#PitchWars 2018 news

It’s that time of year: #PitchWars announcement season! It’s been a while since the entry period in late August. I had one full request early on, and so I knew I might still be in the running, but I tried to temper my expectations. From the Twitter feed it was clear there were A LOT of fantastic entries (on average, each mentor received over a hundred entries, with some receiving over 200!). I would love to be selected, of course, but if I wasn’t I would keep plugging away regardless.

The announcement was due to go live at 12:01 AM on Friday, so I didn’t plan to stay up for it (parenthood has that effect), and in fact I stayed off of Twitter all day on Thursday to distract myself. Well, they posted the mentee list early! But before I even had a chance to psych myself up to go check the list, I had an email. From the mentor who’d requested my manuscript. The subject was “Congrats!!!”

I was thrilled to discover my middle grade mystery was chosen by G. Z. Schmidt for #PitchWars 2018! (And I’m thankful she spared me the nervousness of going online to check the list, hoping to find my name.) I believe very much in this manuscript – for now titled JUSTICE AT THE ZOO – and it is humbling to know someone else feels the same. A special thanks to both the Jacksonville SCBWI critique group and my online critique group: you are all amazing writers and I learn so much from you.

I’ve been enjoying the buzz of being picked all weekend, and I look forward to getting to work!