“Safe at Home,” a reminiscence by Jennifer Smith Gray

"Woman on Couch" by Mari Mackie

You sit in your LazyBoy, feet up, head resting. Your eyes shift between the pages of a Nero Wolfe caper (glasses off) and the ball game (glasses on).

I lie on the couch, not watching the game, not talking to you, but wrapped in the quiet ease of both.

Late September chill spills down to the basement, though the furnace sits idle until next month. I tug the afghan up around my shoulders, snuggled in a half-dream.

A word from the sponsors steers you back to your novel. You cough, turn a page, and light another cigarette.

The voice of the Tigers jumps in and out of my head. The crack of the bat and Ernie Harwell’s play-by-play wakes me in waves. Between plays I drift back.

“Bullshit!” you jeer and I know the ump got it wrong.

Ernie, more delicately, agrees.

The room slowly dims as the sun angles behind the tall pine. The side door opens with a screech. Practice is over and the resident soccer player thunders down the stairs to off-load muddy cleats in the laundry room. Mom calls down for supper.

“The bottom of the eighth!” Ernie says, and I know the soup and grilled cheese will be cold when you and I make it to the table. I settle back in to daydream another inning.

“Trammell to Whitaker … Double play! … Two for the price of one.”

Saturday afternoon.

Jennifer Smith Gray is a graduate of the University of Waterloo's English - Rhetoric and Professional Writing program, and has extensive business and technical writing and editing experience. In recent years, she has been nurturing her inner creative writer, working on short stories, personal essays, and memoirs.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Call for submissions for One Thousand Trees online magazine

Good afternoon, Brian!
I was one of the attendees at your workshop at Harcourt Church in Guelph, and thoroughly enjoyed it!

As I believe I mentioned then, in October 2010, I launched a website and online magazine, devoted to facilitating wellness and connection. See here.
Each month, I’m looking for articles (usually around 1,000 words, though they can be as short or as long as you need them to be) from individuals and organizations who are committed to the same goals and values that I highlight in One Thousand Trees.

My February 2012 edition will focus on Pets.

Please submit by email, either in the body of your message, or as a Word doc attachment, by the above-stated deadlines. Please do not send PDFs.

If you have not previously submitted an article for One Thousand Trees, please also send a brief (two to three sentence) bio of yourself, and a head shot in JPEG format. Although I don't pay for submissions, I would include a link to your website from my own, as well as including your photo and bio on the Contributors page of my magazine.

Sincerely,
Lisa Browning
lisa@onethousandtrees.com

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Whitecap Books

"Whitecap Books is one of Canada’s leading independent book publishers. Our diverse list features full-colour gift books on almost every North American state, province, and major city along with books on food, wine, gardening, health and well-being, regional history, and regional guidebooks.

"We publish books for children and youth under our Walrus Books imprint." Unfortunately, Walrus is not currently accepting submissions.

Whitecap is interested in reviewing unsolicited manuscript submissions in the following categories:
Cookbooks
Wine and spirits
Regional travel
Home and garden
Canadian history
North American natural history

Submissions:
Please do not send a completed manuscript. When submitting an idea for a book to Whitecap, please include the following information:

Cover letter: Introduce yourself and include information about your experience including your educational and professional background, and your previous publishing credits. Tell us why your book idea is a good one: Why is a book like this one needed? Who would buy it? How does it differ from competing titles? In what ways is it like similar titles?

Synopsis of the book: For food and wine books, the synopsis should include a table of contents with a list of chapters. For cookbooks, your proposal should also include at least 15 sample recipes. Include information about proposed photographs; do you photograph your own food? If so, include samples (never originals).
If you are interested in having your previously self-published book reviewed, please include a copy of the book.

Submit all materials by mail to:

Rights and Acquisitions
351 Lynn Avenue 

North Vancouver, BC  V7J 2C4

Full submission guidelines here.

Brian Henry will be leading a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).
 
See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write a Bestseller workshop, Sunday, April 29, Peterborough

How to Write a Bestseller
Sunday, April 29
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Jackson Creek , 481 Reid Street, Peterborough (Map here.)

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published; some – such as Kelley Armstrong – have even landed on the New York Times bestseller's list.

Fee: $32.74 + 13% hst = $37 paid in advance
or $35.40 + 13% hst = $40 if you wait to pay at the door.
To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Friends of the Merril Short Story Contest for speculative fiction

The Friends of the Merril Collection are running a Speculative Fiction Short Story Contest in order to raise awareness of the Toronto Public Library's Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy.

The Merril Collection houses a comprehensive array of over 72,000 items of Speculative, SF and Fantasy Fiction, including hardcover and paperback fiction, first and rare editions, TPB graphic works and comic collections, pulp and later era magazines, fanzines, research material and critical essays/reference works and compendia – as well as donated original manuscripts from authors such as Phyllis Gottlieb and Guy Gavriel Kay.

The contest is open to international entrants without restriction on country of residence, entrant’s publication history (or lack thereof), or any other delimiting factors (though entrants not of age of majority will need a parent or guardian’s permission in order to enter).

Entries must be original, previously unpublished short stories with a maximum length of 4,000 words, and must be submitted as an e-mailed .rtf attachment (composed in Standard Manuscript Format) to fomsscontest@gmail.com

First Prize: $350 and 1 copy of the limited edition booklet containing the winning stories
Second Prize: $100 and 1 copy of the limited edition booklet containing the winning stories
Third Prize: $50 and 1 copy of the limited edition booklet containing the winning stories

Deadline: February 15, 2012. Each entry must be accompanied by an entry fee of $5. Visit the Friends of the Merril and find the full contest rules here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

"My First Canadian Winter" by Tammy the cat, with keyboarding by Barbara Fairhead

"Bloody hell," thought Tammy as she jumped through the cat door and landed slap bang in solid cold wet white. She was so taken aback that she almost forgot why she was jumping through the cat door in the first place. So this was snow! She shuddered. She was beginning to miss her house in England, warm and cosy with lots of scrumptious wildlife in the garden. Somehow, a bunch of squirrels and the Rottweiler next door weren’t quite the same.

As she shook the snow off her paws, a traumatised Tammy decided it was time for affirmative action. Using the last vestiges of her digestive resources, she re-entered the house and peed all over a nice new pair of snow boots. This resulted in a lot of swearing and the purchase of a beautiful canopied litter box. Very satisfying. No more visits to the great outdoors – that’s for sure.

Tammy, an American shorthair with just a touch of Maine Coon, had come to Canada about three months ago. She knew it was three months because Neil and Barbara just got their OHIP cards and could now go and see a vet.

Honestly. What was the big deal? Tammy had never had an OHIP card and she saw the vet all the time. AND she wasn‘t that excited about it. When the kids came home for Christmas, one of them was very ill and had to go to the hospital. No card and LOTS of excitement. Go figure.

Tammy had come accompanied by Indigo, a magnificent Siamese, Chyna the dog, and the servants, Neil and Barbara. Quite understandably, Tammy was Barbara’s vision of cat beauty – a big stripy feline who spills over her knees. Beautiful, intelligent, a great hunter in her day (although nothing like the legendary Rocky, who dragged a duck through the cat flap, and if she never heard that story again, she would be very happy), she could now devote her life to sleeping. Sigh. Her favourite.

Sometimes, though, the nightmares would come. All those injections, being stuck in a box and put on a plane. Bad enough. But then it took Barbara and Neil HOURS to get them out of cargo handling at the airport – a girl can only hold it for so long, and then life gets very wet and smelly. Then three weeks house arrest with two idiot Labradors. The horror!

Tammy also liked sitting on the computer (honing her keyboard skills) – the new laptop was very comfortable – and beating up the dog. She also developed literary interests, which for a time were satisfied by chewing holes in whatever newspaper Neil and Barbara were reading. Now, however, she needed to create. What a good job she’d sent Barbara to that writing class.

She had had a terrible time trying to figure out which voice to use to write this little memoir. Should she use the first person or a narrator? She had been tempted to use the first person. That way she thought, “It would be me talking about me. And even if I’m not talking about me, it’s still me who’s talking.”

All a bit academic since Barbara had the computer.

Now that trips outside were no longer mandatory, Tammy could also devote herself to watching Chyna and Indie launch themselves into the garden, trying to decide which paw will go on the ground and how quickly they can lift it up.

Indie’s face when he hit his first snow pile was quite the picture. Indie didn’t say much but Tammy was sure that whatever he said started with an F...

Indie doesn’t like the back yard and keeps trying to escape through the front door. Weeks and weeks and weeks of snow, and he still hasn’t figured out that there is just as much snow outside the front door as there is at the back. Chyna isn’t too bright either. She now wears a red jacket and BOOTS when she goes for a walk. Although, to be fair, Tammy thought, that was probably Barbara’s idea.

Minus 4 and wind chill factor of minus 14, the weatherman said. That probably meant it was cold. And there was Indie throwing himself at the front door yet again. As for Neil and Barbara, they were going out! As Tammy always said, ‘No fur, no brain.’

Back to bed with Chyna. Not such a bad old sort after all. Chyna was a bit grizzled and had a bad heart but was perfectly trained. Occasionally, Tammy has heard Neil and Barbara talk about getting a new dog when Chyna died.

“Over my dead body,” thought Tammy. It had taken 14 years of hissing and gentle love taps for Chyna to learn her place. The thought of training another dog was just too exhausting….

Barbara Fairhead and her husband moved to Canada two years ago. They got to sit in the sardine section upstairs while their pets, Tammy, Indie and Chyna had to slum it in their individually designed, fully upholstered, turned-around-three-times Skykennels. Great Royal Family fans, the Fairheads celebrated the Royal wedding with royal blue trifle and fascinators. The enclosed photo is of Chyna wearing her fascinator. Barbara's was not quite so successful.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

When Hearts Collide by Kendra James (known to many of us as Bev Irwin)

Molly Tanner, unjustly suspended from her nursing position, is choosing flight over fight. Driving along a lonely, twisting highway, Molly misses a deer, but the oncoming car is not so lucky. She rushes to aid the injured motorist. Slumped over the steering wheel, he is not moving, but Molly hears the cry of a child coming from the backseat.

Smelling gas and afraid of the car exploding, Molly pulls the driver and child to safety. Semi-conscious, Pearce beseeches her to pretend to be his wife so his daughter won’t go into foster care again. Remembering her own life in the system, she agrees. But while caring for Gracie, and her father, Molly finds she’s in danger of losing her heart to both of them.

When Hearts Collide is available from Soulmate Publishing here.
Visit Kendra on-line here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Rebecca Carter is joining Janklow & Nesbit's UK office

New York:
445 Park Ave.
New York, N.Y. 10022-2606
London:
13a Hillgate Street,
London, W8 7SP, England
http://www.janklowandnesbit.com/

Janklow & Nesbit is one of the world's premier literary agencies. Rebecca Carter comes to the agency from Random House UK, where she has long been an editor, most recently with Random House's Harvill Secker imprint.

Rebecca's chief interest is in literary fiction, though she's also edited nonfiction. She has a particular love of unusual narrative history, and novels that explore hidden corners of the past (or present).

Books she has edited include Némirovsky’s Suite Française, Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Atiq Rahimi’s Earth and Ashes, Gerard Woodward’s August trilogy, Ma Jian’s Beijing Coma, Javier Marías’s Your Face Tomorrow, Diana Evans’s 26a, Tom Reiss’s The Orientalist, Faïza Guène’s Just Like Tomorrow, Tim Butcher’s Blood River and Xiaolu Guo’s A Concise Chinese–English Dictionary for Lovers. You can read an interesting piece written by Rebecca here.

Submissions
Query Janklow and Nesbit's New York office at: info@janklow.com
Query the UK office at: queries@janklow.co.uk

Brian Henry will be leading a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, reviewed by Michelle A. Greenberg

Doubleday Canada, 2009, 304 pages; $14.40 (paperback).

If you were to cross Marie Curie with Nancy Drew, the result would be Flavia de Luce; a precocious child in the post-WWII English countryside with a passion for poison and a propensity for mischief. Canadian author Alan Bradley’s series of mystery novels surrounding the adventures of Flavia de Luce are written with the old-school charm of a vintage Agatha Christie novel. There is never a dull moment in the village of Bishop’s Lacey, and Flavia is sure to weasel her way into the heart of it.

In The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, you get to know Flavia and her beloved laboratory as she solves her first murder with a variety of impressive deductions. Of course, Flavia finds the body, and although the police are involved, she can’t help but investigate this one herself.

The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag follows Flavia over the course of yet another murder with a rather odd set of events that will keep you wondering what she will discover next. The third volume of Flavia’s adventures, A Red Herring Without Mustard, was released in 2011 with a fourth to be released in November 2011 and at least two more in process. If you love mystery with a touch of whimsy and a side of eccentricity, you won’t be able to put Flavia aside.

Quick Brown Fox welcomes book reviews, interviews with authors and other book-related articles. Guidelines here.

Michelle Greenberg is a real estate professional in Toronto, Ontario. In her off-duty hours, she spends a lot of her time with her nose buried in a book. Sometimes, she likes to write her own stories and is working on improving her creative writing skills. In the past, she has contributed food reviews to online magazine Prospere and continues to blog irregularly here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Happy Hanukkah!

When the sun goes down, it's time to light the first candle...
Best of the season to everyone!
- Brian

The 2012 Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar – available now!

Whether you’re a beginner or advanced writer, if you’re looking for places to send your work, you should put contests on your list. The Canadian Writers’ Contest Calendar gives a full listing of contests in Canada arranged by deadline date. It lists contests for short stories, poetry, children’s writing, novels, and non-fiction – contests for just about everyone.

The 2012 edition is now available and costs just $20 at one of Brian Henry's workshops or classes or $23.50 by mail (all taxes and shipping included).

Update, June 24, 2012: 
The Contest Calendar is now on sale for $5 off: just $15 at one of Brian Henry's workshops or classes or $18.50 by mail or Interac (all taxes and shipping included.) Order soon. I have just 4 copies left and then that's it till next year's calendar. Note that the Calendar lists annual contests, so it stays useful for a long time.
To order, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write a Bestseller workshop, Saturday, April 28, Kingston

How to Write a Bestseller
Saturday, April 28
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Lions Club, 935 Sydenham Road, Kingston. (Map here.)

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published; some – such as Kelley Armstrong – have even landed on the New York Times bestseller's list.

Fee: $32.74 + 13% hst = $37 paid in advance
or $35.40 + 13% hst = $40 if you wait to pay at the door.

To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Travel Itch magazine seeks stories of your adventures and misadventures and your reviews of restaurants, travel books, movies...

Hello, Brian
We are a fledgling, Vancouver-based online travel magazine. could you post this call for submissions for us?
- Bradley
http://thetravelitch.com/

You bet. That's what Quick Brown Fox is here for...

"The Travel Itch is the next best thing to experiencing Canada and the world firsthand. It offers fresh Canadian perspectives on travel that entertain and inform while agitating the itch to go. We are hunting for original travel articles from blossoming and bloomed Canadian writers about their travel experiences at home or abroad."

Adventures stories should be a maximum of 1,500 words. Travel Itch especially wants tales of far-flung places or experiences off the beaten path. Must include photos.

Misadventures should maintain respect for the people or cultures involved and should exhibit a strong sense of humour. Maximum 1,500 words.

Travel Itch also wants narratives from kids. Maximum 900 words.

Reviews of restaurants and local foods and drinks in far flung locales, and articles about unique recipes, culinary events, reviews of cookbooks, etc.should be a maximum 1,000 words.

Reviews of travel narratives, guidebooks, pictorials, travel films, etc. should be a maximum 1,000 words.

Full submission guidelines here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

InkTank call for submissions

Hi, Brian.
It's Ricky Lima from your creative writing class last year. I'm writing you to tell you about a literary blog I’ve started with a couple of other people. It's called InkTank Magazine and it's a small online publication. We like to publish different creative works and really strive for quality. Each issue has its own theme.

January's the month to dispose of all the wrapping paper and toss out that old fruit cake. Pull up your stockings because this month InkTank is going through your trash. So let's tour he landfill, take some time to reflect on all the excess, or just keep on celebrating! How about some hair of the dog that bit you instead? Deliver us your best garbage on a silver platter. Tell us your tales of excess or discuss where the world is over-doing it or just falling short. Send us your prose or poetry by Dec 31st.

For the February issue, we're looking for submissions dealing with the theme Individuality & the Multitude. Use your imagination! Submissions due Jan 14 or Jan 31 for 2nd editon.

We accept a wide variety of content from many mediums and genres. This includes (but isn’t limited to) prose, poetry, editorials, opinion pieces, essays, multimedia, comics, etc. If you’re not sure it fits, email us a pitch and we’ll check it out.

Read our full submission guidelines here. Check out themes for upcoming issues here. And check out the December issue of Inktank here.

All the best,
Ricky Lima
http://inktankmagazine.com/

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Love Letters

Hello Brian,
I have attended a workshop of yours and have never stopped writing since. I recently tied first place in my local library writing contest with my short story "The Piano Lesson". I won $350! It is going to be in the Meaford Independant online along with the other winners of the contest.
Alison Hall
You can read Alison’s story here.


Hi, Brian.
Here’s my big news: I’ve sold A Shadow in the Past. It's the manuscript I brought to your Writing for Children and Young Adults workshop back in April. (Yeah, I know, it’s not a kid’s book.)

Since then, it underwent a major update and I entered it in the Mills & Boon New Voices contest. I got a lot of feedback from there, most of which was the beginning was too long. So back to the drawing board and I completely re-wrote the first three chapters.

I heard about the Muse It Up online writing conference so signed up for it and appointments to pitch to editors and agents. So on October 4, I pitched to Vivian Zabel at 4RV Publishing and she asked me to submit. I wasn't expecting to hear back right away since their website says 3 – 6 months and only if they're interested. You can imagine my surprise when later that evening, I got an e-mail from them saying, "We're offering you a contract."

The release date is scheduled for May/June 2012.

I really enjoyed the workshop in Kingston and am looking forward to more. I think there are only three that I've not attended.

Melanie Robertson-King
www.melanierobertson-king.com

Hi, Brian.
Another of my short stories, "The Gift" has been accepted for publication for the month of December at http://howyahdoon.blogspot.com/

Two of my poems have been published as well. "Floating" in the 60th Anniversary book of Tower Poetry Society, as well as my poem "Dancing Willow" which has been exhibited at the Art Walk in Dundas, Ontario.

I look forward to another time you come to Hamilton so that I might once again take another course.
Wilma Seville.


Hi, Brian.
I took your advice from the workshop you gave at the World's Biggest Bookstore and for the first time I submitted a piece of my writing – a poem, actually – and it was accepted by a publication and will be published next February 2012 in Poetic Pinup Revue!

I always felt my written pieces were like children and hesitated putting them out there into the world, but you gave me the nudge I needed. I'm ready! Thank you! As for the story I started in your workshop, I will be expanding on it, and changing the location.

Take care and have a great day!
Donna Ortolan

Hi Brian,
I took your Writing for Children workshop several years ago in Woodstock. I am pleased to announce, my novel, Search for the Quinset Keepers, has just been published by OakTara Publishing. I read the opening chapter at the workshop and it was discussed and a few suggestions offered.

It’s a YA science fiction adventure which I used to read to my grade seven students every year. The parents pushed me to find a publisher when I retired. Thanks again for your help at the workshop.
Armand Matte
More info about the novel can be found here.

Writer to Writer:
Published author/English teacher-in-training is eager to edit manuscripts for very reasonable rates. For more information, email brandon.c.crilly@gmail.com  
Thanks,
Brandon Crilly


Hi, Brian.
Just heard from commuterlit.com and they're going to post my story, Life in Hand. Yay! This is the one I wrote during the summer class. Thank you for your helpful feedback and support!
Brenda Buchanon

Read Brenda's story here.
For information on submitting to CommuterLit, see here.

See Brian's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Get Published workshop, Saturday, June 9, in Brampton with guest Monica Pacheco of the Anne McDermid literary agency

Eutopia by David Nickle,
one of Monica's clients

An editor & an agent tell all
Saturday, June 9
10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Four Corners Library, 65 Queen St E.  Brampton (Map here.)

If you've ever dreamed of becoming a published author, this workshop is for you. We’ll cover everything from getting started to getting an agent, from getting your short pieces published to finding a book publisher, from writing a query letter to writing what the publishers want. Bring your questions. Come and get ready to be published!

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He has helped many of his students get their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Guest speaker Monica Pacheco is a literary agent with Anne McDermid and Associates. The McDermid agency represents literary novelists and commercial novelists of high quality and writers of non-fiction in the areas of memoir, biography, history, literary travel, narrative science, investigative journalism and true crime. The agency also represents a certain number of children's and YA writers and writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy.

The McDermid agency's clients include distinguished literary authors such as Esi Edugyan, winner of the 2011 Giller Prize, Michael Crummey, Greg Hollingshead, Andrew Pyper, Nino Ricci, David Adams Richards, Michael Winter and Vincent Lam. The agency also represents writers of narrative non-fiction, such as Charles Montgomery and James MacKinnon, both of whom won the Charles Taylor prize for literary non-fiction in their years of publication.

More recently, the agency has been branching out to represent upmarket commercial fiction writers, such as Leah McLaren from the Globe and Mail, Robert Wiersema, and Peter Darbyshire.

Monica represents a growing list of writers, focusing on children's, young adult, science fiction and fantasy. Her clients include actress/writer/director Sarah Polley whose children’s picture book she sold to HarperCollins Canada, Yves Meynard whose fantasy trilogy she sold to Tor/Macmillan, Madeline Ashby whose science fiction novel she sold to Angry Robot in the UK in a two-book deal, actress Katie Boland whose short story collection she sold to Brindle & Glass , and Bram Stoker Award-winning horror writer David Nickle.

More on the McDermid Agency here.

Special Option: Participants are invited to bring a draft of a query letter you might use to interest an agent or publisher in your book. You don’t need to bring anything, but if you do, 3 copies could be helpful.

Fee: $38.94 plus hst = $44 paid in advance
or $42.48 plus hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door

To reserve your spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Intensive Creative Writing course, Wednesday evenings, March 21 – June 13, Mississauga

Twelve weeks of creative growth
Wednesday evenings, 6:45 – 9:00 p.m.
First set of readings distributed March 21.
Classes run March 28 to June 13
Sheridan United Church, 2501 Truscott Drive, Mississauga (Map here.)

This course is for people who are working on their own writing. The format is similar to the "Intermediate" and "Extreme" courses: Over the twelve classes, you’ll be asked to bring in six pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures at the start of each class, addressing the needs of the group.

In addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led writing workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee: $170.80 plus 13% hst = $193
Advance registration only. These courses usually fill up, so enroll early to avoid disappointment.

To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca  

See Brian Henry's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Intensive Creative Writing course, Wednesday afternoons, March 21 – June 13, Burlington, Ontario

Twelve weeks of creative growth
Wednesday afternoons, 12:30 – 2:45 p.m.
First set of readings distributed March 21.
Classes run March 28 to June 13
Appleby United Church, 4407 Spruce Ave, Burlington. (Map here.)

This course is for people who are working on their own writing. The format is similar to the "Intermediate" and "Extreme" courses: Over the twelve classes, you’ll be asked to bring in six pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures at the start of each class, addressing the needs of the group.

In addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led writing workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee: $170.80 plus 13% hst = $193Advance registration only. These courses usually fill up, so enroll early to avoid disappointment.

To reserve a spot now, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca
 
See Brian Henry's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

You're invited to a book launch for Shades of Teale by Susan Crossman, Sunday, December 18

The new novel of love lost and hope restored

Hi Brian!
I’m telling everyone I know about my book launch, and you’re at the top of the list. Especially because I appreciate so much the insights and inspiration that grew out of attending your courses and seminars last year. They were all hugely valuable for me and great fun to boot!

Please drop by A Different Drummer Books, 513 Locust Street in Burlington (map here) on Saturday, December 18 from 1 to 3 p.m.

I'll be selling and signing copies of Shades of Teale and saying hi to all my friends. No reservation required, just drop in and say hello!

I’m also looking for volunteers to review the book(free copy provided!), so if anyone is interested, just let me know! You can find out more information about the novel here.
People can email me directly at susan@crossmancommunications.com

Best wishes for a bright and cheerful holiday season!
Warmly,
Susan Crossman

If you can't make the book launch to say hi to Susan and buy an autographed copy, Shades of Teal is available through Amazon.ca here. Or encourage your local bookseller to order a copy through the University of Toronto Press Distribution.

See information about Brian Henry's upcoming weekly writing courses here. See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

"L.C.B.O. Holiday Time" by Maureen Kozak

I was working hard on Wednesday,
It was load day at the store,
We were schlepping lots of boxes,
Demonstrating “Door to Floor.”
A customer approached me
With her bottle of red wine,
“Is it nice?” she said unsurely,
“Of course, madam, it’s just fine.”
The demands they are unending,
I sometimes want to scream,
Instead I opt for action
Dummying up the Irish Cream.

“Merlot,” said the young man,
“Cabernet,” said his aunts,
“Pouilly fussé,” said the lady
With the silver spandex pants.

My energy is flagging
And I think I need a drink,
Thank god for staff selections
And the Aussie mob for “Pink”.
Lines at cash are unending
But the staff is of good cheer,
And the music reassures us –
“It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”
The customers are demanding,
Sometimes we’re at a loss,
“I’m seeking a big promotion –
Where’s a cheap good wine for Boss?”

“Pinot Grigio,” said the young man,
“Chardonnay,” said his aunts,
“Pouilly fumé,” said the lady
With the silver spandex pants.

New Year’s Eve approaches
And the need for sparkling wine,
We’ll ring in “2012”
And champagne would be divine.
Again the stocks diminish,
Again the shelves are bare,
The customers search for product
And again it isn’t there.
Take heart, more wine loads cometh,
Once more, the store we’ll fill,
If there’s a way to solve your problems,
Then this staff has got the will!

“Amarone,” said the young man,
“Bardolino,” said his aunts,
“Manischewitz,” said the lady
With the silver spandex pants!

Maureen Kozak is an aspiring writer who lives in Oakville and works at the LCBO. When not dispensing holiday spirits to customers, she may be found at the back of the store setting up staff tastings.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Quick Brown Fox ~ The Cake

This past Monday, we concluded our class in Georgetown with a bit of a party. Everyone read a piece aloud to the whole group and brought all sorts of wonderful finger food to share, including this marvelous cake in the shape of a thick, multi-layered book. Thanks, Joan!

The baker/artist by the way was Jackie Thompson of Butterfly Cakebox in Caledon. See some more of her amazing creations here. 

And the cupcake was for Alejandra who had a birthday on Monday. Happy birthday, Alejandra!

- Brian

See information about upcoming weekly courses here.

See my full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

The Malahat Review 2012 Novella Prize

The Malahat Review, Canada's most prestigious literary journal, is accepting entries for its semi-annual novella contest for works of fiction, 10,000 to 20,000 words in length.

Deadline: February 1, 2012. Prize: $1500
Entry fee: $35 for entries from Canada; $40 USD for entries from the US; $45 USD for entries from elsewhere

Mail entries to:
The Malahat Review
Novella Prize
University of Victoria
PO Box 1700 Stn CSC
Victoria, BC  V8W 2Y2

This year's judges will be Valerie Compton, Gabriella Goliger, and Terence Young. Read a recent interview with our 2010 Novella Prize winner, Tony Tulathimutte here. Read the full contest guidelines here. For information about The Malahat Review's other contests and about submitting pieces not as part of a contest, see here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Call for submissions ~ Speculative fiction wanted for "Here be Monsters" anthology #6

Here Be Monsters is an anthology of short stories published out of Montreal.

"We are looking for unpublished works of speculative fiction in any genre, that are less than 10,000 words long. If you have a story that you would like to submit, please send it as an attached document to herebemonsters.info@gmail.com

"Put: 'Here Be Monsters Submission' in the subject line. In the body of the email, please give us your name, address, and an email or phone number where we can contact you.

"We are currently looking for stories for the sixth issue, which will be out in Winter 2012. The deadline to receive submissions is January 16th, 2012.

"Standard payment is $30 and a free copy of the anthology in which your story appears. Here Be Monsters will purchase first Canadian rights, non-exclusive anthology rights, and first online rights. We do consider simultaneous submissions, but please note this in the body of your submission email.

"We are looking forward to reading your stories. Thank you."

See the Here Be Monsters blog here. Submissions page here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

“Just another day at the office” by Lisa Nolan

Nigel sweated in his expensive Boss suit, even though his office was fully air-conditioned. “Bloody, hot Toronto and its humidity,” he muttered. After two sweltering summers he still wasn’t used to the heat. The extra weight he was carrying wasn’t helping either.

“I can’t believe you’ve lost it!” he bellowed to his articled clerk, Bryan, who Nigel had already decided was an imbecile. “How could you lose something so important? I asked you to put them in a safe place!”

“I did,” Bryan muttered, his teeth grinding as he tried not to spit the words out. In fact, as he distinctly remembered, he hadn’t put the envelope anywhere. He’d just left it among the mounds on his desk. Only problem was, the bloody envelope had disappeared.

Nigel bounced into the room and reached for his handkerchief. “These are important documents. I need them by the end of today, and I need that statement gone over as well.”

Bryan winced, the words slapping him across the face. This was going to be another late night. He had for once made some plans with a potential date. Sighing, he put together a private email suggesting they meet for dinner another night and pressed send.

“I don’t feel you’re concerned about this!” Nigel griped from his inner sanctum. “And I can see you’re not looking for it.”

Nigel’s plush office had a much coveted view of Bay Street and of the Lake, but personally Nigel enjoyed the inner window overlooking his clerk’s office, even more. He watched Bryan scrabbling to action - overturning books, files and photocopy boxes in vain. “You know people are queuing up for your job,” Nigel said to see if that would speed the search along.

Bryan muttered silent curses. “The rise up the ladder is a climb,” he whispered, repeating his daily mantra. But bloody hell, if he ever got out of here, he was heading straight for the Grisly Goat. A shot of Scotch and the company of other battered clerks wouldn’t actually improve his mood, but at least they’d listen to him whine – no matter how late it was.

“Christ, I don’t know where I’ve put them,” he muttered and recoiled back in his chair, his mind going over yesterday’s events for clues.

The phone rang and Nigel picked it up. Bryan watched as Nigel munched on doughnuts and talked at the same time.

Bryan kicked around a couple of neglected files on his desk. Nope, the missing in action envelope wasn’t hiding there. He heard Nigel put down the phone and stepped up his search, becoming more animated as he knew the spotlights from the prison tower were back on him.

“There will be no escaping early for you today. Oh, and I’ve run out of doughnuts, “Nigel said, handing the empty box to his beleaguered clerk.

Bryan grabbed his suit jacket and with his reply of “Okay” and “Lunch” travelling at the same speed as his departure he was gone.

Susie, the blonde, tight receptionist with a Texas drawl that made Nigel shudder, poked her head into Nigel’s office. “Oh you are here. Line 3, sir, its Carmichael from the London office.”

Nigel dragged his gaze away from Susie’s geography and went back into his sweatbox to take the call from his old chum. He let his belt buckle out another notch as he sat damply down for his usual lunchtime call.

Bryan returned with a box of doughnuts while he was still on the phone. “Keep looking, “Nigel ordered, covering the phone. “It’s got ‘Brewster’ written across the envelope. He’s one of the firm’s most important clients.”

Bryan shook his head in disbelief. This can’t be happening on my watch, he thought as the afternoon stretched painfully out before him. He frantically resumed the search around his dishevelled office and felt his liquid lunch returning. He stumbled over his crammed garbage can, spewing the contents over the floor. Damn, another mess!

He started refilling the garbage can and his fingers stuck to a box hidden underneath some screwed up papers. Now what? He wasn’t surprised to realize it was an old doughnut box, no doubt thrown into his trash by Nigel.

Bryan lifted the box gingerly by what he hoped was a clean corner and tossed the box aside to take to the kitchen garbage. It landed upside down. There stuck to the bottom was the envelope. Doubtless it had been captured when Nigel had put his box on Bryan’s desk.

Relieved, Bryan unglued the envelope from the box and waved it with triumph.

“Found ‘em! The Blue Jays tickets for Brewster. Envelope’s a bit sticky. Seems to be donut jelly. Strawberry, I think.”

Nigel turned red and Bryan smirked. This would definitely be a good story tonight at the Grisly Goat.

Lisa Nolan lives and works in Mississauga, Ontario. Originally from the UK, she has been enjoying her new life in Canada for three years. Her passion for the written word began with children’s poetry and collecting antique books as a teenager. She has recently started writing short fiction and is at work on her first novel.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Defending Glory by Anne K. Albert

Hi Brian,
I first had the privilege of meeting you many years ago via the Toronto Romance Writers. I also attended at least three (or perhaps it was four) of your workshops over the years.

I just wanted to let you know all the hard work has paid off. I've achieved my dream of being a published author, and I did it in both of my favourite genres - romantic suspense and mystery. :)

Vanilla Heart Publishing has released my romantic suspense novels, Defending Glory, the first book of myPiedmont Island Trilogy series ("where troubles outnumber residents") and Frank, Incense and Muriel,  the first book of my Muriel Reeves Mysteries series. It was also selected as a Top Pick by Night Owl Reviews!

Thank you for helping make it happen.

By the way, it was good to see you at your October 22 workshop in Elliot Lake and look forward to seeing you again.

Kindest regards,
Anne K. Albert
http://www.AnneKAlbert.com
http://anne-k-albert.blogspot.com

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Eric Hoffer Award for short prose

Each year, outstanding works of short prose deserve wider recognition. The Eric Hoffer Award for short prose recognizes excellence in writing with a $500 prize and various honors and distinctions.

Works of short prose (short stories or short creative nonfiction) must be less than 10,000 words, previously unpublished, or published with a circulation of less than 500. The winning prose and selected nominations are published annually in the anthology, Best New Writing.

Anyone can submit prose for The Hoffer Award.

Submitting to the Eric Hoffer Award & Best New Writing
1) Place your story in the body of an e-mail.
2) Place your personal information at the end of the story.
3) Place the word "submission" and your title in the subject line.
4) Send your e-mail nomination to submission@BestNewWriting.com

This e-mail address has been reserved for nominations only. Submissions are read quarterly following the last day of March, June, September, and December. You will receive a response within two weeks of those dates. If your story is promoted to the next level, it is being considered for the Hoffer prize. We will notify you of the judging progress between May and July, if not much sooner.

Full submission guidelines here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, OrangevilleGravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.