DA CHILLERS

A Twitter pitch event for crime, thriller and suspense authors

How does it work?

Calling all crime thriller and suspense authors!

The team at Darley Anderson are really excited to be hosting our second twitter pitch event #PitchtoDA. This is a unique opportunity for writers of adult fiction to pitch their unpublished novels directly to our agents and a chance for us to request the first three chapters and a synopsis from the authors whose pitches we like. We are looking for our next bestseller in the adult crime and thriller market! Pitch to us something that will send a chill down our spine.

How does it work?

Set your alarms for Halloween! From 9AM-9PM GMT on Monday 31^st October, tweet a pitch for your novel of up to 280 characters using the #PitchtoDA hashtag. If we would like to read your first three chapters, we will “like” your tweet.

If we “like” your pitch, please send three chapters and a synopsis via email to hello@darleyanderson.com and use “#PITCHTODA” in the subject line of your email.

FAQs

Who can submit, and what can they submit?

We would like to read a pitch from any writer working on a novel for adults who has three complete chapters and a synopsis ready to submit. This is open to everyone, we can’t wait to see your pitches!

The prize

As well as requesting submissions from all the pitches that have us hooked, we will be choosing our single favourite pitch of the day. We will request the full manuscript from the winning pitch and offer a Zoom consultation with a member of the Darley Anderson team as a prize. We’ll contact the winner by DM within a week of the pitch party, so please make sure you are accepting DMs if you’d like to be contacted.

What are we looking for?

Some of the best books can be summed up in a single line. This is what we often work on ourselves when we pitch our authors’ work to Editors! Here at Darley Anderson, we specialise in commercial, page-turning, conversation-starting fiction. We’re talking psychological suspense, police procedurals, a new take on the classic murder mystery, ensemble crime, and any books that will have readers on the edge of their seats and up all night turning the pages.

We want to be immediately grabbed by your concept and desperate to find out more. Draw us into your plot, your characters or setting with a hook we haven’t read before. You can look at our website to give you an idea of the authors and books we love and represent. At this time we are not looking for any non-fiction work.

Do I have to have a completed manuscript to enter?

It’s not essential that you have a completed manuscript at this stage, but we do ask that you have at least 50% written so as to assess your work as accurately and fairly as possible.

Can I pitch multiple novels or novellas or short stories?

No, please only pitch only the novel you believe to be your strongest concept that you are most keen to see published. We are not looking for novellas or short stories at this time.

Can I participate if I don’t live in the UK?

Absolutely! We’re open to receiving submissions from anywhere in the world and represent clients in France, the US, Australia and beyond. We just ask that the manuscript is written in English.

What should I do if you don’t “like” my pitch?

Please don’t be disheartened. This is a very subjective business and some books pitch better than others or it might be that your work isn’t quite commercial enough for us. Other agents may well feel differently so you should keep writing and pitching your work to potential agents.

Can I re-submit a pitch from a previous competition?

If we “liked” your pitch last competition then we ask you not to re-submit the same one. If you have a new novel that you’re working on then we would be happy to read a new pitch.

If you didn’t get a “like” last time and have reworked your pitch then please do feel free to re-pitch it.

If my book was previously published (or self-published), can I pitch it?

No, we are only looking for completely new, unpublished work.

What if I can’t be on Twitter on that day?

We advise you to schedule your tweet so that we can view it within the time frame on Monday 31^st October.

When will I hear back about my submission?

We aim to respond to submissions from your “liked” tweets within two weeks, but please do bear with us.