Back on line after Labour Day

"Finding Justice," a short story by Connie Cook

It was a busy Friday evening at the local grocers. All the checkouts were full and I was in the express line, patiently waiting. The express line means 12 items or less. The sign said so. As I waited my turn, I looked at the cashier. She reminded me of my daughter on her first summer job. A little flushed and trying to do her best. Probably she was on day one after orientation and training. She fumbled a bit on weighing items and took a bit longer to check out the codes for pricing.

Most customers took the time to peruse the strategically placed items found at all checkouts; those last minute things you toss into your basket and were definitely not on your list of things to buy.

All was well, except for the lady directly in front of me. She tossed her perfectly coiffed, highlighted hair back and forth while complaining “I’m going to be late,” in a loud voice on her cell phone. She rolled her eyes at anyone who dared make eye contact with her.

Her high-heeled shoes tapped a staccato on the terrazzo floor. She was in a hurry to be somewhere else. I cringed when she shouted, “Can’t you go any faster? This is the express line, you know!”

My heart went out to the checkout girl. At the same time I counted not 12 but 20 items in this customer’s basket. I tried to keep silent, but as her agitation continued I felt compelled to tap her on the shoulder and said, “Can’t you just cut her some slack? She’s doing her best.” The icy blue stare I got in return could have frozen hell over. She sniffed and turned away.

When she finally got her turn, she threw her items on the conveyor belt and continued her toe tapping dance. By now, the cashier was beet red, but still managed to stay calm. The customer tossed the cash on the counter for her purchases, and raced out of the store.

I couldn’t help but congratulate the cashier on keeping her cool and she smiled. “Yes, it’s my first day, and most people have been really good.”

As I left the store, I couldn’t suppress my laughter at the scenario outside. A tow truck was pulling a Hummer out of the No Parking Zone. There was “Ms. more than 12 items,” clutching her shopping bag, waving her cell phone, and running in high-heeled pursuit after the truck.

Sometimes, you just have to love justice.

Connie Cook, based in Port Credit, Ontario, has been writing short stories for the last three years and is currently working on her first novel. She’s constantly on the lookout for real life scenarios and is amazed what you can learn just by observing and listening. Finding Justice was previously published on CommuterLit.com. For information on submitting to CommuterLit, see here.

This summer, Connie took part in the Intensive Creative Writing course in Burlington. Three courses starting this fall still have space: Welcome to Creative Writing in Burlington on Tuesday afternoons (see here) and The Next Step in Creative Writing, offered on Thursday afternoons in Mississauga (see here) and on Thursday evenings in Georgetown (see here).

See Brian's full 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.

New literary journal seeks poetry and essays

Northern Cardinal Review is an electronic journal featuring poetry, nonfiction essays, and book reviews from residents of Canada and the northern border states of the U.S. 

We are currently working on our Fall Issue, which is our first issue. Submissions are geographically limited to Canada and the northern border states of the U.S. (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, North Dakota, Montana, New York, Vermont, Maine, and Alaska).  We accept poetry, nonfiction essays, book reviews, and cover art.

Poetry Guidelines

Include up to 5 poems in the body of an e-mail. Each poem must be less than 30 lines.

You don’t need to conform to a theme, though we tend to love poems that talk about natural grandeur, wildlife, outdoor living, scenes, and fond memories. We are pretty open on form/style. We have our biases, but we would rather not let them taint what we receive. You can’t go wrong with vivid writing that has a musical voice.

Nonfiction Essay Guidelines

Include 1 essay less than 2,000 words in the body of an e-mail. You don’t need to conform to a theme, though we tend to love essays that talk about natural grandeur, wildlife, outdoor living, scenes, and fond memories.

Book Review Guidelines

We will rarely accept book reviews, but we are willing to consider yours if you feel it is exceptional. Include 1 book review less than 1,000 words in the body of an e-mail.

Cover Art Guidelines

We are looking for JPEG, PNG, or GIF file art on the theme of “cardinal in fall”.

Full submission guidelines here.

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.

You Be The Judge Short Story Writing Contest

Frustrated Writers Presents...

You Be The Judge Short Story Writing Contest

Send in an 800 – 2,500 word short story. 

Our judges pick 30 and then we publish them in our debut anthology. Winners receive one free copy of the book and order forms for discounted books. Authors keep the profits from those sales. From there your readers vote in the You Be The Judge part of the competition.

The grand prize winner receives $500

Deadline October 5th, 2012

Entry fee: $25 for first submission, $10 for subsequent submissions

Send entries to:

Rose-Ann Marchitto

177 Churchland Dr.

Barrie, ON L4N 8N5

or email to roseann4u2@gmail.com

and use pay pal on our web page

Complete rules here www.frustratedwriters.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.

Random House of Canada launches Hazlitt, an online literary journal and Hazlitt Originals, an ebook imprint

Patrick Graham, author of 
The Man Who Went To War,
to be published by Hazlitt Originals

By Mark Medley, The National Post

With newspapers and magazines entering the world of book publishing — the National Post, for instance, launched a line of e-books in 2011 — perhaps it should come as no surprise that book publishers are entering the world of magazines and newspapers.

On Thursday, Random House of Canada launched Hazlitt, an online magazine that anchors the company’s new digital strategy and transforms the company’s previously moribund website into a new publication featuring original content from established and emerging writers.

“The founding premise of the magazine is that good writers, good voices, can make any topic interesting,” said Robert Wheaton, the company’s vice president and director of strategic digital business development, at a presentation unveiling the website earlier this week.

Overseeing the magazine are director of digital publishing Christopher Frey, as editor-in-chief, and senior editor Alexandra Molotkow.

“We have to stop thinking of ourselves as just factories of books, and think of all the different ways that we can connect with people, and tell stories,” said Frey.

The magazine is just one part in the company’s larger digital transformation. Also launching this week is Hazlitt Originals, a line of e-books in the tradition of Byliner Originals and Kindle Singles. The first title is The Man Who Went To War, a memoir about Canadian journalist Patrick Graham’s experiences in Libya, while future titles include UK journalist Steven Poole’s “anti-foodie screed” You Aren’t What You Eat and Ivor Tossell’s The Gift of Ford, about the controversial Toronto mayor.

“Traditionally, publishers have used their websites for sales and marketing,” said Brad Martin, Random House of Canada’s president and CEO, in a press release announcing the new ventures. “We believe publishers should also use their websites to publish.”

Dear Reader: Hazlitt hasn’t put out a call for submissions yet, but when they do, I’ll let you know – Brian

See my 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.

“At Midlife, I See That…” by Joan Vinall-Cox

At Midlife, I See That…

Courage at eighty is different from at twenty

But both ages carry their future constantly -

A fearsome thrust into an unmapped wilderness.

To carry your future at twenty is to seek

The wilderness because it must be mapped

And shaped. There are roads to clear and homes

To build, and no one has given you a plan

For your wilderness, (just the one they didn’t use in theirs).

So you thrust forward, knowing too little and enough,

Building blindly wherever you find a clearing, lifting

The log of your childhood so it bridges your fears,

Confident that it might not collapse on you.

A fearsome thrust carrying life forward blindly

At eighty requires enough love to endure

Despite loss, and endure because of loss to come,

And endure because of the sweetness still here, if

Courage persists. And, despite (because?) the compass pointing

Through the wilderness to the edge of the map,

Tells a tale seen over and over about endings, despite this,

To work through today knowing

too much, and not enough, about tomorrow.

Courage at eighty is different from at twenty

But both ages carry their future constantly -

A fearsome thrust into an unmapped wilderness.

Joan Vinall-Cox has loved poetry all her life, and even taught a poetry appreciation course for a few years. When she writes, sometimes it’s about her own experiences and sometimes she takes on a persona, imagining how others might see the world from their vantage points.

This summer, Joan took part in the Intensive Creative Writing course in Burlington. Three courses starting this fall still have space: Welcome to Creative Writing in Burlington on Tuesday afternoons (see here) and The Next Step in Creative Writing, offered on Thursday afternoons in Mississauga (see here) and on Thursday evenings in Georgetown (see here).

See Brian's full 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.

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs takes the #1 spot in Bestselling Canadian Fiction

This week, our bestseller’s list is the Canadian Fiction list from the CBC. This list has two of Kelley Armstrong’s books listed: Thirteen and  Werewolves. (Kelley is a former student who will be our guest speaker at the Secrets of Writing a Page-turner workshop on October 27 in London, Ontario – details here.) 

I'd greatly welcome a review of any of the books on this top ten list to post here on Quick Brown Fox. If you'll volunteer to write a review, I might be able to get you a review copy  - Brian

Canadian Fiction

1.		Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs (Pocket Books)	Paperback	$12.99
2.		The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje (Random House of Canada)	Paperback	$22.00
3.		Room by Emma Donoghue (HarperCollins Canada)	Mass Market	$10.99
4.		The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay (Random House of Canada)	Paperback	$22.00
5.		A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (St. Martin's Press)	Paperback	$16.99
6.		Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (HarperCollins)	Mass Market	$9.99
7.		Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong (Random House of Canada)	Hardcover	$29.95
8.		Werewolves by Kelley Armstrong (Random House of Canada)	Paperback	$29.95
9.		Web of Angels by Lilian Nattel (Random House of Canada)	Paperback	$22.00
10.		The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (House of Anansi)	Paperback	$22.95

See my 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.

Liat Justin joins Serendipity Literary Agency, seeks big idea books, YA, historical fiction and speculative fiction

Serendipity Literary Agency

305 Gates Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11216

http://www.serendipitylit.com/

Liat Justin has joined Serendipity Literary Agency as an Associate Agent. Before joining Serendipity, Liat began her publishing career as an intern at PMA Literary and Film Management. 

In addition to her passion for reading, Liat has a love for film, traveling, going to concerts, and doing puzzles. Liat dislikes spicy food, going to the dentist, and cooked peppers.

Liat is actively seeking to represent a broad range of projects and is open to emerging authors. Her sweet spot genres include narrative nonfiction (especially ‘big idea’ books), YA, historical fiction, pop culture, humor, sports-related, and speculative fiction.  While Liat is very open to a variety of genres, she is currently not interested in romance, Christian fiction, and thrillers. 

Submissions:

Serendipity has a stupid submissions form, but they do ask for the first 50 pages or first three chapters, so that’s good. Fiction submission guidelines here. Nonfiction guidelines here. Children’s books guidelines here.

More about Serendipity and agents looking for authors here.

Brian Henry will lead a “Writing for Children and for Young Adults” workshop in Newmarket on Saturday, September 22 (see here), and he'll lead a "How to Get Published" workshop on Saturday, October 13, in Toronto with Monica Pacheco of The Anne McDermid literary agency (see here). But the best step you can take toward getting published is to take one of Brian’s weekly courses, such as The Next Step in Creative Writing (see here), though beginners will want to start with Welcome to Creative Writing (see here).

See Brian's full 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.

Two new books: "The Break," a new YA novel by Nelsa Roberto and "Waking Up Gilligan" by J.R. MacLean

Hi, Brian.

I’m a former student of yours – as are so many writers in the Toronto area! Two years ago I had my first YA novel published (Illegally Blonde, Great Plains Teen Fiction, 2010) and I’m really thrilled to let you and your readers know that my second YA, The Break, was just released this year also with Great Plains Teen Fiction.

The Winnipeg Free Press called The Break “a realistic novel with a dash of romance that teens will find appealing.”

CM magazine, a periodical that advises schools and libraries on Canadian children’s literature gave it a Recommended rating and said: 

“Teen readers who enjoy real life stories about changing relationships and family dynamics will gobble this one up. The Break will be especially poignant for readers who have very strong relationships with their grandparents, or whose grandparents live with them. Teens struggling with change or loss would also benefit from reading this story. The Break is a strong addition to any public or school library collection where stories about real life and families circulate well.”

Nelsa with Illegally Blonde

Thank you, Brian, for being one of the teachers who helped me reach my goal of publication. I’d dreamed of getting a book published one day and now I have two. Dreams sometimes do become reality!

Sincerely,

Nelsa Roberto

www.out-of-the-wordwork.blogspot.com

Twitter: @nelsaroberto  

For information about submitting to Great Plains Publishing, see here.

For information about Nelsa’s first book, Illegally Blonde, see here.

Dear Brian

I'm delighted to tell you that my novel Waking Up Gilligan has been completed and is available in nearly every ebook format at smashwords.com. The first chunk of it is available for free, but the remaining 87% will cost you $9.99. (See here.)

“Waking Up Gilligan is at once hilarious and evocative, sexy and sublime, silly and serious, epic and ephemeral — a hysterical parody of enlightenment that becomes itself enlightened. Richly poetic, wonderfully paced, persistent, intelligent, knowledgeable prose that remains somehow always attentive and accessible. An immensely playful novel. A working man’s John Barth. A romantic’s Tom Robbins. A journey to be savored and a story to be finished. Set in a well-researched and for me (a 58-year-old Americanadian) nostalgic era, it has no expiry date. This book will be as interesting and relevant a hundred years from now as it is today and would’ve been thirty years ago when the story takes place. I feel honored to have been asked to edit it.” –Christopher K. Miller

I enjoyed your workshop here in Peterborough, Brian. Hope you're back this way again.

J.R. contempalting life

Cheers,

 J.R. MacLean 

 http://www.JRMACLEAN.ca

J.R.,
I’m back in Peterborough this Sunday, Aug 26, for a How to Make Yourself Write workshop. (Details here.) See ya there. 

- Brian

See my full 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.