New Canadian literary agency / micro-publisher wants your manuscript

Walden House (Books & Stuff)

284 Hiram Street
Bracebridge, Ontario

http://www.waldenhousebooks.com/        

Walden House is a combined literary agency and micro-publisher. Founded in Bracebridge, Muskoka, in April 2011, the company has been actively involved in the preparation of its authors’ manuscripts, and assisting in the building of their platforms and marketability prior to presenting them to prospective clients.

“We first concentrated on the YA genre and have now ventured into the self-help arena,” says Brenda Paterson, the company’s co-founder. “Because we’re a new and small company, we intend to keep the number of books we serve to a manageable minimum. No manuscript is disregarded at this point. And we actually do read them all.”

“Author-centric is a term we use because we put the author first in all considerations,” adds Paterson. “Walden House also encourages our authors to participate in promoting not just their own work, but the work of other writers represented by the company. We’re all on the same exciting adventure, and the success of one will impact the success of the others.”

Although based in Muskoka, Walden House currently represents authors from across North America. Also unique to the company is its Editorial Selection Committee, a group made up of volunteer readers, writers and editors who vet proposed manuscripts. They represent various age groups (9-82), experience and are wide spread geographically.

Although focusing on its agency work (a number of its manuscripts are currently being considered by publishers in Canada, the US and Europe, but no sales yet), Walden House will consider publishing ventures with titles it feels have local appeal or would appeal to niche markets. One such title, Alex Mortimer & The Beast & Wildeor by Walden House co-founder Bryan Dearsley, a novel for young readers, has sold almost 1,000 copies in Muskoka through local bookstores and venues such as the RMS Segwun steamship, aboard which some of the action of the book takes place.

Query Brenda at: info@waldenhousebooks.com

Your submission should include:

1. A brief description of your project.

2. Author bio, including published writing, awards, professional or personal contacts that may be relevant.

3. A vision of how to market the book and to what demographic.

4. The first three chapters of your manuscript double-spaced.

5. Only e-submissions will be accepted.

Brian Henry will be leading a "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshop in Hamilton on February 9 (details here). Also, he'll be leading "How to Get Published" workshops on March 16 in Kingston (details here) and on March 17 in Peterborough (details here). To register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca  

But probably the best single step you can take toward getting manuscript ready for publication is to join one of the “Next Step” or “Intensive” creative writing courses. Starting in January, Brian will be leading “Next Step” courses in Mississauga (details here) and in Georgetown (details here). He’ll be leading   “Intensive” courses in Burlington (details here) and in Mississauga (details 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, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write Great Characters workshop, Saturday, March 23, in London

“How to Write Great Characters”

Saturday, March 23
10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
London Central Library, 251 Dundas Street, London, Ontario (Map here.)

Whatever you're writing – fiction or nonfiction – readers will care about your story only if they care about your people. In this workshop, you'll learn techniques for creating fictional characters and depicting real people. You’ll learn how to breathe life into the page so that your characters start telling you how the story should go.

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

Fee: $38.94 + hst = $44 paid in advance by mail or by Interac
or $42.48 + hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve a spot now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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.

Parenthood Stories seeks stories about motherhood for free contest

Parenthood Stories is accepting entries for their first contest, Motherhood Adventure. Submit fiction or non-fiction stories about motherhood, 400 to 4,000 words. 

First prize: $200; second prize: $100; third prize: $50. No entry fee.

Deadline: November 30, 2012

Full contest rules 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.

"How Could She?" By Elaine Cougler

I stood in the full shade of the towering maple next to the pig-run fence husking corn and pitching the hairy green husks into the mass of snuffling pigs. As we had done together all my teenage years, Mom and I were bagging corn for the freezer. Usually my younger brothers had helped but this year just Mom and I had the job. School had started for the others but not for me.

One by one I peeled the cobs and piled them into the big green dishpan while over and over, with the back of my hand, I swiped at the tears streaming down my face. With only the filthy pigs to hear, I spit out words. How could she wait to tell me? Till today of all days?

The next day I was leaving for my first day at university. My excitement had steadily built all this long summer of scrubbing and paste-waxing our farmhouse floor every week, doing ten loads of laundry in our old Easy Spin-Rinse washer three times a week, and peeling pounds and pounds of potatoes every night for our big family. My new adventure couldn’t come soon enough. I was ready for the courses, for sure, but even more ready for dates with my sweetheart, for parties, for football games, for fun.

And now she told me I had to come home every weekend. Why? Because she was having a baby and needed my help. Another baby! This would make thirteen. Wasn’t it time to stop?  I whipped another clean cob at the dishpan and watched the squishy spurt of yellow juice. I didn’t care. About the corn or the new baby or my mother.

I kept husking. As the dishpan filled I tried to stop sobbing before going back into the house where she was waiting to blanch, cut, and bag the corn. Every other year I had enjoyed this comfortable but quiet time with my mother.

But today she’d told me she was pregnant. Oh, she didn’t use the adult word. Just said she was having a baby. Nineteen I was, and she could not speak the word pregnant to me. Left it until today, the day before my great adventure, to tell me. And why? She wanted me home every weekend to work.

I stifled my tears and carried the corn into the house. I was sure my mother could see I had been crying but she said nothing and I said nothing. In fact, I didn’t speak to her all the rest of that day or the next morning or during the half hour car trip to my student residence. For the first time, she had on maternity clothes, a dark brown jumper thing over a paisley patterned blouse, both saved from the last baby. She parked the car at the front door and I unloaded my stuff to the curb. She helped me carry it into the lobby and up to my room where we set it all down. I noticed a navy case with wide white edges on the other bed. We walked out in silence to my last suitcase.

She stopped by the car door and looked at me. I couldn’t say more than “bye.” I don’t remember either of us smiling; certainly there were no hugs or kisses. I picked up the bag with my pillow in it and turned away as the car started. I didn’t look back.

Weeks passed before I went home. I didn’t call my parents and they didn’t call me. Perhaps she thought better of it, her plan to get me home to work every weekend, I don’t know. But the distance between us narrowed as, bit by bit, I swallowed my anger and began missing my family. When I did go back, showing off my new course books, all seemed normal. Mom was bigger, of course, but she hugged me and held me a moment before stepping back and smiling.

In November I was leaving the rec hall after the evening meal with my friends when I saw my father standing by the door, felt hat in hand, dressed in his suit and overcoat. We hugged and he told me he had something to tell me. I took him into a large empty room with a ping pong table and some couches along the side. We sat and my Dad stared at the felt hat in his big, rough hands.

“Your mother is in the hospital. She…she had a heart attack!” His voice broke.  

“Oh, no.” My fingernails dug into my thighs. Suddenly I remembered her wanting me home weekends. “I should have been there!  She needed me and I didn’t go home, Dad!” I thought of that day in September and began to cry.

For a few moments we both sat sobbing on a lumpy brown couch in an abandoned hall on a bitter cold night in nasty November.

My dad touched my shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault, Susan. They gave her too much blood at the hospital.”

“But why was she there?”

“She had a nosebleed that wouldn’t stop, and I drove her to the hospital in town. They rushed her by ambulance to the prenatal ward up here. Between the two hospitals they lost count of the blood they gave her.” His voice rose. “They gave her too much!”

Someone else made a mistake. Not me. The stiffness left my muscles and my clenched teeth relaxed. I was not to blame. With a profound relief I turned to my dad. His face was red and his yellow-green eyes, the exact shade of Mom’s, were brimming with tears.

I had only ever seen him cry once before – when his best friend hanged himself in his own barn – and my arms slid around him as he told me what I already knew: she was his life and he couldn’t live without her.

After my classes the next day, I took the bus to the hospital and found the room in the prenatal ward where my mother lay in a narrow bed with tubes in her arms and up her nose. She looked ghastly but I tried to smile. Her voice creaked as she asked me to brush her cracked lips with the glycerin on the table. Breathing through her mouth made talking difficult but she managed to smile with both her mouth and her eyes. To reassure me. We chatted about school until it was time to leave and I kissed her cheek giving her all the comfort I could give.

At the bus stop the tears started. I fought them back as I slipped my coin into the slot, avoiding the driver’s eyes, found a seat near the back, and let the haunting picture of my sick mother take over my mind. I cried. Silently, I think, but I really didn’t care. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my quiet but sure strength.

My mother recovered and gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby girl, named for Sister Donna Marie at the hospital, and Mom and I went on to forge a new and wonderful bond of adult friendship which lasted for the rest of her life. Today as I look at her picture I see kind eyes, a happy smile, soft cheeks and a beautiful, powerful spirit.

And I am angry no more.

Elaine Cougler was born and raised in the heart of Southwestern Ontario’s dairy country. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, she taught French, English and Computer Studies at various high schools across the province. Writing is Elaine’s pleasure and her obsession. She has written two books of family memories, a cookbook, a children’s book, and The Loyalist’s Wife, her historical novel, which she hopes to publish next year. Currently she is working on the sequel. On Becoming a Wordsmith is Elaine’s writing blog where she blogs about the journey to publication and beyond.

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.

“It is so much friendlier with two” by Anne Peace

Busy, busy, and busier still – an attempt to keep from falling down, down and down still, into darkness.

Grief is so close I can taste it.  I know it will poison me if I ingest it and so I stay, mouth shut, not taking much of anything in. My fraternal twin sister Lizzie has died.  Every second of the past eight months has been noted and freeze framed.  Will I ever be carefree again? Will time ever pass me by in a simple way?

I am at an event sponsored by an organization supporting women in business.  The owner of an Oakville consignment store is displaying her wares and giving her business a boost by providing wine and stuff to eat.  I choose wine in the same way that I have chosen not to feel.  Any anesthetic will do.

Neutral seems like a safe emotional zone and so with an artificial smile on my face and glass in hand I move through the store.

At the back of the store I am completely caught off guard.

There is this picture with Piglet and Pooh telling me “It is So Much Friendlier With Two”

And here, in this tsunami of perspective altering, I felt joy and gratitude.

I had known my sister for 58 years and I can tell you clearly, it was so much more friendlier with two.

There they were, there we were, holding hands, facing forward, Piglet bringing along one flower, on this expedition called living.  We had always walked forward together, one step at a time, Lizzie’s little hand in Anne’s big hand with Lizzie bringing along beauty, loyalty, hope and joy.

And in that infinitesimal moment I felt the shift from grief to joy.  It was in this moment that I knew that Lizzie and I were still facing forward together, hand-in-hand in a way that I was just beginning to understand and know.

It was gratitude that knocked me over and poured out joy.

Oh yes Lizzie, it is so much friendlier with two.  I love you.

Anne Peace writes about her life and the lives of those around her. She has had careers as a Public Health Nurse in Peel, an Early Childhood Educator at Sheridan College and now enjoys coaching clients who are in transition in their lives. She has co-authored a self-published book called "Newborn Life. Fostering Joy In the First Year of Motherhood" She is a mother, grandmother,friend, speaker, author and lover of life.

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.

Stories wanted for book about kids eating food from around the globe

Brian,

I am writing a book based on my Eat Planet blog that I did in Toronto when the kids and I set out to eat every cuisine in the world. In the book, so far, I write about our food experiences and travel, but I would love other people's travel food stories with their kids and tips and suggestions on getting their kids to try new foods.

The idea of this book is to promote kids to eat a variety of foods, including ethnic foods. I am a firm believer that children can learn to love all different types of food at a very early age. My kids, John and Julia, are a testament to that. I also believe that through food, children can learn about the world, other cultures and develop a healthy curiosity about travel and experiencing new things.

Below is a list of questions to give writers an idea of what I am looking for. I’m not looking for anyone to write answers to any of these questions; they’re prompts for the kind of stories I’m looking for. I will, of course give credit to those who contribute. I would like the stories back to me by November 13.

Contact: Jenniferbushman@gmail.com

Hope all is well with you. Things are fine with me and I have many writing projects in the works - and almost done with a novel that takes place in Burma. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks

Jennifer Bushman

http://eatplanet.blogspot.ca/

Questions:

1. Do you have any interesting food memories? What was your first food memory? What were your favorite foods as a child?

2. What foods make you feel nostalgic and why?

3. How have you gotten your kids to try new foods? Do you have any special methods?

4. What are your family food traditions or celebrations? Family food traditions can mean anything you do regularly around meals, even if it’s ordering pizza on Friday nights.

5. I like taking my kids to interesting food markets and grocery stores. Describe the farmers markets, butcher shops, bakeries, and ethnic grocery stores that you go to in your area. Do you ever take your kids with you?

6. Tell me one of your travel stories and eating the local cuisines. The travel can be overseas, in your area or in the US too.

7. Describe the local cuisine in the area you live. Does your city, or country, have a particular dish, or type of food that its known for? Do you and your kids enjoy eating this dish?

8. Tell me a story about taking your kids to an ethnic restaurant. How did it go? What was it like? Did your kids eat the food?

9. Have you or your kids eaten anything weird?

10. Do you cook with your kids? If so, what dishes do you cook? You can include desserts.

11. How do you make family mealtime special?

12. Do you have anything to say about feeding your kids healthy food? Do your children eat lots of processed food? How do you regulate or monitor what they eat? Are you strict or lenient about what your kids eat, and why?

13.Do you have any recipes you’d like to share?

14. Feel free to add anything you want about getting your kids to eat, any food experiences, travel stories, etc.

See Brian Henry'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.

Ginger Curwen joins Julia Lord literary agency, seeks mysteries and thrillers

Shield of Three Lions
by Pamela Kaubman,
represented by Julia Lord agency

Julia Lord Literary Management

38 West Ninth Street

New York, NY  10011

http://julialordliterary.com/

Ginger Curwen is returning to publishing, joining Julia Lord Literary Management as an agent representing mysteries and thrillers. Before leaving the industry, Curwen worked at HarperCollins, the American Booksellers Association, Bantam, and Random House.

Query Ginger or other agents at Julia Lord at: query@julialordliterary.com

No attachments. Paste your query, a synopsis and the first five pages of your manuscript into the body or your email. Full submission guidelines here.

Probably the best single step you can take toward getting manuscript ready for publication is to join one of the “Next Step” or “Intensive” creative writing courses. Starting in January, Brian will be leading “Next Step” courses in Mississauga (details here) and in Georgetown (details here). He’ll be leading   “Intensive” courses in Burlington (details here) and in Mississauga (details here).

See Brian Henry'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.

Intensive Creative Writing course, Wed evenings, Jan 23 – March 13, in Mississauga

“Intensive Creative Writing”

 Eight weeks of creative growth

Wednesday evenings, Jan 23 to March 13

6:45 – 9:00 p.m.

First set of readings emailed Jan 16
Sheridan United Church, 2501 Truscott Drive, Mississauga, Ontario (Map here.)

This course is for people who are working on their own writing. Over the eight classes, you’ll be asked to bring in four 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: $132.74 plus 13% hst = $150

Payment in advance by mail or Interac.

Advance registration only. These courses usually fill up, so enroll early to avoid disappointment.

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

Note: A similar course, The Next Step in Creative Writing, is offered Thursday afternoons, 12:30 to 2:45 p.m., in Mississauga (see here) and Thursday evenings, 6:45 to 9:00 p.m. in Georgetown (see here). To register, 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, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Next Step in Creative Writing course, Thursday afternoons, Jan 24 – March 14, in Mississauga

The Next Step in Creative Writing

8 weeks of creative growth

Thursday afternoons, Jan 24 to March 14,
12:45 – 2:45 p.m.

Unity Church, Unit 8, 3075 Ridgeway Drive, Mississauga. (Map here.) 

This course will challenge you to take a step up in your writing.  The format will be similar to the "Intensive" courses, but with less reading between classes each week, leaving you with more writing time.

Over the eight weeks of classes, you’ll be asked to bring in three 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 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: $132.74 13% hst = $150.  Payment in advance by mail or e-transfer.

Note: These courses 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, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.