Great writing workshops in March: Writing for Children & Young Adults, Writing with Style, and Writing Your Life & Other True Stories

The Calling, a YA novel 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 Monica Pacheco, literary agent at the McDermid Agency and Jennifer Mook-Sang, author of Speechless

Saturday, March 5, 2016

10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Burlington Central Library, Centennial Room, 2331 New Street, Burlington, Ontario (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!

Monica Pacheco

Guest speaker Monica Pacheco is a literary agent with The McDermid Agency. The McDermid Agency represents literary novelists and commercial novelists of high quality and writers of nonfiction in the areas of memoir, biography, history, literary travel, narrative science, investigative journalism and true crime. 

The agency also represents children's and YA writers and also writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy.

The McDermid Agency's clients include distinguished literary authors such as Michael Crummey, Greg Hollingshead, Andrew Pyper, Nino Ricci, David Adams Richards and Michael Winter. The agency also represents writers of narrative non-fiction, such as Charles Montgomery and James MacKinnon, both of whom won the Charles Taylor prize for literary non-fiction in their years of publication.

Monica Pacheco represents a growing list of writers. Her clients include: actress/writer/director Sarah Polley, Yves Meynard, Madeline Ashby, Marty Chan, Irina Kovalyova, Sarah Henstra, Eli K. P. William,TV food stylist Janice Poon and Bram Stoker Award-winning horror writer David Nickle.

Monica is actively seeking clients in the areas of literary and commercial fiction, young adult, middle grade, high concept picture books, fantasy and science fiction.

Jennifer Mook-Sang

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 was released by Scholastic in September. 

Speechless is already a hit. The CBC has named it one of the 75 best books published in 2015 (see here), and it’s a finalist for the Ontario Library Association’s Silver Birch Award. 

Jennifer was also a finalist in the Writing for Children Competition 2014 sponsored by CANSCAIP and The Writer’s Union of Canada. Jennifer will speak about how she got her first book published. 

In the meanwhile, Speechless is available online here.

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

Writing for Children & for Young Adults
… is also being offered Saturday, April 2, in Barrie, with literary agent Rachel Letofsky (see here), on Saturday, April 30, in Guelph, with Yasemin Uçar, senior editor, Kids Can Press and authors Jennifer Mook-Sang and Kira Vermond (see here), and Sunday, May 29, in Ottawa with acclaimed author Alan Cumyn (see here).

The Oakville Public Library presents …

Writing with Style

Saturday, March 12, 2016
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Oakville Central Library, 120 Navy Street, Oakville, Ontario (Map here.)

If you do any kind of creative writing, fiction or nonfiction, this workshop is for you. We’ll tackle the nitty-gritty of putting words on paper in a way that will grip the reader’s imagination. You'll learn how to avoid common errors that drain the life from your prose. And you'll discover how to make your writing more vivid, more elegant and more powerful.

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

Image from Me, Myself and Ela

The Caledon Public Library presents…

Writing Your Life & Other True Stories

Saturday, March 19, 2016

10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Alton Branch of Caledon Public Library, 35 Station Street, Caledon, Ontario (West of Hwy 10, North of Regional Road 24, south of Hwy 9. Map here.)

Have you ever considered writing your memoirs or family history? This workshop will introduce you to the tricks and conventions of telling true stories and will show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Whether you want to write for your family or for a wider public, don't miss this workshop.

Fee (including lunch!): 40.71+ 13% hst = 51 paid in advance
or 43.36 + 13% hst = 55 if you wait to pay at the door

To let us know you’re coming, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

or phone the library at: 905-857-1400

To register, bring cash or drop a cheque off at any branch of the Caledon Public Library  map of all branches here) or mail a cheque to:

Albion-Bolton Branch Caledon Public Library

150 Qyeen Street South

Bolton ON L7E 1E3

Writing Your Life & Other True Stories

… is also being offered Saturday, April 16, in London. Details here.

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 Saint John. 

Brian is the author of a children’s version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing Inc), and along with Cecilia-Anca Popescu, Brian is the co-author of Bloody Christmas, a memoir of love and revolution, which is currently under consideration with a literary agent. 

But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. 

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. Also, if you’re not yet on my newsletter, send me an email, including your locale, to: brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~ Brian

See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Alton, 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.