Tuesday, February 15, Pitch Wars and its founding director, Brenda Drake, announced that the beloved writing mentorship program was coming to an end. Since it began in 2012, Pitch Wars and the #PitMad event helped connect hundreds of unpublished authors with mentees in preparation for a pitch event with literary agents.
The volunteer-run event gave new writers a chance to connect with other writers, get valuable critiques, and get exposure to publishing agents. Authors like Helen Hoang (The Kiss Quotient), Tomi Adeyemi (Children of Blood & Bone), Tracie Chee (The Reader), Lauren Blackwood (Within These Wicked Walls), Roseanne Brown (A Song of Wraiths & Ruin), and Rena Barron (Kingdom of Souls) all went through the mentorship program. Even in its early years, Pitch Wars helped bring over 10% of mentees’ agents or offers of representation.
In addition to the announcement, Drake wrote a personal letter to express her gratitude and speak honestly about why the organization could no longer continue. While the project was all volunteer-run, its success grew to such a size that it was essentially a full-time job. Learning about the project some months back, as a reader and as someone who ran a volunteer organization for half a decade, I understand exactly where she’s coming from.
Drake also spoke to the hardships of the last few years, especially regarding the mental and emotional stresses. This includes things (pandemic-related and not), like the passing of volunteers, surgeries, deaths in families, financial strains, and more. Drake wrote, “I don’t have plans for a future Pitch Wars or #PitMad returns, but I never lock a closed door.” Also, she confirmed that the website would stay up as a resource for writers.
Beyond Pitch Wars
In Drake’s letter, she mentioned that publishing and the online landscape for writers changed a lot in the last decade: “There are several other amazing mentorship programs and Twitter pitch events that weren’t around when I started Pitch Wars 10 years ago. More pop up every year. And I hope that more will continue to be established. We feel it’s better to retire Pitch Wars and #PitMad and let others continue to come up with newer and better programs for the current times. Our website will remain up as a resource for writers. “
In that spirit, many in the writing community began sharing lists online.
Former mentors reminded everyone to know their worth and not feel pressured to accept under-24-hour “deal or no deals” from agents.
Many of the events and organizations shared were inspired by Pitch Wars and #PitMad. These communities grew so large new pockets formed with that same goal of helping writers break into publishing.
(via Twitter, image: Pitch Wars.)
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