We know writing a good pitch is hard. You have limited space to convey a lot about your story, and sometimes it seems impossible.

Our event started on Twitter, where tweets are limited to 280 characters, before moving to our own platform where we allow pitches up to 400 characters (and you don’t need to include hashtags like on Twitter). In this article, we showcase some of the pitches that led to an editor like/request, and eventually to a book deal.

For future editions of our event, we plan on adding an optional box for pitching authors to allow us to share their pitch in case they get requests (regardless of if a book deal happens or not afterward), so we can post similar articles to help pitching authors see what grab participating editors’ attention. In the meantime, we hope seeing pitches from our #SmallPitch success stories will help you craft effective pitches.

1. Jarellan’s War by Valerie Hewitt, coming next year at Creative James Media

Prince Jarellan flees his burning home in search of his brother Balar, and the Dragonbourne, the only creature strong enough to save the land from an ancient evil. But when he learns the Dragonbourne fights against him, Jarellan must gather the remnants of elves and dragons to fight back himself. – Reluctant hero – Ancient artifacts – Price for winning

Audience: Young Adult
Type/Length: Novel
Genres: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Speculative Fiction

This book was pitched via our own platform in July 2025. The audience and genres tags aren’t part of the pitch itself, and were selected via our form.

2. They’re Watching by Jacqueline McMahon, coming next year at Creative James Media

When the wind turbines next to her family’s acreage start communicating with her mentally distraught daughter, a protective mother with her own experience hearing the turbine’s voices must bargain with them in the hopes of protecting her family from the turbines’ desire to annihilate the human race.

Audience: Adult
Type/Length: Novel
Genres: Horror

This book was pitched via our own platform in July 2025. The audience and genres tags aren’t part of the pitch itself, and were selected via our form.

3. The Great American DILF by E. D. Parker, coming next year at Creative James Media

When two kindergartners get into a fistfight on the first day of school, their parents decide to set up a series of playdates to help them get along-only to find themselves set up by the small matchmakers.

Audience: Adult
Type/Length: Novel
Genres: Rom-Com

This book was pitched via our own platform in July 2025. The audience and genres tags aren’t part of the pitch itself, and were selected via our form.

4. Freedom to Me by Sidney Quinn, coming later this year at NineStar Press

Felix Brixton has always dreamed of owning a tall ship. He chases that dream from London all the way to the small California town of Carino Bay. There, he meets the enigmatic and handsome Jay Otene. Carino Bay is full of dark secrets, and there’s more to Jay – and the town – than Felix realizes. California Noir x Queer Romance

Audience: Adult
Type/Length: Novel
Genres: LGBT+ Fiction, Romance, Suspense

This book was originally pitched under the title “Welcome to Carino Bay” and via our own platform in January 2025. The audience and genres tags aren’t part of the pitch itself, and were selected via our form.

5. Enigma Scout by Richard LeDuc, coming later this year at NOVA

A Dyson sphere with millions of planet-sized domains. A millennium ago internal communication was destroyed. Now, in a war with million-mile-long battle lines, a woman is created to help. She’s trained as trauma physician and an Enigma Healer, conscripted by the landnavy and thrown into war. Soon her skills and compassion take her into the workings of the sphere and the enigma that control it.

Audience: Adult
Type/Length: Novel
Genres: Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction

This book was pitched via our own platform in January 2025. The audience and genres tags aren’t part of the pitch itself, and were selected via our form.

6. The Black Parade by Ilana Lindsey, coming later this year at NineStar Press

THE BLACK PARADE is an adult speculative novel similar to THE LAST OF US and ALL THAT’S LEFT IN THE WORLD. As billions die from a cloud of polluted dust, David—a climate activist—and Lysander, the sheltered son of an aristocrat, travel across the UK to find safety. They negotiate their differences, fight other survivors, and discover the horrible truth behind the apocalypse while falling in love.

Audience: New Adult
Type/Length: Novel
Genres: Dystopian, LGBT+ Fiction, Speculative Fiction

This book was pitched via our own platform in January 2025. The audience and genres tags aren’t part of the pitch itself, and were selected via our form.

7. Secrets of a Witch by Steph Ziders, published in 2025 at The Wild Rose Press

#SmallPitch A psychic witch, suffering from control-freak-itis, shatters when dark family secrets are exposed. She must get messy with the help of her chatty cat and a blazing new firefighter to save her family’s legacy. Practical Magic plus Gilmore Girls meets The Craft. #PR #A

This book was pitched via Twitter in July 2024. The audience and genres tags are part of the pitch itself.

8. Crying Out For Magic by P.S.C. Willis, published in 2025 at Space Wizard Science Fantasy

Heartstopper but make it #F:

An optimistic mage and an awkward fantasy nerd could be all the love and magic the other needs, if they can fix the magical energy crisis that’s pulling their worlds further apart.

#SmallPitch #YA #RF #LGBT #OWN

This book was pitched via Twitter in July 2024. The audience and genres tags are part of the pitch itself. It also included a moodboard, since the event was on Twitter at the time.

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A huge thank to the authors who accepted to get their pitches featured in this article. You can learn more about the books and their authors on this page.