2020 PITCHWARS MENTOR WISHLIST
Hey, you found me! I’m pretty sure that if you are reading this, you found your way here by design. But, in the off chance that somebody wandered in blindly, Pitch Wars is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one mentee to work with on a specific manuscript for an agent showcase.
And, I’m a mentor! (duh). And I’m going to do my best to keep this short. |
A LITTLE ABOUT MY WORK
My two (and a half) book series NIGHTLIFE is published by the Pocket Star Imprint of S&S. I also co-wrote the films SLINGSHOT and BEING. For those of you interested in reading about any of that, please follow the links on this site.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME
Prior to writing, I was (and still am, on occasion) a professional, dues-paying, SAG-AFTRA card holding, working-class actor. And, in keeping with the financial realities of both of those professions, over the years I’ve also been (among other things) a nightclub bartender, Manhattan beverage director, reality TV show production assistant, gun factory maintenance worker, video store clerk, night watchman, cappuccino jockey and professional arcade game technician.
I hold a BA from Albertus Magnus College and an MFA from the Stonecoast program at The University of Southern Maine. I’ve taught at the university level for over a decade. Currently, I’m a member of the faculty at Western Connecticut State University’s MFA in Creative & Professional writing.
I’m also a competitive bagpiper and a clown* birthed in the Pochinko method at the Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance (then known as The Clown Farm) by famed clown John Turner (Mump & Smoot).
I’m repped by Barbara Poelle at the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
*Manuscripts featuring clowns and/or bagpipes will be given both first priority AND intense scrutiny.
I hold a BA from Albertus Magnus College and an MFA from the Stonecoast program at The University of Southern Maine. I’ve taught at the university level for over a decade. Currently, I’m a member of the faculty at Western Connecticut State University’s MFA in Creative & Professional writing.
I’m also a competitive bagpiper and a clown* birthed in the Pochinko method at the Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance (then known as The Clown Farm) by famed clown John Turner (Mump & Smoot).
I’m repped by Barbara Poelle at the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
*Manuscripts featuring clowns and/or bagpipes will be given both first priority AND intense scrutiny.
WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR IN A PROJECT
Does your manuscript have:
Now, of course, I have my own personal (if eclectic) tastes.
I’m most interested in (in this order):
But, at the end of the day, genre is irrelevant* to me. I just want to help shepherd an honest book to the right people who will (fingers crossed…. . .toes too) get you a publishing contract and all of the things!
*OK…not totally irrelevant. If your MS is a trend-chasing, blatant cash-grab, I will be disinclined to want to work with you on it.
If you are still reading, below you will find a list of some books I liked.
Yr. Pal,
MQM
- a bulletproof narrative spine?
- an unstoppable plot?
- an unbelievably charismatic protagonist?
- an antagonist that people will end up rooting for at one point (and hate themselves for it in the morning)?
- a well-rounded supporting cast?
- a compelling and original voice?
Now, of course, I have my own personal (if eclectic) tastes.
I’m most interested in (in this order):
- Fantasy : Urban/Contemporary (clarification, “fantastic things set in the real world”…”old myths through a new lens”…if your monsters are obeying the standard playbook, I will probably not be interested)
- Horror: Any setting (historical, contemporary, speculative, etc). Just so long as the emphasis is on the people experiencing the horror and not splatter/gore.
- Fantasy: Magical Realism (provided it has a solid plot and thematic spine)
- Re-tellings: Any genre (open on this one)
- Gothic: (again, open on this one)
- Fantasy: High/Epic -…if you’ve got a solid twist on this where you are subverting the major tropes (and I mean Moorcock level) then send it along.
But, at the end of the day, genre is irrelevant* to me. I just want to help shepherd an honest book to the right people who will (fingers crossed…. . .toes too) get you a publishing contract and all of the things!
*OK…not totally irrelevant. If your MS is a trend-chasing, blatant cash-grab, I will be disinclined to want to work with you on it.
If you are still reading, below you will find a list of some books I liked.
Yr. Pal,
MQM
Dune, Frank Herbert
Wise Blood, Flannery O’Connor
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Henry Fielding
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
Hollywood Animal, Joe Eszterhas
Strange Wine, Harlan Ellison
A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn
House of Leaves, Mark Danielewski
Lancelot, Walker Percy
Truth and Method, Hans-Georg Gadder
The Eternal Champion, Michael Moorcock
Desperation, Stephen King
Watchmen, Alan Moore
Preposterous, Tales to Follow, Bill Livingstone
A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
The Peregrine, J. A. Baker
Endgame, Derrick Jensen
Lightning, Dean Koontz
Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maude Montgomery
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Sloan Wilson
Wise Blood, Flannery O’Connor
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Henry Fielding
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
Hollywood Animal, Joe Eszterhas
Strange Wine, Harlan Ellison
A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn
House of Leaves, Mark Danielewski
Lancelot, Walker Percy
Truth and Method, Hans-Georg Gadder
The Eternal Champion, Michael Moorcock
Desperation, Stephen King
Watchmen, Alan Moore
Preposterous, Tales to Follow, Bill Livingstone
A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
The Peregrine, J. A. Baker
Endgame, Derrick Jensen
Lightning, Dean Koontz
Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maude Montgomery
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Sloan Wilson