How to Get Published with guest literary agent Rachel Letofsky of the Cooke Agency

Rachel Letofsky

How to Get Published

An editor & an agent tell all

Saturday, October 17, 2015

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Mills Hardware Event Space, 95 King Street East, Hamilton, 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 instructor for more than 25 years. He publishes Quick Brown Fox, Canada’s most popular blog for writers, 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 and launch their careers as authors.

Guest speaker Rachel Letofsky is a literary agent with the Cooke Agency. The Cooke Agency represents literary and commercial fiction (including science fiction, fantasy and crime), narrative-driven nonfiction in the areas of popular culture, science, history, natural history, politics, personal reference and children’s books.

The Cooke Agency represents many national and international award-winning authors of quality fiction and nonfiction, including John Irving, Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, Catherine Gildiner, Mary Novik, Nancy Richler, Guy Vanderhaeghe, and Joyce Wayne. The Cooke Agency’s clients are routinely long-listed, short-listed and awarded prizes for the high quality of their work.

Rachel is particularly drawn to debut authors with whom she can work in a hands-on, collaborative fashion. Her clients include multiple award-winning poet and novelist Méira Cook – whose new novel Night Watching was published by HarperCollinsCanada in 2015; Kim Gaal, a fresh voice in urban fantasy from Australia, and Erin Frances Fisher, whose short story “Girl” won this year’s RBC Bronwen Wallace award and is currently available for free download from iTunes (you should read it!).

Her personal tastes are eclectic and in fiction she is looking for everything from literary fiction to ground-breaking and heart-breaking middle grade and YA titles in all genres. She is drawn to works with a whimsical nature or a grounded, gritty edge in equal measure, though in either instance, unforgettable characters and original concepts are a must. In nonfiction, Rachel is looking for narrative-driven memoirs and anything with a high level of quirkiness.

What previous attendees have to say:

“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, to publishers around the world.  My 13 novel, The Awakening, hit number 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list. To date I’ve published 28 books, and thirteen of them have been turned into a TV show named after my first novel, Bitten.”

~ Kelley Armstrong, Aylmer, Ontario

Brian, At one of your How to Get Published workshops you helped me re-work my query letter. Before that, I'd queried dozens of agents, and guess how many of them asked to see my manuscript? None. After you helped me rewrite, I sent my new query to six agents and all of them asked to see my full manuscript. It was like I discovered the secret password.  Thank you so much,
~ Sohan S Koonar, Windsor, Ontario. 

Hello, Brian. I’m writing to thank you for your help and advice in crafting the query letter for my novel, The Name’s George. After attending your “How to Get Published” workshop with Martha Webb of the McDermid Agency, I’ve had four requests for the full manuscript as well as one partial. I’m thrilled and hopeful that I can write you again with news that I’ve secured representation. Thanks again and all the best,
Shauna Clinning, Oakville, Ontario

Fee: 40.71+ 13% hst = 46 paid in advance
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, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.