Dear [Agent],
I am so excited to share my narrative nonfiction piece, Caminamos: Finding Ourselves Together on the Camino de Santiago, with you. With so many teens suffering from loneliness, I wondered how I was staying connected—and I think that walking the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage across Spain, helped me to find my stride. This book is an inspiring and timely exploration of the relationships that connect us, even as we walk our own paths. It is for anyone who has dreamed of walking the Camino, and for everyone in the midst of the human experience of developing as an individual within a community.
When my mom was just out of college, she spent a summer biking across the United States, and she always told me that nothing felt more empowering than moving herself across a map. So when I was thirteen, she decided it was time for me to have an experience like that—and we started to prepare for a long bike trip with the same organization she’d gone with. But after months of preparation, the trip was canceled, and we were left reeling. Pressed for time, but eager to salvage our goal, we stumbled upon the Camino de Santiago—and in less than a week we had a new plan. But this was not the biking trip we’d anticipated. We were going to walk. Across Spain.
Despite the turnaround, I was thrilled with this new idea. But, while my mom was sure I could do it, I had no clue what it would be like to walk almost 600 miles in a month. And neither of us had any idea what the walk would show us about coming together—and letting go—as we navigated the ups and downs of each grueling and glorious day, building confidence, connection, and humility all at once.
I am a high school sophomore and Girls Write Now mentee from Ithaca, New York. My interests have long included writing, walking, and relationships, and I have lately been focused on loneliness. When I’m not writing or walking, you might find me putting my interest in relationships into practice, including teaching younger kids flute and penny whistle and working on my latest project—building a tiny house with my grandpa.
Caminamos means “we walk,” and, accordingly, this book explores what it means to build connection while walking your own path. Thank you so much for reading this and considering representation!
Sincerely,
Amaya Michaelides
Dear X,
I’m thrilled to send you my memoir, Vagabond, complete at 55,000 words. Set in the busy streets of Lusaka, Vagabond follows the story of a young African girl named Lily who has never really settled down and her search for what it means to belong. Humorous, reflective and enlightening, Vagabond explores societal norms, identity and the enduring memories of a child. It’s perfect for fans of Trevor Noah’s, Born a Crime.
Following a summer with her grandma and hearing a certain comment, Lily feels a distinct shift. She desperately tries to ignore it and busies herself with school but when she temporarily moves to her aunt’s place during seventh grade, Lily can no longer dismiss what happened that summer as just in her head. After carefully reviewing a series of buried encounters, Lily begins to wonder if she was ever a part of her family.
Her parents and siblings return from their trip, and as always, Lily decides to push the uncomfortable thoughts from her mind. Instead, she focuses on what she does best – school. She manages to do well on her finals and is shipped off to her father’s alma mater, David Kaunda, not too far from home. There, Lily meets her seven roommates and realizes how sheltered she has been from ‘real life’ and her own culture.
Initially close, she no longer feels connected to her friends and quietly resigns herself to being a convenient background until her parents reveal a huge revelation. Now she has to deal with an entirely new culture, country and people. Feeling like she was an outsider in Zambia and being virtual stranger to the people around her, Lily is forced to evaluate the meaning of being an ‘insider’ and what underlying feelings are preventing her achieving that.
I am a high school student, who has no experience with publishing but I’m hoping with your help, I might have a future in writing. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,
Lilian.
Logline: In my nonfiction narrative piece Caminamos: Finding Ourselves Together on the Camino de Santiago, a 13-year-old and her mother embark on a walk across Spain, and neither of them can ever look back.