Pitch Contest!

UPDATE 1/9/12: Due to interest in this pitch contest, we now have eight editors taking pitches, three of them senior editors. As a result, we will be taking pitches for pieces of any age-range, any genre, any length - as long as romance is central to the story.

Have a shorter piece you'd love to have published, but not quite sure where to submit it? Or maybe you also write romance? (A lot of YA writers do!)

You are in luck! On January 25th, four editors from Entangled Publishing (sound familiar? They're our very own Kelley York's publisher!) will be right here taking your pitches for the following lines:

Flirt (10k-15k words, strong romantic elements, most genres)
Ever After (20k-40k words, strong romantic elements, most genres)
Lori Wilde's...Indulgence (50k-60k words)

You have one month to get your pitch and novel or novella in tip-top shape. Pitches will be accepted in comments on January 25th, as soon as the blog post goes live until midnight EST. To participate, have a two-line pitch and the first 100 words of your story ready to post as a comment. Be sure to read the line descriptions linked above. Each editor will choose at least one winner, from whom they will request the full manuscript.*


Read below to learn more about Entangled and each editor's taste.

Entangled is a boutique publisher of romance fiction. We pride ourselves on quality stories and commercial covers, and our innovative business model offers our authors the best of indie and traditional publishing. To find out more, see our website. And don't forget to look through our current open submission calls.

Any level of heat works as long as a romance is central to the story, and the plot is intimately entwined with the building romance. Stories must end HFN or HEA.



Adrien-Luc Sanders, Senior Editor

His current interests run towards sci-fi, contemporary, and urban fantasy—the darker, the better—with a love for gritty dystopian, cyberpunk, steampunk, supernatural, and that rare cross-genre gem. He likes stories falling into that gray area of the battle between good and evil, with strong antiheros and believable villains, or heroes who face temptation and corruption and don’t always get away unscathed, though he can also be won over by quirkiness, sweetness, and humor, with a love of oddball characters and whimsy. He’s also interested in stories that portray people of color and LGBT people as mainstream characters whose cultural, ethnic, sexual, and gender diversity are enhancements to their character rather than the primary focus of the story. Adrien-Luc was interviewed here recently.

Libby Murphy, Associate Editor

Libby would like to see submissions for adults and young adults written with a killer voice, and she especially loves quirky characters and plots. She loves sci-fi with aliens, robots, and high tech; urban fantasy and time travel; contemporary romance; women’s fiction with a strong romantic element; and suspense and mysteries. She craves humor, anti-heroes, and underdogs, and strong, capable heroines are a must. For Indulgences, she's looking specificaly for the following: Best friends, best friend’s younger sister, millionaire playboy, athletes, relationship because of a bet, arranged marriages, bad boys, revenge plots, reunions, adventure (Indiana Jones meets Bridget Jones!), romantic comedy, forbidden love, geeks (hero or heroine), and military heroes. I’m not likely to request sheiks or royalty, but if the royalty is the heroine, that’s definitely more likely. I’m a huge sucker for snarky heroines, funny heroes, and heroes who are the strong, silent type. Libby was interviewed here recently.
Libby is especially interested in Flirts and Ever Afters that fit the following:

• Scientists or inventor-types who walk the line between good and bad (like Batman)
• Paranormals with a villain hero/heroine who is redeemed by the end
• Disaster or apocalyptic events in which people find love, despite everything falling apart around them (can be sci-fi, fantasy, or contemporary featuring a natural disaster, for example)
• Quirky contemporaries or paranormals—humor is a must!
• Sci-fi, especially if it has a Tron, I, Robot, or a Terminator type setting
• Thrillers set in a small town
• Zombie hunters :)
• Romantic Comedy (would love to see a trilogy about a group of girlfriends finding love)

Kerry Vail, Associate Editor

Kerry loves the whole spectrum of speculative fiction, from hard scifi to space opera to sociological. She loves dystopian futures and alternate histories, especially when combined with a compelling voice and an unusual twist. She also enjoys urban fantasy, high fantasy, and paranormal thrillers, and gravitates toward strong female leads who are intelligent and can save themselves and fall in love. She is open to stories of love in any of its many forms and any heat level.

Kerri-Leigh Grady, Associate Editor

She loves paranormal romance and UF worlds that aren’t complicated by numerous mythical beasties, smart romantic comedy, dark comedy, romantic thrillers/suspense/horror, dystopian romance including steampunk, reunions, BFFs falling in love, marriage of convenience, [strong] woman in jeopardy, man in jeopardy, supernatural elements, clever monster elements, multi-cultural characters, alpha nerds, high stakes adventure, and general hilarity. She’s open to F/M, F/F, and M/M pairings in all heat levels. For Indulgences, she's looking specifically for the following: reunions, BFFs, marriage of convenience, ugly duckling, [strong] woman in jeopardy, man in jeopardy, road trip, alpha nerds, high stakes adventure and suspense, forbidden love, fish out of water, and smart romantic comedy. I’d love to find a military hero where the romantic conflict rings true and is related to the challenges of being a mil-girlfriend or milspouse.

 *Editors reserve the right to not choose a winner, based on quality and quantity of submissions.

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UPDATE 1/6/12: So... when some of the other Entangled Editors saw we were hosting this pitch contest, they got a little jealous... at least that's the story I'm going to tell! Long story short, we will have two more editors taking your pitches on January 25th!


Josh Vogt, Associate Editor

Josh Vogt has a passion for reading and writing speculative fiction. He’s seen all sides of the publishing industry, works as a freelance copywriter and editor, and is currently signed with a literary agent to get his novels published. He brings to the team his love for books, plus a desire to help aspiring authors in their quest for publication success. Find him on Twitter at @JRVogt.

Wishlist: Josh is interested in all types of fantasy and science fiction, from urban fantasy to steampunk to space opera to epic and YA fantasy. He loves stories that suck him in without warning and compel him to keep reading thanks to fascinating characters, great dialogue, twisting plots, and powerful worldbuilding.

Lewis Pollack, Associate Editor

A student of philosophy, psychology, and the sciences, Lewis Pollak has an appreciation for both characters with complex motivations and stories that are thought-provoking. Find him on Twitter at @LewisPollak.

Lewis loves books that take readers to new worlds, whether they are alien landscapes, alternate histories, or contemporaries with a twist. He also enjoys books that strike a balance between serious and humorous moments. While partial to all sorts of speculative fiction from high fantasy and urban fantasy (but not Keith Urban fantasies) to science fiction and paranormal, interesting characters with genuine emotions and snappy retorts usually win him over regardless of genre.


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Update 1/9/12:  Two more senior editors have heard about this contest and would like to hear your pitches!  Bonus: both of these editors are looking for YA!

Stacy C. Abrams, Senior Editor

Stacy Abrams started in the publishing industry in 2002, most recently leaving a seven-year stint at Bloomsbury Publishing’s children’s division to join the Entangled team. Stacy has edited such award-winning and high-caliber YA authors as Jessica Warman, Tracy Deebs, Alex Scarrow, and Michelle Rowen, among many others, and her books have earned starred reviews from all the major review journals. In addition to editing, she has been a freelance copy editor for several major New York publishing houses. She earned her Bachelor’s in English at Northwestern University and currently resides in New York City with her husband and too-cute puppy. Find her on Twitter at@StacyAbramsEdit.

Stacy loves working on contemporary teen stories, even if they have a supernatural bend. Some of her favorite projects she’s edited have been Jessica Warman’s Between (contemporary ghost/murder mystery story), Tracy Deebs’s Tempest series (mermaid paranormal romance), and Loretta Ellsworth’s In a Heartbeat (dual narratives from the POV of an organ donor and recipient). She’d love to see more psychological thrillers, unique paranormal creatures, time travel, gritty across-the-tracks romances, or a historical set in the twentieth century. In the adult genre, Stacy loves light contemporary romances, ripped-from-the-headlines thrillers, friendship stories, and suspense. She doesn’t tend to lean toward vampires, zombies, adult historicals, or high-heat levels—though if any one were done in just the right way, she wouldn’t say no!

Heather Howland, Senior Editor

Award-winning young adult author Heather Howland began editing in the legal, industrial, and technical sectors eight years ago while working as a Production Manager. She has since honed her fiction editing skills as a freelancer and as the former acquisitions editor of a small romance publisher. Heather regularly hosts craft chats and teaches editing workshops for various organizations, and is an agented YA and adult romance author. She holds a BS in creative writing and psychology, which she channels into her love of dark, romantic fiction. Find her on Twitter at @HeatherHowland.

Heather loves all subgenres of YA, especially darker, twisting plots with a literary voice, and contemporary YA reminiscent of Stephanie Perkins and Jennifer Echols. In adult romance, she enjoys Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Lora Leigh-style contemporary, accessible sci-fi, quirky fantasy, and unique paranormal series that present fresh takes on familiar tropes such as best friends to lovers, love triangles, heroes falling for their best friend's forbidden little sister, and tight-knit groups (Navy SEAL teams, fire departments, roommates, brothers, etc.). While she’ll look at anything with a fantastic voice, Heather generally avoids cozies, urban fantasy, historical, hard sci-fi, high fantasy, shifters, zombies, and Plain Jane heroines.