Three great writing workshops and a free seminar coming soon

He Will Be My Ruin by K.A. Tucker,
represented by the Donaghy Agency

How to Get Published

An editor & a literary agent tell all

Saturday, January 28, 2017

10:15 a.m. – 4:00 / 4:30 p.m.

Glenview Presbyterian Church, Bethlehem Room, 1 Glenview Ave, Toronto, 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, three copies could be helpful.

And be sure to bring your elevator pitch! Following the end of the formal workshop at 4:00, Brian Henry will be staying for at least half an hour and helping interested attendees, who didn’t have their queries critiqued earlier, write query letters that will get a yes, while literary agent Stacey Donaghy will be listening to your pitches. Agents come to these events wanting to hear what you’ve got and hoping to find authors they want to represent.

Guest speaker Stacey Donaghy, lead agent with the Donaghy Literary Group. The Donaghy group has 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, then in 2013 opened her own agency 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 (quirky not cute), and Young Adult.

Fee: 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 paid in advance or 46.90 + 13% hst = 53 at the door

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

From Inky Girl

Writing Query Letters That Get a Yes

A free seminar

Monday, January 30, 2017

7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Kitchener Public Library, Central Branch, 85 Queen Street, North, Kitchener, Ontario (Map here.)

If you want to get the attention of an agent or a publisher, you need to craft a good query letter. Using real life examples, this seminar shows you how to do it. There isn’t just one way to write a successful query, and your query doesn’t have to be perfect; but it does need to persuade an agent that you’ve got a book that they can successfully pitch to a publisher.

Attendance is free, but please let me know you’re coming so I know how many handouts to bring. Email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

How to Build Your Story

Plotting novels & Writing short stories

Offered at two locales:

Saturday, February 4, 2017

10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Unity Church, 3075 Ridegeway Drive, Unit 8, Mississauga, Ontario (Map here)

And

Saturday, February 11, 2017

10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Albion-Bolton Branch, Caledon Public Library, 150 Queen Street South, Bolton, Ontario (Map here.)

This workshop will show you how writers plot a novel and will give you the best tips on writing short stories. We’ll also look at where to get your stories published and how to win contests. Best yet, you’ll see how to apply the story-building techniques you’ve learned to your own writing.

Fee for the Mississagua workshop : 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

Fee for the Caledon workshop: 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 + $6 for pizza lunch = $55 paid in advance by mail or in person or 46.90 + 13% hst = 53 + $6 for pizza lunch = $59 if you wait to pay at the door

To pay in advance, make your cheque out to the Caledon Public Library and mail it to:

Attention:  Laura Nolloth, Caledon Public Library, Albion Bolton Branch, 150 Queen Street South, Bolton, ON, L7E 1E3

Or you can pay in advance in person at any Caledon Library branch. (Branch locations here.)

To reserve a spot now, email: programs@caledon.library.on.ca

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.

See Brian’s current complete 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, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.