Have questions about submitting to Pitch Wars or just want to know what it is? Start here!

Blog

PW #100: Adult Literary Fiction #ownvoices: OTHER PEOPLE

Tuesday, 31 October 2017  |  Posted by Brenda Drake

Manuscript Status: Finished

Mentors Names: Léonie Kelsall & Marty Mayberry

Mentee Name: Syed Masood

Title: OTHER PEOPLE

Category: Adult

Genre: Literary Fiction #ownvoices

Word Count: 72,000

Pitch:

THUG meets The Kite Runner. Lapsed attorney Anvar Faris is a bad Muslim, though he hides it well. He deals, albeit poorly, with complex issues, such as immigration, predator drones, eternal damnation, and his accidental cuckolding of a potential terrorist. When the woman he loves is paired with his odiously perfect, Quran-thumping brother for an arranged marriage, Anvar must find a way to intervene without losing his conservative family forever.

Excerpt:

I killed Mikey.

It sounds worse than it actually was. You have to understand that I didn’t kill Mikey because I wanted to do it. I killed him because God told me to do it.

I don’t suppose that sounds much better.

It helps, I think, to know that Mikey was a goat. He had a coarse brown coat and matching dull eyes with weird rectangular pupils that made him seem a little creepy. Loud and obnoxious, he shat tiny round pellets all over the cramped garage he shared with three of his brethren. He was probably the only one of his companions who had a name. I know my parents didn’t name their goats, and I remember my brother, Aamir, saying that naming animals was stupid.

Mikey was the only pet I ever had. He was mine for about a week. I fed him dry straw and brought him buckets of water and asked him if he really wanted to be slaughtered for the sake of Allah at the upcoming Eid because, quite frankly, that seemed like a poor career choice. He remained stoic in the face of his grim fate, at least so far as I could tell.

Eid al-Adha marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. The name of the celebration translates to “The Festival of Sacrifice.”

Yes, Islam has a marketing problem.

Filed: PW Entries

10 Comments
IMPORTANT!
We're thrilled at the different ways those in our Pitch Wars community are giving back—and we encourage them to do so. However, please keep in mind that Pitch Wars is not affiliated with any of these various contests, promotions, etc., including those of our mentors and mentees. Promoting any such opportunities via our social media channels doesn't imply endorsement or affiliation. We encourage you to do your research before participating.

Pitch Wars takes a stand. ANTI-BULLYING. Click here to review our policy

Pitch Wars 2021

Blog Archives

Blog Categories

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.