Pitch Wars mentors and past mentees are sharing the successful queries that got them into Pitch Wars/got them their agent today, so here’s mine! This query letter got me an R&R from my amazing agent, Barbara Poelle of Irene Goodman Literary, back in 2015. I made a few small changes to reflect a plot detail that shifted in revision with my editor, but nothing that alters the effectiveness of the query.
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I’m writing to present my 85,000-word YA space opera, THE DISASTERS, for your consideration. It’s a queer take on Guardians of the Galaxy meets The Breakfast Club with a diverse teen cast. I chose to query you because I read in an interview that you liked tight, fast-paced narratives with unlikely heroes. I hope this manuscript will do it for you!
Seventeen-year-old Nax Hall is a screw-up on the verge of finally getting his act together—until he washes out of Ellis Station Academy on his first day like a champ. Time for a nice walk out the nearest airlock, because his life is as good as over.
But it’s actually the lives of everyone else on the station that are over. Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy, and Nax has to act fast to save himself and his fellow Academy failures. They escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.
The five rejects make an unlikely team: Nax the asshole pilot, the ex-footballer med student, the stressed-out navigator, the diplomatic history nerd, and the hijabi hacker they pick up along the way. Together, they devise a plan to pull off a dangerous heist: They’ll clear their names, stop the terrorist plot, spread the truth—and show the Academy why they never should have kicked them out.
Their methods may not be the most legal, but hey—whatever gets the job done, right?
I currently work as a YA librarian and am an active member of SCBWI and the ALA’s Young Adult Library Services Association. When I’m not writing or librarianing, I’m usually fannishly screaming about something or chasing after my dogs.
Per your guidelines, I’ve pasted my first ten pages, synopsis, and bio below my signature. I appreciate your time and consideration, and I hope we can work together in the future!
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THE DISASTERS is now up for pre-order, and you can add it to your goodreads here!
