Red Room Where the Writers Are

     I just returned from the Algonkian Pitch your Novel session in New York City.  I always pat my return ticket when I take off from SFO or SJC, but it's good to occasionally leave the Bay Area.  Perfect time to be in NYC, late April.  I was most impressed by the quality of the writers who were pitching their books and the quality of the editors who listened intently and gave us feedback.

      I pitched my novel, White Man's Blues:

    Scott Eliot, a twenty-nine year old Hollywood researcher, gets lucky when his screenwriter-boss offers him a chance to write a major docu-drama.  The story must center around one of the producer’s personal heroes, Allan Bakke, the white man whose lawsuit over med-school admittance overturned affirmative action in the 1970s.    

    The catch is that Scott’s love interest is Thea Rhodes, a beautiful and talented writer from an upwardly-mobile black family.  Determined to give the movie balance, Scott conjures up a black sidekick for Bakke not unlike the ancient I Spy TV series.  When the producers resist The Race Case, Scott makes one Faustian bargain after another to keep it alive, even writing his boss’s girlfriend, the brunette in the beer ads, into the screenplay.    

    Eventually The Race Case gets a green light, but with one caveat—Bakke’s buddy must be white.  Will Scott compromise his values?  Will he lose Thea?  Or is some real luck finally headed his way?

     The feedback was thoughtful and valuable.  I was lucky to find some success with the Editors, including a request for the entire manuscript.  Please Email me if you're considering going to one of the Algonkian sessions.  While they're not perfect, Michael Neff provides a great shortcut for writers, agents, and editors by bring them into personal contact.