About.
What is #DVpit?
#DVpit is a Twitter event created to showcase pitches from unagented, marginalized voices that have been historically underrepresented in publishing. This may include (but is not limited to): Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC); people living and/or born/raised in marginalized, underrepresented cultures and countries; disabled persons (includes neurodivergence and mental illness); people on marginalized ends of the cultural and/or religious spectrum; people identifying within LGBTQIA+; and more. Any decisions regarding eligibility are yours to make. Creators are not obligated to disclose anything they do not feel comfortable with and are not required to pitch only work that reflects their own identity, though that is certainly welcome!
The first #DVpit took place on April 19, 2016 and was a national trending hashtag. Since then, there have been hundreds of creators signed by agents and countless book deals contracted as a direct result of this event, with editors from small to mid-size to Big Five publishers requesting to receive the manuscripts at submission stage. In 2019, we opened to artists and illustrators from marginalized backgrounds, now pitching under the hashtag #DVart.
#DVpit has appeared in Publishers Weekly, Bustle, Salon, YA Interrobang, Writers Digest, Ozy Magazine, Shondaland.com and multiple blog sites like Lee & Low Blog, Daily Dahlia, Writers Block Party.
The event was created and is moderated by literary agent Beth Phelan. The #DVpit committee includes authors Kat Cho and Claribel Ortega, with literary agent Peter Knapp managing the critique giveaway. This is a program of the 501c3 nonprofit organization DiverseVoices, Inc.
When is the next #DVpit?
#DVpit is an annual event that will occur over two days and will include #DVart for artists. Please make sure you are pitching your work on the appropriate day; many of the agents and editors will only tune in on a specific day, to see the pitches in the categories they represent/acquire.
August 1, 2022 will be for Children’s & YA Fiction/Nonfiction (picture books, chapter books, middle grade, young adult).
August 2, 2022 will be for Adult Fiction/Nonfiction (all genres, commercial and literary) using #DVpit; and for Artists & Illustrators using #DVart.
[#DVart will be for any kind of book artist, from picture book authors/illustrators, to graphic artists (art with text, not text-only), to solo artists (art without text, for commission/work-for-hire). If you wrote and illustrated the project you are pitching, you may participate in both #DVpit and/or #DVart if you wish. But keep in mind that for the adult market, #DVpit and #DVart occur on the same day, and so you may pitch using both hashtags in a single pitch. If you are pitching kidlit on the #DVart day, then please only use the #DVart hashtag.]
The event will run on each day from 8AM ET until 8PM ET using the hashtag #DVpit and/or #DVart if applicable.
You are not required to register for this event. Be wary of any solicitations from third party websites.
New to Twitter/Twitter pitch events? Check out this handy user’s guide for beginners!