncle and her ambitious boyfriend.    A visit from a lurker was the highlight of my night. He was a scrawny guy about my age, seventeen, maybe nineteen Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PITCH WARS! ALT B-4: THE RIDDLE OF LEGEND

NAME: Holly DodsonMENTOR: Danielle EllisonTITLE: THE RIDDLE OF LEGENDGENRE: YA Magical RealismWORD COUNT: 50k PITCH: Seventeen-year-old Delia is hearing voices, and when they lead her and her best friends to a legendary forest, they find themselves faced with solving a riddle to save their lives.   I have six weeks to live. Brain tumor. Inoperable. The words don’t seem real.  This is the same thing that killed my mom. College starts in eight weeks, and Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PITCH WARS! ALT B-5: THE GHOST ENGINE

NAME: Theresa FullerMENTOR: Lindsay Smith TITLE: THE GHOST ENGINEGENRE: YA SteampunkWORD COUNT: 80K PITCH: Lady Elizabeth Lovelace finds herself trapped inside a Victorian-age computer and fighting for her life while searching for its creator…only to discover she’s falling in love with the engine that has captured her. England 1880 Here Be Dragons. Cartographers used to write that phrase in the margins of maps to indicate the places no one dared venture. Elizabeth’s heart beat louder Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PITCH WARS! ALT B-6: CLOUD 9

NAME: Sara BirenMENTOR: Gina Ciocca, Elizabeth PratsTITLE: CLOUD 9GENRE: YA ContemporaryWORD COUNT: 57K PITCH: Cat makes her annual escape to Cloud 9, a 1950s-inspired campground, where everything is “just fine.” But this summer she can’t hide from her troubles – or that she’s falling for her old friend Brad.   The milkshake at the entrance of Cloud 9 meant freedom.  Cloud 9 was like no place else, strange and wonderful and perfect – an entire Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PITCH WARS! ALT B-7: ACCIDENTAL QUARANTINE

NAME: Erinn ManackMENTOR: Erica Chapman and Sarah Nicolas TITLE: ACCIDENTAL QUARANTINE GENRE: YA Thriller/ Romance WORD COUNT: 60K PITCH: Seventeen year old hacker Alyssa is infected with a deadly virus and locked in quarantine with socially awkward Ryan and discovers that his family produced the virus as bio weapon that will destroy the world. I liked knowledge, but I loved secrets. I couldn’t even say the word without smiling. I never blackmailed anybody or used Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PITCH WARS! ALT B-8: FIRE AND EARTH

NAME: Meredith MansfieldMENTOR: Marieke NijkampTITLE: FIRE AND EARTHGENRE: YA FantasyWORD COUNT: 75K PITCH: Though raised as a fearless, faceless warrior, Casora couldn’t stop her homeland’s invasion. Bullied, hapless princeling Tiaran can’t escape his political doom. When they join forces on the battlefield they’ll rock the foundations of kingdoms.   Casora restrained the impulse to get up and pace across the floor of the command tent. She couldn’t show emotion, not even frustration, in front of Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PITCH WARS! ALT B-9: GRAND SCHEME

NAME: Meagan Rivers MENTOR: Sharon Johnston TITLE: GRAND SCHEME GENRE: YA Contemporary WORD COUNT: 71K PITCH: Suicidal Bianca settles on her exit strategy: a ledge at the Grand Canyon. Yessica wants in. In the final moment, only Yessica jumps. Someone finds out, and threatens to expose the pact. If I had to listen to Bianca’s moping for another second, I would have shoved her out the passenger’s side door and watched her roll down the Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PITCH WARS! ALT B-10: BAD COMPANY

NAME: Cate Hart MENTOR: Stacey H. Lee TITLE: BAD COMPANY GENRE: YA Historical Fantasy WORD COUNT: 88K PITCH: When President Cleveland sends top spy seventeen-year-old Jesse Whitedove to recover a weapon capable of vaporizing Chicago, Jesse sees a chance to catch his father’s killer until a foxy detective ensnares him instead.   A slice of light from the setting sun glinted off the bow in Henri’s trembling hands. I focused on the smooth curves and Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PITCH WARS! ALT B-11: MAD AS A HATTER

NAME: Alexandra Hayman MENTOR: Fiona McLaren TITLE: MAD AS A HATTER GENRE: YA supernatural thriller WORD COUNT: 58K PITCH: When fourteen-year-old Emil Aleric’s best friend is taken during the Wonderland Murders of London, 1882, it can mean only one thing: his former abductor, the Mad Hatter, is back. And only Emil can find him. From the warm floor of his sitting room, Emil Aleric glared out the window. It was late afternoon, and the crisp Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago

PITCH WARS! ALT B-12: CINDERELLA’S GLASS STILETTO

NAME: Angela Parkhurst MENTOR: Deana Barnhart TITLE: CINDERELLA’S GLASS STILETTO GENRE: YA Fantasy WORD COUNT: 79K PITCH: Nora isn’t like other reincarnated fairy tale characters. She’s an Unknown, and her choices are changing fairy tales. Unless she figures out her place in the story, everyone’s Happily Ever After is in jeopardy.     Fairy tales weren’t real. This isn’t real. Heavy mist billowed around the giant trees and hills bordering us on all sides, offering the Read more…

By brendaadmin, ago