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

Blog

PW #225: Middle Grade Contemporary: DIRT ROAD DIVA

Wednesday, 1 November 2017  |  Posted by Brenda Drake

Manuscript Status: Finished

Mentor Name: Miriam Spitzer Franklin

Mentee Name: Jaime Formato

Title: DIRT ROAD DIVA

Category: Middle Grade

Genre: Contemporary

Word Count: 50,000

Pitch:

Acting at an exclusive theatre school in the city is twelve-year-old Destiny’s ticket out of the boonies. Her ambitious bubble bursts when she meets the director, a woman filled with prejudice and greed. To be successful on the stage, Destiny must silence her own voice and betray lifelong friends. She always said she’d sacrifice anything to become a star. . . but now she’s not so sure.

Excerpt:

I spun in the fake leather office chair, waiting for our ancient computer to boot. It took a couple go-rounds, but just as I started to get dizzy, the screen lit up. Time to procrastinate. Before I can even think about homework, there’s a little routine that goes something like this: check my email, meme and be memed, read the buzz on Broadway.com, stalk the Jonesville Thespian Society, then watch videos from NYU’s School of the Arts.

On this day, though, no videos were watched. As I checked out the cast photos from the Jonesville Thespian Society’s latest production of Oklahoma! a bright red blinking exclamation point popped up at the top of the screen. Major announcement: There were openings in the 6th grade drama class. 

Whaaat?  I about swallowed my tongue when I read that. There are never openings—that place is harder to get into than last year’s sneakers. A ton of their grads end up on Broadway, so most of the JTS students were on the waiting list before they were even born. It’s kind of a big deal.

I. Was. Dying. Who just so happens to be a 6th grader in need of some drama? This girl, right here. I had to tell Mom. Immediately. The chair flew out behind me as I jumped to my feet. It may or may not have knocked over the lamp.

 

Filed: PW Entries

2 Comments
  • I was super intrigued by your pitch and sample and definitely want to read more of this!! Please send me your query and first 50 pages, with the subject “PITCHWARS REQUEST,” to carrie(at)prospectagency(dot)com. Thank you and excited to see more!

  • Caitie Flum says:

    This looks great! I’d love to take a look.

    Please send the query in the body of the email + full manuscript as a Word attachment to querycaitie@lizadawson.com with “Pitch Wars request” in the subject.

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.