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Monday, May 16, 2016

Canadian literary agency the Donaghy Group focuses on commercial fiction and has three agents, all looking for authors

Donaghy Literary Group
6 – 14845 Yonge Street
Suite 123
Aurora, Ontario
Canada

I recently attended the Windsor International Writers’ Conference. The writers in attendance enjoyed huge amounts of face time with agents and editors, plus twenty lucky attendees left with irresistible query letters re-written with help from yours truly. Apart from hanging out with writers and publishing professionals, I also took the opportunity to find out what various agents are looking for right now so I could share this info with you, dear reader, and sometimes also to pitch the agents on behalf of my students who have a manuscript almost ready to go. Two of the agents in attendance were Stacey Donaghy and Sue Miller of the Donaghy Literary group…. ~Brian

The Donaghy Literary Group is based in Canada, with a team of three agents to choose from: Stacey Donaghy, Valerie Noble, and Sue Miller.  Representing NY Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling authors, they’re focused on commercial fiction and are always interested in new and upcoming talented writers. 
  
Stacey Donaghy began her career with an agency in New York and in 2013 opened the doors to Donaghy Literary Group in Canada.

Asked what manuscripts she’d like to get right now, Stacey said, “I would love to see more diverse stories that are highly commercial.  LGBTQ stories that focus on the characters and story development and less on the "issues" related to coming out or being out.  It would be exciting to receive a LGBTQ in adult or YA that is story driven, such as a romance or thriller in Adult and in YA a Mean Girls, Duff, even a thriller that highlights diversity but where the story leads the way.

More generally, Stacey is seeking Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade fiction. Specifically, she’s looking for:
Romantic Suspense 
LGBTQ Stories, standalone or series
Diverse books
Contemporary romance
Romance with  varying heat levels
New Adult
Thrillers
Middle Grade, I am looking for quirky not cute.  
Young Adult 

Stacey is only interested in receiving fiction submissions at this time and is generally not interested in Sci-fi/Fantasy, historic, dystopian, paranormal /supernatural, literary, historic or children's picture books.

Query Stacey at: query@donaghyliterary.com
In the subject line, write “Query,” followed by story title, genre, and “Stacey Donaghy”
Paste a one or two page synopsis below your query and the first ten pages of your manuscript below that. No attachments.

Note: Stacey will be the guest speaker at a the How to Get Published workshop Saturday, Oct 22, in London. See here.

Valerie Noble is based in the U.S.  She loves science fiction and fantasy (think Kristin Cashore and Suzanne Collins), but she reads everything; for her, it’s more about the writing and less about the genre. Valerie is seeking Young Adult and New Adult in the following areas:
Science fiction
Fantasy
Historical fantasy
Historical fiction
Valerie is generally not interested in romance or paranormal.

Query Valerie at: query@donaghyliterary.com
In the subject line, write “Query,” followed by story title, genre, and “Valerie Noble”
Paste a one or two page synopsis below your query and the first ten pages of your manuscript below that. No attachments. 

Sue Miller is an associate agent. She graduated with a degree in English Literature from York University in Toronto, as well as a certificate in publishing, from Ryerson University. Sue previously worked in children's publishing with Scholastic Canada.

Prior to joining DLG, Sue interned for Bree Ogden during her time at the 
D4EO agency. Sue dabbles in writing and has edited short stories for other writers. An admitted social media junkie, Sue is always interested in the latest platforms for networking and relationship building within the industry. This led her to complete her Digital Marketing Management certificate from the University of Toronto.
Sue is seeking new and exciting voices as she builds her client list, and she’s romance, young adult, new adult and adult contemporary novels. Asked what manuscripts she’d like to get right now, Sue said, “I would love to see high concept, young adult, urban fiction that deals with social justice issues that does not preach, but tells a universal human story.”
More generally, Sue is looking for:
YA – any sub genre (think Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Cynthia Hand, Stephanie Perkins, Colleen Hoover) 
Urban Fantasy (think Sandy Williams, Patricia Briggs, Karen Marie Moning)
Urban Fantasy/Fantasy/ Science Fiction/ Dystopian - mash-ups (think Laini Taylor, Samantha Shannon, Pierce Brown, Andy Weir)
Contemporary Romance (think Jamie McGuire, K.A. Tucker, Colleen Hoover, Jojo Moyes)

And her wish list includes:
 YA or Contemporary romance - fun and smart (not silly) and/or heart breaking, with angst, romantic, sometimes dark
YA contemporary, authentic voices representing urban life (think Treasure E. Blue), multicultural (example: Canadian/Afro-Latino etc.), social change (think Heidi Durrow, R.J. Palacio)
Literary & Commercial fiction that mashes genres together such as, The Night Circus
Contemporary Romance with memorable characters that I'll fondly refer to throughout my life!

Query Sue at: query@donaghyliterary.com  
In the subject line, write “Query,” followed by story title, and genre. Paste a one or two page synopsis below your query and the first ten pages of your double-spaced manuscript below that. No attachments.

Full guidelines for the Donaghy agency here.

Michael Mirolla,
publisher Guernica Books
Brian Henry will lead a Writing for Children & for Young Adults workshop on Sunday, May 29, in Ottawa with acclaimed author Alan Cumyn (see here).

Also, Brian hosts From the Horse's Mouth ~ Strategies for Getting Published on Saturday, June 18, with Barbara Berson of Helen Heller Agency, Michael Mirolla, publisher Guernica Editions, and Bhavna Chauhan, editor, Penguin Random House Canada, at Ryerson University in Toronto (see here).

Other upcoming workshops include  How to Write Great Characters, Saturday, May 14 in Toronto (see here) and Sunday, June 5 in Georgetown (see here), and Writing and Revising, May 28, in Mississauga (see here).

For those who love great food and a beautiful setting with their writing, Brian has two Writer’s Retreats coming up at Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park: Friday, June 10 – Sunday, June 12 (see here) and Friday, Sept 16 – Sunday, Sept 18 (see here).

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

Fianlly, this summer, Brian will offer a variety of classes:
“Welcome to Creative Writing,” Tuesday afternoons, Tuesday afternoons, July 5 – Aug 23, in Burlington
“Intensive Creative Writing,” Wednesday afternoons, July 6 – Aug 24, in Burlington
“Intensive Creative Writing,” Wednesday evenings, July 6 – Aug 24, in Burlington 
See details of all three classes here. 
To reserve a spot, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.
To register or for more information for any class or workshop, 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. 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, writing retreats, 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.

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