PITCHING CONTEST WINNERS!

A few months ago we attended the Writing NSW Kids and YA festival in Sydney. It was our first time going to any kind of writing event and we were so excited to hear from the many amazing children's authors and experts in the publishing industry that attended and held panels.

Something wonderful about the festival was that it hosted a pitching contest which would allow attendees the opportunity to pitch their children's book ideas to publishers! All you had to do was put your 100 word synopsis entry into a box and if you were chosen, you had one minute to pitch your idea to a panel of three publishers. One from Penguin Random House, one from Pan Macmillan and one from Harbour Publishing.

Although we had never done anything like this before we knew we had to put ourselves out there and try it! We would always regret it if we didn't. In the week leading up to the festival, we perfected our pitch and even memorised it. During the 1 Hour Pitching session, we were chosen as one of twelve pitches. We can honestly say, we have never been so nervous for anything, and as our shaking hands grasped the microphone we had no idea if our pitch was even any good.

We were astonished that our pitch had been a hit! It was met with wonderful feedback from the judges and so many wonderful comments from the audience! When we sat back down in our seats, we could not believe we had just done that and what was even more unbelievable was that everyone seemed to really like our idea! Something we didn't realise was that the pitching session was actually a competition! At the end of the session, we were awarded winners and given an incredible stack of books!

It was an experience like no other and we'd do it again in a heartbeat! If you are ever given the chance to pitch your idea to industry professionals, we would recommend that you do! Just be prepared, plan your pitch and take a chance!