Query Critique Raffles
Need extra eyes on your query letter before #PitchDis? Our fabulous volunteers have generously offered their time and skills to offer query critiques for 12 lucky #PitchDis participants! Read about our volunteers below, and then scroll to the bottom of the page to enter beginning April 17!
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Important: Winners will be notified via email by April 26 and must provide their query letters no later than 1pm ET on April 29. If this poses an issue, or if you'd like an alternate method of entry, please email contactpitchdis@gmail.com as soon as possible.
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You may enter if you have won a critique in the past; however, you cannot enter the same query, even if it has been revised.
Sarah M. Anderson
With over 1.2 million copies published in over twenty-one countries, Sarah M. Anderson has published over 45 books and won a RT Book Reviews 2012 Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award, a 2016 RITA® winner for Best Contemporary: Short and a 2020 Bookseller's Best Award for Short Contemporary. Additionally, Sarah has given workshops at national and regional conferences, taught craft classes online, spoken at libraries and book clubs, and published articles in the Romance Writers Report. Recently, she's branched out into writing YA under the name Sally Sultzman. Her short story, "The Book That Wasn't," was published by Cast of Wonders, ep. 508, as part of their Banned Books week in 2022.
Find out more about Sarah’s books on her website sarahmanderson.com and more about Sally's works at sallysultzman.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @SarahMAnderson1 and on Instagram @SallySultzman.
Mariah Ankenman
Bestselling author Mariah Ankenman lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her two rambunctious children and loving spouse who is her own personal spell checker when her dyslexia gets the best of her.
Mariah loves to lose herself in a world of words. Her favorite thing about writing is when she can make someone’s day a little brighter with one of her books. To learn more about Mariah and her books, visit her website mariahankenman.com , follow her on social media: @mariahankenman or sign up for her newsletter.
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Roxanne Blackhall
Roxanne Blackhall is a former magazine and newspaper editor from San Diego, California, now living in the heart of Baltimore, Maryland. When not at her desk coming up with new ways to torment her characters, she can often be found in the kitchen, glass of wine in hand, cooking a meal for friends. Roxanne was a 2018 Pitch Wars mentee and a mentor in 2020 and 2021. She was also a 2022 QueeryFest founder and mentor.
Make sure to grab a copy of her latest, Abbeydon Attraction, out now! You can also follow her on Twitter @RoxyBlackhall or visit her site RoxanneBlackhall.com
Miranda Darrow
Miranda Darrow is an editor and story sleuth who digs deep into manuscripts to uncover the best version of the story. Miranda is a board member and contributing editor with the #RevPit online editing contest. She's also a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association, the Professional Editors Network, and a frequent presenter to writing groups. She specializes in fiction and creative non-fiction (including memoir). Her logic skills honed as an attorney are an asset in detecting and remedying timeline issues, plot inconsistencies, as well as pacing and story arc concerns.
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For more information, see her website www.mirandadarrow.com
Elissa Dickey
Elissa Grossell Dickey is a former journalist who now works in higher education communications. Though she grew up in Northern Minnesota, Elissa now lives in South Dakota with her husband and children. She has shared her journey of living with multiple sclerosis through blog posts for the National MS Society. She is the author of The Speed of Light and Iris in the Dark. Learn more at elissadickey.com. You can also follow Elissa at @ElissaDickey on Twitter and @ElissaGrossellDickey on Instagram.
Etta Easton
Etta Easton's journey into romance began in middle school. Her best friend pulled a tupperware bin full of Harlequin paperbacks from her mom’s closet, and Etta has never looked back. She is a certified hopeless romantic who now writes contemporary romance. Her stories are full of humor, relatable heroines, swoon-worthy heroes, and Black joy. Her debut novel, The Kiss Countdown, will be published with Berkley in Spring 2024.
You can find out more about Etta at Ettaeaston.com. You can also follow her on
Twitter @authoretta and Instagram @ettawritesromance.
Julie Hamilton
Julie Hamilton has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. She fell in love with romance novels during the summer between quitting her newspaper job and starting grad school, when she realized she was looking for a love story in every book she read. She writes contemporary romance with heat and humor that features characters chasing after their dreams—and finding happily ever after along the way. Originally from Pittsburgh, she now lives near Chicago. Her debut romance, JUST FOR SHOW, was released by Carina Press in December 2021.
You can find out more about Julie on her site, juliehamiltonauthor.com and follow her on Twitter at @JHamiltonAuthor and Instagram at @juliehamiltonauthor. Also, make sure to grab a copy of JUST FOR SHOW here!
Natasha Hanova
Natasha Hanova, a developmental editor and author, loves imaginative problem solving and discussing the writing craft. She writes Adult/YA contemporary fantasy, romance and dystopian and is represented by Amy Giuffrida. Natasha is a board member and contributing editor with #RevPit, an online writing community founded by a group of editors. Her experiences as a biracial woman fuel not only her storytelling, but her endeavors to lift and support other marginalized writers. When she’s not editing, she’s sipping tea with a good book, watching scary movies while crocheting, or playing cards with her friends.
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Follow Natasha on Twitter @NatashaHanova and Instagram @NatashaHanova. Make sure to visit her website www.natashahanova.com. You can also follow The Creative's Apprentice, where Natasha is a Group Coach, on Twitter @thecreativesapp and Instagram @thecreativesapp.
Carly Hayward
Carly Hayward (she/her) is a disabled developmental editor who helps authors find their voice and bring their book to light. With 10+ years in publishing, she’s worked all over the industry, including at a big 5 publishing house, a small press, and a literary agency. She is a co-founding #RevPit editor and a host on Story Chat Radio, a writing advice podcast. When not reading or working she lounges with her husband being vastly amused by their cats or binge-watching TV.
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Carly can be found on Twitter @FromCarly and Instagram @BookLightEditorial. Also, make sure to check out her site www.booklighteditorial.com and her podcast www.storychatradio.com.
Cait Nary
Cait Nary writes character-driven contemporary queer romance. She lives in Virginia with her husband and a very anxious German Shepherd. Neither of them gives her too much grief when her writing alarm goes off at 5:30am. If Cait isn’t writing, trying a new muffin recipe, or running on a trail somewhere, she is probably shouting at the Philadelphia Flyers. You can find her at caitnary.com or on Twitter @caitnary_writes.
Her third book, Lucky Bounce, is forthcoming from Carina Press in August 2023. Preorder online.
Michelle Rascon
Michelle Rascon (she/her) is a freelance fiction editor with over seven years of experience working with successful self-publishing and querying authors. She specializes in YA and adult books in dark fantasy, LGBTQIA+, paranormal, romance, urban fantasy, and women’s fiction. Her goal is to strengthen your writing while respecting your unique voice. An introvert at heart, Michelle enjoys naps, reading, gaming, listening to music, and cuddling with her cat.
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Visit Michelle's website www.editorrascon.com and check out the details of her query letter critiques here. You can follow Michelle on Twitter @EditorRascon and on Instagram @editorrascon.
Leanne Schwartz
Leanne Schwartz writes stories of vengeful girls and soft boys. She grew up in California acting in local theater and reading stacks of books, and lives there still with her family. Her debut, A Prayer for Vengeance, features a murderous statue and autistic poet and releases September 19th, 2023 from Page Street YA. You can preorder a signed copy from Mysterious Galaxy or elsewhere through her linktree. Find out more about her books at leanneschwartz.com, and follow her on Twitter @LifeBreakingIn, Instagram @SchwartzWords, and TikTok @SchwartzWords.
Please note: We ask that you provide trigger/content warnings should your materials include distressing events including, but not limited to, abuse and graphic violence. #PitchDis and its volunteers reserve the right to refuse materials that may be harmful or offensive.