Speed Pitching Checklist

SCLA are running two speed pitching dates during the George Town Literary Festival 2023 as part of our on-going nationwide hunt for new, exciting Malaysian literary talent. If you’re looking to get signed, simply register online and bring your enthusiasm – you’ve 5 minutes to pitch us your title (please note this is a verbal pitch ya, don’t expect us to read anything on the day itself).

We’ve put together a little check-list of info that we’ll expect you to have at your fingertips – read these carefully and come prepared (it’s no secret that we reject a high proportion of email submissions simply because many writers don’t read our instructions carefully. Come on, you’re all aspiring authors, take the time to read 😉

1. Title of your manuscript – jump straight in and tell us about your book (if we have time we’ll find out more about you at the end),
2. MS word count – please note that we’re only interested in pitches for completed MS not titles that are a work-in-progress, 65k words is a good start for fiction.
3. Genre & target audience – at this time we’re not interested in horror/crime/hardcore sci-fi/kids titles/poetry and romance
4. In your pitch you should aim to give us a general idea of :
   • Main character(s) / protagonist(s) / antagonist(s)
   • Setting
   • A broad plot outline
   • Conflicts or obstacles
   • Any cool twists/endings
   • We’ll definitely ask you more questions if we’re interested.
5. Who you are – if there’s still time we’ll ask you about yourself. Don’t stress if we don’t, it’s nothing personal and we need to be fair to everyone by sticking to the 5 minute timeline.

What to expect:

We’ll tell you during the 5 minute session whether we’d like you to email us your chapters or not. What we won’t be doing is signing up any authors on the spot (we’ll leave that for Hollywood), so don’t be sad if we don’t thrust a contract into your hands on the day. If time permits, we might give you a few quick pointers on how to improve your pitch/MS, but please note that this isn’t the purpose of your session – you’re here to pitch and we’re here to listen.

What Rosalind is reading:

I’m currently reading two books at the mo, ‘The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida’ and ‘Days at the Morisaki Bookshop’. Seven Moons is incredible, probably one of the best books I’ve ever read (or will ever read). The energy is electric. ‘Morisaki Bookshop’ is the other end of the spectrum and I’m not sure I get what all the global hype has been about. I’m looking for literary/high-end commercial fiction where the author has a distinct style and a strong story to tell.

Although I absolutely love historical fiction I would love to hear pitches for more contemporary urban fiction (set in Malaysia if possible). Domestic fiction a la Jonathan Franzen is also a big ‘YES’ for me.

What Devina is reading:

I generally like to mix it up and often have both fiction and non fiction on the go. I am also almost always reading about 4 books at any given time! I am reading Audree Magee’s The Undertaking, a collection of essays edited by Shailey Hingorani and Varsha Sivaram called What We Inherit: Growing up Indian, Wole Talabi’s Shigidi & the Brass Head of Obalufon and Lauren Ho’s Lucie Yi is Not a Romantic. So you’ve probably gathered that I have eclectic tastes when it comes to books anyway! Like Roz, I am interested in contemporary Malaysian fiction, it doesn’t have to be urban but I’d like to read something that is set in a time that isn’t the Second World War or the 1969 riots.

How to register?

For further information on how to register, please visit the Georgetown Literary Festival website: