Readings and Music at the Black Swan Tavern in Toronto

Hi, Brian.

Would appreciate if you could let people know about this great event!

Thanks,

Donna Marrin

Markham Village Writers

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

Kira Vermond publishes her third kids book, Why We Live Where We Live, plus she's up for a top kids’ book award for Growing Up

Guelph-based children’s author Kira Vermond is among 10 finalists for the prestigious Red Maple Non-Fiction Award for 2015, part of the Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading program. 

Kira calls her book, Growing Up, Inside and Out (Owlkids), “a brave choice” for the nominating committee, noting it tackles a top-of-mind subject for the award’s target grade 7 and 8 demographic: puberty.

Although the book discusses how kids’ bodies change, Growing Up takes a more holistic (and humorous) approach to the adolescent years, tackling everything from brain chemistry to cliques and from being a transgender teen to forming healthy sexual relationships.

Kira Vermond

“I’m delighted the book has been nominated as part of the Forest of Reading 2015 program – it’s one of the biggies for kids’ books in Canada,” Kira says. “I’m particularly happy that more kids will get a chance to read it. I know that if I’d had this book as a child, it would have been a life changer.”

Kira is the author of three non-fiction books for children, one for adults and has another children’s book in the works. When Growing Up was published in 2013, it received high praise for being a “straight-talking guide to the roller coaster of puberty,” according to Quill & Quire’s starred review. This is Kira's second nomination for the award.

Meanwhile, Kira recently released her third children’s nonfiction book, Why We Live Where We Live (Owlkids). Kirkus gave it a good review, calling it “unusual” and says it offers a “surprising amount of information”— which were the qualities Kira was shooting for.

The book takes readers, age 8-11, on a sweeping journey through time and space to examine not only the places we call home, but why we want to build a community there in the first place – think Las Vegas, built in the middle of the desert, or Pompei, built at the base of an active volcano.

Kira explores how access to food and water, language, family ties, transportation and even climate change influence our decisions. Humans, smart enough to adapt to the environment and also adapt the environment to their needs, can live nearly anywhere, even in space.

Kira’s first nonfiction book for kids (published in 2012 and also nominated for a Red Maple Award) was The Secret Life of Money: A kids’ guide to cash. At the time, my son was 10 and it was his favourite book of the year, and my daughter who was 14 at the time loved it, too. 

Note: I regularly lead weekly Writing Kid Lit classes and Writing for Children and for Young Adults workshops on Saturday, and often have Kira as a guest speaker. To see details of upcoming Children's Lit classes and workshops, see here(and scroll down). ~ Brian

Growing up, Inside and Out is available from Owlkids here, Why We Live Where We Live is available here, and the Secret Life of Money here.

For information on submitting to Owlkids and Maple Tree press, see here.

For information about creative writing classes starting in the new year, see here. 

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

Next Step in Creative Writing course, Thursday evenings, Jan 21 – March 25, in Georgetown

The Next Step in Creative Writing

10 weeks of creative growth

Winter session

Thursday evenings, 6:45 – 9:00 p.m.
Jan 22 – March 26, 2015

First readings emailed Jan 15

St. Alban's Church, 537 Main Street, Georgetown, Ontario (In the village of Glen Williams. Map here.)

Note: See details of all six weekly creative writing courses offered this winter here.

The Next Step in Creative Writing 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 ten weeks of 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 class, addressing the needs of the group, and 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.

Check out two reviews of the Next Step course here.

Fee: 176.11 + 13% hst = 199.  Payment in advance by mail or Interac.

Note: Enrollment is strictly limited, and 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 Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Niagara on the Lake, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Toronto, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Linda Scalissi of 3 Seas Literary Agency seeks women’s fiction, thrillers, young adult, mysteries and romance

3 Seas Literary Agency
P.O. Box 8571
Madison WI 53708

http://threeseasagency.com/

3 Seas is a small (just three agents) full-service literary agency. The agency represents more than 50 authors especially romance authors, but also women’s fiction, science fiction/fantasy, thrillers, young adult and middle grade fiction as well as select nonfiction titles. Here’s what they have to say about themselves:

“In the fourteen years since the agency doors were opened, our agents have successfully sold into all the major publishing houses. Our clients consistently appear on the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly Best Sellers lists. They have been nominated, and won, many prestigious industry awards, including, the RITA, the Golden Heart, the Holt Medallion, the RT Reviewer’s Choice, the ALA Best Book for Young Adults, the School Library Journal Best Book, and the Bookseller’s Best.”

Linda Scalissi is the newest member of the team and like all new agents, she needs authors! For Linda, not only has reading been a lifetime passion, but she has a strong background in professional proofreading, editing and sales.  She’s looking forward to receiving submissions and building strong, long-term relationships with her clients.

Linda is interested in representing authors of women’s fiction, thrillers, young adult, mysteries and romance.

She’s thrilled to be a part of the publishing industry as it will allow her the opportunity to read to her heart’s content - guilt free! She resides with her husband, two dogs and four rescue goldfish.

 

Query Linda at: queries@threeseaslit.com

The subject line must start with the word QUERY and should include the title of your manuscript. You might try: QUERY to Linda Scalissi re TITLE. Paste the first chapter and a synopsis into your query. Full submission guidelines here.

Stephen Myers, Marketing &Publicity Manager
for Hamish Hamilton (a Penguin imprint)

Brian Henry will lead "From the Horse’s Mouth: Strategies for Getting Published" at Ryerson University in Toronto on Saturday, Nov 29, with literary agent Rachel Letofsky of the Cooke Agency, senior editor Anne Shone of Scholastic Books, and Marketing and Publicity Manager Stephen Myers of Penguin Books (see here).

Brian will lead a "How to Get Published" workshop in Niagara on the Lake on Sunday, March 1, with literary agent Olga Filina (see here).

And Brian has a “Writing for Children & for Young Adults" workshop on Saturday, Nov 8, in Guelph (see here).

Other upcoming workshops, include: "How to Write Great Dialogue," Saturday, Nov 1, in Ottawa (see here), and “How to Write a Bestseller" with New York Times #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, Saturday, Nov 22, in Burlington (see here) and Saturday, Dec 6, in London (see here). 

But the best way to get your manuscript ready for publication is with a weekly course. Come January, Brian will be offering classes for beginners through experienced writers. See details for all six courses here.

For details of “Welcome to Creative Writing” on Tuesday afternoons in Burlington see  here, for “Writing Your Life & Other Personal Stories” on Tuesday mornings in Oakville see here,   for “The Next Step in Creative Writing” on Wednesday evenings in Burlington, here, on Thursday afternoons in Mississauga here, and on Thursday evenings in Georgetown, here, and for “Intensive Creative Writing” on Wednesday afternoons in Burlington here,

For details of any course or workshop or to register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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

Love Letters ~ Where your fellow writers are getting published ~ and a Facebook page for Middle Grade authors invites you to join

Good morning, Brian.

I’m thrilled to be in the Globe and Mail. My first publication. Read “Hot Flashes in the Marriage Bed” here.

Shauna Clinning

For information on submitting a Facts & Arguments essay to the Globe & Mail, see here.

Hello, Brian! 

My latest short “Chocolate milk, nachos and guacamole” is now on Near to the Knuckle.  It was posted Thursday but the editor forgot to let me know! Grr.  Anyway, it’s up!  You can read it here. If you can, leave a comment!

Take Care!

Michelle Boomer

For information on submitting to Near to the Knuckle, see here.

Hi, Brian.

I got to read one of my short stories (Fringe Category) at the Eden Mills Writers Festival.

Anastasia McEwan

Writer to Writer

Hi, Brian.

I have setup a writing page on Facebook for Middle Grade Fantasy Novelists. I am seeking members to join. The group description is as follows:

Have you completed writing at least one middle grade fantasy novel? Are your role models Rick Riordan, JK Rowling, and Joseph Delaney? This working group is for you! This is a genre targeted group that will support members:

Creatively - through sharing manuscripts and offering encouragement and constructive critique
Professionally - through sharing knowledge, experiences, and resources ...

Leveraging our combined expertise will improve our novels, skills, and techniques. Long-term benefits will include being part of a peer group that will uniquely participate in your professional (or soon-to-be professional life) and having an instantly available beta reading group for your backlog, current, or future novel, query or synopsis. 

Using technological tools such as email, conference calls, etc. as well as meeting face to face, and we hope to bridge any geographical distance that may inhibit a writer from joining.

Email:  MGFNovelists@groups.facebook.com

Website:    https://www.facebook.com/groups/MGFNovelists/

Thank you,

Patricia

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

The Giller Prize shortlist and the GG shortlist for English fiction and for children's lit

Hi, all.

It’s literary prize season in Canada. Here are the short lists for the Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award for English fiction, and the GG for children’s literature in English. – Brian

Giller Prize shortlist:

David Bezmozgis, The Betrayers (HarperCollins Canada)

Frances Itani, Tell (HarperCollins Canada)

Sean Michaels, Us Conductors (Random House Canada)

Heather O’Neill, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night (HarperCollins Canada)

Miriam Toews, All My Puny Sorrows (Random House Canada)

Padma Viswanathan, The Ever After of Ashwin Rao (Random House Canada)

Governor General’s Award for fiction:

Michael Crummey (St. John’s), Sweetland (Doubleday Canada)

Bill Gaston (Victoria), Juliet Was a Surprise (Hamish Hamilton)

Claire Holden Rothman (Westmount, Que.), My October (Penguin Canada)

Thomas King (Guelph), The Back of the Turtle (HarperCollins)

Joan Thomas (Winnipeg), The Opening Sky (McClelland & Stewart)

Governor General’s Award for children’s literature:

Jonathan Auxier for The Night Gardener (Puffin Canada, which isn't open to submissions, but eh parent company in the States is: Penguin Young Readers Group)

Lesley Choyce for Jeremy Stone (Red Deer Press)

Rachel Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley for Skraelings (Inhabit Media)

Raziel Reid for When Everything Feels like the Movies (Arsenal Pulp Press)  

Mariko Tamaki for This One Summer (Groundwood Books)

Note: I'd welcome book reviews of any of the books on the shortlists for a major Canadian literary prize. Details for submitting a review here. Read how to write a book review here. - Brian

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

You’re invited to a book launch for Riverdale: east of the Don by Elizabeth (Liz) Gillan Muir

A new history of Riverdale from the Don River to Greenwood Avenue, including Playter Estates published by Dundurn Press

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

6:30-8:30 pm

at Dora Keogh pub, 141 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
(just east of Broadview Subway Station)

Also, Liz will be giving a book signing

Saturday November 8

2:00 – 4:00 pm

at Book City

348 Danforth Avenue

(just west of Chester subway station)

“Muir’s new and excellent book…is interesting and informative…”

George Rust-D’Eye, author, Cabbagetown Remembered

Bring your friends!

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

Free writing contest with $10,000 prize, plus much more

Hi,

For twelve years now, FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting has sponsored the Dalton Camp Award, an essay competition honouring the memory of a great Canadian journalist and political actor who, among his many achievements, was one of FRIENDS' founders in 1985. 
Last year we increased this Award to $10,000 in order to encourage more Canadians to think and write about the link between media and democracy.

Please take a moment to consider persons you know who might be interested in this Award – and pass this opportunity along to them.

The deadline this year is November 15, 2014.

The official rules, past winning essays, a video biography on Dalton Camp, and other details about the Award are available from the Dalton Camp Award website here.

Best regards, and thanks for your help in communicating this opportunity within your circle of friends!

Ian Morrison
Spokesperson
FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting

The Rag is an electronic magazine that targets the e-readers markets, exclusively (i.e Kindle/Nook/ePub). The Rag is looking for short fiction (1,500 – 10,000 words) and flash fiction (under 1,500 words) for its seventh issue. The Rag pays a minimum of 5 cents per word. But it costs a $3 U.S. service fee to submit or $5 including an issue of The Rag.

The Rag is also seeking entries for its semi-annual short fiction contest. Fee: $15 U.S. Prize: $500.

“As always, we're looking for contemporary material with a grittier edge. Rather than the typical, drab literature all too common to the world of lit mags, we want your literary guts and steel--engaging material that grabs hold and doesn't let go.”

Deadline: November 11, 2014. Guidelines and submissions page here.

Very Important Things (Toronto, Canada) is a new lifestyle blog with a feminist spin. Looking for writers to “share, support, and celebrate the positive change women of all ages around us are making with their various weapons of choice” on the topics of art, fashion, feminism, food, humour, love, and political activism. Publishes personal anecdotes, short stories and essays.

Deadline: Ongoing.

Hi, Brian.

It would be great if you could add PRISM international's contest listing to your site. Details are as follows:

PRISM has a total of three contests: the Creative Non-Fiction, Short Fiction, and Poetry contests are open to all. In addition, the Earle Birney Prize for Poetry is presented to one outstanding poet published in the magazine.

All contests: Each entry includes a one-year subscription or subscription extension forPRISM international, beginning with the contest issue (Spring 2015 for Non-Fiction and Summer 2015 for Fiction/Poetry).

All 1st prize winners will be published in PRISM, and runners-up will be published at the discretion of the editors. All other entries will be considered for publication as regular submissions (for the possibility of publication in other issues of PRISM).

Creative Non-Fiction Contest

Prize: $1,500 grand prize, $300 runner-up, $200 2nd runner-up
Entry fee: $35 Canadian entries; $40 US entries; $45 Int’l entries (includes a one-year subscription or extension)

Additional entry: $5 each piece
Max. word count: 6,000

Deadline: November 21st, 2014. Full guidelines for all contests here.

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