Attendee Options & Registration
Attendee Options
PLEASE NOTE: All PITCH attendees are invited to attend a FREE pitch preparation presentation in early August online. Any PITCH attendee who is unable to attend the presentation in-person will be provided with a recorded version. More details will be provided in your registration confirmation.
PITCH registration is now closed.
QUICK PITCH
QUICK PITCH
7-MINUTE PITCH SESSIONS
7-minute pitch sessions are intended for writers who have completed and revised a manuscript or, for nonfiction, book proposal. Please note that you may not sign up for multiple consecutive pitch sessions with the same agent (unless you will be pitching a different project at each pitch session), and may not pitch the same project to the same agent more than once. Agents participating in Quick Pitch include: Martha Wydysh and Michaela Whatnall. Please find agent information HERE.
→ One pitch: MWPA Member $65 | Nonmember $95
→ Two pitches: MWPA Member $105 | Nonmember $140
→ Three pitches: MWPA Member $135 | Nonmember $190
PITCH PLUS
PITCH PLUS
15-MINUTE PITCH AND FEEDBACK SESSIONS
Attendees may choose between a 15-minute pitch with an agent who has read their one-page query letter in advance, or a 15-minute pitch with an agent who has read their one-page query letter and up to 5 double-spaced pages of their manuscript in advance.
Agents will offer in-person feedback and advice on attendees’ projects and query letters, regardless of whether or not they are interested in representing a given attendee; they will not bring written edits or feedback. Attendees should come prepared with specific questions they may have about readying their project for publication or about navigating the publishing industry. Attendees do not need to be ready to submit their query letter and/or 5-pages when they register; the deadline to submit is Tuesday, September 7. Further instructions will be emailed to attendees after they register.
Please note that you may not sign up for multiple consecutive pitch sessions with the same agent/editor (unless you will be pitching a different project at each pitch session), and may not pitch the same project to the same agent/editor more than once. Agents participating in Pitch Plus include: Sara Crowe, Reiko Davis, Samantha Fabien, Lori Galvin, Anna Ghosh, Sandy Lu, Dana Murphy, Aemilia Phillips, and Eric Smith. Please find agent information HERE.
→ Pitch Plus: MWPA Member $125 | Nonmember $170
→ Pitch Plus with Manuscript Submission: MWPA Member $175 | Nonmember $220
→ 3+ Pitch Plus Sessions (With or Without MS Submission): 10% off the total fee
→ 5 Pitch Plus Sessions (With or Without MS Submission): 20% off the total fee
POLISH-YOUR-PITCH
POLISH-YOUR-PITCH
SMALL GROUP PRACTICE SESSIONS
Small group practice sessions are intended for writers who would like to practice pitching their project and to receive feedback and advice on their pitch and/or project from an agent in a supportive environment. Attending writers may or may not have completed a manuscript or book proposal, but should have at least a well-developed draft.
Each attendee will sign up for a 5-minute slot, which will consist of 2-3 minutes to either pitch their project OR read their query letter OR read the first page of their project, and 2-3 minutes of feedback and advice from Kneerim & Williams agent Lucy Cleland. There will be two 50-minute sessions with 8 attendees each. Attendees must be present at the start of the session; they are encouraged to remain for the duration, as it can be very helpful to listen to feedback on others’ pitches. These sessions are intended as a rare opportunity to receive valuable feedback from an agent in a low-stakes situation; no attendee will receive an offer of representation from Cleland after the session.
Please note that you may not sign up for multiple consecutive Polish Your Pitch sessions (unless you will be pitching a different project at each session), and may not pitch the same project more than once. Please find agent information HERE.
→ Polish-Your-Pitch: MWPA Member $45 | Nonmember $75
HOW & WHY TO FIND AN AGENT
HOW & WHY TO FIND AN AGENT
SMALL GROUP INFO AND Q&A SESSIONS
These supportive, small sessions are intended for beginning writers and writers with an in-progress manuscript who are not ready to pitch, but who would like to be able to ask questions and learn about the publishing industry, finding an agent, query letters, book proposals, etc. They are also a good fit for writers who may have queried agents extensively without success and who have questions about how they might improve their approach.
During these 30-minute sessions, limited to 6 participants, Kneerim & Williams agent Lucy Cleland will briefly address best practices for querying agents, and then will take questions from the group, ensuring that each participant has the opportunity to ask at least one question. There will be two 30-minute sessions with 6 attendees each. These sessions are intended as a rare opportunity to demystify the process of traditionally publishing a book and to ask individualized questions; Cleland will not accept any pitches during the session. If you are an emerging writer and the fee for these sessions presents a hardship, please feel free to reach out to meghan@mainewriters.org. Please find agent information HERE.
→ How & Why to Find an Agent: MWPA Member $20 | Nonmember $30
Registration
PITCH registration is now closed.
Registration will be open to existing MWPA members* ONLY from May 17-28, Mondays-Fridays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Registration will be open to both MWPA members AND nonmembers from June 1 to September 19, Mondays-Fridays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
*To qualify as an existing member, you must have joined the MWPA on or before May 14. If you are not a member and notice that an agent has filled before the end of this registration period, please call 207-228-8263 or email meghan@mainewriters.org if you would like to be added to their wait list. Registrants on the wait list will get priority should spots with any agents open.
How To Register:
To register for the 2021 PITCH, please call the MWPA at 207-228-8257, 207-228-8264, and 207-780-4671 to check availability and to reserve your preferred agents and/or editors and time slots. If the first number you call is busy or unavailable, please try a different number from the list of three above. If all three numbers are busy or unavailable, please leave one voicemail with your name and number, and a staff member will return your call as soon as possible. Please note that email or voicemail registration for PITCH is not accepted.
When you call:
Prior to your call, please carefully read the profiles of the agents you would like to pitch HERE, to ensure that they consider projects like yours (for example, an agent listed as representing “Nonfiction” might specify in their “Looking For” section that they are interested in books on politics and fashion, but not nature). You may also wish to do some separate research into their agencies and clients to ensure that they represent writers and projects similar to yours. Each agent’s profile specifies whether they are participating in How & Why to Find an Agent, Polish-Your-Pitch, Quick Pitch, or Pitch Plus sessions.
Please have your selections for agents ready.
Please have your preferred timeframe ready (Morning or afternoon? Towards the beginning or end of the day, or sometime in the middle?).
If you do not immediately reach a staff member, please leave a voicemail and we will return your call as soon as we can. If you leave a voicemail with your selection, it does not mean your time slot will be reserved (you must speak with a staff member directly to confirm availability).
Payment must be made by a credit or debit card (MasterCard, Visa, AmEx, and Discover accepted) over the phone when you register in order for your time slots to be reserved.
→ Checks: If you are only able to pay via check, please inquire about our options.
→ Please don’t forget to review our cancellation policies (see “The Fine Print” on the main PITCH page for more details) before registering.