What's Happening In Our Corner of the Internet

Property of Elizabeth Prats--Crystal Milk, a character from her picture book.

Whelp! I'm taking a page from Kelly Hashaway's book and doing a bit of a Monday Mishmash of what's happening in the Rejects corner of the Internet.

Just as a reminder two of the rejects me (I'm Liz!) and Nazarea are mentors in the super amazing contest Pitch Wars! On Wednesday the 12th the authors we've chosen will be announced here. Get ready. A big hug and thank you to all who have subbed to us.

Finals! Tomorrow is my last final of the semester. One more class and then I begin my LAST semester of college. Scary, huh? Of course, I'll be getting a lovely winter break in between. Thank God!

Now, we all know the holidays are coming up. I'm planning a read through of my YA and then I'll start querying again in the new year, but I do have new picture books ready to enter the world! My first, but to be honest I'm quite proud. And just because I'm SO excited, here's my illustrations portfolio if you want to see some cool drawings!

Agency Stuff: Yeah, I have lots of agency reading to do over the break! Middle grade!

So what are your plans for the month of December and its oh-so-wonderful-holiday festivities? Oh and don't forget to check out Nazarea's awesome writer gift ideas list!

Cheers,

~Liz

Pitchwar AGENTS! :)

Pitch Wars ... the agents!

Are you ready for this? We have 16 incredible agents vying for our Pitch Wars team manuscripts. We're so excited to see what pitches they fall in love with, and what teams will win the coveted Pitch Wars Most Requested Manuscript title. 

And, in no particular order, here are the agents...

Louise Fury

L. Perkins Agency

Twitter: @louisefury 

Louise is seeking teen Sci-Fi and Young Adult horror.  She's also on the hunt for deep, dark contemporary YA and select Middle Grade fiction with a literary feel--it must be realistic and thought provoking and the characters must be authentic and original. Louise loves horror and romance, especially Regency and Victorian.

Jessica Sinsheimer

Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency

Twitter: @jsinsheim 

Jessica is seeking Literary, Women's, Middle Grade, and Young Adult Fiction.

 

Natalie Fischer Lakosil

Bradford Literary Agency

Twitter: @Natalie_Lakosil 

Natalie is looking for commercial fiction, with an emphasis in children’s literature (from picture book-teen), romance (contemporary, paranormal and historical), and upmarket women’s fiction. Specific likes include historical, multi-cultural, paranormal, sci-fi/fantasy, gritty, thrilling and darker contemporary novels, and middle grade with heart. 

Pam van Hylckama Vlieg 

Larsen Pomada Literary Agents

Twitter: @BookaliciousPam

Pam represents young adult and middle grade children’s book authors, and adult romance authors. 

Jordy Albert

The Booker Albert Agency

Twitter: @bluedragonfly81 

Jordy is on the look out for Romance (contemporary, historical/Regency, and paranormal). YA contemporary/historical or dystopian, sci-fi/fantasy with romance elements. She's also open to YA GLBT within those genres. She'd love to see unique, well-developed plots featuring time travel, competitions, or travel.

Andrea Somberg 

Harvey Klinger Inc.

Twitter: @andreasomberg 

Andrea's looking for the following categories: Fiction; literary, commercial, womens fiction, romance, thrillers, mystery, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, young adult, middle grade.

Jennifer Mishler

Literary Counsel

Twitter: @literarycounsel 

Jennifer is seeking Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult Contemporary, Young Adult Literary, and Young Adult Historical. 

Suzie Townsend
New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc.
Twitter: @sztownsend81 

Suzie represents adult and children's fiction. In adult, she's specifically looking for romance (historical and paranormal), and fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy). In Childrens' she loves YA (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects (especially something akin to the recent movie SUPER 8).

  

Victoria Marini
Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents, Inc. 

Twitter: @LitAgentMarini

Victoria is looking for literary fiction, commercial fiction, pop-culture non-fiction, and young adult. She is very interested in acquiring engaging Literary fiction and mysteries / suspense, commercial women's fiction (romantic suspense, sci-fi, fantasy), and Young Adult (contemporary, sci-fi/fantasy, thriller and horror ).

Kerry Sparks

Levine Greenberg Literary Agency, Inc. 

Twitter: @Kerry_Sparks

Kerry is looking for Young Adult and Middle-Grade fiction, both commercial and literary. She tends to shy away from werewolves, zombies, faeries, and the like, but she’ll read anything with a fresh voice and compelling characters. She is particularly keen on contemporary YA, quirky MG, books with a strong cinematic element.  

Drea Cohane 

The Rights Factory Literary Agents

Drea is currently seeking: fiction, memoir, crime, non-fiction and YA. Her roster consists of British, American, and Canadian clients. International talent is welcome. 

Katie Shea

Donald Maass Literary Agency 

Twitter: @AgentShea

Katie specializes in fiction and memoir, especially women’s fiction and commercial-scale literary fiction, and realistic YA.  She is most interested in coming-of-age stories and stories of unique relationships.

 Elise Capron

Dijkstra Literary Agency

Twitter: @EliseCapron 

Elise is interested in serious character-driven literary fiction, well-written narrative nonfiction, and short story collections. (Note: She is not interested in Fantasy, young-adult/middle-grade, picture books, romance, and sci-fi.) She aims to work with writers who have a realistic sense of the market and their audience.

Jodell Sadler

Sadler-Caravette Children's Literary 

Twitter: @picturebklunch

Jodell is interested in YA, MG (especially funny) , fiction and nonfiction, book proposals, and picture books. She will also coach writers wanting to self publish.  She simply loves a well-paced story that moves her between joy and tears.

Corvisiero Literary Agency 

Brittany and Michelle are teaming up to look for Adult, YA, and MG manuscripts. 

 Michelle Johnson
Twitter: @MJsRetweet 

Michelle’s published one novel, The Footloose Killer, and edited several others for publishing houses and private clients. She also is a Script/Story consultant on an independent film in Halifax, NS, Canada, and enjoys working closely with writers to help them develop their voice and craft.

Brittany Howard
Twitter: @brittanydhoward

When reading, Brittany  loves to be introduced to new and interesting people and places. She looks for strong voice, good storytelling, and fascinating relationships between characters—romantic or otherwise. More than anything, she loves when a book surprises her.

 

There's just one more day to get your applications in for Pitch Wars. Make sure to check out this post here to get all the details.

Pitch Wars Details & Mentor Bios

Please note that Nazarea & Liz are both mentors so check below for BOTH mentor bios AND the rules on how to submit.

Nazarea's Bio:



So me: I write or play devoted mom and wife between devouring books. And I’m sarcastic to a fault. I tend toward dark stories and angsty romance, and I’m so head over heels for steamy stuff that I took an editorial assistant position with Swoon Romance. This might come as quite a shock, but I’m also a blogger here at Writerly.
I love critiquing and my specialties lie in big picture issues—characterization, plot holes, predictability (things that remind me of other books), although I do enjoy line edits and the nitty gritty. My favorite books are Anne Bishop’s Dark Jewels, Juliet Marillier’s Sevenwater series, and Mira Grant’s Newsflesh trilogy. (ZOMBIES!!).
I also like chocolate, preferably with raspberries. Or almonds. Coffee with way too much cream and sugar. Beaches and sexy boys on them. Tattoos and college football. But I’m dying for a good story. If you have something delightfully original, dark, or twisted—send it my way because there’s a good chance I won’t even know I’m going to love it until I see it.
Okay, enough about ME, let’s talk about what you really want to see…my wishlist. :)

Remember I’m taking ADULT AND NA. Not ya. All good? Here we go.

Historical. I’d LOVE to see something set in the French Revolution, or a time travel book, similar to Outlander or The Rose Garden.

Fantasy. I’m talking epic here—something like Game of Thrones, or even better, The Kingkiller Chronicles.  Something dark and grand and, yes, EPIC, with characters that make me laugh and cry and give a damn.

Paranormal/Urban fantasy. I do not want sparkly vampires, and I do not want a chick who is inexplicably drawn to a dude who looks like a serial killer. Have anything else? I’m your girl. (Seriously. Words like ‘inexplicably drawn’ or anything similar in your query, inexplicably draw the manuscript towards my rejection pile.)

RETELLINGS. I’m a huge fan of retellings. LIKE, HUGE fan (notice the all caps here, folks?). So if you have an awesome myth or fairy tale retelling, a new take on a classic story, you have to give it to me. I will hunt you down if you don’t.

Romance. I’m a sucker for killer chemistry. So if you have a story that is a gorgeous, sexy love story, I want to see it.

What else?
Sci-fi (light on the sci, heavy on the fi) that’s epic and takes me places I’ve never been.
A dystopian similar to the world around me.
A zombie book that turns the genre on its ear.

Bottom line—I want a good story. Send me something amazing. 

Liz's Bio:

So what makes me a good mentor? Well, I’m a literary agent intern with the kid lit agent, Ali McDonald, at The Rights Factory. I read and evaluate manuscripts on a daily basis. I don’t just read the slush but comment on client manuscripts from the nitty gritty details to overall story arc, characters, and plot. I also handle publicity for Gilbert King, whose book “Devil in the Grove” was released by Harper this past March. Barnes and Noble recently named “Devil in the Grove” one of the Best Books of 2012. I’m a kid lit writer myself and plan to head off to NYC this June to become a literary agent.

Now, my wishlist:

I’m looking for YA and NA in all the genres below. Oh and I NEED some sort of romance in every story.

Epic Fantasy: Give me something in the vein of Tamora Pierce and I’m sold. I may love me the occasional contemporary romance, but epic fantasy got me into reading as a kid and holds a special place in my heart.

Contemporary Romance: I absolutely adore Anna and the French Kiss. If you send me something within that vein you’ll have the greatest advocate. Give me swoon worthy and sexy boys. Drama, laughs, tears and all the fluffy! Note that I adore a kick-ass voice. In fact, I’m all about the voice. If it’s not there, then neither am I. Give me a concept like losing your virginity and make it work! In terms of NA, I’m a college student so if you have a college story—oh I’ll definitely be able to relate and aide you.

Urban Fantasy/Paranormal: I’ve read a lot of these and the market is saturated. Give me something that takes an old idea and flips it around in a new way and I’m sold.

Retellings: I LOVE retellings! Absolutely adore them. Greek, Egyptian (I’d kill for an Egyptian myth!) fairytale, Irish, whatever. Send them my way!

Sci-fi: I adore Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Obsidian. Anything in that vein would be lovely, also I love things concerning genetics.

Oh and I have a definite soft spot for roguish pirates.

This isn’t a hard and fast list. Look, if you’ve got a book with fun characters, a kick-ass voice, and romance just send it my way anyway. No one really knows what he or she is looking for until they see it.

Submissions start today (11/26) ! The cut off time to get your applications (query & first five pages of manuscript) in is 8AM EST on December 5.  
Send your applications to brendadrakecontests@gmail.com. Writers can apply for up to 3 coaches. The coaches' categories are set. Coaches can only consider the categories they've signed up for. Writers cannot apply for a coach that is not in their category.
For additional information about this contest go HERE.
·        This is open to finished manuscripts only.
·         You may only enter one manuscript.
·         Only the genres requested by each coach will be considered for the contest.
Formatting...
Subject line: Pitch Wars Application: Coach Name you want to apply for: Title (Example: Pitch Wars Application: Brenda Drake: GONE WITH THE WIND)
Name: Your Name
Genre: The genre of your manuscript
Word Count: The word count of your manuscript
Query letter here  (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each paragraph.
First five pages of the manuscript here (embedded in email). Single spaced. No indentions. A space between each paragraph.
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REMINDER: You can send an application for up to 3 coaches.
Check back soon for a complete list of the amazing agents participating in the contest. There's over a dozen!
Our mentors ...

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