PITCH SLAP!!

Pitch Slap Official Contest Rules

1. Sponsor The Pitch Slap Contest (“Contest”) is sponsored and administered by Tuleburg Press (“Sponsor”).

2. Eligibility

  • Open to legal residents of the United States who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry.
  • Employees, directors, officers, and immediate family members of the Sponsor are not eligible to enter.
  • Entries must be original works authored solely by the entrant.

3. How to Enter & Submission Guidelines

  • All entries must be submitted through email at tuleburgpress@gmail.com with the subject title “Pitch Slap Entry” by 11:59 PM PST on October 1, 2026.
  • Limit one (1) entry per person.
  • Submissions must not infringe upon the intellectual property rights, privacy, or any other rights of any third party. Entries must be unpublished manuscripts in prose fiction or narrative non-fiction.
  • And entry will comprise chapter one of the manuscript, or the first ten pages, whichever is longer.

4. Judging and Selection

  • Entries will be evaluated based on originality, concept strength, voice, and overall pitch clarity by a qualified panel selected by the Sponsor.
  • All decisions made by the judges and Sponsor are final and binding in all matters relating to this Contest.
  • The potential winner will be notified the day of the event. If a selected entrant cannot be reached within 7 days, the prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate entrant.

5. Prize Description & Terms One (1) winner will receive an Editorial Package provided by Tuleburg Press, consisting of:

  • Comprehensive editorial services: developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, and light final proofreading for one (1) complete manuscript up to e.g., 85,000 words.
  • Cover design consultation and feedback.
  • Back-cover/promotional blurb critique and suggestions.

Prize Conditions:

  • Non-Transferable & No Cash Value: The prize is non-transferable, non-assignable, and may not be redeemed or exchanged for cash or any alternative substitute.
  • Expiration Date: Editorial services must be initiated within twelve (12) months of prize notification. Any unused portion of the package following this one-year period will be forfeited in full.
  • Scheduling: The editorial timeline will be determined mutually by the winner and Tuleburg Press, subject to the editor’s reasonable professional availability.

6. Intellectual Property & Rights Entrants retain 100% ownership and copyright of their work. Entry into the contest or receipt of the prize does not constitute a publishing contract, nor does it obligate Tuleburg Press to publish, print, or distribute the completed work.

7. Limitation of Liability & Publicity By entering, participants release and hold harmless Tuleburg Press, its partners, and affiliates from any claims, liability, or damages arising out of participation in the Contest or acceptance/use of the prize. Except where prohibited by law, entry constitutes permission for the Sponsor to use the winner’s name and pitch title for promotional purposes in connection with the Contest.

8. Governing Law This Contest is governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of law doctrines. Void where prohibited by law.

IT’S FINALLY HERE, PETTY, GREEDY, & EVIL HAS ARRIVED!!!!

My God, just look at it… So big. So yellow. So finally printed and published. Man alive, this was a long one. No other book in my life straddled worse events, but despite everything we brought it in for a landing. Anyway, back to the mines. The word mines. Because I’ve got another announcement coming in moments!

Oh, and you can buy it here. Or you can just window shop by reading the blurb. It’s really up to you.

Featured

Petty, Greedy, & Evil Now Available!

It is with great pride that I announce the sequel to Old Debts is finally ready for consumption! Petty, Greedy, and Evil will be available on August 15th for pre-order (at a lower price cause I’m cool like that) and September 1st for actual normal order (at regular price, cause there’s some tight limits to exactly how cool I am).

Just as a little taster, the plot is as follows: After yet another preventable forest fire, the CEO of California’s largest energy monopoly is found murdered in Stockton, and only Jake and Issa can find the real killer. Sounds good, right?! Anyhoo, in order to celebrate I’ll be doing a whole bunch of events! Here’s a list with more to come, I hope to see you soon!!!

August 22: San Diego Lit Fest

September 12: San Jose Book Fair

September 19, 10am: Ripon Bookstore
September 19, 12pm: Haggin Meet the Maker
September 19, 5pm: Tracy sip and stroll

September 20, 11am: Midnights Bookstore in Lodi

September 26: Stockton Apple Fest

October 3: Wordstock

October 10: Greater Valley Bookfest

October 11: NovelTea

October 17th: Bookish Modesto

October 22-25: World Fantasy Con

November 11: NovelTea

I told you there was… MORE TO COME!!!

Celebrate Indie Bookstore Day at Mr. Otto’s!

Indie bookstores are the low watermark for a civilized culture. nowhere else will you find people so deeply devoted to the written word. And I’ll be reading and signing at Stockton’s premier (and only) indie bookseller, Mr. Otto’s Bookstore on the Miracle Mile! Swing by why dontcha, I might just be reading the opening chapter from my soon-to-be-published sequel to Old Debts, Petty, Greedy, and Evil…

Talking Structure at The Haggin Museum

On Saturday, January 25th, I’ll be in the Haggin Museum at 2 o’clock giving my world “famous” one-hour presentation on how to write a novel. I’ll be covering everything from KM Weiland to Dwight Swain with a focus on how simple techniques compose macro-structure in modern writing. It should be instructive and fun, but if it’s boring then at least we’ll be in The Haggin which is a gorgeous place be no matter what mood you’re in.

Book Signing and Reading!

For one night only, tonight at The Write Place I’ll be signing books and reading from them. Well, not all of them. I’ve chosen three chapters from Old Debts that I find particularly important and we’ll take a deeper dive into each, but I’ll also be sharing chapter one of the sequel, Petty, Greedy, and Evil! So even though I know it’s last minute why don’t you stop by at 6PM, there will be wine…