Welcome to #PitDark, the only Twitter pitching contest for dark literature!
#PitDark is the first and only Twitter pitch event to highlight literature of a “darker” nature. Importantly, this is not limited to horror works; however, any pitched manuscript must contain an element of horror or darker writing. Examples of such categories include pure horror novels, dark fantasy, murder mysteries, psychological horror stories, non-fiction works about darker subjects, etc. MG, YA, NA, and adult age categories are welcome.
The next #PitDark will take place on October 20, 2016.
You can find the agents and publishers that participated in the May 2016 #PitDark here.
Contents
The Basics
The contest will happen on Twitter under a common hashtag (#PitDark). During a 12-hour window on the chosen day, authors with completed manuscripts who are seeking representation or publication can tweet a pitch for their books (at most, once per hour).
Agents and publishers will make requests by marking pitches as a favorite on Twitter. If your tweet is favorited, please follow the agent or publisher’s submission guidelines.
General Pitch Party Rules
- Pitch limit. Please do not pitch more than once an hour, per manuscript.
- Time-frame: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. Please do not pitch before or after this twelve-hour period.
Please follow these guidelines to keep this event fair to everyone involved!
When to Pitch
This event happens annually. The next #PitDark is scheduled for October 20, 2016. On pitch day, we will go from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.
What to Pitch
Participants get one pitch per hour, per manuscript.
This contest is for completed, unpublished manuscripts. Complete means that it’s proofed, polished, and ready for submission. Unpublished means you haven’t self-published it online, on Amazon, or in print. For more information on genres, please see below.
Genre mashups, such as dark fantasy, are welcome, as long as you’re not just trying to pass off your book as something that doesn’t contain “darker” themes.
How To Pitch
Your pitch should contain four elements:
- First and foremost, the hashtag for the contest, #PitDark.
- An indication of the book’s age category.
- An indication of the books’s genre in existing terms. See below for hashtags. A genre hashtag is mandatory.
- A pitch for your book. Ideally, it should tell us character, desire, obstacle(s), and stakes
You should tweet your pitch no more than once per hour throughout the day. Make sure each tweet is slightly different, as tweeting identical text is a violation of Twitter’s guidelines.
Please use these hashtags to indicate the target age group for your book:
- #MG – Middle Grade
- #YA – Young adult
- #NA – New adult
- #A – Adult
Please use a hashtag to indicate the genre of your book. The following are example hashtags that may be relevant to your manuscript:
- #H – horror
- #PH – psychological horror
- #GH – gothic horror
- #CSH – cosmic horror
- #BH – body horror
- #CH – comedy horror
- #DC – dark comedy
- #DR – dark romance
- #SFH – science fiction horror
- #PNH – paranormal horror
- #ZH – zombie horror
- #MH – monster horror
- #GRH – graphic horror
- #MM – murder mystery
- #FA – fantasy
- #DF – dark fantasy
- #T – thriller
- #EF – epic or high fantasy
- #HF – historical fantasy
- #LF – literary fantasy
- #AH – alternate history
- #PN – paranormal
- #PR – paranormal romance
- #UF – urban fantasy
- #MR – magical realism
- #SF – science fiction
- #AF – apocalypse fiction
- #ML – military science fiction
- #PA – post-apocalyptic SF
- #CP – cyberpunk
- #SFT – sci-fi thriller
- #SH – superhero / superhuman
- #SO – space opera
- #DS – dystopian
- #SP – steampunk
- #TT – time travel
- #WW – weird west
- #SPEC – speculative fiction
- #NF – non-fiction
Feel free to use two genre tags, as long as they’re compatible (e.g. #FA #DF), but there’s no pressing need to have more than one. For a description and some examples of these subgenres, see the Genre Subcategories post by Connor Goldsmith of Fuse Literary. Please let me know — by e-mail or Twitter — if I haven’t specified your subgenre!
Pitching Guidelines
Here are some general guidelines to ensure fairness and respect during the contest.
Please DO:
- Pitch completed, unpublished manuscripts that represent your best work.
- Include the contest hashtag, #PitDark.
- Use appropriate hashtags for age category and genre/subgenre.
- Pitch your book once an hour to give everyone a chance to see it.
- Make sure that your tweets are not identical. Twitter will block multiple instances of the same tweet, so be sure to move the hashtags around or change a character each time.
- Follow submission guidelines. Scroll up in an agent or publisher’s tweets to see what they are, and be sure to follow them.
Please DON’T:
- Pitch more than once an hour, per manuscript. This ensures that no one spams the hashtag, and gives everyone a fair shake.
- Pitch directly to agents or publishers (unless invited to do so). In other words, don’t use @ at the beginning of your pitch.
- Use weird formatting or images to get attention. No ALL CAPS or multiple lines. These are annoying.
- Use the hashtag to self-promote. This is not the place to hock your e-book, editorial services, etc.
- Favorite other pitches unless you’re an agent or publisher. There’s nothing more disappointing than getting notification that your tweet was favorited, only to find out it was just another author.
Who Is Participating?
See below for a list of a few of the participating agents and publishers. This is not an exhaustive list as some participating agents have asked to not be listed, and since #PitDark is a public event, many more agents and publishers are likely to join in on the day! Please be sure to research any agent or publisher that likes your pitch. There is no obligation to submit your work to anyone you don’t want to.
Agents:
Bond Literary Agency
- Becky LeJeune, @BeckyLeJeune
Brower Literary & Management
- Aimee Ashcraft, @AimeeAshcraft
- Jess Dallow, @jldallow
DeFiore and Company
- Rebecca Strauss, @RebeccaLiterary
Don Congdon Associates, Inc.
- Maura Kye-Casella, @AgentMKC
Dystel & Goderich Literary Management
- Mike Hoogland, @mike_hoogland
- Miriam Goderich, @MiriamGoderich
Eric Ruben Agency
- Eric Ruben, @TheEricRuben
Gelfman Schneider/ICM Partners
- Penelope Burns, @penelopekayb
Harvey Klinger Inc.
- Andrea Somberg, @andreasomberg
Holloway Literary
- Rachel Burkot, @Rachel_Burkot
ICM Partners
- Hillary Jacobson, @hillaryjacobson
Inklings Literary Agency, LLC
- Michelle Johnson, @MJsRetweet
JABberwocky Literary Agency
- Ben Grange, @BLGrange
Janklow & Nesbit
- Chad Luibl, @chad_luibl
- Paul Lucas, @canonizer
Jane Rotrosen Agency
- Amy Tannenbaum, @aftannenbaum
Kimberley Cameron & Associates Literary
- Mary C. Moore, @Mary_C_Moore
The Knight Agency
- Janna Bonikowski, @jannabonikowski
- Lucienne Diver, @LucienneDiver
KT Literary, LLC
- Hannah Fergesen, @HannahFergesen
The Lark Group
- Abby Saul, @BookySaul
Liza Royce Agency
The McDermid Agency
- Monica Pacheco, @monicapacheco
McIntosh & Otis
- Christa Heschke, @ChristaHeschke
- Shannon Powers, @S_E_Powers
Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, LLC
- Jill Marsal, @jillmarsal
The Tobias Literary Agency
- Lane Heymont, @LaneHeymont
Transatlantic Agency
- Andrea Cascardi, @aecbks
TriadaUS Literary Agency
- Lauren Spieller, @laurenspieller
Trident Media Group
- Mark Gottlieb, @Trident_Media
Writers House
- Alec Shane, @alecdshane
- Allie Levick (on behalf of Merrilee Heifetz), @AllieLevick
Publishers:
Curiosity Quills Press
- Andrew Buckley, @abuckley23
- Alisa Gus, @WhampaChick
JournalStone
Pandamoon Publishing
- Cheri Champagne, @CheriChampagne
- Rachel Schoenbauer, @RASchoenbauer
- Saren Richardson, @SarenRichardson
- Zara Kramer, @zarakramer
Radiant Crown Publishing
REUTS Publications
- Kisa Whipkey, @KisaWhipkey
- Nicole Tone, @nicoleatone
Sands Press
Skyhorse Publishing
- Chelsey Emmelhainz, @CKEmmelhainz
- Alex Hess, @Alexxx_Hexxx
- Alison Weiss, @alioop7
Management Companies
- Good Fear Film + Management, @HellaStoopsS
If you are an agent, editor, or publisher who would like to be listed as a #PitDark participant, please contact me.
Pitching Tips & Advice
The following are a few great articles for Twitter pitching advice:
- Dan Koboldt’s brief guide to Twitter pitching
- Shira Hoffman’s The Art of #TwitterPitching
- How to PitMad by Heather Burnell on Sub It Club
- How #PitMad Helped Me Get A Literary Agent and tips for the next one, by Diana Urban
This looks like a fantastic contest! You mentioned that #PitDark is open to MG as well, but I didn’t see the MG hashtag in the age category. Is #MG still applicable during the contest or should middle grade manuscripts be labeled #YA? Thank you for clarifying! 🙂
#MG has been added — thanks for pointing out that oversight!
Hey Jason, is there a hashtag for gothic romance?
I’m very interested in joining, as I write Dark Romance, but I dint see it here. Dare I say there isn’t room for it? Or agents looking?
Hi LeTeisha — Dark Romance (#DR) has been added as a genre.
Hi Hester — Gothic Romance is a little too specific, but Dark Romance (#DR) has been added.
Jason, just in case my Twitter continues to fall posting, is there to be a hashtag for cyberpunk at all?
Hi Matt — Cyberpunk (#CP) has been added.
Can unpublished novels in a self-published series be pitched?
Is there a hashtag for paranormal suspense?
Late question – but is Dark Contemporary allowed?
Chrissy — Unpublished novels in a self-published series can be a tough sell for agents, but they can be pitched if they are truly stand-alone.
Dawn — Paranormal suspense is too specific a hashtag; overly specific hashtags generally are not helpful as agents tend to use broader hashtags like Paranormal and Thriller to filter.
Fiona — Dark Contemporary is certainly allowed, but it is too specific for its own hashtag. I would suggest using a combination of other genre hashtags.
Thank you very much Jason!!!
Super late, since this is tomorrow, but is this open to chapter books (#CB) at all?
Marna — Chapter Books is not a specific category but can be pitched if they qualify as middle grade.
Thanks, Jason!
Good to know. 🙂
So, now that I want to do this for some strange reason I can’t connect to twitter. It worked fine last night. It says the DNS cannot be found. Anyone have suggestions?