PitchFest


Do you have a completed manuscript? Are you tired of sending your queries out into a void? If so, PitchFest is for you.

PitchFest 2025 will take place in-person on Thursday, June 19th, 2025, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST at the New York Hilton Midtown.

PitchFest is set-up like a speed-dating event: you’ll have three to five minutes to pitch to a top agent or editor, hear their feedback, and then move on to the next agent or editor. The session lasts for a total of three hours.

As PitchFest takes place in New York City, we are able to bring an unprecedented number of agents and editors to the table. We’re thrilled to say that more than 60 agents and editors attended PitchFest 2024.

Here are some amazing success stories from authors who connected with their agents at PitchFest in the past.

We can also help you improve your pitch. You can check out our FAQs or video advice here. You can also register for our Virtual Practice PitchFest event in May to try out your pitch online with one of our Author/Experts. You’ll receive VPPF sign-up information once you’ve registered for PitchFest.

Registration for PitchFest 2025 will open on August 1, 2025, and it will remain open until the day before the event. Registration for PitchFest is required for entry. There is no virtual option for attendees, though a few agents and editors may take pitches virtually.

REGISTER HERE

Please note: PitchFest is only for completed manuscripts. If you’d like feedback on an incomplete project, please register for QueryFest instead. Register today for QueryFest!

Please also note: PitchFest is available only in a package with ThrillerFest, Master Class, and/or CraftFest and cannot be purchased on its own.

Please see the FAQ page for further details on how PitchFest works.

Questions? Just email Susan Lee, Deputy Director ThrillerFest/PitchFest Director, at susan@thrillerwriters.org

We hope to see you in 2025.


Let’s hone in on two special (and very different!) parts of ThrillerFest: fireside chats and PitchFest!

In 2022, #1 NYT bestselling Author Lisa Gardner hosted Joseph Finder, NYT bestselling author of 14 novels.

Meanwhile, USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author Isabella Maldonado shares her journey from attending PitchFest to landing an agent and selling her book… “and then Hollywood came calling!” This is the stuff dreams are made of, and it all happened right here.

What dreams will you chase at ThrillerFest?



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