2017 Pitch Wars Mentor Wishlist!

Hello! I’m new to this Pitchwars world and so excited to get the party started! I love books and writers and chatting about writing so I’m hoping I’ve come to the right place. I’ll be mentoring Middle Grade writers this year so if you have an MG manuscript juuuuuust about ready for an agent’s eyes, you’ve come to the right place. I’ll help you get it all the way there.

About me

I’m the author of five books, 3 young adult and 2 middle grade. I started my writing journey completely in love with young adult fiction and wrote my debut, ME, HIM, THEM AND IT while studying Writing for Children at The New School’s MFA program. I wrote two more YAs (MY BEST FRIEND, MAYBE  and TUMBLING) before trying my hand at a middle grade. About three words into my first draft of MY LIFE WITH THE LIARS, I realized I had found a new true love. (I still love YA, too, of course. Luckily MG and YA each let me cheat with the other one.)

My most recent MG novel, FOREVER, OR A LONG LONG TIME, has starred reviews from Kirkus, School Library Journal and Booklist and is also a Junior Library Guild selection. And currently is the Junior Library Guild pick of the week! 

To back up a little bit, I grew up in Baltimore,MD and Basking Ridge NJ. In middle school I was very into dance and drama. I was obsessed with running track and cross country in high school. I went to college at Notre Dame (Go Irish!)

I now live in Brooklyn, NY with my husband and our kid/kids (We are foster parents so I never know which word will be more accurate at the time you are reading this. Foster parenting is a huge part of my life that I don’t talk about too much publicly) and our adorable dog, Bibi (who I talk about publicly all the time.) My current obsessions are The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu, cooking new recipes, picture books with a surprisingly feminist twist (ie TOUGH CHICKS by Cece Meng), the beach, Mexican food, and York peppermint patties. (TBH that last one is a constant obsession.)

What am I looking for?

Make me cry! Make me laugh! Make me do both!

Above all, your book must take kids seriously. It must be written in a way that demonstrates that its readers and its character are real people with access to the full human experience and the full human set of emotions.

I also especially like MG with a dark side. I love reading about kids who are learning to deal with Big Serious Stuff in their own way.

And of course you must have a VOICE. Your character should sound like a middle grader but should also sound like their own distinctive self!

You should 100% send me your novel if it deals with any of the following topics (things I think about ALL. THE. TIME):

*Religion

*Foster Care

*Feminism

*Blended families/unusual family structures

*Adoption (but no “I’m so grateful to be adopted stories” please)

*Learning differences

*Messy friendships

*Diverse cast of characters

*Female athletes

*Driven female MCs

*Food and cooking

*Travel

I’m not the best fit for

*Horror: I like the realistic dark stuff, but I’m not the best for ghosts, goblins, and boogymen.

*High fantasy: I love a touch of magic and urban fantasy can be completely up my alley! But very high fantasy is often above my own magical head. Think Harry Potter as my highest level of fantasy.

*Vampires, Werewolves, Mermaids, etc: If you have a fantasy with original worlds and creatures send it my way!

*Retellings: Original stories only, please. Though I love a good retelling, I’m not the best mentor for someone who has to work with source material

*Sweet, Lower MG: What can I say? I like my fiction with a dark side.

Some of my favorite Middle Grade books include:

*ONE FOR THE MURPHYS by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

*DICEY’S SONG (and everything else) by Cynthia Voight

*THE GIVER by Lowis Lowry

*The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling (obvi)

*WAITING FOR NORMAL by Leslie Connor

*THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS by Katherine Paterson

*BRIDGE TO TEREBITHIA by Katherine Paterson

*KINDA LIKE BROTHERS by Coe Booth

*THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexi

Why choose me?

This is my first Pitch Wars and my first time mentoring, and I am determined to make my first story a success story! I will work as hard as you do to get your manuscript into the hands of agents who are ready to go to bat for it.

As an agented and published writer, I understand how to land an agent and how to work towards getting a book publishable. In my short career I have been published by three different houses and worked with five different editors (editors tend to move a lot) and they are all pretty different from each other. So I do have a breadth of experience I’m more than willing to share with you.

And although I have not mentored a writer, I have some pretty successful critique partners (Think Amy Ewing, Corey Ann Haydu, Jessica Verdi, Alyson Gerber) who would all vouch to my ability to help an author whip a manuscript into shape!

If you’re ready to work hard, so am I! I won’t let you down.