Saturday, September 21st

MWPA’s PITCH offers writers the chance to pitch their manuscripts or book proposals to agents from leading literary agencies. PITCH provides the rare opportunity to make a literary pitch face-to-face in Maine, to receive feedback on a pitch or manuscript, to make connections with agents and other writers, and to gain insider knowledge on the publishing industry.

Schedule of Events for PITCH 2024

PITCH Related Workshops 2024

FAQ

For 7-minute Pitch sessions, writers with a completed manuscript, or, for nonfiction books, a completed query letter and book proposal.

You do not need to bring your manuscript or nonfiction query letter and proposal with you to your pitch session, as agents/editors will expect that you will be able to send them a completed manuscript or proposal immediately after the event, if they ask for it. You may want to have extra copies of your first chapter, nonfiction query letter and/or proposal with you, but they should only be given to agents and editors who directly request them.

*Please note: novelists, short story writers, memoirists, middle grade, and YA writers may choose to register for a 7-minute pitch session without a final draft of a manuscript, though it is not ideal. The MWPA recommends writers have at least an outline of their full project so they can pitch it effectively, as well as 50 polished pages of their project ready to be sent out, should an agent or editor request them. If the agent or editor likes those 50 pages and requests the entire manuscript, this approach risks that the agent’s or editor’s interest could wane by the time the project is complete, though it still may be helpful that they have met the writer in person at PITCH. If you have any questions or hesitations, please call MWPA. 

For 15-minute Pitch Plus sessions, writers with a completed or well-developed in-progress manuscript. Please keep in mind, agents will be able to offer the most helpful feedback to projects that are fully developed; in other words, if you have half of your project written and detailed outlines for the rest, agents will likely be able to provide helpful feedback; if you have a chapter or two written with no outline for the rest of your project, agents are less likely to be able to provide helpful feedback. For these sessions, writers should keep in mind that they are less likely to receive an offer of representation, but they will receive professional advice and feedback regardless of the agent’s interest; however, writers should still choose an agent whose professional interests are a good fit with their project. Please do not register with an agent who does not represent your genre or subgenre at all, as you are much less likely to receive helpful feedback.

Poets—only one of the participating editors and none of the agents represent or accept poetry (however, happily, most publishers of poetry do accept unsolicited manuscripts!). Screenwriters and playwrights are also not recommended to attend.

Please carefully read all information provided by the MWPA on agents that interest you before registering, to ensure that your work fits their interests. The MWPA recommends looking over their agency’s website as well. It is often helpful to examine an agent’s list of clients to determine if they represent authors with projects similar to your own.

Selection of which agent to meet with is solely up to the attendee; refunds cannot be offered for selections an attendee later regrets.

Generally speaking, unless your self-published book has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and you can demonstrate that there is still a large potential audience for it (a la 50 Shades of Gray), an agent will not want to represent it and an editor will not want to publish it. With that said, having self-published a book in the past will neither help nor hurt your chances of getting an unpublished manuscript traditionally published in the future.

We are committed to keeping all of our in-person events and workshops as safe as possible. Please wear a mask if you will feel more comfortable doing so—your choice will be respected.

We know the pandemic is constantly changing, and we will closely monitor Maine CDC guidelines for any changes. An updated set of guidelines for PITCH will be sent around a week before the event should things change.

FOUR FELLOWSHIPS ARE OFFERED. Two 3-pitch fellowships are available for MWPA members and nonmembers that are writers from an underrepresented group living in Maine OR a recent graduate from a Maine-based school, and two 1-pitch fellowship are available to MWPA Members only. See below for details.

• Two 3-pitch fellowships providing feedback and advice on a query letter and 5-page manuscript excerpt are available for writers from underrepresented groups (Black, Indigenous, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ writers, and writers with disabilities) currently living in Maine OR recently graduated from a Maine-based school within the last 5 years. APPLICANTS CAN BE MEMBERS OR NONMEMBERS. The application statement should address why this fellowship is a good fit for the applicant. MWPA will make every effort to ensure that fellows are placed with their preferred agents. Fellowships are awarded on a combination of need and merit;writers do not need to have a complete manuscript to be eligible.. The deadline to submit is August 19 at 11:59 PM.

• Two fellowships for a 15-minute session with an agent providing feedback and advice on a query letter and 5-page manuscript excerpt are available for writers based on merit and need. THESE ARE OPEN ONLY TO MWPA MEMBERS. The application statement should address why this fellowship is a good fit for the applicant. MWPA will make every effort to ensure that fellows are placed with their preferred agent. Fellowships are awarded on a combination of need and merit; writers do not need to have a complete manuscript to be eligible. The deadline to submit is August 19 at 11:59 PM.

  APPLY HERE

Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance presents this event as a professional networking opportunity, and makes no guarantee that participation will lead to representation or publication. No refunds will be given because an agent does not select a participant’s work for representation.

In the unfortunate event that an agent is unable to attend—because of illness, emergency, internet outage, or any other sudden, last minute situation—attendees scheduled to meet with that agent will receive a full refund. Given MWPA’s months of planning, and each attendee’s months of preparation, we truly hope that no agents need to cancel, but given the real world, such realities are an unfortunate possibility.

ATTENDEE CANCELLATIONS
A nonrefundable fee of 25% is included in each registration. Partial refunds (75% of the pitch session cost) will be granted for cancellations made before 9 AM on September 3. Cancellations made after this cannot be refunded, no matter how compelling the reason. Please email or call the MWPA at programs@mainewriters.org or 207-228-8257 if you need to cancel.

CONFERENCE CANCELLATION
If the conference does not meet a minimum enrollment, it may be canceled up to two business days (48 hours) prior to the event. If a conference is canceled by the MWPA for any reason, all registrants will receive a full refund.

MWPA PROGRAM POLICIES
Registration in any MWPA workshop, program, or event constitutes your agreement to our terms and conditions.