Hello! I’m Kylie, and I’m a YA & NA mentor taking literally every genre EXCEPT memoir, graphic novels, or anything in verse.

I haven’t used any gifs below, but if you prefer a plain text version of this wishlist you can find that HERE.

And before we go any further: I tend to swear…a good and normal amount…so just FYI if you’re reading this at work or using any kind of text-to-speech reader. Ok, now that that’s out of the way…

PITCH WARS 2021 LET’S FUCKING GOOOO!!!

Pitch Wars is my FAVORITE time of year, and I’m so glad to be back for 2021!

Because I take so many genres, my wishlist is long as fuck, so use the table of contents below to help you navigate straight to whichever section you want!

That said, if you’ve narrowed down your choices and are seriously considering me, I highly recommend reading the whole thing. There’s a lot of important info in here about how I work that I wouldn’t want you to miss!

ABOUT PITCH WARS

Pitch Wars is a mentorship program where authors & other industry professionals work with up-and-coming writers on their manuscripts in preparation for a showcase, where agents can read a pitch & short sample and request to see more material. If you want to learn more, check out the Pitch Wars website!

WHO I AM

You're Next by Kylie Schachte

Hi! I’m Kylie Schachte, author of the YA noir mystery You’re Next (Jimmy Patterson/Little Brown). You’re Next was actually my Pitch Wars book when I was a mentee in 2017, and this will now be my third year mentoring! I live in Oregon, and I’m a queer anti-zionist Jew with ADHD who uses she/her pronouns…just to put an ultra-fine point on all my identities.

If you want to learn more about me, you can find additional information–including links to buy You’re Next and my blog where I’ve shared revision advice for Pitch Wars–on my site.

ABOUT NEW ADULT (NA)

I am accepting New Adult entries, but I will mostly be looking for books that can be re-packaged as YA. This might mean aging your characters down or adjusting the themes/plot to better fit a YA audience.

REGARDING #OWNVOICES

Across genres, I’d love to work with an author drawing from their own experiences or cultural history. However: I will never ask you to specify or validate your identities–I respect that not everyone has the privilege of being public with their marginalizations. If you’re not comfortable claiming OwnVoices for any reason, that is 100% okay. Anything you choose to disclose will remain private unless I’m told otherwise.

Okay, and now for the fun part!

What I’m Looking For By GENRE:

THE FOLLOWING GENRES ARE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER–NOT ORDER OF PREFERENCE!!

Every year, people assume I secretly want one genre more than the others, and I PROMISE this is not the case!! I will be SO STOKED to see any of the below in my inbox!

Contemporary (all sub-genres)

I am taking all subgenres of contemporary—Dark, Light & Funny, Romantic, Serious/Issue-Driven—but regardless of subject matter what I want most of all is a killer, high-concept HOOK:

  • Something with clear stakes and a super pitchable premise
  • One high-concept favorite is Always Never Yours–the whole idea of Megan being the permanent Rosalind (the girl dudes date before they meet their One True Love) grabbed me right away.
  • Another would be This is My America, which explores the intergenerational legacy of racial injustice through a classic murder mystery structure with electric pacing.

I also want something super “voicey” — meaning it feels immediate, personal, and distinctive, whether it’s in 1st or 3rd person. Some examples of voices I’ve loved recently include Fresh, Talia Hibbert’s Brown sisters (adult), Foul is Fair, anything by Mary HK Choi

Random things I’d love to see in any contemporary subgenre:

  • Sex pacts!!!!!!
  • Roadtrip shenanigans
  • “One Crazy Night” stories!
    • The characters are just trying to get to prom, graduation etc but keep getting sucked into increasingly bonkers misadventures
    • Today, Tonight, Tomorrow or the Blackout anthology
  • Music festivals!!
  • College-age MCs
    • Also interested in characters who are “college age” but not going to college!
  • SLUTS!! Please give me your slutty MCs of all genres, all genders
  • I would do actual crime for a raunchy, sex-positive YA comedy
    • Think Book Smart, Sex Education, Blockers
    • Especially about marginalized characters of all kinds!
  • Anything with ACTION MOVIE vibes!
    • Stories with “real world” settings that are more concerned with high-octane action and larger than life characters than “realism”
    • Think The Girls I’ve Been, the TV show Alias, or my book, You’re Next
  • The darker the story, the prettier I want the writing to be!
    • Think Foul is Fair, anything by Courtney Summers or Mindy McGinnis

More favorite contemporary novels:

  • Fireworks by Katie Cotugno
  • Loveboat Taipei
  • Slay
  • Like a Love Song
  • Dead Queens Club
  • You Should See Me in a Crown
  • Far From the Tree
  • Everything Sad is Untrue
  • Best Laid Plans
  • Sadie
  • Rise to the Sun
  • Fat Chance Charlie Vega
  • anything by Tiffany D. Jackson
  • Counting Down With You
  • The Henna Wars
  • Red, White, & Royal Blue (adult)
  • I’ll Be The One
  • Furia
  • The Voting Booth

FANTASY, MAGICAL REALISM, & FABULISM

I am accepting ALL subgenres of fantasy, including contemporary, high fantasy, portal fantasy, fantasy romance, historical, and magical realism/fabulism. If it has magic & shit, I’ll take it.

I love BOTH epic, fast-paced fantasies like Girls of Paper & Fire AND stories with exquisite, lyrical writing like Strange the Dreamer or The Scorpio Races.

I love fantasy that draws from real world cultures, mythologies, folklores, eras of history, and locales, like A Song of Wraiths & Ruin or the Grishaverse.

I’m especially interested in stories inspired by cultures that are not just the “usual suspects” (ie: all white medieval Europe). I would love to see stories drawing from the cultural traditions of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and eastern Europe. Western cultures are ok too, but I would love to see less represented regions/sub-cultures. Where’s my fantasy Iceland, Portugal, Croatia? Or inspired by like, I dunno, the Battle of the Bucket (look it up, history is weird). Those aren’t specific requests, but what I’m looking for is a sense of specificity, authenticity, and a deep, fully imagined history.

This also goes for Contemporary Fantasy, or anything set in the “real world.” I want to feel ultra-grounded in a specific & unique setting: the Everglades, a strip mall suburb in Southern California, the wilds of Patagonia.

When it comes to Magical Realism & Fabulism, I’m looking for beautiful, lyrical writing with a sense of wonder and the uncanny–especially when those things teeter on the edge of being unsettling. Favorites include anything by Anna-Marie Mclemore and The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender.

Here’s a random collection of other shit I’d love to see in fantasy, regardless of subgenre:

  • Stories that draw from Americana
    • Ghost Wood Song, Dread Nation
  • Magic that deals in unique trades and skills
    • Clockmaking, cartographers, woodworking, beekeeping, FOOD, etc
  • Folk & fairytale retellings
    • Especially stranger, wilder, lesser-known, or non-Western fairy/folktales
    • House of Salt & Sorrows, Six Crimson Cranes, The Wolf & the Woodsman (adult), Girl Serpent Thorn
  • Fantasy romance in which a demon/god/monster is turned into a total yearning wreck for love
    • The Cruel Prince, Spike from Buffy
  • Magic that has gone wild/feral, that feels out of control
  • Campy paranormal that ties in current, real world issues
    • I really enjoyed Netflix’s Vampires vs the Bronx, and I’d also love to see whatever the 2021 version of Buffy is!

More fantasy favorites:

  • Six of Crows
  • A Blade so Black
  • Tess of the Road
  • Spinning Silver
  • The Bear & the Nightingale
  • The Dead & the Dark
  • We Set the Dark on Fire
  • This Poison Heart/Cinderella is Dead
  • The Light Between Worlds
  • The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea
  • Wings of Ebony
  • These Feathered Flames
  • The Poppy War (adult)
  • Scapegracers
  • The Starless Sea
  • Witches Steeped in Gold
  • House of Hollow
  • Winterwood
  • Incendiary
  • Legendborn
  • The River Has Teeth

Gothic

Please send me all your dark, romantic, creepy shit!!

Would especially love gothic stories in non-Western/white cultures & settings, or “reboots” of classic gothic novels re-imagined by marginalized authors (CAN’T WAIT for Lauren Blackwood’s Jayne Eyre retelling, Within These Wicked Walls)

I also love stories that are gothic in tone/vibe, but in unexpected eras or settings, like Mexican Gothic, which takes place in 1950s Mexico.

Gothic overlaps quite a bit with FANTASY, HISTORICAL, HORROR, and ROMANCE, so check those sections too!

More favorite gothic stories:

  • Ghost Wood Song
  • House of Salt & Sorrows
  • Watch Over Me
  • Down Comes the Night

Actually, my 2020 mentee’s book was a gothic fantasy–you can take a peek at her showcase entry if you want to get a real life glimpse at some of my tastes!

Historical

Let me stress one thing: I am not someone who reads historical fiction with a magnifying glass, checking for every single anachronism. I’m here for the vibes, people, not meticulous accuracy! A bit of poetic license/literally making shit up for the sake of the story is okay by me. If YOU are religious about historical accuracy that’s perfectly fine, but it’s not going to be the thing that hooks me. So what will?

I love historical that still feels modern in its sensibilities or themes, or winks and nods at the reader through the fourth wall.

I’m really not picky about era or locale, but I want to see SPECIFICITY and UNIQUENESS. Give me a time period you’ve never seen on bookshelves, or a brand new perspective on an era that’s been done a million times.

Most of all, I’m sick of the same old stories we cover ad nauseum in history class. I want lesser-known perspectives that defy traditional historical narratives–particularly when it comes to marginalized folks behaving in ways that people call “unrealistic” or “not true to the era.” History is weird, people are complicated, and the olden days weren’t as simple as people like to think!

Assorted historical wishlist items:

  • LGBTQIA+ subcultures of any era/culture!!!!!
    • Would kill for something set in the ball culture of the 80s and 90s!
    • But I really mean it when I say ANY TIME PERIOD! Queer and gender-nonconforming people have existed throughout history: give me your gay Renaissance, your bisexual Han Dynasty, your trans Russian Revolution–I think you get my point!
  • Anything centering around the arts (ie: music and film industries, artistic eras, etc)
    • Do you have a 90s/2000s riot grrl historical?? I would like it! Ditto any other music scene from any other era–punk, grunge, disco/some kind of glam rock Studio 54 shit, I love it all
  • Stories set AROUND a major historical event, but not necessarily directly about that event
    • I loved The Black Kids, which takes place during the Rodney King Riots, but is more about the effects this event had in the interpersonal life of the main character

More historical faves (including SFF):

  • The Will Darling Adventures (adult)
  • Last Night at the Telegraph Club
  • The Diviners (fantasy)
  • A Tyranny of Petticoats
  • Forest of Stolen Girls
  • And I Darken
  • A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions
  • Daisy Jones & The Six (adult)
  • The Boy in the Red Dress
  • Deathless (adult fantasy)
  • The Chosen & the Beautiful (adult)
  • You Must Remember This (podcast)

Horror

I scare VERY easily, so I tend to favor horror books that are creepy and chilling, more so than traditional monsters and gore. I want gorgeous, haunting, lyrical writing, and I especially love horror that veers into fabulism & magical realism, like Wilder Girls.

Random things I’d love to see for horror:

  • Marginalized folks using traditional horror genre conventions to examine the real-world horrors of their identity through a fantastical lens
    • Think Jordan Peele, Mexican Gothic (adult)
  • Anything with like an ecological/climate angle to it?
  • Similarly, anything with creepy plants
    • I recently learned the term “botanical goth” and that’s it, that’s the mood
  • Seaside horror — I love a creepy moody ocean vibe!

More favorite horror novels:

  • Agnes at the End of the World
  • Watch Over Me
  • Ninth House (adult)
  • Scapegracers
  • Burn our Bodies Down
  • Horrid
  • The Diviners (fantasy, but scared the shit out of me)
  • The River Has Teeth
  • The Year of the Witching (adult)
  • The Dead & the Dark
  • House of Hollow
  • Lovecraft Country (TV)
  • Pet
  • The Taking of Jake Livingston
  • Cheating because it’s not out until next year, but my 2019 mentee’s book WHAT WE HARVEST!! Add her book on goodreads or give yourself the gift of a pre-order because it is AMAZING!

Mystery & Thriller

As with contemporary, I’m looking for two things: VOICE and HOOK.

I want big, voice-y super commercial writing, and I love it when the CHARACTERS are the star of the show, rather than “solving the puzzle.” Think One of Us is Lying, A Study in Charlotte

And when it comes to the HOOK, I’m looking for fascinating, totally unique premises that will make for a killer pitch. Think Sadie, with its completely original story structure and exploration of the true crime trend, or All Your Twisted Secrets with its Saw-like murder house.

Random mystery/thriller wants:

  • BIPOC/marginalized writers taking conventional mystery tropes (or rebooting classics) and giving them a new perspective
    • This is My America, Firekeeper’s Daughter, Surrender Your Sons
  • A wacky, hijinks-y gay ensemble mysterzy
    • Like if you have, I dunno, a book about a bunch of gays trying to solve a murder (or cover up a murder???) at Pride
  • Mysteries set within insular or ultra-specific communities/ settings
    • Think beauty pageants, dog shows, religious sects, etc
  • Isolated or confined settings
    • An abandoned house, a remote island, a cruise ship, etc
  • Stories with an intense “ticking clock” (ie: taking place in 1 night)
  • Any kind of mixed-media story structure
    • A podcast, a true crime documentary, etc
    • If you can comp American Vandal, gimme!!!
  • I adored HBO’s Flight Attendant–would LOVE a funny, “unlikable” fuck up main character at the center of a mystery!
  • If you can comp Knives Out!!! I would like it!!!!

More favorite mysteries & thrillers:

  • The Inheritance Games
  • Truly Devious
  • She’s Too Pretty to Burn
  • Trouble Girls
  • Ace of Spades
  • anything by Tiffany D. Jackson
  • The Girls I’ve Been

Romance (MUST READ if you have a romantic subplot in ANY genre!)

Please read this section if you have ANY kind of romantic subplot in your book, even if it’s not primarily a romance!

I am accepting YA romance of all kinds, gender pairings, and sub-genres—including fantasy, sci-fi, historical, etc. I am a total sucker for a good ship, so please send me all your swoony, dreamy, yearning shit!!

A non-exhaustive list of my favorite tropes:

  • Enemies-to-lovers
  • Bad girls/boys/folks
    • Special soft spot when “bad boys” subvert/add nuance to toxic masculinity (Cemetery Boys, Six of Crows, or my own book–You’re Next)
    • Also, in case I haven’t mentioned it enough already: sluts of all genders and genres
  • ANGST & YEARNING
    • Characters that have real, legitimate reasons that they can’t (or think they can’t) be together
    • I want pining, yearning, tear your guts out kind of love. This doesn’t mean it can’t have a happy ending, but I love to suffer along the way
  • All the banter!
  • Sloooooow burn
  • Friends to lovers with angst/painful complications
    • Think People We Meet on Vacation, but YA
    • No one can fuck you up like your best friend!!
  • Queer romance of all kinds, gender pairings, & genres
  • Battle couples
    • Their relationship is Complicated, but they still fight shoulder-to-shoulder 😭
    • Think Buffy & Spike, Starbuck & Apollo, Kaz & Inej!!!
  • Sunshine & the Grump
    • Sub-category:“I am bound by duty & honor, but this devious wildcard has shown up in my life and I will never be the same”
  • “I show you I love you by holding a knife to your throat”
    • If you can comp Jude x Cardan from The Cruel Prince, hand it over!!
  • Monsters/gods/demons in love
    • The Bear & the Nightingale, Addie Larue
  • Back from the dead!!
    • Or any variation of people with a Complicated Past who haven’t seen each for A Very Long Time, and then they’re reunited and it’s Messy
    • That scene from Buffy s6 when she walks down the stairs and Spike realizes she’s alive is probably the single minute of television I have viewed more times than any other

Please check the section for your romance sub-genre (ie: FANTASY, CONTEMPORARY, etc) for more things I’m looking for!

More favorite romances (across all genres):

  • Serpent & Dove
  • You Should See Me in a Crown
  • anything by Rachel Lynn Solomon
  • The Will Darling Adventures (adult)
  • Crier’s War
  • Deathless (adult)
  • Anything by Casey McQuiston
  • The Midnight Lie
  • Gideon the Ninth (adult)
  • Counting Down with You
  • In Deeper Waters
  • These Violent Delights
  • Uprooted
  • Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (adult)
  • The Brown Sisters series by Talia Hibbert (adult)

Sci-Fi (all sub-genres)

I love sci-fi with big ensemble casts and a focus on the characters, rather than the spacey gadgety worldbuilding-y stuff, like The Illuminae Files or Battlestar Galactica (TV).

I also love beautiful, aching writing that treads the line between sci-fi and fabulism, like Wilder Girls or The Ones We’re Meant to Find.

Miscellaneous sci-fi wishlist:

  • Mash-ups with tropes/stories from other genres:
    • A sci-fi Fast & the Furious? Sci-fi Ocean’s Eleven?
    • Fairytale/folklore retellings!!
      • Particularly non-Western or less commonly seen cultural traditions
  • Anything with a climate/eco vibe to it
    • Could be straight up climate disaster dystopian
    • Or maybe some kind of Wilder Girls eco-surrealist horror?
    • OR EVEN something futurist and (dare I say it??) hopeful!

More favorite sci-fi:

  • The Sound of Stars
  • Once & Future
  • Gunslinger Girl
  • The Fever King
  • Gideon the Ninth (adult)
  • Crownchasers
  • Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything
  • Agnes at the End of the World

Other Random Shit I’d Like In ANY Genre

  • I cannot stress this enough: my kingdom for a slut
    • If you have a sex-positive book (any genre) with a slutty MC (any gender), I want it.
    • Is it a book ABOUT their sluttiness? EXCELLENT. Is it a book about ghosts, or heists, or literally anything else and they just happen to be a slut? PHENOMENAL.
  • Bi/pan/queer boys
  • Found families
  • Anything that can be described as “X BUT MAKE IT GAY”
    • Gay fantasy and sci-fi!! Gay fairytale retellings, rom-coms, thrillers!! Gay movie reboots (gay parent trap?? gay clue?? Who’s with me??)
  • Monster (or Monstrous) Girls – I want bad girls of all kinds, and I do not care if they are “redeemed”
  • Jewish characters & folklore–especially non-white Jews
  • Himbos!
  • Weird jobs
    • Does your character work at a creepy amusement park? Rent-by-the-hour motel? Their family’s crime scene cleanup business?
  • A sense of whimsy, especially tinged with a bit of darkness
    • Pushing Daisies, Studio Ghibli, Terry Gilliam movies (Time Bandits, Baron von Munchausen)
  • All the atmospheric shit: give me ~vibes~
  • Occult/dark religious iconography
    • I’m always fascinated by miracles and saints (especially the lesser known) All the gory, gruesome, uncanniness!
  • Demons and also cryptids, both hot and not
  • CAMP!!!
    • As in “campy,” not summer camp
  • Disaster/chaos children and fuck ups of all genders
  • Interesting reboots/remixes of movies/TV shows
    • Especially cool genre mashups!
      • One of Us is Lying was pitched as “The Breakfast Club, with murder” and I would LOVE anything in that vein in ANY genre
  • Complex (or complicated) friendships
    • I loveloveloved Netflix’s The Half of It!
  • Deals with the devil, both literal and figurative
  • Bees!
    • I dunno how/why, just…bees
  • Thieves of all kinds. Also con artists, bands of rebels, and eccentric inventors. Oh, and spies!!
  • Fat/plus-size characters!
  • Revenge, both light & dark-hearted
  • I’m a recent convert to Formula 1 so anything in that vein
  • Child stars/young celebrities
  • Interesting “mixed media” story formats
    • Podcasts, documentaries, interviews, etc
    • Like if you have a YA Daisy Jones & the Six, I would like it!!
  • Stories inspired by ballets!
    • I want the eerie, beautiful uncanniness of a Swan Lake retelling, or like a gothic horror Nut Cracker?
    • Lesser known ballets welcome!
  • A non-exhaustive grab bag of settings I’d love to see:
    • Ocean/water stuff
    • Wintery worlds
    • Enchanted gardens
    • Tropical locales
      • Would especially love to see submissions from Hawaiian/Pacific Islander authors in any genre!
    • Coastal towns–especially the moody kind
    • The Pacific Northwest
    • Creepy old houses/hotels

REMEMBER–THIS LIST IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE!
I know there are a lot of *very* specific things on my list, but that’s just the random shit that pops into my head! Please don’t interpret it as “well I didn’t write a gothic horror retelling of the nut cracker with a climate/eco angle that comps The Parent Trap, so I guess I can’t submit to her.” 

If you think your book fits some of the broad themes/general vibes I want in any of these genres, please feel free to surprise me with things I don’t even know that I love! Hell, I almost didn’t take horror at all in 2019, and then a little book called WHAT WE HARVEST sold me on the genre forever.

What I DON’T Want

Here are all the genres & plot-types I will not be accepting this year. It’s nothing against your book–I’m sure it’s wonderful!–I just wouldn’t be the best mentor:

  • Memoir
  • Graphic Novels
  • Novels in verse
  • Inspirational/Spiritual
  • Historical narratives about the redemption of oppressors/perpetrators of atrocities: I am a jew. I will not be reading any Nazi redemption stories. Same goes for slavers, Confederate soldiers, murderers of Indigenous people, etc etc

How I Edit

As a commercial author myself, my “super power” is identifying a book’s HOOK: the thing that will make people excited to read or even spend money it. My feedback will focus on taking what’s already special about your book and packaging it in the most compelling way possible for an agent, editor, and ultimately a reader.

This could mean dialing up existing elements that I believe the current YA market will be excited about. Or maybe your premise is AMAZING but the pacing is off, so it takes too long to get to the “good parts”…or it’s too fast, so the rewards don’t feel “earned.” I’m NOT going to take anyone’s werewolf book and suggest switching to mermaids because that’s “trendier” (this is a random example, I don’t actually have an opinion on the relative hype of werewolves vs. mermaids).

If I choose you as my mentee, it’s because I believe your story needs to be on bookshelves–so our whole collaborative process will be oriented towards how we can get it there.

BUT…we will approach this with the aim of making you a stronger writer overall by building storytelling SKILLS (ie: pacing, character arcs, plot structure, etc) that will serve you beyond this one manuscript. To that end, I may assign homework tailored to the needs of your story and your writing skills.

Because maybe this is the book that gets you the agent, the book deal, the major motion picture–or maybe it’s not. No way to know! But I want you to leave Pitch Wars as a stronger professional writer either way.

HOW I COMMUNICATE

My mentor vibe is a combination of “book therapist” and “chill art teacher who makes tea for the super high-strung AP kids when they get rejected by Yale and probably gets high in the parking lot between classes.” If you need someone to provide tons of structure, hard rules, or “tough love,” I will do my best to support you, but it is definitely not my strength!

I try to support my mentee in the most helpful, least stressful way possible–whatever that means to you–so I will respect any boundaries you set. That said, my natural style is very hands on. I will make myself available for constant, ongoing support, but if you need to go off into your editing cave and have total silence for a few weeks, I’ll roll with that too.

Either way, you will receive tons of unsolicited pictures of my dog, Clementine. That part’s non-negotiable, sorry.

WHY YOU SHOULD SUBMIT TO ME…

I’M YOUR COLLABORATOR, NOT YOUR BOSS

As your mentor, I’m here to help you make your story as powerful as possible–NOT to force you to write it exactly like I would. If I choose you, it’s because I believe in your writing. I will always center your creative vision and trust your decisions no matter what.

I WAS A MENTEE MYSELF

I understand the pressure and the commitment. Pitch Wars is hard, and it can feel like your One Big Shot(™) (spoiler: it’s not). We will work together with a “self-care first” mentality: prioritizing your health and establishing the boundaries that will help you survive this industry.

I’M VERY GOOD AT WRITING PITCHES

It’s a whole separate skill to condense a whole book into a few sentences, but I weirdly love doing it?? I know the YA Market very well, and I am great at pinpointing what will make your book stand out. Together, we’ll come up with one hell of a pitch for the showcase!

BECAUSE MY PAST MENTEES SAY SO

I definitely did not pay either of my two former mentees to say nice things about me…

“From the beginning up through now–far past the end of PW 2019–Kylie has been an absolutely stellar mentor. Enthusiastic, thoughtful, smart as hell. She really helped me both to sharpen my craft and to bring my book to life, respecting my vision at every step of the process, pitching her own ideas to draw it out further, and line editing (TWICE!) to enhance and streamline. Not only that, she’s been an excellent cheerleader and source of support throughout PW, the showcase, querying, and submission, with indispensable advice at every step of the way. I could honestly gush for an embarrassing amount of time, but the point is: she’s an awesome person and an awesome mentor. Highly recommend.” – Ann Fraistat, author of What We Harvest and my 2019 mentee

“Having Kylie as a mentor was life-changing. No hyperbole. From the very beginning, she was a beacon of light for my story in ways that I didn’t even know I needed. Her storytelling instincts are razor sharp and absolutely brilliant. She understood my manuscript often better than I understood it myself, and helped me cultivate it into something that I was incredibly proud of. Pitch Wars would’ve been impossible without her. Her brilliance is unmatched, but so is her kindness and dedication to not only my book, but also to me as a friend. She’s clever, wonderful, supportive, and just an all around joy to spend hours on zoom calls with. I couldn’t be more grateful to have had her as my mentor.” – Xan Kaur, author of The Beasts They Fed and my 2020 mentee 

 

SOME FINAL NOTES…

Sex Scenes & other “mature” content are totally fine. Same goes for substance use, cursing, etc.

  • This is NOT a requirement–some teens have sex, others don’t!
  • If it verges into assault or anything dubiously consensual…

Include Content Warnings in your query for sensitive topics

  • Including sexual assault, animal death/mistreatment, eating disorders, self-harm, child abuse, or any kind of genocide/crime against humanity
  • CWs will not discount your story, I just like knowing what to expect.
  • If you’re unsure what merits a warning…

Ask me questions on social media!

  • Please feel free to DM or @ me  if you have any questions (regarding content warnings or anything else)
  • I’m @KylieSchachte on both Instagram and Twitter.
  • I also have an ongoing AMA on the PW forums (you’ll need to create an account to see the thread)
  • Not all mentors are open to DMs, so please respect people’s boundaries
  • And here are some upcoming events where you can hang out & ask me questions:
    • I’ll be taking over the @PitchWars instagram stories TOMORROW, September 12th! Come hang out and feel free to DM me questions in advance!
    • I’ll also be doing the Pitch Wars LIVE video chat with a bunch of other YA mentors on September 21st
    • And I’ll be answering questions during the Twitter #AskMentor Chats on September 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 25th.
    • Find the FULL SCHEDULE of Pitch Wars social events here!
  • You can also check out my blog where I have an ongoing series of Pitch Wars revision advice

Wow, that was a lot–but I think we got it all! Don’t forget to check out the rest of the mentor’s wishlists through the links below.

I CANNOT WAIT TO READ ALL YOUR STORIES–GOOD LUCK!!!

Pitch Wars 2021 Young Adult Mentors’ Wish Lists

  1. Mary E. Roach (Accepts NA)
  2. Amelia Diane Coombs (Accepts NA)
  3. Diana Urban
  4. Susan Bishop Crispell (Accepts NA)
  5. TJ Ohler (Accepts NA)
  6. Laurie Dennison (Accepts NA)
  7. Justine Pucella Winans (Accepts NA)
  8. Zoulfa Katouh and Molly X Chang (Accepts NA)
  9. Sonora Reyes (Accepts NA)
  10. Abigail Johnson
  11. Rosiee Thor and Emily Grey
  12. Carlyn Greenwald (Accepts NA)
  13. M.T. Khan (Accepts NA)
  14. Sarvenaz Taghavian
  15. Emery Lee
  16. Margie Fuston (Accepts NA)
  17. Aashna Avachat (Accepts NA)
  18. Allison Saft (Accepts NA)
  19. Fiona McLaren
  20. Jessica Lewis
  21. Brianna Bourne (Accepts NA)
  22. Jamie McHenry
  23. Meg Long and Rochelle Hassan (Accepts NA)
  24. Laura Weymouth (Accepts NA)
  25. Natalie Crown and Angelica Monai (Accepts NA)
  26. Skyla Arndt and Alex Brown (Accepts NA)
  27. Charity Alyse and Cimone Watson (Accepts NA)
  28. Emily Thiede and Lauren Blackwood (Accepts NA)
  29. Anna Sortino and Annika J. Cosgrove (Accepts NA)
  30. Jenny Perinovic and Kyrie McCauley (Accepts NA)
  31. Carrie S. Allen and Sabrina Lotfi
  32. Jamie Howard and Meredith Tate (Accepts NA)
  33. KL Burd (Accepts NA)
  34. Jennifer Yu (Accepts NA)
  35. Hoda Agharazi and Lyssa Mia Smith (Accepts NA)
  36. Em X. Liu and Grace D. Li (Accepts NA)
  37. Carly Heath (Accepts NA)
  38. Kiana Krystle (Accepts NA)
  39. Sarah Underwood and Kat Dunn (Accepts NA)
  40. Joel Brigham (Accepts NA)
  41. Dante Medema and Liz Lawson (Accepts NA)
  42. Aty S. Behsam and Maedeh B. Saaina (Accepts NA)
  43. Kylie Schachte (Accepts NA)
  44. Gabi Burton (Accepts NA)
  45. Aaron Cole and Tamara Cole (Accepts NA)
  46. Hannah V. Sawyerr and Olivia Liu (Accepts NA)
  47. Bethany Mangle (Accepts NA)
  48. Lane Clarke (Accepts NA)
  49. Sunya Mara (Accepts NA)
  50. Karen Bao (Accepts NA)

Click here to view all Pitch Wars 2021 Mentors’ Wish Lists. To view the wish lists by genre, visit this link.