Here we go—news on #PitchDis 2024!

 

Mark your calendars for September 10-12. Yes, that’s three full days of pitching! How is this going to work? Well, read below.

 

What’s different from previous #PitchDis events?

#PitchDis has a new home, and it’s none other than right here - the official #PitchDis site! I went through many options and consulted with our friends over at #PitBLK (many thanks especially to Ashyle Noelle for all of her help) and ultimately decided our site was the best, safest, and most accessible option for us. Since we’ll no longer be on Twitter, several things have to be done differently.

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• Because the pitches will be posted on the site and not on a social media platform, they will be password protected, and only registered agents and editors will be able to access them.

• Pitches will still be limited to 280 characters, BUT, that limit no longer includes hashtags! That means all 280 characters can be devoted to your pitch alone.

• We will have a form where you will have to enter your pitch, book title, name, and email address. You will also have to select your age group/category and genre. I’ll show you exactly what the form looks like at least one month before the event. With the exception of one section (more on that in the next bullet point) ALL sections must be filled out in order for your pitch to appear on the site.

• There will be a separate, optional section for other hashtags that pertain to you and/or how you self-identify. This is where you can add things like #BVM for Black Voices Matter, #OwnVoices, #LGBTQIA+, #AAPI, etc. You will not need to include the #PitchDis hashtag anywhere.

• If you are pitching a graphic novel or picture book, you will receive instructions on how to send in one piece of artwork, and ALT text for it, to be displayed with your pitch after you submit the rest of your information. Mood boards and graphics for other categories will not be allowed.

• You may only submit one pitch per project, and up to two projects.

• The submission window will be open for three days, so you have plenty of time to submit your pitch. Agents and editors will have access to the pitches September 23 through September 25.

• We are committed to boosting disabled Black voices, so we will have a dedicated section for pitches with the #BVM hashtag included in our Age Group/Category menu when agents are searching for pitches. All pitches submitted will be searchable via genre tags, so the #BVM pitches will still come up in searches even if agents and editors did not specifically select the #BVM section.

 

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What hasn’t changed?

Everything pertaining to eligibility hasn’t changed. These are the requirements—no exceptions.

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• You must self-identify as disabled (this includes neurodivergent and chronically ill).

• You must be unagented.

• You can participate if you have been previously published, as long as you are not pitching the published work.

• You must have a complete, edited, and polished project.

 

As mentioned many times before, authors who write disabled characters but are not disabled themselves may not participate. #PitchDis was created to promote disabled authors, not disabled characters—though we certainly welcome and love to see disabled characters written by disabled authors. If you are not disabled, please look for other pitch events available to you.

 

#PitchDis will not reply to any messages regarding eligibility. If you self-identify as disabled, you are welcome to participate. We cannot make this determination for you.

 

 

Questions I know many people may have:

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Why not just have #PitchDis on Twitter again?

Well, there are a few reasons. Since Twitter utilizes AI now, I don’t like the idea that pitches may be used to train AI. Also, during the WGA strike, many executives were looking for new ideas via pitch contests and not giving the creators credit for them. While the strike is over, they could still do that. In addition, verified accounts now seem to get prioritized on Twitter, and you should never have to pay to feel like you have a fair chance in this event. There should be an even playing field.

 

Why is #PitchDis so late this year?

If you’ve been following the account for a while, you know I try to be as transparent as possible when it comes to explaining why I made some of the decisions I made concerning #PitchDis, so, here goes.

One reason is that moving to the site is going to take a LOT of work. New pages have to be set up, things have to be tested and tested again, changes will have to be made. This can’t happen overnight. So scheduling it for September gives us enough time to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible when pitching time rolls around.

But there’s a second reason. There’s a chance I will be having surgery early this summer. It’s technically a very simple procedure; however, with my disability, it becomes very complex. I will have to stay in the hospital for a few days and I’ll need a few weeks of rest if all goes well. So I’m hoping that by September things will be back to “normal” for me if the surgery does occur, and I’ll be even healthier than before.

 

How will agents and editors see my pitch and how will they make requests?

Agents and editors will be required to register for the event this year. All the pitches will be on a password-protected section of the #PitchDis site, and only agents and editors will be given access to the site. They will make requests by commenting on pitches. At the end of the event, I will email each participant with requests they receive and instructions on how to get their submission materials to the requesting agents and editors. Please note—it’ll take a few days after the event ends to send emails to everyone.

 

I’m sure these aren’t all the questions, so you can always email us or send us a tweet or DM on Twitter, or message us on BlueSky. But please make sure to check out the FAQs on the site to make sure your question hasn’t already been answered.

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Having the event on the site is going to be different, to put it mildly. Some things will work out well, and I’m sure others won’t. Just like with the first #PitchDis event on Twitter, we’ll learn and make adjustments as much as we can.

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Thank you so much for your patience and understanding, and get those pitches ready!