Gemini flash fiction contest, Twisted Sister wants short twisted prose, Circa wants short historical fiction & creative nonfiction and Canadian Stories wants true Canadian stories

Brian,

Gemini Magazine is pleased to announce the Eight Annual Gemini Magazine Flash Fiction Contest.

GRAND PRIZE: $1,000. Second place wins $100, and four honorable mentions each receive $25. All six finalists will be published online in the October 2016 issue of Gemini.

Maximum length: 1,000 words. Deadline: August 31, 2013. Open to ANY subject, style or genre. Both new and established writers are welcome.

ENTRY FEE: just $5 ($4 for each additional flash). Enter by email or snail mail. Full details here.

Best,

David Bright, Editor

Hello, Brian.

Can you share a call for submissions with your readers?

We are Twisted Sister – a brand spankin’ new lit mag looking for submissions. We want those weird twisted pieces that nobody knows quite what to do with. Blood spatter and gore friendly – we want short, sharp, and potentially violent, but still feminist and queer positive. (I know, eh?)

We’ll take what you got, but the shorter the better. Flash, short stories, essays and even some poems.

Check it all out here.

 Thank you,

Twisted Sister

Circa is an online journal dedicated to short historical fiction. “Have you got a love story set during the Great Fire of London, a mystery among the Mayans, an homage to Ancient Rome?  We’d love to read it! We love vintage, we love retro, and we love great writing.

“To increase your chances of acceptance, remember Circa loves anything that provides a fresh take on history and resists cliche.  We love genre-crossing, speculative and alternative history, too.  Be original, bold and striking!

We nominate for prizes such as the Pushcart Prize and the storySouth Million Writers Award.

Circa accepts fiction, creative nonfiction, and articles on an historical theme.   Short stories and creative non-fiction should not exceed 2,500 words and articles should not exceed 800 words.  As a Canadian journal, we have a special place in our heart for Canadian stories.  Novel excerpts are welcome, but only if they can stand alone.

Full submission guidelines here.

Canadian Stories is a folk magazine featuring family stories, personal experiences and memories of the past. It is written by "ordinary" Canadians sharing material that is extraordinary. Readers identify strongly with our stories and reach back into their own memory banks to find pleasure and strength in their own histories.

What is a "folk magazine"? Edith Fowke defined "folklore" as "material that is handed on by tradition, either by word of mouth or by custom and practice." (Folklore of Canada, McClelland and Stewart, 1976) We feel that it is important to publish stories of the past to preserve them for future generations.

In CANADIAN STORIES, you will find excerpts from olden-day memoirs alongside new material set in the present. We have also published essays speculating about the future. We like family stories about pioneer days, and about life during the Great Depression and the World Wars. Country life, the joys of moving, encounters with animals, vacation experiences, the significance of Remembrance Day -- these are just some of the themes that have been presented in CANADIAN STORIES.

Traditional, structured poems and free verse sprinkle our pages. Children's stories are welcome; in fact, we have a young writers' page for authors aged ten to nineteen. Some fiction is also offered, particularly if it is Canadian in setting, plot or characters. Any topic is considered as long as it meets our Authors' Guidelines. 

Although our reading diet may range from cereal boxes to thousand page tomes, 
" we must have something to read "!

We hope you will enjoy CANADIAN STORIES and share some of your stories with us.

Enjoy!

Ed Janzen, Publisher

ejanzen345@sympatico.ca

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, 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.

Writing and Revising workshop, Saturday, Nov 5, in Midland

Writing and Revising

Saturday, November 5, 2016
1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
North Simcoe Sports & Rec Centre
Multi-Purpose Room
527 Len Self Boulevard, Midland, Ontario (Map here)

If you want to refine your story-telling skills and cut the time you will need to spend editing, this workshop is for you. You'll learn how to step back from a manuscript in order to find – and fix – flaws in your plot, structure, characterization and style. You'll learn how to rethink, rework and rewrite so that your manuscript will live up to your vision.

Special Option: You’re invited to bring the first 500 – 1,000 words of one of your pieces of writing. You don’t need to bring anything, but if you do, three 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 Saint John. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published. You can read reviews of Brian's courses and workshops here. 

Fee: 35.51+ 13% hst = 39 paid in advance
37.17 + 13% hst = 42 if you wait to pay at the door

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

See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, 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.

New literary agent Katie Zanecchia at Ross Yoon Agency seeks nonfiction

Gail Ross & Howard Yoon

Ross Yoon Agency
1666 Connecticut Ave NW
Suite 500
Washington, DC 20009

http://www.rossyoon.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 Ross Yoon Literary Agency specializes in serious nonfiction on a variety of topics: everything from memoir and history and biography to popular science, business, and psychology. Their clients include CEOs, top doctors, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, academics, politicos, and radio and television personalities.

Katie Zanecchia has joined the Ross Yoon Agency as a literary agent, and like all new agents, she needs authors.

Katie has worked at the intersection of content, creativity, and advocacy for her entire career — from literary magazines and major publishers to arts-based non-profits. She began her career at Writers House Literary Agency, where she also helped create their first digital rights department. Recently, she’s helped build and celebrate creative communities at CreativeMornings and Girls Write Now, where she’s experienced the transformative power of the written word first hand.

A native Coloradan, she comes to New York City by way of DC and Charlottesville, with some quick detours in Taos, Lima and London. She graduated from the Columbia Publishing Course and has a BA in Comparative Literature from the University of Virginia. You can find her @klz4k just about everywhere on the internet.

Katie is interested in narrative non-fiction that catalyzes social change, challenges the status quo, gives voice to the underrepresented, and inspires improvement of all kinds — whether it’s through the lens of women’s rights and feminism, arts and design, technology, politics, social science, memoir, or pop culture.

Query Katie at: submissions@rossyoon.com or katie@rossyoon.com

Author Jennifer Mook-Sang will be a guest
speaker at the "Writing Kid Lit" course

Brian Henry has a number of workshops coming up: “How to Make Your Stories Dramatic,”  Saturday, Aug 20, in Oakville (see here), and “You can write great dialogue,” Sunday, Aug 21, in Brampton (see here).

For those who love great food and a beautiful setting with their writing, Brian Henry will lead a Fall Colours Writing Retreat at Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park, Friday, Sept 16 – Sunday, Sept 18 (see here).

This fall, Brian will offer a wide range of classes:

“Welcome to Creative Writing,” Thursday afternoons, Sept 29 - Dec 8, in Oakville (see here).

 “Writing Kid Lit ~ Picture Books to YA” (new),  Tuesday afternoons, Sept 27 - Nov 22 (no class Oct 11), in Burlington (see here).

“Intermediate Creative Writing,” Wednesday evenings, Sept 21 to Nov 30 (no class Oct 12), in Burlington (see here)

“Intermediate Creative Writing,” Thursday evenings, Sept 29 - Dec 8, in Georgetown (see here).

“Intensive Creative Writing,” Wednesday afternoons, Intensive Sept 14 - Dec 14 (no class Oct 12) , in Burlington.

See details of all five classes offered this fall here.

To reserve a spot or for more details, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Literary agent Martha Webb

Brian will lead “How to Get Published” workshops on Saturday, Oct 15 in Burlington with literary agent Cassandra Rodgers of The Rights Factory as his guest speaker (see here), and on Saturday, October 29, in Caledon, at the Bolton Public Library, with Martha Web of the McDermid Agency (see here). 

To register or for details, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Then on Saturday, November 19, Brian will lead a “Writing for Children and for Young Adults” workshop in Mississauga with Anne Shone, senior editor, Scholastics Canada as his guest speaker (see here).

To register of for more information for any of the above, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

See Brian’s complete current schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, 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.

Writing for Children and for Young Adults with guest Anne Shone, senior editor, Scholastic Books, Saturday, Nov 19, in Mississauga

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
Saturday, November 19, 2016
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Unity Church, 3075 Ridegeway Drive, Unit 8, Mississauga, 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 2 or 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!

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. 

Anne Shone, senior editor,
Scholastic Books

Guest speaker Anne Shone is a Senior Editor at Scholastic Canada. Anne has worked in book publishing for close to twenty years, concentrating on children’s books for the last fifteen. In that time, she has worked with many of Canada’s top children’s book authors and illustrators. 

Recent highlights include picture books: Scribble by Ruth Ohi, What Is Peace? by Wallace Edwards and Mittens to Share by Emil Sher, illustrated by Irene Luxbacher; novels: Speechless by Jennifer Mook-Sang, and Young Man with Camera by Emil Sher; and in nonfiction: Colossal Canada: 100 Epic Facts and Feats by Elizabeth MacLeod and Frieda Wishinsky, to name just a few.

Fee: 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 paid in advance by mail or Interac

or 46.90 + 13% hst = 53 if you wait to pay at the door

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

See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, 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.

“The Teacher and the Cheating Juggler” by Tobyn Pearson

I’ve always thought it important to pay homage to the people who have had a positive influence in my life. From my informative high school years, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bill Everett. Tah Dah!

I think Mr. Everett would like that introduction. He was everyone’s favourite gym teacher, who had a manifold of talents, ranging from singing, acting, playing instruments, square dance calling, auctioneering and of course juggling, which is why he was so important in my life. He brought all his talents to bare on us poor unsuspecting impressionable students.

The square dancing gig was an especially strange idea for me to get a grasp on at that time in my life. I was into punk rock and new wave, which of course is the polar opposite to square dancing. He was the teacher, so he got to call the shots, thus square dancing was part of our curriculum, not punk rock, so suck it up buttercup. At first I was very skeptical, but learned to enjoy it for what it was, a way to flirt with the girls and hold their hands. After all, little do-si-do never hurt anyone.

During one, what we all thought would be a normal gym class, Mr. Everett brought out a bunch of tennis balls and told us we were going to learn how to juggle. Most laughed and gave up before they began, thinking it was way too difficult a talent to learn. But a few went for it, then a few more, and by the end of the first class, maybe fifty percent of the students were juggling three balls in some way shape or form

For some strange reason, or simply because I am strange, I picked up three-ball juggling extremely fast and was doing simple tricks by the end of the first class. There is a method to learn how to juggle believe it or not. As soon as Mr. Everett showed me the secret, the world of juggling opened up to me.

After initially learning to juggle, I had no idea where to go to learn more about the art, so I simply stagnated with the few tricks that I could do for several years. Sometime during the mid-eighties, my company had a Christmas party, and for entertainment they hired a professional juggler. His name was Bob Cates and he went on to become the Canadian juggling champion. Not quite an Olympic gold medal, but to me incredibly impressive.

After his show I asked him where I could learn more. He directed me to the McMaster juggling club, which met monthly at the university in winter and at Gage Park in the summer.

I was in absolute awe when I went to my first meeting at the university. Everywhere, there were clubs, scarves, balls, lit torches, cigar boxes, fruit and vegetables (tossed salad, tee-hee) – and any other item a juggler might think of tossing – were all flying through the air. A feeling of wonder, like a kid in a candy store swept through me.

It was here at the university that I learned tricks such as, “Mills mess, Chops, Columns, The cheating juggle,” four-ball juggling, then eventually five. Bob Cates was there, as were the Higgins brothers, who manufacture juggling equipment for Cirque du Soleil. They were all very gracious with their time and instruction. 

It wasn’t long before I had a juggling repertoire, which when included with the magic I had learned over the years, could be used for a full-length professional performance.

Several years passed, and I went on to do many shows for children and adults alike. There is a whole other story to be told on how I got to my very first performance, which shall be saved for a rainy day, or if my creative writing homework for a particular week doesn’t inspire me.

Time passed and I wanted to somehow pay homage to the people that taught me two of my greatest passions in life, magic and juggling. To this day I still haven’t been able to track down Mr. Roussel, who taught me my first magic trick back in grade six. I was however able to show Mr. Everett the monster he had created.

Each year my High School held a talent show. Mr. Everett was always a guiding force behind it as he had so many talents with which to entertain. Several years out of high school, I went back out of curiosity, to see if they were still holding the yearly talent show. To my surprise they were, and Mr. Everett was still in charge. I set it up with the office staff to give me a ten-minute spot in the show without letting Mr. Everett know anything about it.

I was nervous as hell, which was uncommon since I had performed the juggling I was to do hundreds of time before. This time however I was performing not for the audience, but for a single man who inspired me to toss balls into the air.

I was hiding just outside the auditorium so Mr. Everett would suspect nothing. Once introduced, I made my way to the stage with my bag-o-juggling equipment. I could see Mr. Everett off to the side of the stage, looking at his list of acts wondering where this new act had come from.

I was introduced as the “Somewhat Magnificent Tobini,”  so as not to give away who it was at first. I began with a little speech of how a special teacher taught me some cool stuff and how I wanted to thank him personally. I did my little routine, and then invited Mr. Everett up on stage to have a little juggle with me.

It was a nice moment that I will cherish forever. In writing this I must now go find Mr. Roussel, I owe him the same courtesy. I hope he’s still on the right side of the sod!

Tobyn Pearson is a recently retired operations manager, looking to find what he wants to do when he grows up. “I’ve given magic, lacrosse, juggling, cricket, knitting, basketball, and baking a try,” says Tobyn. “Time to add a little writing to the list.”

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, 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.

How to Get Published workshop with literary agent Cassandra Rodgers, Saturday, Oct 15, in Burlington

Literary agent Cassandra Rodgers

The Burlington Public Library presents…

How to Get Published

An editor, an author & an agent tell all

Saturday, Oct 15, 2016

10:o0 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Burlington Central Library 2331 New Street, Burlington, Ontario (Map here)

Note: This workshop is also being offered Saturday, Oct 22, in London (see here) and Saturday, Oct 29, at the Bolton Library in Caledon (see 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, three 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 Saint John. 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 Cassandra Rodgers is an associate literary agent with The Rights Factory (TRF), a boutique literary agency that deals in intellectual property rights for entertainment products, including books, comics & graphic novels, film, television, and video games. TRF works directly with publishers, producers, studios, game developers and other rights-buyers in all territories, occasionally in conjunction with local representatives. 

The Rights Factory has an esteemed roster of both fiction and nonfiction writers including Jennifer Close, debut author of the must-read short story collection, Girls In White Dresses; Margot Berwin, author of Hot House Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire (optioned by Julia Roberts in conjunction with Columbia Pictures for film rights), and the paranormal romance, Aromata. and Hannah McKinnon, author of Time After Time.

Cassandra has a diverse group of clients from across North America that ranges from debut authors to celebrities. Actively building her list, she is interested in adult literary and commercial women’s fiction. With a degree in History and Political Science from the University of Toronto, she does have a weakness for historical fiction. Nonfiction is another passion – particularly politics, history, science, and finance. Memoirs that can make her laugh, cry, or inspire her are always welcome.

More about The Rights Factory here.

Guest speaker Hannah McKinnon is the author of Time After Time, a novel about love, loss and second chances that’s full of humour (HarperCollins UK). A 40-something British and Swiss national, and more recently a Canadian import, Hannah has been telling stories for years – but only recently started writing them down. She runs an electrical contracting business with her husband, dabbles in the art of voice-overs, and writes whenever she can. 

When she’s not writing novels for adults, Hannah’s three boys give her plenty of material for children’s books. 

You can read a review of Time After Time here and an excerpt here. At the workshop, Hannah will be sharing her story of how she wrote her book, found an agent and got published.

What people have to say about Brian Henry and How to Get Published:

“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 13th novel, The Awakening, hit number 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list. To date I’ve published 28 books. Thirteen of them have been turned into a TV show with the same name as 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 am 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: 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 paid in advance by mail or Interac

or 46.90 + 13% hst = 53 if you wait to pay at the door

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

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, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, 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.