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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Tampered by Ross Pennie wins the Hamilton Arts Council's Bookworm Award


The Hamilton Arts Council has awarded The Bookworm Award for Fiction to Ross Pennie for his medical mystery Tampered, the second book in the Dr. Zol Szabo series

Congratulations, Ross!

Visit Ross's site here. Both Tampered and Tainted (Ross's earlier mystery) are available from ECW Press here. Information about submitting to ECW 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.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Urve Tamberg at LitLive in Hamilton this Sunday, Dec 2



Urve Tamberg will read from The Darkest Corner of the World this Sunday, December 2, as part of the LitLive reading series. 

Readings start at 7:30 p.m. at the Sky Dragon Centre, 27 King William Street, Hamilton, Ontario. Map here

Read more about The Darkest Corner of the World 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.

Love Letters and Writer to Writer


Dear Brian,
My award-winning short story collection, The Meaning of Children has been doing great in Canada, but I was frustrated at not being able to reach into the American market. Then I had a virtual “meeting” with best-selling self-published sensation Martin Crosbie (see my Globe and Mail article, “How to become an e-book sensation. Seriously,” here) and decided to  self-publish the e-version of The Meaning of Children on Amazon. (See here.)  

I’ve been working away on Amazon for about 6 months now, and on my last Amazon KDP Select Giveaway, nearly 4,500 people downloaded a copy of my book. I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to prove that there are thousands of people out there hungry for moving literary fiction, and I’m grateful there are so many free tools nowadays to help a writer find her readership.

Sincerely,
Beverly Akerman
http://beverlyakerman.blogspot.ca/
P.S. You can see a link to a related trailer I made not long ago here. Thanks for all your helpful tips and encouragement!


Brian,
I'm thrilled about this – I just submitted my story "The Smoke Under the Floor Boards" to CommuterLit and they’re publishing it!
Susan McCrae
Read Susan’s story here. For information on submitting to CommuterLit, see here.


Hi, Brian.
I was a student in your Living Arts Centre's Creative Writing workshop this summer and I wanted to inform you that I had an article I wrote published – I was part of a club in high school and the content seemed relevant to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution so I emailed them with an idea and now it's published.
I just wanted to share the good news with you!
Check it out here.
Regards,
Sucheta S.


Hi, Brian.
I was pleased to have my article published in the Globe and Mail. This was the one I wrote for class for the "show and tell" exercise. You can read it here.
Thanks!
Prabha
For information on submitting an essay to Facts and Arguments at the Globe & Mail, see here.


Writer to Writer

I have written a YA novel and I'd like to find a writing buddy who is willing to read and critique my manuscript. In return, I would read and critique yours.
If you are interested, please email me at robinsonseven@hotmail.com
Anitha


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.

Monday, November 26, 2012

You’re invited to the book launch for Where Were You?


Where Were you?
 (A collection of stories by Elliot Lakers
about the terrible tragedy of the mall collapse in June 2012)
Compiled by
Gloria Jean Hansen
                                                 
Book launch and signing 
Friday, December 14
1 to 4 p.m.
Gallery at the Center
Lester B. Pearson Civic Center in Elliot Lake
Contributors and author will read excerpts throughout the afternoon.
Free draws for books on the hour
Refreshments and live music by the Algoma Wildflowers!

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.

Finding Matthew by Donna Kirk




 

Hi, Brian,
We sold 111 copies of Finding Matthew at the launch, the biggest author signing event yet at Chapters Oakville. Matthew has a lot of fans. 

Please let your readers know that Finding Matthew can be purchased online at Chapters/Indigo (here) and Amazon (here). It is also a downloadable book. Anyone who doesn’t want to buy the book online can contact me directly, and I’d be glad to send or deliver a signed copy to them.

All profits from the book will be going to charity. The agency that supported Matthew  Brampton Caledon Community Living  couldn’t have been more supportive financially and emotionally. 
Donna Kirk
donnakirk@cogeco.ca


Finding Matthew
A child with brain damage, a young man with mental illness, a son and a brother with extraordinary courage by Donna Kirk

During the first few weeks after Matthew Kirk was born – brain-damaged as a result of oxygen deprivation during delivery – the doctors advised his parents, Donna and Ed Kirk, to put him in an institution, have another baby as soon as possible, and get on with their life.
But what the doctors didn't understand was that Matthew was their life. Indeed, as he grew, he would surprise everyone with his athletic good looks, spirited personality, and supreme ability to create joy and love as so many people gathered around to help him throug

Published by BPS Books in November
Promotion in January 2013
 
h his physical and mental struggles.
Now, with the publication of this clear-eyed, laugh-inducing, and heart-tugging book, Donna Kirk recounts the story — the love story — of how she and her family found Matthew, and how he found them.
Donna Kirk is also the author of short stories, which have been published in The Daily American, Ars Medica, CommuterLit, and Quick Brown Fox. She is also a former entrepreneur, having co-founded a company which sold tennis clothing to most of the tennis clubs in the GTA over a 15-year period. She lives with her husband, Ed, in Oakville, Ontario.

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.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Tom Thomson's “West Wind” by Val Cureton



West Wind, it’s called, the last one, the unfinished business yet so very complete.   Experts describe the painting as “a symbol of romantic solitude,” “a magnified bonsai” and “iconic.”  This canvas features a single tree, with sinuous branches almost bending to kiss the pink granite rock from which it originates.  The sky above is undercoated with vermilion, expertly left uncovered in spots to portray a moving, windy sky. 

The clouds blow as if the wind had some agenda, some destination or purpose, not unlike an old woman, head bowed, on a private and pressing mission only she can divulge but won’t. The legacy of Tom Thomson – the art nouveau style, his depressive state, the bottom of the lake from which his body was recovered – still lives on as does the art and the mystery.     

He consumed many hours transferring the sketched image of West Wind to canvas, pencil translated to paint, all the while deciding where the tree should be, where the wind would be seen or not seen, where the red would meet brown, meet blue or ochre.  It was fall, after all and the west winds would blow in and conjure the waves that would pound the rocky shore that would darken under the damp. 

All had to be mixed to precision in order that the portrayal be honest and unpretentious, revealing and real, true to spirit and country and then, only then, could he pronounce it finished.  But it was not.  He abandoned this masterpiece, on purpose, not on purpose, it will be never known, to dive forever into the murky depths of Canoe Lake.  His death, on purpose, not on purpose, left the world West Wind, finished or unfinished, is what it is. 

But what, actually, is it?  A study in movement by one of the most accomplished artists in Canadian history?  A labour of love, a dedication to the art of art?  Or perhaps, among the critics, the admirers, the collectors, there isn’t an explanation.  West Wind just blows, and the sky transforms from grey to cerulean in an instant, and the whipped waves form a cornucopia of moody blues, whites and greys, and the pine tree in the foreground, bent, twisted and majestic endures, despite the impossibility of feeding from the inch deep soil it occupies.    

He would never know how his work would elevate his status, from a poor painter living hand to mouth in Algonquin Park who could never quite hold down a regular job, whether as park ranger or graphic artist, to a Canadian legend.  He would never know if Winni Trainer actually carried his baby.  He would never know how my heart would be wrapped in awe by the sheer beauty of a single tree on a single rock on the shores of a lake in Northern Ontario. It is my West Wind, with soul and without pretence, done or undone, suicide or accident, it all doesn’t matter as it rests in my pure Canadian heart. 

Val Cureton enjoys writing short stories, flash fiction and is currently working on draft two of a middle grade novel involving one of her first childhood loves, lake monsters. Her work has been published in Canadian Stories Magazine and on Quick Brown Fox. 

A busy hockey mom and wife, Val can be spotted at the rink with her laptop at the ready in case inspiration strikes.

Val can be contacted through her newly launched blog at www.inthesoup.weebly.com, follow her on Twitter @writingrocks413 or connect on Facebook at In The Soup.

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.



Saturday, November 24, 2012

How to Get Published workshop, Saturday, March 16, in Peterborough


How to Get Published
Saturday, March 16, 2013
(Not Sunday, as originally advertised)
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Note change in Venue:
Peterborough Museum and Archives
300 Hunter Street East, Peterborough, Ontario (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!

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.

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

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' 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.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Echolocation, Marco Polo and The Travel Itch want your writing


Echolocation Magazine invites entries for their chapbook contest, The Chase. Interpret the theme in poetry (2 pages max.) or prose (1500 word limit). Entry fee: $5. Top prize in each category: $100 + publication in a chapbook. 
Deadline: December 5, 2012.


Marco Polo Arts Magazine seeks creative nonfiction and will publish the best 100 entries. Your nonfiction must be no longer or shorter than 500 words, title excluded. Break out of the mold and surprise us and yourself. Top prize winner will receive a hardcover edition of Under The Big Black Sun: California Art 1974-1981, a journal, and a film on DVD, probably an awesome French film.
Deadline: December 31st 2012, with selected entries published before and after the deadline. Send submissions and/or questions to marcopoloartsmag@gmail.com
Complete guidelines here.



Hi, Brian.
I hope you are well. Would it be possible to repost our call for submissions for thertravelitch.com on Quick Brown Fox?
Nigel

Sure…

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

Thursday, November 22, 2012

How to Get Published workshop, Sunday, March 17, in Kingston


Carly Watters or P.S. Literary Agency
How to Get Published
An editor & an agent tell all
Sunday, March 17, 2013
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Lions Club of Kingston

824 John counter Blvd, Kingston, Ontario (Map here.)
(Note that the date and location of this workshop have changed from what was originally advertised.)

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!

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.

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 Carly Watters is an Associate Agent at the P.S. Literary Agency. P.S. was established by Curtis Russell in 2005. It's located in Oakville, Ontario, and represents commercial fiction and nonfiction. It is also seeking literary fiction and crossover Young Adult fiction. P.S. seeks to work with clients who are professional and committed to their goals. In addition to contract negotiations, editorial and marketing guidance, the agency will pursue foreign, audio, digital, TV/film and serial rights for its clients.

Carly represents a diverse list of fiction, nonfiction and children's authors including Mary Akers, Ian T Healy, Jay Onrait, and Colin Mochrie. Never without a book on hand, she reads across categories which is reflected in the genres she represents, including literary and commercial fiction, upmarket nonfiction, YA and picture books.

Carly did her MA in Publishing Studies at City University London in the UK where she worked in the publishing industry at the Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency, and Bloomsbury PLC before returning to Canada in 2010 to join the P.S Literary Agency. She attends Book Expo America in New York, the London Book Fair, and the International Festival of Authors in Toronto.

For more about P.S. Literary Agency, see here
.

Fee: $38.94 + 13% hst = $44 paid in advance
or $42.48 + 13% hst =
$48 if you wait to pay at the door.
To reserve your spot, 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.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Ross Yoon Literary Agency seeks serious nonfiction


Gail Ross & Howard Yoon
Ross Yoon
1666 Connecticut Ave NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20009

Ross Yoon is a literary agency specializing in serious nonfiction on a variety of topics: everything from memoir and history and biography to popular science, business, and psychology. Their clients include CEO’s, top doctors, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, academics, politicos, and radio and television personalities.

Anna Sproul-Latimer is the newest member of the team. For the past five years, Anna has been handling foreign rights for the agency, but recently she’s begun to build her won client list.

What is she looking for? “In two words, adult nonfiction. In six: nonfiction by and for the curious. I represent authors who explore new frontiers, uncover hidden histories, and embed themselves in unusual places. Their energy is so contagious, and their ideas so important, that they’ve already begun to attract media coverage and a national audience.
“Whether they’re journalists, top bloggers, performers, theologians, or scientists, my clients are sharply observant and often LOL-funny, but never cynical. A good example is my client Caitlin Doughty, creator of the “Ask a Mortician” series, whose book I recently sold in an eight-way auction to W.W. Norton.

“Whether an agent chooses to work with an author – or doesn’t – often boils down to the personality match. All of us agents try to acquire for a range of different readers, but if something is of personal interest, we’re excited before we even turn the page. Therefore, here’s me in some alphabetically-organized keywords: airplanes, Americana, Bill Bryson, death, England, Gene Weingarten, Jezebel, Jim Henson, @LongReads, Mary Roach, Mervyn Peake, New York magazine, Pitcairn Island, pop culture, psychology, rock music, the Simpsons, Sloane Crosley, weird, William Langewiesche.”

Anna does not want fiction or children’s books.
“I also do not want self-help that’s more about the messenger than the message. (If your work makes use of either of these phrases—’patented method,’ ‘paradigm shift’—we probably won’t get along.) Political screeds, liberal and conservative. Authors who don’t understand the value of collaborative editorial process: at one extreme, those who want to ‘build their brand’ with a book, any book; at the other, artistes. Finally, ‘everything you know is wrong’ Gladwelly-type books about mind, brain, and behavior. There might be room left in the market for these, but I’m tired of reading them.”

Submissions:
“Please e-mail me a short pitch at: anna@rossyoon.com
Say who you are and what you’d like to write. Include a chapter outline and a couple of sample chapters (if you have them). If you’re an expert with an idea but no sample material yet, that’s fine too; just be ready to explain your idea in some detail. “I do read every submission I receive carefully, although I might not be able to respond to you in detail.”


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, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Writing for Children and for Young Adults workshop, Sat, Feb 9, in Hamilton


"Writing for Children & for Young Adults,
the world's hottest market"
Saturday, February 9, 2013
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Volunteer Hamilton, 267 King Street East, Hamilton, Ontario
At King and Ferguson in downtown Hamilton – be warned, a few different places in Hamilton share the same address. Correct map here.

Whether you want to write the next best-selling children’s books or just want to create stories for your own kids, this workshop is for you. Learn how to write stories kids and young adults will love, and find out what you need to know to sell your book.

Special option: You may, but don't have to, bring 2 or 3 copies of the opening couple pages (first 500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel. (Or if 1,000 words will get you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first chapter, bring that.) If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry, we’ll get you started on the spot!

Workshop leader 
Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He is also the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing Inc).

"Brian’s the real deal. He isn't just an inspiring teacher – he's plugged into the publishing world! He got me an agent who sold my first novel, Bitten, to publishers around the world. More recently, my young adult novel, The Awakening, hit number 1 on the New York Times bestsellers' list. And Random House Canada, Bantam U.S. and Little Brown in Britain have contracted my next seven books."
~ Kelley Armstrong, Aylmer, Ontario, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Calling and other supernatural thrillers for teens and adults.

Fee: $38.94 + 13% hst = $44 paid in advance 
or $42.48 + 13% hst = $48 if you wait to pay at the door
To reserve a spot now, email: 
brianhenry@sympatico.ca  

Photos: Two books by Brian's students – The Calling, a young adult novel by Kelley Armstrong and Business in Bangkok, a picture book by Lynn Westerhout.

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.