Our mentors are mentoring, our mentees are revising, and we hope you’re making progress on your own manuscript! While we’re all working toward the Agent Showcase starting on February 9, 2021, we hope you’ll take a moment during your writing breaks and get to know our 2021 Pitch Wars Mentor and Mentee Teams.
Next up, we have . . .
Nessa Uy – Mentee
George Jreije – Mentor
LQ Nguyen – Mentor
George & LQ, why did you choose Nessa?
Nessa’s voice drew us in right from the start. That, along with the culture and characters, made the book very hard to put down!
Nessa, why did you choose to submit to George & LQ?
The 100% completely honest answer is that LQ came up on my Twitter timeline one day and I was like, “He seems cool”, so I obviously gave LQ a follow right away. When the PitchWars mentor list came up, I saw his name and that his wishlist matched my manuscript. Then I saw that he was co-mentoring. I checked out George’s past mentoring experiences and his relatable TikToks, which let me know that this was the team I needed to be on. So, I went off the vibes because they’re never wrong.
George & LQ, summarize Nessa’s book in 3 words.
Hilarious Witchy Chaos
Nessa, summarize your book in 3 words.
magical filled adventure
George & LQ, tell us about yourself. Something we may not already know.
LQ: I’m a dentist. Do you have dental-related questions for your writing research? Hit me up!
George: I’m pretty sure I broke my high school detention record, so if you see my characters up to no good, you’ll know where they get it from!
Nessa, what do you hope to get out of the Pitch Wars experience?
I hope to hone in on my writing craft. Feedback is something I’m always on the look out for, so I’m glad to have this experience! I also wanted to connect with other writers.
Nessa, tell us about yourself. What makes you and your manuscript unique?
I, just like Aspen, am very sarcastic, which is definitely a highlight of the manuscript and our personalities. We share the same cultural background of being Cambodian and Chinese, which plays a major role in the book, especially around honoring one’s ancestors. This manuscript is also so important to me because as a kid, I never read a book with Cambodian main character. And now, as a teacher, I’ve been trying to find those cultural books for my classroom, but they’ve all ended up being by white authors. I hope that kids like me finally get to see themselves in books!
Check out George’s upcoming release, SHAD HADID AND THE ALCHEMISTS OF ALEXANDRIA.
This debut #OwnVoices middle grade fantasy follows 12-year-old aspiring baker Shad, whose life is uprooted when he discovers he’s descended from a long line of alchemists and sent to the mysterious Alexandria Academy. But Shad’s arrival at the school awakens a nefarious force, and he soon learns he holds the key to either stopping—or unleashing—their evil plot. Publication for is slated for Fall 2022 from HarperCollins.
Thank you for supporting our Pitch Wars Teams! The Agent Showcase is February 9-14, 2022. Make sure to stop by then and check out all our mentees’ entries when it opens.
Great interview!