How to Get Published with literary agents as guest speakers & other great writing workshops in April

The Waterproof Bible by Andrew Kaufman,
one of Sam Hiyate's clients

“How to Get Published”

~ An editor & an agent tell all ~

Offered in two locales:

Saturday, April 12, 2014

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Harcourt United Church, 87 Dean Ave, Guelph, Ontario (Map here.)

And

Saturday, April 19, 2014

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
London Public Library, 251 Dundas St., London, 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 creative writing 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 their first book published and launch their careers as authors.

Sam Hiyate

In Guelph, on April 12, our guest speaker will be literary Sam Hiyate of The Rights Factory, while on April 19 in London, our guest speaker will be literary agent Olga Filina, also of The Rights Factory.  

The Rights Factory is a boutique literary agency that deals in intellectual property rights for entertainment products, including books, comics & graphic novels, film, television, and video games. TRF works directly with publishers, producers, studios, game developers and other rights-buyers in all territories, occasionally in conjunction with local representatives. 

The Rights Factory has an esteemed roster of both fiction and non-fiction writers including Jennifer Close, debut author of the must-read short story collection, Girls In White Dresses; Margot Berwin, author of Hot House Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire (optioned by Julia Roberts in conjunction with Columbia Pictures for film rights), and the forthcoming paranormal romance, Aromata.

Among others, Sam Hiyate represents Andrew Kaufman, author of such literary works as All My Friends Are Superheroes and The Waterproof Bible; Rupinder Gill, a staff writer at This Hour Has 22 Minutes and author of the humorous memoir On the Outside Looking Indian; and David Gilmour, multi-award winning author of The Film Club and upcoming The Perfect Order of Things.

Olga Filina is an associate agent at The Rights Factory. Before joining TRF, Olga Filina spent over a decade as a sales manager and book buyer for both national and book store chains and two years as a literary assistant at The Cooke Agency.

While Olga will read anything that may set her book clubs on fire, she gravitates towards commercial and historical fiction, great genre fiction in the area of romance and mystery, nonfiction in the field of business, wellness, lifestyle and memoir and young adult and middle grade novels with memorable characters. In her spare time, Olga sits on library boards, organizes literary festivals and runs more book clubs than she can count.

Besides Olga, The Rights Factory has six other literary agents, all looking for authors. More on The Rights Factory here and here.

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

“Secrets of Writing a Page-turner”

Saturday, April 26, 201410:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Cawthra Park United Church, 1465 Leda Ave, Mississauga (Map here.)

Ever stayed up all night reading a book?  In this workshop, you’ll learn you how to build that kind of tension.  And we'll help you put into practice the techniques professionals use – on every page and in every kind of story – to create drama and tension.

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 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: $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 

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Toronto, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.