Pitch Slam - Introducing Team Slytherin!

As you've already seen it's Pitch Slam time again! As our theme is Hogwarts Cup, (Yay!!) each captain has chosen a house and has moved in with our selected Head Girl/Boy and Prefect(s). Today, I am here to introduce you all to which house I'm heading and my two fellow cunningly ambitious teammates! (Ignore the title and pretend I didn't already tell you, okay? Good.)

And the house I am heading is.....

Gif by Deathly Hollowes

Yes! That is right. This Pitch Slam I am proudly House Slytherin's Head of House!

Even though I'm a proud Hufflepuff and sometimes Slytherin I am so pumped to head this house! I actually love this house and can't wait for the sorting hat to sort you all so I can find the best students to win this!

#TeamSlytherinFTW!

And for those who think Slytherin can't win, I have one thing to say.

And what does Snape have to say about a Hufflepuff taking over as Head of House?

Let's just ask him!

Awesome!

See? You know you want to be sorted into Slytherin. After all, our team is Snape Approved!

Okay, I'll stop.

For now.

You're here to learn a little about #TeamSlytherin and I won't keep you waiting any longer.

So now a little about me and my teammates who I am sure you're dying to know more about.

Head of House: Jamie Corrigan (Me!)

Sorry in advance for writing this in 3rd person.

Jamie Corrigan lives in Texas with her husband. When she's not being a house wife she's busy writing or playing games with her hubby. (Final Fantasy XIII/XIII-2/XIII-3 anyone?) She grew up loving music and books and dreamed of one day becoming a singer or author. Even though the singing thing didn't work out, she's not totally heartbroken since she gets to live a different life every time she writes a new story or reads a new book. 

Her writing style ranges from fantasy to contemporary, but it always has a touch of grit mixed with wit and a dash of southern flare. While she writes mainly Young Adult, she'll read anything from MG to Adult. (She may read some Picture Books too. Shhh.)

She loves contests and has been on both sides as a contestant and host.  Jamie has been has been with Pitch Slam from the start and has fallen in love with diving through the slush and helping her fellow authors shape their craft. The banter with her fellow hosts and their amazing teams brings a smile to her face even when she's stressing over who will end up on her YES list. 

Jamie's drawn to twisty thrillers and mysteries right now, but a lighthearted story or kickass fantasy could always catch her eye. Her motto is as long as it's well written and grabs me and won't let go, I'll totally read it! 

At the moment she's in the query trenches, but she looks forward to meeting her agent soon. If you have questions for her or just want to say high, feel free to tweet her. (I promise I don't bite!)

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Head Girl: Brandi Lynch

Brandi Lynch writes YA paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary. She’s an anime fan and a casual gamer—she loves an RPG, but wouldn’t dare put her skills up against someone else. In games and books, fantasy and science fiction steal her heart every time. A Halloween fiend, she loves to create her own Halloween costumes.

What Brandi's looking for: Overall, I’m looking for a kickass story backed up by an awesome voice. Fantasy and Sci-fi are my faves, but I dig anything that makes me go, “Ooh!” So if you’ve got a killer contemporary, I’m definitely going to take a look!

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Prefect: Rebecca Waddell

Rebecca Waddell writes Young Adult and Middle Grade novels set in the real world or places born in her brain. When not petting wolfacorns or eating chocolate with her family, she blogs poetry. Rep’d by the completely awesome Jessica Schmeidler of Golden Wheat Lit.

Rebecca will be looking for entries that stand out like unicorns against the darkness of the forbidden forest and phoenixes because fire is hot.

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And there you have it, #TeamSlytherin aka #TeamAwessssome! We really look forward to reading your entries and having a few of you in our house. (We wish we could take you all, but alas, not everybody can be a Slytherin.)

Feel free to drop by the #PitchSlam tag and see the other teams and join in the fun. And don't be afraid to follow #TeamSlytherin and say hi, we'd love to hear from you! (Look below the last gif to find the other houses.)

Now go shape those pitches and get that manuscript into the best shape and make that first 250 shine! Just know that we're cheering for you!!

Click the names below to learn more about the other houses!

Team Hufflepuff

Team Ravenclaw

Team Gryffindor

Introducing Pitch Slam - Hogwarts Cup!

Here are the details straight from Pitch Slam's creator, L.L. McKinney!

As I write the title of this post, I can’t help the giddy excitement that threatens to take over. I have been a Harry Potter fan since I was a freshman in high school, and when I started Pitch Slam all that time ago, I knew then one of the themes would be based in the Wizard World. Now, the time has come!

Yes! So thrilled! Okay, folks are here for details, not my unabashed fangurling. So, on to the nitty-gritty.

This season, there will be four teams. Not hard to guess what those are gonna be, I’m sure. Professor McGonagall introduced the Hogwarts Houses to the world that fateful evening, and I feel it’s suited she do so this time:

“The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.”

Oooh that takes me back… Now then, just like at Hogwarts, our House Cup competition will have captains or Heads of House leading each team. These captains will select entries from the submission pool of eager hopeful students to fill their houses for the upcoming school year. These students will be showcased so Professors, agents, can make requests by assigning points to their house.

The contest will play out in the following rounds:

Diagon Alley – Round one is where writers submit their first 35 words for critique if they wish. The Prefects (slush readers), as well as a Head Boy or Head Girl chosen by each Head of House will offer feedback on up to 150 entries. The window for entries will open October 17th, at 12:00 AM Eastern time. The window will remain open for 12 hours, closing at 12:00 PM on the same day. If we receive less than 150 entries, everyone will receive feedback. If we receive more, 150 random entries will be chosen and critiqued.

Hogwarts Express – Round two is for the first 250, without the pitch. This way the writing stands out. Premise had its time to shine in the first round. Once again, feedback will be provided for up to 100 entries. Students do NOT have to enter the first round to enter this one. The window will open October 19th, at 12:00 AM Eastern time. Like before the window will remain open for 12 hours, closing at 12:00 PM on the same day. If we receive less than 100 entries, everyone will receive feedback. If we receive more, 100 random entries will be chosen and critiqued.

The Great Hall – Round three is for the 35 word pitch and first 250 to be submitted together. This is the pool the Heads of House will select their students from. Students do NOT have to enter either of the previous two rounds to enter this one. The window will open October 21st, at 12:00 AM Eastern time and will run the ENTIRE day, closing at 11:59 PM on the same day. There is no entry cap on this round. All entries will be read and considered.

The Sorting Ceremony – Entries chosen to advance to the final round will be displayed on the Heads of House’s blogs starting October 23rd at 8:00 AM Eastern time. At this time, the Professors (agents) will be free to make requests! ALL REQUESTS WILL BE HIDDEN UNTIL THE REQUEST ROUND IS COMPLETE. The Sorting Ceremony round will run from October 23rd 8:00 AM eastern time to October 26th 4:00 PM Easter time. All Professors are free to make as many requests as they please using the following House Points system:

10 Points – Query and first 10 pages

25 Points – Query and first 25 pages

50 Points – Query and first 50 pages

100 Points – Query and first 100 pages

200 Points – Query and full

For some added fun, there are seven secret horcrux entries scattered across the teams. The Professor who “finds” (randomly requests) the most horcruxes will win a $100 gift card to the online bookstore of their choice! If there is a tie, there will be a special tie-breaker play to decide a victor.

At the end of the request round, the house boasting the most points will win bragging rights until the next Pitch Slam competition! Which is going to be just as awesome as this one, we already have most of the details hammered out.

Throughout the week leading up to the Sorting Ceremony, there will be daily games to play on various twitter hashtags, but for general shenanigans, do join us on #PitchSlam across all social media, including all sorts of chances to rep your house pride.

That is it, my Pitch Slammers. Details on the Heads of House, Prefects, and Head Girls and Boys will be posted very soon, along with a list of the ever-growing Professors participating this season. This is going to be so much fun, and I cannot wait for it all to begin. Let’s make some magic!

Me too, Harry. Me too.

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And there you have it! We really do hope you'll join us this Pitch Slam. We're excited to dive into the slush and dose of crits. 

Are you excited about this year's Pitch Slam theme? Are you going to enter Pitch Slam? Let me know in the comments!

BONUS!!!

If you'd like early eyes on your 35 word pitch and first 250, then please come join us on the Pitch Slam Writers Facebook page. While the team hosts may not crit you there, (but you never know. I make no promises,) your fellow authors will gladly lend a hand in helping you craft a pitch and first 250 you're really proud of!

BONUS #2!!!

When the first two Pitch Slam rounds open, I will have a post where you can post your pitch and first 250 for critiques. I will NOT be critiquing them, but your fellow authors will. If you post your pitch/250 for crit, you must crit at least two of your fellow authors. You can of course do more, but that's the least you can do.

I'm opening my comments on these posts open for all of you who wants extra eyes and for those who don't use Facebook. (We all have our preferred platforms and I don't want anyone left out who might want critiqued, but doesn't want Facebook just to get one.)

So starting on the first Pitch Slam window, I will have TWO posts available for you to posts in the comments for critiques. One will be for your 35 word pitches and the other will be for your first 250. This way it's easier to keep track of things and a little cleaner.

I really hope you all will join us! Come say hi in the Facebook group if you use Facebook. If you don't, then hit the #PitchSlam tag on twitter.