KCU Pitchfest Showcase 2023 (Top 50)

The Escape Artist

All eleven-year-old Rory wants is to be “normal.” But Rory has a secret: she has psychic powers. She tries to blend in at school but when a fight with a bully gets Rory suspended, her show biz parents drag her to their show upstate.
At the creepy old theater, twin child actors tell Rory an urban legend: an Escape Artist vanished during her act in the 1920s. Investigating the mystery means letting the twins in, but Rory’s not ready to share her true self.
When the girls uncover a shocking antisemitic incident from the past, they awaken a supernatural spirit defending the theater’s secrets. Rory must trust her friends and accept her psychic abilities to thwart the terrifying creature before it starts a deadly theater fire.

My Why:

I grew up with undiagnosed ADHD at a time when no one even knew girls could be neurodiverse. I didn’t know why my brain ran so fast or why my imagination and feelings were so big; I just felt different. In middle school, the books my teachers gave me were too small in scope to contain my experience: I saw myself in books about dragons and monsters but rarely as a real person.

I think of my style as American Girl meets Alien: hero kids fighting monsters from the past and present. Scary stories tell the truth: bad things are out there but we can stand up and fight back. Middle schoolers face and vanquish fears that adults can only guess at: they deserve to see themselves surviving and thriving with courage, big feelings, and big imagination.

Dr. Malbourne's Dental Infirmary for Children

Twelve-year-old Chloe isn’t scared of anything. So when her ex-best friend, Diana, dares her to open a door marked No Entrance on a field trip to the Museum of Dentistry - of course she opens it! But opening the door reawakens the spirit of evil dentist, Dr. Malbourne, and Chloe’s tough girl shell begins to crack.

As the others fall under Dr. Malbourne’s spell, Chloe hides in an old laboratory – and finds Diana, who has made a horrible discovery. When he was alive, Dr. Malbourne conducted occult dental experiments in search of the secrets of regeneration and immortality: now he’s using their classmates to complete his plan. Chloe finally admits she’s terrified: she must reunite with Diana to defeat Dr. Malbourne and free his victims.

My Why:

I grew up with undiagnosed ADHD at a time when no one even knew girls could be neurodiverse. I didn’t know why my brain ran so fast or why my imagination and feelings were so big; I just felt different. In middle school, the books my teachers gave me were too small in scope to contain my experience: I saw myself in books about dragons and monsters but rarely as a real person.

I write the books I wish I had then. Books about real kids with real problems, but where the scale of the emotions and imagination matches how I experience the world. I think of my style as American Girl meets Alien: hero kids fighting monsters from the past and present. I’m looking for kids who sees themselves in Matilda: smart, strong, brave, and larger than life.