Love letters ~ Where your fellow writers are getting published

Hi, Brian.

Finding Matthew has been reviewed by Book Clubs of Canada. Check it out here.

Looking forward to the Intensive course in April.

Donna

For information about all five courses starting in April, see here.

Hi, Brian.

My short story “My Choice” was first published in Quick Brown Fox in 2010. It was performed as a monologue at the 2013 Sarsvati International Cabaret of Monologues in Winnipeg, and has found a new home in The Furious Gazelle ~ a publication out of N.Y.

Yay, Elizabeth!

All good things,

Elizabeth Copeland

Author - JAZZ
http://quattrobooks.ca/authors/elizabeth-copeland/

For information about submitting to The Furious Gazelle, see here.

Hi, Brian.

My short story, “The Hogshead Of Malmsey,” has won first place in the 2014 Canadian Tales writing contest with Red Tuque Books. Publication of the anthology will be this summer.

Michael Joll

For information about submitting to Red Tuque, see here.

Hi, Brian:

(shrieking like a girl) Commuterlit “loves” the story which I wrote in your Burlington “How to Build Your Story” workshop and wants to publish it in the next week or two.  Thank you so much for your guidance and contacts.  I promise to purchase a hearing aid when I make the big bucks.

Kathy Wood

Read Kathy’s story, “Stressor” here.

Hi, Brian.

I submitted my first completed short story to Commuter Lit 15 minutes ago . Now the sleepless nights begin LOL.
Debbie Scott

For information on submitting to CommuterLit, see 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, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Literary agent Lydia Blyfield of Carol Mann seeks new authors: Adult, YA and MG and nonfiction

Carol Mann Agency
55 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10003
http://carolmannagency.wordpress.com/

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox. ~ Brian

Lydia Blyfield is the newest member of the team at the Carol Mann Agency and like all new agents, she’s looking for authors. Lydia is originally from England where she studied PR and Communications, before gaining a B.A. in English and American Literature at New York University. Lydia is looking for edgy, modern fiction and timely nonfiction in the areas of business, self-improvement, relationship and gift books. She is particularly interested in female voices and experiences.

“I’m open to Adult, Young Adult and Middle Grade,” says Lydia.” I’m looking for edgy and enchanting page-turners written with a light hand. I always enjoy complex female characters, and have a thing for unreliable narrators.

“I love fiction that explores social issues or is inspired by the headlines, like ROOM by Emma Donahue and THE HATE LIST by Jennifer Brown, but I also like to escape the real world with magical realism such as NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro, THE NIGHT GUEST by Fiona McFarlane and THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman (suspending disbelief must be effortless!) 

The Scarlet Letter Society
by Mary T. McCarthy, a client of
the Carol Mann Agency

“I’m also looking for psychological thrillers/mysteries set in small communities or dysfunctional family units like THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins or GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn (no CIA/FBI/MI5 style thrillers, please.)

“In YA I’m looking for big hooks and modern themes such as WHY WE BROKE UP by Daniel Handler and THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher, and clever crossovers such as MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN by Ransom Riggs.

“In MG I’m looking for diversity and smart takes on difficult issues such as R.J. Palacio’s WONDER, and THE THING ABOUT LUCK by Cynthia Kadohata, as well as spooky tales like GOTH GIRL by Chris Riddle.”

In nonfiction, Lydia says: “I’m looking for books that inspire me to achieve something positive personally or professionally such as #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso and YOU ARE A BADASS by Jen Sincero. I’m interested in books that tackle social issues, particularly feminism and women’s issues such as FULL FRONTAL FEMINISM by Jessica Valenti and EVERYDAY SEXISM by Laura Bates. I’m also looking for modern sex and relationship books like THE NEW I DO by Susan Pease Gadoua and Vicki Larson. I enjoy most things on the Urban Outfitters book table and am always looking for blogs, Tumblrs and Instagram profiles with book potential.”

Query Lydia at: querylydia@carolmannagency.com

For fiction, include the first 25 pages. For nonfiction, include a query and a synopsis of your project; include your bio, target audience and competitive titles. “Hook me with a strong concept and your platform. If you have an Urban Outfitters-worthy blog/Twitter/Instagram please include site stats.”

For information about the other agents at Carol Mann and what they’re looking for, see here.

Anne Shone

Brian Henry will lead "How to Get Published" workshops in Windsor (for my American readers, that's just across the river from Detroit), on Sunday, May 31, with Martha Magor Webb of the Anne McDermid Agency (see here) and in Mississauga on Saturday, June 20, again with Martha Magor Webb (here).  

Brian will also lead a “Writing for Children & for Young Adults” workshop with Anne Shone, Senior Editor at Scholastic Canada, on Saturday, May 2, in Oakville (see here).

For more information or to register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Other upcoming workshops, include “Secrets of Writing a Page-turner,” Saturday, April 11, in Peterborough (here), Saturday, May 23, in Barrie (here) and Saturday, June 6, in Georgetown (here), “Writing & Revising” Sunday, April 12, in Ottawa (here),  and “How to Build Your Story,”  Saturday, April 25, in Thessalon (here), Saturday, May 9 in London (here) and Saturday, May 30 in Guelph (here).

Martha Magor Webb

The spring session of Brian’s weekly creative writing courses begins in April See details of all five weekly courses, for beginning to advanced writers, here.

Exploring Creative Writing” will be offered Wednesday evenings in Burlington (see here), “Writing Personal Stories” on Tuesday afternoons in Mississauga (here), “The Next Step in Creative Writing” on Thursday evenings in Georgetown (here) and “Intensive Creative Writing” on Wednesday afternoons in Burlington (here) and Thursday afternoons in Burlington (here).

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

For more information or to reserve a spot, 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, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

“Spring” by Valerie J. Shave

I do not like the fall,

Dry brown leaves, wrinkled and decaying;

Touch of death over all,

With everything green around me dying:

Vibrant colors fading,

O give me the resurrection of spring;

God in all His glory,

The sweet melody that birds love to sing.

Branches like dry bones,

Touched after a frigid, winter’s rest;

Shrouded in green cones:

Tiny, green velvet buds at the end, nest

On dry, brittle bones;

Shimmer like green, painted fingernails.

And they will blossom forth,

Like a tree planted by the water,

Sheltered from the north;

Sunshine and peace, in the fresh, keen air.

Jesus cursed the tree that bore no fruit,

Blessed the tree that bore -

For even a frail, tiny green shoot,

Its gay, fruitful clothing wore.

Dry branches lopped off for the fire,

Unfruitful barren tree!

In the spring and resurrection power;

Dry bones, alive should be -

Like budding trees ready to flower.

How rewarding to see,

Good men and women who fruitful be;

As a resurrected tree!

Valerie Shave lives in beautiful British Columbia (Paradise) in a small town near Duncan, B.C., called Lake Cowichan. She’s a prolific writer of poems stories and plays. Her poem “Tsunami’ was on Oprah’s blog. She’s currently working on a book on China where she lived and taught for ten years.

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, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Ryga pays $100 for entries; also wanted: short stories wanted for Bristol Prize, soft erotica, and punkabilly

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox.
 ~ Brian

The 2015 Bristol Short Story Prize is open to all published and unpublished writers over 16. First prize: £1000 (about $1800 CAD) plus £150 Waterstone’s gift card (usable online worldwide); additional prizes available. All 20 shortlisted stories published in the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology Volume 8. Any theme or subject. Length: 4000 words max. Entry fee: £8 per story ($15).

Deadline: April 30, 2015. Guidelines here.

Newly UK publisher, Red Ribbon Press, is looking for talented writers for a short story collection with a romance/erotica twist. First prize: $100. No reading fee; free entry. Length: 3000-5000 words. No purple prose. All short-listed entries will be collected and published in a collection.

Deadline: May 1. Guidelines here.

Ricky’s Back Yard is an online magazine with four print specials per year. Open to graphic short stories and verbal text entries, flash fiction to longer short stories (12,000 words). Looking for work that says, “Jesus, that gave me a nightmare.” Prefers writing that is strong, punk, dark, humorous, and just strange enough to be true. Theme: Cult.

Deadline: May 4, 2015. Guidelines here.

Ryga: A Journal of Provocations showcases the work that explores social issues. Seeking short stories, poem suites (of 3 – 6 poems), and plays. Pays $100.

Deadline: Ongoing. Guidelines 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, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Two new agents at Canadian agency P.S. Literary are looking for new authors: YA, New adult, literary, commercial & upmarket; the other 3 agents at P.S. all want new authors, too

P.S. Literary Agency

20033 – 520 Kerr Street
Oakville, Ontario, L6K 3C7 

CANADA
http://www.psliterary.com/

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in your email in the box to the right under my bio, and get each post delivered to your Inbox. ~ Brian

The P.S. Literary Agency is a relative newcomer to the agenting world, having been established by Curtis Russell in 2005, so all its agents are actively looking for authors.  P.S. is located in Oakville (a suburb of Toronto) and represents literary and commercial fiction, Young Adult and Middle grade fiction and picture books, and nonfiction.

In the last month, two new agents have joined P.S., and like all new agents, they need authors:

Eric Smith ~ Associate Agent

Eric was previously the social media & marketing manager at Quirk Books in Philadelphia, A frequent blogger, Eric’s ramblings about books appear on BookRiot, The Huffington Post and more. He is the author of Inked (Bloomsbury Publishing) and The Geek’s Guide to Dating (Quick Books).

Eric is eagerly acquiring fiction and nonfiction. He’s actively seeking out new, diverse voices in Young Adult (particularly sci-fi and fantasy), New Adult and Literary and Commercial fiction (especially sci-fi and fantasy and thrillers and mysteries).

In nonfiction, Eric is interested in Cookbooks, Pop Culture, Humour, essay collections, and blog to book ideas.

Query Eric at: query@psliterary.com 
Query on. No attachments unless specifically requested.

Kurestin Armada ~ Associate Agent

Kurestin began her publishing career as an intern with Workman Publishing and spent time as an assistant at the Lofts Agency before joining P.S. Literary.

She holds a B.A. in English from Kenyon College and a publishing certificate from Columbia University. Kurestin is based in New York City.

Kurestin is actively acquiring Upmarket and Commercial Fiction, Magic Realism, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Alternative History, Historical Fiction LGBTQ (any genre), select Young Adult, Graphic Novels, Mystery, including mystery with element of science fiction or fantasy, and Romance. She has a particular affection for science fiction and fantasy, especially books that recognize and subvert typical tropes of genre fiction.

In nonfiction, Kuristin is looking for Design, Cooking, Pop Psychology, Humour, Narrative Nonfiction, Photography, and Pop Science.

Query Kurestin at: query@psliterary.com 
Query on. No attachments unless specifically requested.

The other three other agents at P.S. Literary are also looking for authors:

Carly Watters ~  VP, Senior Literary Agent. 

Carly is actively looking for Literary and Commercial fiction, World literature, Women’s fiction, Literary thrillers, high concept Young Adult novels and Picture books, and up-market nonfiction in Health, Wellness, Pop science and Pop psychology.

Carly also represents select titles in North America for the Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency. 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 blogs here.

Many readers will know what a treasure Carly is from when she’s been my guest speaker at “How to Get Published” workshops.

Maria Vicente ~ Associate Agent

Maria began her publishing career an intern with Bree Ogden at D4EO Literary Agency and then interned at P.S. Literary before joining the agency as an associate agent. Maria has a B.A. in English Lit from Carleton and a Bachelor of Education from Western. She blogs here.

Maria is actively looking for Literary and Commercial fiction, New Adult, high-concept Young Adult, Middle Grade, high-concept Picture Books, and nonfiction in the Pop Culture, Pop Psychology, Design and Lifestyle categories.

Maria was my guest speaker at a How to Get Published workshop Sunday, June 22, in Ottawa.

Curtis Russell ~ President & Principal Agent
Curtis began his publishing career nearly a decade ago as proprietor of a micro press. In 2005 he crossed to the other side of the desk and founded the P.S. Literary Agency. He has a wide-ranging and diverse client list, and is interested in discovering writers with unique ideas, no matter what the category.

Curtis is currently acquiring both fiction and nonfiction. In terms of fiction, he is seeking Literary, Commercial mainstream, Women's fiction, Romance, New Adult, Young Adult and Middle Grade novels, and Mysteries & Thrillers.

In terms of nonfiction, he is looking for Business, History, Politics, Current Affairs, Memoir, Health, Wellness, Sports, Humour, Pop science and Pop psychology.

Query any agent at P.S. Literary at: query@psliterary.com 
No attachments unless specifically requested.  Limit your query to one page and include...
Paragraph One – Introduction: Include the title and category of your work (i.e. fiction or nonfiction and topic), an estimated word count and a brief, general introduction.
Paragraph Two – Mini-synopsis: A concise summary or overview of your work.
Paragraph Three – Writer’s bio: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background (awards and affiliations, etc.).

Full submission requirements here.

Martha Magor Webb

Brian Henry will lead "How to Get Published" workshops in Windsor (for my American readers, that's just across the river from Detroit), on Sunday, May 31, with Martha Magor Webb of the Anne McDermid Agency (see here) and in Mississauga on Saturday, June 20, again with Martha Magor Webb (here).  

Brian will also lead a “Writing for Children & for Young Adults” workshop with Anne Shone, Senior Editor at Scholastic Canada, on Saturday, May 2, in Oakville (see here).

For more information or to register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Other upcoming workshops, include “Writing great characters,” Saturday, March 28 in Brampton (see here) Saturday, July 11, in Burlington (here), and Saturday, July 18 in Kitchener (here), “Secrets of Writing a Page-turner,” Saturday, April 11, in Peterborough (here), Saturday, May 23, in Barrie (here) and Saturday, June 6, in Georgetown (here), “Writing & Revising” Sunday, April 12, in Ottawa (here),  and “How to Build Your Story,”  Saturday, April 25, in Thessalon (here), Saturday, May 9 in London (here) and Saturday, May 30 in Guelph (here).

Anne Shone

The spring session of Brian’s weekly creative writing courses begins in April See details of all five weekly courses, for beginning to advanced writers, here.

Exploring Creative Writing” will be offered Wednesday evenings in Burlington (see here), “Writing Personal Stories” on Tuesday afternoons in Mississauga (here), “The Next Step in Creative Writing” on Thursday evenings in Georgetown (here) and “Intensive Creative Writing” on Wednesday afternoons in Burlington (here) and Thursday afternoons in Burlington (here).

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

For more information or to reserve a spot, 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, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.