How to Make Yourself Write workshop, Saturday, Nov 28, in Mississauga

How to Make Yourself Write

A creativity workout

Saturday, November 28, 2015

10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Unity Church, Unit 8, 3075 Ridgeway Drive, Mississauga (Map here.)

Let's get motivated! This workshop is designed to help you find the time and the inspiration to write. No more staring at a blank screen. Come to this workshop and learn the five keys to beating procrastination. Then give yourself a kick-start and discover how to keep going. This creativity workout will get your words flowing and help you make the breakthrough into the next level of writing.

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 Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get their first book published.

Fee: 40.71+ 13% hst = 46 paid in advance by mail or Interac
or 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 if you wait to pay at the door

For goodness sake, don’t procrastinate! Reserve a spot now. Email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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


See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

New book: Come Away With Me by Karma Brown

Hi, Brian.

Hope you're doing well!

Wanted to let you know my debut novel, Come Away With Me, hit the shelves August 25th – in case you wanted to share a success story with your classes : )

Karma Brown

An unexpected journey leads one woman to discover that life after loss is possible, if only you can find the courage to let go… 

One minute, Tegan Lawson has everything she could hope for: an adoring husband, Gabe, and a baby on the way. The next, a patch of black ice causes a devastating accident that will change her life in ways she never could have imagined. 

Tegan is consumed by grief—not to mention her anger toward Gabe, who was driving on the night of the crash. But just when she thinks she's hit rock bottom, Gabe reminds her of their Jar of Spontaneity, a collection of their dream destinations and experiences, and so begins an adventure of a lifetime. 

Yay, Karma!

From the bustling markets of Thailand to the flavors of Italy to the ocean waves in Hawaii, Tegan and Gabe embark on a journey to escape the tragedy and search for forgiveness. But they soon learn that grief follows you no matter how far away you run, and that acceptance comes when you least expect it. Heartbreaking, hopeful and utterly transporting, Come Away with Me is an unforgettable debut and a luminous celebration of the strength of the human spirit.

Available in e-book or trade paperback here.

Note: Come Away With Me is published by Mira Books, a Harlequin imprint. Mira accepts only agented imprints, but Harelquin’s series romances don’t need to be agented. Full submission guidelines here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Ingersoll, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Final author reading night at CJ's Cafe ~ Don't miss it!

Authors gathered for a previous reading night at CJ's

Last Author Reading Night at CJ’s Café

Thursday, September 10, 2015

6:30 – 9:00 p.m.

CJ’s Cafe, 2416 Lakeshore Rd W, Oakville

(On the south side of Lakeshore, just east of Bronte Road, across from a big grocery store. Lots of parking around the back. Map here.)

This is the night that graduates of Brian Henry’s writing classes and random readers of Quick Brown Fox strut their stuff. We’ll have a line-up of the most amazing emerging writers west of Toronto, and they’ll be reading some of the best work you’ll hear this year. Don’t miss it!

But Tonight
poetry by our hostess, CJ Martin

This reading night will also be a send-off for CJ Martin who will soon be closing her cafe and moving on to a new adventure. To help her on her way and to show our appreciation for hosting our reading nights all these years, I’ve arranged to have CJ’s collection of poetry, But Tonight, available for sale at the reading night. 

Copies will be signed by the author and are available for only $10 (regularly priced at $17.95). ~ Brian

Note: This fall, I have a full line-up of six weekly courses for beginners through advanced. See details of all six fall courses here. Or here's the schedule... 

“Exploring Creative Writing,” Thursday afternoons, Sept 24 - Nov 26, in Mississauga (see here).

“Writing Personal stories,” Thursday mornings, Oct 8 - Nov 26, in Oakville (see here)

“The Next Step in Creative Writing,” Wednesday evenings, Sept 30 - Dec 2, in Burlington (here).

“The Next Step in Creative Writing,” Thursday evenings, Sept 24 - Dec 3, in Georgetown,  (here).

“Intensive Creative Writing,” Tuesday afternoons, Sept 15 - Dec 8, in Burlington (here).

“Intensive Creative Writing,” Wednesday afternoons, Sept 16 - Dec 16, in Burlington  (here).

For details or to reserve a spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of my courses and workshops here.

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

Rising Spirits contest for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Youth entries, Melted Wing wants downers, Red Hen Poetry Award, and Rhizomatic Ideas wants posts

River Electric with Light
by Sarah Wetzel
from Red Hen Press

Entries are invited for the 2015 Red Hen Press Poetry Award. Prize $1,000; entry fee $20 for up to three poems.  

Deadline: September 30, 2105. Guidelines here. 

Red Hen Press also has five other annual awards. See details of all of them here. Plus, Red Hen publishes books of fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Guidelines here.

Third Annual Rising Spirits Writing Contest is now open!

The Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) Writers’ Circle is pleased to announce that the 2015 Rising Spirits Writing Contest is now open. Winners will receive prize packages valued at $100 and will be published in the Rising Spirits Anthology 2.

The theme is Autumn. What does the spirit of this season mean to you?

Categories include: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Youth entries.

Deadline: September 30, 2015. Full contest rules and submission form here.

Melted Wing is an online journal/discussion of depression, despair, suicide, and other dark matters. Seeks fiction, poetry, journalism, and visual art by engaging and uncommon new voices. Want their readers to be “surprised and delighted by the breadth of what we hope to be a conversation about acts, feelings, and thoughts [experienced] in our tightrope walk from birth to death.”

Deadline: None. Guidelines here.  

Rhizomatic Ideas, the bi-weekly blog of Zoetic Press, is accepting blog posts and pitches for serial blog posts. Open to posts on any topic related to writing, publishing, academia, and the life of a working writer (or reader.) Length: 300-500 words.

Deadline: rolling. Send a pitch or post to blog@zoeticpress.com

Also, Zoetic Press is looking for the best and most innovative in electronic and interactive literature, regardless of genre. It’s not enough that your story be novel in presentation – it must also be well-written, compelling and engaging. Guidelines here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

You're invited to the book launch for Speechless by Jennifer Mook-Sang

Hi,
You’re invited you to my book launch for my middle grade book Speechless, published by Scholastic Canada.

The launch will be Sunday, October 4th 

2:00 p.m.

at A Different Drummer Books

513 Locust St, Burlington, Ontario. (Map here)

Put that one on your calendar NOW :)

And please email me to let me know you can come 

at: jennifermooksang@hotmail.com

I am so looking forward to celebrating with you.

Cheers,

Jennifer Mook-Sang

Here's what one reader has to say about Speechless:

"Omg, it's amazing! Brilliant, witty, hilarious and at the same time brought out the reality kids are facing in school. Go figure, my eyes were watery reading some parts of the book!" – Patty Sim.

Read more about Speechless at Scholastic Canada here.

Note: Along with Yasemin Ucar, senior editor at Kids Can Press, Jennifer will will be one of guest speakers at the Writing for Children and for Young Adults workshop, Saturday, Sept 12, in Toronto.  Details here.

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

Writing for Children and for Young Adults workshop, Saturday, September 12, in Toronto

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong,
a New York Times #1 bestselling author
and one of Brian's students

Writing for Children & for Young Adults ~ the world’s hottest market
With guest speakers Yasemin Uçar, Senior Editor at Kids Can Press & author Jennifer Mook-Sang

Saturday, September 12

10:15 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Glenview Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem Room, 1 Glenview Ave, Toronto (Just off Yonge St, a couple blocks south of Lawrence Ave. Map here)

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

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
by Louise Rennison, one of the best-selling
author Yasemin has worked with

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers and is the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing Inc). But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. 

Guest speaker Yasemin Ucar is a Senior Editor at Kids Can Press. Altogether, she’s been a children’s book editor for seventeen years. She worked at Scholastic Canada before moving to the UK in 2001, where she worked as a Senior Editor at Piccadilly Press in London, managing a list of about 25 titles a year. 

She moved back to Toronto in 2006 and worked as a freelance editor for six years for several publishers, including Scholastic, Second Story Press, Madison Press Books, and HarperCollins. She joined Kids Can Press in 2012.

Yasemin has worked with many popular and award-winning authors and illustrators, including international bestselling author Louise Rennison, Barbara Coloroso, Anne Velleneuve, Pierre Pratt, Caroline Adderson, and Ashley Spires.

We will also have author Jennifer Mook-Sang as a guest speaker. Jennifer lives and writes  in Burlington. She’s as amazed as anyone to find she’s a published author. Her humorous middle grade novel Speechless was started in one of Brian Henry’s classes and will be released by Scholastic in September. 

Jennifer was a finalist in the Writing for Children Competition 2014 sponsored by CANSCAIP and The Writer’s Union of Canada. (For information on this year’s CANSCAIP/Writers’ Union contest, see here.) At the workshop, Jennifer will speak about how she got her first book published.

P.S. The book launch for Speechless will be held 2:00 pm Sunday, October 4th, at A Different Drummer Books in Burlington (513 Locust Street). All welcome!

Fee: 40.71+ 13% hst = 46 paid in advance by mail or Interac
or 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 if you wait to pay at the door

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

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

See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Ingersoll, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Literary agent Sarah Levitt of Kuhn Projects seeks serious nonfiction and literary fiction

Sarah Levitt

Kuhn Projects
19 West 21st Street, Suite 201
New York, NY 10010

http://www.kuhnprojects.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

Kuhn Projects primarily represents adult nonfiction. The newest member of the team is Sarah Levitt.   Sarah previously worked at The Zoë Pagnamenta Agency for five years. She received her BA in Classics and English from NYU.

Sarah is interested in serious nonfiction (biography, cultural history, memoir, science, “ideas” books, and narrative), in addition to voice-driven, imaginative, literary fiction that demands a reaction from the reader.

Query Sarah at: submissions@kuhnprojects.com

Include the first chapter in the body of your email. Not attachments

Full submission guidelines here.

Rachel Letofsky

Brian Henry will lead "How to Get Published" workshops in St. John, NB, on Saturday, Oct 3 (details here), and in Hamilton on Saturday, Oct 17, with Rachel Letofsky of the Cooke Agency (see here). 

Other upcoming workshops, include "Fall Colours Writing Retreat," Sept 19 - 21, in Algonquin Park (see here), "Writing Your Life," Saturday, Sept 26, in Brampton (see here) and Saturday, Dec 5, in Burlington (details here), and "How to Make Yourself Write," Saturday, Oct 24, in Guelph (see here).   

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

But the best way to grow as a writer or to get your manuscript ready for publication may be with a weekly class. This fall, Brian will offer a full line-up of six weekly courses for beginners through advanced. See details of all six fall courses here. Or here's the schedule... 

“Exploring Creative Writing,” Thursday afternoons, Sept 24 - Nov 26, in Mississauga (see here).

“Writing Personal stories,” Thurs mornings, Oct 8 - Nov 26, in Oakville (see here)

“The Next Step in Creative Writing,” Wednesday evenings, Sept 30 - Dec 2, in Burlington (here).

“The Next Step in Creative Writing,” Thursday evenings, Sept 24 - Dec 3, in Georgetown (here).

“Intensive Creative Writing,” Tuesday afternoons, Sept 15 - Dec 8, in Burlington (here).

“Intensive Creative Writing,” Wednesday afternoons, Sept 16 - Dec 16, in Burlington  (here).

For details or to reserve a spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Ingersoll, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.