#PitchMe Finalists 2024

Without any ado, this year's #PitchMe finalists:

PB

J.L.'s 42 FOLDS

C.S.'s I AM JEWISH, I AM PROUD

S.H.'s ONIONS FOR BREAKFAST

S.M.'s CRAFTY & CLEVER: HOW FRANCES GLESSNER LEE TAUGHT POLICE TO OBSERVE

M.D.'s MOSQUITO IN A BURRITO

M.H.B.'s DEAR MATH

MG

A.T.'s THE GHOSTLIGHTS OF FROSTPROOF (magical realism)

W.W.'s ALEX BROOKSBY: BORN A THIEF (adventure mystery)

J.R.'s GOOD NEWS FROM HIGHER GROUND (contemporary)

C.L.'s PHOTO NEGATIVE (horror)

D.A.'s JAREN SILVERWING AND THE FORBIDDEN SPELL (fantasy)

S.B.'s SOS (historical adventure)

YA

M.M.W.'s THANKS FOR WAITING (contemporary romance)

J.O.'s AN INVITATION TO THE BANGTAIL (historical)

C.E.'s SEND RUDES (contemporary)

C.R.F.'s THE TAILOR OF BRIDEWATER BAY (historical horror)

A.M.'s EVANGELINE AND THE HORRENDOUS UNDEAD (contemporary fantasy)

V.S.'s SANDALWOOD & ROSE (historical Gothic fantasy)

J.W.'s STORM, TEARS & STARLIGHT (fantasy)

J.H.'s HORNED MOTHER, HUNGRY MOTHER, BRIDE OF THE WOODS (horror)

Adult

B.G.'s ORDINARY CRIME (cozy mystery)

M.B.'s DUST IN THE LIGHT (mystery)

J.M.'s THE FORGOTTEN INN (cozy fantasy)

H.D.'s SYMPHONY OF A HAUNTING (horror)

F.H.'s THE BLOODHOPPER WIVES (speculative thriller)

R.L.'s BEYOND THE PAGE (contemporary romance)

C.J.P.'s GALVESTON GOTHIC (historical Gothic romance)

J.E.W.'s THE GIRL WITH BLOOD ON HER DRESS (psychological thriller)

J.S.'s A HEALTHY BABY (book club)

D.C.'s THE HAPPY EVER AFTER HOUSE (paranormal romance)

Congratulations, finalists! We can't wait to get to work!

To all the other entrants, I'm so sorry. As a fellow writer, I know how much rejection hurts--and how much it makes you question yourself and your abilities. I wish I had more answers, but please believe me when I say I'm rooting for every one of you. Your stories have value because YOU have value, and I hope that, someday, you'll have an opportunity to share them with the world.

I'm hoping to offer feedback to everyone who entered #PitchMe once the agent round has wrapped on Thursday, October 24, but because I've got a few lines in the water right now, I can't commit to it just yet. Please check back in late October if you're interested; I'll definitely post something here and/or on Twitter if I'm able to provide that opportunity again.

What #PitchMe Agents and Editors Are Looking for This Year

First off, thank you, thank you, thank you for submitting to #PitchMe. I've now read ALL the entries, and you guys blew me away. But instead of sharing my thoughts on what worked well and what didn't, I thought you might benefit from hearing what agents and editors are looking for this year.

Next off, a few caveats:

• Though I go out of my way to bring in editors and agents who are representative of the industry at large, they're obviously not everyone, which means these lists are *not* exhaustive.
• Some of our agents and editors only told me which categories they were most interested in while others mentioned genres, so just because your genre doesn't appear doesn't mean I ignored your entry. I value variety in addition to good concepts and pitch-perfect voice and writing.
• I've noticed over the years that #PitchMe agents and editors almost always end up liking things that weren't expressly on their lists, so don't read too much into these. Also, we had agents and editors who *weren't* #PitchMe agents and editors jump in and like pitches last year, and I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing happens this one.

We have 14 agents and 4 editors officially involved this year. Of these, 3 informed me that they're looking for PB, 8 said they're looking for MG, 14 are looking for YA, and 16 plan to browse adult.

Most agents and editors don't specify genres within PB (though one of our agents did say they were most interested in STEAM and SEL PBs this year). Here's what they said they're looking for in MG, YA, and adult:

MG

2 General/Contemporary

Historical

Magical realism

Fantasy

Nonfiction

Everything!

YA

3 Romance (keywords: contemporary, romantic comedy)

2 Contemporary

2 Historical

2 Fantasy (keywords: non-Western/non-Eurocentric, dark)

*Not* fantasy

*Not* horror

Horror

Magical realism

Gothic

Paranormal

Speculative

Humorous

Nonfiction

Adult

7 Mystery

6 Thriller/Suspense (including romantic)

5 Fantasy (keywords: non-Western/non-Eurocentric, dark, grounded)

5 Horror

4 Historical

3 Sci-fi

3 Romance

3 Commercial/Book club

2 Speculative

2 Paranormal (including romance)

Gothic

Women's fiction

Adventure

Nonfiction

It's worth noting that these lists look very different than they did last year. I don't remember all the details, but I'm fairly confident that thrillers topped *YA* last year (and are now nowhere to be found) and that historical and women's fiction were the most sought-after genres in adult.

Finalists announced next week!

Second Submission Window for #PitchMe 2024 Now Open

UPDATE: And that's a wrap! We ended up with 71 PBs, 39 MGs, 71 YAs, and 186 adults, for a total of 367 entries, a new #PitchMe record. Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, September 18. Thanks for entering!

Welcome to #PitchMe 2024! To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:

PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)
MG fiction (all genres)
YA fiction (all genres)
Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)

1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.

2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.

3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.

4. THERE WILL BE TWO 30-MINUTE SUBMISSION WINDOWS to (try to) accommodate work schedules and international entrants. The first submission window opens on Wednesday, September 4, at 10:30 a.m. EDT and closes half an hour later. (Note that most of the United States will still be on Daylight Time when #PitchMe takes place, which is why I've said 10:30 a.m. EDT. If you live somewhere that remains on Standard Time, please adjust accordingly.) The second submission window opens later that same day, Wednesday, September 4, at 10:30 p.m. EDT and closes half an hour later. Hopefully, you'll be awake and/or not at work during one of these 30-minute intervals!

5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.

6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.

7. Publishing professionals (i.e., anyone who is currently employed by an agency or publisher, including but not limited to agents, editors, and sales reps) MAY NOT ENTER #PITCHME. (Previously published authors MAY enter #PitchMe as long as that's their only previous or current connection to the publishing industry.) I know this sounds harsh, but publishing professionals have inside tracks to securing representation should they decide to try their hands at writing (because they can contact agent and editor friends directly, bypassing regular query channels to some degree), and I don't want someone who has no inside track to miss out.

For more information, including a timeline of events and a list of participating agents and editors, please check out this post. We can't wait to read your work!

First Submission Window for #PitchMe 2024 Now Open

UPDATE: The first submission window is now closed, but the second will open tonight at 10:30 p.m. EDT (which is 10:30 p.m. in New York). For your information, we've received 39 PBs, 22 MGs, 45 YAs, and 105 adults so far!

Welcome to #PitchMe 2024! To enter, your manuscript must meet two conditions. First, it must be COMPLETE, NEVER-PUBLISHED, AND READY TO QUERY, and second, it must be in one of the following genres:

PB fiction and nonfiction (all genres)
MG fiction (all genres)
YA fiction (all genres)
Adult fiction (all genres, including commercial, literary, and/or upmarket but excluding erotica)

1. All submissions must be sent to kvandolzer(at)gmail(dot)com and include A TWITTER PITCH, A QUERY, AND THE FIRST 250 WORDS of your manuscript. (PB author-illustrators are also encouraged to share links to their online portfolios.) You must paste these items IN THE BODY OF YOUR E-MAIL; otherwise, I'll disqualify it.

2. Please submit ONLY ONE PROJECT. If you submit multiple projects, I'll only consider the first.

3. It would also really help if you INCLUDE YOUR CATEGORY--PB, MG, YA, OR ADULT--SOMEWHERE IN YOUR SUBJECT LINE, but it's not a requirement.

4. THERE WILL BE TWO 30-MINUTE SUBMISSION WINDOWS to (try to) accommodate work schedules and international entrants. The first submission window opens on Wednesday, September 4, at 10:30 a.m. EDT and closes half an hour later. (Note that most of the United States will still be on Daylight Time when #PitchMe takes place, which is why I've said 10:30 a.m. EDT. If you live somewhere that remains on Standard Time, please adjust accordingly.) The second submission window opens later that same day, Wednesday, September 4, at 10:30 p.m. EDT and closes half an hour later. Hopefully, you'll be awake and/or not at work during one of these 30-minute intervals!

5. Once you send me your submission, I’ll send you a confirmation e-mail with a summary of these rules.

6. Previous finalists may enter again AS LONG AS THEY HAVE A NEW MANUSCRIPT TO SUBMIT.

7. Publishing professionals (i.e., anyone who is currently employed by an agency or publisher, including but not limited to agents, editors, and sales reps) MAY NOT ENTER #PITCHME. (Previously published authors MAY enter #PitchMe as long as that's their only previous or current connection to the publishing industry.) I know this sounds harsh, but publishing professionals have inside tracks to securing representation should they decide to try their hands at writing (because they can contact agent and editor friends directly, bypassing regular query channels to some degree), and I don't want someone who has no inside track to miss out.

For more information, including a timeline of events and a list of participating agents and editors, please check out this post. We can't wait to read your work!