1.Story Statement: Unseat the despotic governor and restore equality to a wounded society.
2.Sketch of Antagonist: Kain Andilet governs American survivors of a global war (WWI) and a Spanish flu variant, which killed ninety percent of the world’s population. His iron-fisted methods make his motives clear: obtaining control, power and wealth. By favoring the residents of the City Center and relegating menial tasks to the people living on the outskirts of Pridineus—formerly New York City—he manipulates all situations to his advantage. However, he cannot obtain what he wants most—the woman he loved, and control over protagonist Daniel Camael. No matter how punishing and unjust Kain’s methods are, Daniel finds a way to level the playing field. The governor has banned religious freedom, claiming himself to be the only God of Pridinians. He exploits orphans, forcing them to grow and harvest food for the City Center. Ironically, he was reared in the orphanage he now abuses. He also mistreats a community of exiled citizens for his benefit. Kain is constantly baffled over the contented state of those he oppresses. He believes he can win his feud with Daniel and cause harm to those not of the City Center through rigged boxing matches—the entertainment of the walled-in city.
3.Breakout Titles: The Killing Arena; Freedom Fight; Survivors, Sinners and Saints
4.Genre & Comparables: Alt History Y/A. Comps: Rocky meets Hunger Games; Without Warning by John Birmingham
5.Hook lines:*How can a boxing match decide the fate of a nation? *He’s willing to die to save his people. *They must unseat a despotic governor and restore equality to a wounded society.
*Families are enslaved. Children are starving. A dictator must be overthrown for the survival of a war-torn, plague-ridden society.
6.Inner conflict of protagonists. After they’ve survived a brutal banishment, Jake and Emma recognize the dire need to help others who have been oppressed by the governor. But every move they make toward this goal is wrought with fear and anxiety. Being caught means certain death—to them as well as those they are working to free from bondage.
Scenario: The shuddered underground subway system, unknown to the general public, serves as a way to transport goods and services from one ailing community to another. But everything changes when Jim, the man appointed to make the exchange for the Outliers, appears with his son, a pawn for the governor. Jake’s life is in danger once again.
Secondary Conflict: Emma Hammond turns up at Andreas. She comes with sensitive government information which can be helpful, but to whom—Jake and Daniel, or the despotic dictator.
Scenario: Just as Jake admits his love for Emma, he discovers government issued papers in her trolley, declaring her as part of Kain’s inner circle.
7.Setting: New York City has changed. Once progressive and a land of opportunity, it’s now a walled-in territory governed by a despotic ruler. Post WWI and after a Spanish Flu variant has annihilated most of humanity, NYC, now Pridineus, is divided into classes—the entitled and the oppressed. Power hungry Governor Kain Andilet has abolished all modern forms of transportation, and the landscape resembles something from the 1800’s. The City Center dwellers wear olive uniforms. The air smells of strong perfumes. The outskirts reek of manure, and the residents wear threadbare clothing.
As boxing is the city’s greatest entertainment, the arena is large and comparably modern. A glassed-in area reserved for the city’s elite spreads across the second level.
The protagonists are banned to Andreas—a ghost town, literally. But Jake and his father find a secluded area near a river where they set up camp and live off the land.
Emma enters the settlement through the abandoned subway system. The tunnels become pivotal in connecting the outcasts. Some parts of the tunnels are dirty and small while the subway nearest the City Center is finished with stairways.
Unknown to most, sharecroppers toiling for Kain inhabit an area far beyond the city walls, Lanton, and live under martial law.
New York Pitch Assignments - March 2022
in New York Write to Pitch 2023 and 2024
Posted
Seven Assignments—Jeanie Davis
1. Story Statement: Unseat the despotic governor and restore equality to a wounded society.
2. Sketch of Antagonist: Kain Andilet governs American survivors of a global war (WWI) and a Spanish flu variant, which killed ninety percent of the world’s population. His iron-fisted methods make his motives clear: obtaining control, power and wealth. By favoring the residents of the City Center and relegating menial tasks to the people living on the outskirts of Pridineus—formerly New York City—he manipulates all situations to his advantage. However, he cannot obtain what he wants most—the woman he loved, and control over protagonist Daniel Camael. No matter how punishing and unjust Kain’s methods are, Daniel finds a way to level the playing field. The governor has banned religious freedom, claiming himself to be the only God of Pridinians. He exploits orphans, forcing them to grow and harvest food for the City Center. Ironically, he was reared in the orphanage he now abuses. He also mistreats a community of exiled citizens for his benefit. Kain is constantly baffled over the contented state of those he oppresses. He believes he can win his feud with Daniel and cause harm to those not of the City Center through rigged boxing matches—the entertainment of the walled-in city.
3. Breakout Titles: The Killing Arena; Freedom Fight; Survivors, Sinners and Saints
4. Genre & Comparables: Alt History Y/A. Comps: Rocky meets Hunger Games; Without Warning by John Birmingham
5. Hook lines: *How can a boxing match decide the fate of a nation? *He’s willing to die to save his people. *They must unseat a despotic governor and restore equality to a wounded society.
*Families are enslaved. Children are starving. A dictator must be overthrown for the survival of a war-torn, plague-ridden society.
6. Inner conflict of protagonists. After they’ve survived a brutal banishment, Jake and Emma recognize the dire need to help others who have been oppressed by the governor. But every move they make toward this goal is wrought with fear and anxiety. Being caught means certain death—to them as well as those they are working to free from bondage.
Scenario: The shuddered underground subway system, unknown to the general public, serves as a way to transport goods and services from one ailing community to another. But everything changes when Jim, the man appointed to make the exchange for the Outliers, appears with his son, a pawn for the governor. Jake’s life is in danger once again.
Secondary Conflict: Emma Hammond turns up at Andreas. She comes with sensitive government information which can be helpful, but to whom—Jake and Daniel, or the despotic dictator.
Scenario: Just as Jake admits his love for Emma, he discovers government issued papers in her trolley, declaring her as part of Kain’s inner circle.
7. Setting: New York City has changed. Once progressive and a land of opportunity, it’s now a walled-in territory governed by a despotic ruler. Post WWI and after a Spanish Flu variant has annihilated most of humanity, NYC, now Pridineus, is divided into classes—the entitled and the oppressed. Power hungry Governor Kain Andilet has abolished all modern forms of transportation, and the landscape resembles something from the 1800’s. The City Center dwellers wear olive uniforms. The air smells of strong perfumes. The outskirts reek of manure, and the residents wear threadbare clothing.
As boxing is the city’s greatest entertainment, the arena is large and comparably modern. A glassed-in area reserved for the city’s elite spreads across the second level.
The protagonists are banned to Andreas—a ghost town, literally. But Jake and his father find a secluded area near a river where they set up camp and live off the land.
Emma enters the settlement through the abandoned subway system. The tunnels become pivotal in connecting the outcasts. Some parts of the tunnels are dirty and small while the subway nearest the City Center is finished with stairways.
Unknown to most, sharecroppers toiling for Kain inhabit an area far beyond the city walls, Lanton, and live under martial law.