Literary agencies representing Short Story Collections for adults; Picture Books, Rhyming Picture Books, Middle Grade. YA, etc….

Stacey Donaghy, lead agent at the Donaghy
Group, which represents fiction for Adults,
New Adults, Young Adults & Middle Grade

Are you looking for a literary agent who represents picture books? How about chapter books or graphic novels? I’m working on making Quick Brown Fox blog postings (especially recent ones) more easily searchable for that special agent you want.

All literary agents listed on the blog can be found by clicking on the Literary Agents button at the top of the page (below the banner). Canadian Literary Agents can be found by clicking on the button in the right-hand column under More Content.

But if you start scrolling through listed agents and agencies, notice that there are other Labels listed immediately below the posts (and be sure to scroll down to go through the listings):

Children's/YA agents includes agents and agencies that represent children's authors of all kinds. See here (dozens - and for all of these categories, I'm adding more all the time ~Brian).
PB Agents stands for agents or agencies that represent picture books. See here.

Agents representing Rhyming Picture books here.
Chapter Book Agents here.

Middle Grade (MG) Agents here.

Young Adult (YA) Agents here.

New Adult (NA) Agents here.

Graphic Novel Agents here.

And agents who represents short story collections (for adults) here.

Detailed interviews with literary agents here.

Speechless, a middle grade book by
Jennifer Mook-Sang, a regular guest speaker
at Brian Henry's Kid Lit workshops
and weekly courses

Note: For up-to-date listings of Writing for Children & for Young Adult workshops with senior editors from children’s book publishers as guest speakers and for weekly Kid lit classes, see here (and scroll down).

For up-to-date postings of current How to Get Published workshops with literary agents as guest speakers here (and scroll down).

For information on upcoming weekly creative writing classes, beginner to advanced, see here (and scroll down).

For writing retreats at Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park, at the Briars Resort on Lake Simcoe, and at Sherwood Inn, in Muskoka, see here (and scroll down).

See all upcoming one-day writing workshops, four-day retreats, and weekly classes, here. 

For more information or to reserve a spot in any Saturday workshop or weekly course, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Writing & Revising and Writing With Style workshops coming soon

Writing and Revising

Offered in two locales:

Saturday, March 4, 2017

10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

London Central Library, Tonda Room, 251 Dundas St, London, Ontario (Map here.)

And

Saturday, March 25, 2017

10:15 a.m. – 3:45 p.m.

Glenview Church , Bethlehem Room, 
1 Glenview Ave, Toronto, 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.

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

Writing with Style

Saturday, March 11, 2017
10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

St. Alban's Church, 537 Main Street, Georgetown, Ontario (in the village of Glen Williams (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: 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

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher 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, Ontario, to Saint John, New Brunswick. He has helped many of his students get published, including Kelley Armstrong, the guest speaker for our “How to Write a Bestseller” workshop.

Read reviews of Brian’s workshops, retreats and classes 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, 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.

“Notes on Modernism and Postmodernism that Will Make You a Better Writer” by Lucy Adams

Postmodernism

The wind of change blows straight into the face of time, and, living in the epoch of postmodernism, many writers know little about the essence of the genre, although they write according to its canons, and very successfully at times. I want to talk (briefly) about the history and the main signs of modernism and postmodernism. I do believe any aspiring author must know the roots J.

#1 Modernism

Modernism is the direction in the literature of the late XIX – early XX century, characterized by a departure from the classic novel in favor of the search for a new style and a radical revision of literary forms.

Faulkner and Hemmingway trash-talking each
other's writing

Modernism gained its strength at the beginning of the XX century. The best-known representatives of the directions are W. Faulkner, E. Hemingway, F. Kafka, T. Mann, V. Woolf, and others. Most of all, modernism was distinguished by the desire to be different in practically everything. However, there were some especially bright moments:

Experiments with literary forms. The authors of the new generation were trying to move away from the traditional form of the novel. They introduce a fragmentary construction of the storyline. We can see the story on behalf of several characters, often with opposing viewpoints.

Mindflow. This is probably the most grandiose change that modernism brought to us. The stream of consciousness overturns all notions of literature and ways of presenting information. It allows the reader to capture the movement of thought and express complex nuances of the internal state, which were previously unavailable. Undoubtedly, the desire to reveal the inner world of the protagonist is one of the greatest achievements of modernism.

The theme of war and the "lost generation." The beginning of XX century along with the First World War and the Great Depression greatly affected the topics of works of modernists. Of course, the focus was still on people, but the issues discussed in books of that time were quite different from the novels of the XIX century. The topics of the new century are more global.

Another important point is that the requirements for the reader have grown rapidly. Realism does not imply any reader training, deliberately disclosing everyday topics understandable to everyone, while modernism tends to be elitist. "Ulysses," one of the greatest works of that period, clearly demonstrates that modernism is designed exclusively for well-educated readers. 

 

#2 Postmodernism

Well, due to the phenomenal breadth and complexity of the phenomenon, that’s not so easy to give an accurate definition of postmodernism. However, one thing is clear: it’s opposite to modernism. Simply put, postmodernism is what happened after modernism and rethought it. This cultural phenomenon of the second half of the XX century rejects the basic principles of modernism and uses elements of various styles of the past, often with irony.

An important difference between the literature of postmodernism and modernism is that the first is closely related to the popular culture and has a huge impact on it. This became possible not only because of the simplicity and wide availability of books but also because of the numerous screen adaptations.

And this connection with mass culture, though it may seem at first glance evil, in fact, is very important! Once written, the work is not lost somewhere on shelves – it continues to live and develop in the form of films and TV series, video games and numerous references in other books, etc.  The rules have changed, and never, perhaps, they have been so liberal.

Let's talk a little bit about the distinctive features of postmodernism:

American Gods by Neil Gaiman,
a postmodern classic

Irony and dark humor. The first thing that catches the eye in the literature of postmodernism is a change in the attitude of authors towards their style, the tone of the narrative. In what is it expressed? Earlier, writers-realists have raised serious social themes, placed characters into the center of the acutest conflicts, both personal and social, which often ended tragically, but now writers often sneer at the problems of modern society. Many go even further, and tragedies become a breeding ground for black humor.

Irony is the most powerful tool in the hands of the modern author. And it is no accident. Ironically, in my humble opinion, there is an escape of a thinking individual against the pathos of pop culture. Although pathos and irony are the two sides of the same coin, many readers refuse to identify themselves with popular culture. Smart authors just use it to their advantage J.

Intertextuality. From the viewpoint of postmodernism, borrowing is a sign not of the bad taste but rather high cultural level. Borrowing reminds me of a game with the reader: the author flatters the reader’s ego, putting in the story elements that a smart reader will recognize. In general, we have come to the state when the media space is full of repeated images, archetypes, and situations that we've all seen a hundred times. And here is the point when irony comes!

A mix of genres. Authors have not abandoned experiments with form. More and more often we see a mix of genres, especially in household plots combined with fantasy elements. And often it turns so well that gives rise to new genres, for example, magical realism – an original and very interesting area, an example of the impact of postmodern ideas on well-known motives.

To Sum Up

First and foremost, the young author should realize that he lives in the era of postmodernism. Not in the XIX century among the geniuses of literature and ignorant serfs but the information space of a planet where themes and motifs evolve from one form to another, and none of those is the final one. And if so, then everyone has the right to use all the knowledge that was gained by the predecessors.

Therefore, the primary task of the young author is to get acquainted with the achievements of the literature of the XX century. However, this requires considerable time and wisdom. On boring, confusing, and often nauseous pages the writer has to see how modernism ruined all foundations and patterns of classical literature and then put them together.

Yes, we live in a postmodern era, when literature is closely intertwined with popular culture, and the requirements to the reader are not very different from the demands of the XIX century. But think, do you have the right to ignore the experiments and achievements of the literature of the past century? If you think you don’t, fill the gap immediately!

Lucy Adams is a Buzz essay writer and blogger. This generalist is always in touch and ready to take the most exciting ideas of yours. Feel free to suggest Lucy a few intriguing topics, let her choose one or two that she likes best, and wait a week or so to get an in-depth research on the matter!

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, 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.

How to Write Great Dialogue workshop, Saturday, June 10, in Guelph

How to Write Great Dialogue

With special guest author Hannah McKinnon

Saturday, June 10, 2017

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Harcourt United Church, 87 Dean Ave, Guelph, Ontario (Map here.)

Accessible to beginners and meaty enough for experienced writers, this workshop will show you how to use dialogue to make your stories more dynamic and dramatic.Whether you’re writing fiction or memoir, you need to be able to write great dialogue that both sounds natural and packs dramatic punch, and you need to know how to mix your dialogue and narrative so that your characters come alive. Come to this workshop and learn both the basics and the best tricks of the trade.

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 St. John. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published.

Guest speaker Hannah McKinnon, the the author of Time After Time (published by HarperCollins in Britain), a novel about love, loss and second chances that’s full of humour. Her second and third books have been contracted by MIRA (a North American imprint owned by HarperCollins). The first of these, a novel about the implosion of two families and  tentatively titled The Secrets That Made Us, is scheduled for the summer of 2018, and her third book for the summer after that. 

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. At the workshop, Hannah will be speaking about how she uses dialogue in her writing and how she aspires to use dialogue. She’ll also be sharing her story of her writing career so far.

Read a review of "How to write great dialogue" here. For more reviews of Brian's weekly courses and Saturday workshops see here and scroll down.

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, 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, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Three paying markets for short fiction, poetry, and art, plus the Caledon Library has three free contests: for short stories, poetry & photography, for both kids & adults

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

Amethyst Arsenic is an online publisher of poetry, art, and music. Currently seeking material for the spring issue. Pays $10; featured poet receives $50 U.S. 

Deadline: March 31, 2017. Guidelines here.

Orford Parish Books specializes in the unsettling, the weird, the subtly troubling – short fiction, illustrated books for strange children, themed chapbooks, fake newspapers. “We don’t do it for a living; we do it because it’s too hard to start a cult.”

Orford Parish is currently seeking submissions for an anthology of New England Folk Horror. Pays $75 U.S.

Deadline: March 31, 2017. Guidelines here.

The Caledon Public Library is sponsoring Short Story, Poetry, and Photography contests.

Get published & win money, using the theme Celebrating Canada 150.

Short story Contest categories:

Adult 18+ years, maximum word count 1500 words

Teen (Elizabeth Scavetta Memorial Teen Short Story) 13 - 17 years, maximum word count 1500 words

Children 9 -12 years, maximum word count 750 words

Children 6 - 8 years, maximum word count 500 words

Prizes: 1st place $100, 2nd place $75, 3rd place $50

Deadline: March 31, 2017

Poetry Contest categories:

Adult 18+ years

Teen 13 - 17 years

Prizes: 1st place $100, 2nd place $75, 3rd place $50

Deadline: April 20, 2107

Photography Contest categories:

 Adult 18+ years

Teen 13 - 17 years

Children 6 - 12 years

Prizes: 1st place $100, 2nd place $75, 3rd place $50

Deadline: September 2, 2017

Guidelines for all three contests here.

Hi, Brian.

You're hearing it here first. I'll be editing a new speculative anthology for Exile Editions. I'm attaching the guidelines for Alice Unbound. Submissions open Feb 1. Feel free to spread the word.
Colleen Anderson

Alice Unbound

Lewis Carroll explored childlike wonder and the bewildering realm of adult rules and status, which clashed in bizarre ways. Many characters in his tales are anthropomorphic, whether talking cards, crying mock turtles or saucy Tiger Lilies. Over 150 years later, people still recognize characters from Carroll's works. Who doesn’t know of vorpel blades and mimbly borogroves? There is the same madcap imagination in the fantastic that has allowed fairy tales to endure through centuries. These characters resonate in a primal part of the human psyche, harkening to the mysticism and mystery of the ancient world, when it was unclear how the rain fell, or the seasons changed, or whether a person was separate from an animal or could become one.

Centuries passed and myth became fairy tales, evolving to resonate with each era, showing the triumphs of the common man, the humble and generous woman who outsmarts tempters, jailers, and evil stepmothers, or the trials and tribulations of seeking the unknown. Carroll's characters took a jump forward, not just following the regular metamorphosis of an age-old fairy tale, but leaping off the cliff of the familiar into something altogether new, different and endearing. We might not truly want to live in the world of Alice or have to deal with mad queens and bandersnatches, but what if that Wonderland ceased to exist and melded with our modern world? How would these characters fit in, and what would they bring or change? Are we ready to accept Alice Unbound into our hearts and let the Jabberwock in the back door?

Alice in Wonderland was Carroll’s (Dodson’s) most famous work but there are other stories and poems, such as the Jabberwock, the Walrus and the Carpenter, or the Snark. For Alice Unbound, I don’t want to see rehashings of Carroll’s tales but characters in a modern or slightly futuristic world. I've seen many of the Alice movies and shows and don’t want a retelling of those scripts. These stories should go farther than the rabbit hole. I will consider a few very select poems, but they will need to have a storyline and not just an observation or an image.

These are examples only but not requirements:

·         The Red Queen pops through; what happens to her and those in her environment in Winnipeg when she decides to lobby for a longer hunting season?

·          The caterpillar is the owner of a medical marijuana store and he refuses to give an ailing person medication.

·         Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum have a falling out because one wants to get fit and stop dressing like a twin.

·         The Jabberwock was once a friendly sort. What caused him to go bad?

·         The mock turtle campaigns for animal rights by doing stand-up comedy.

Whether Alice, the mock turtle or Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, use these elements and characters to show more worlds and characters through the looking glass. Stories must have a conflict and should fall under the speculative umbrella, such as dark, fabulist, weird, fantasty, SF, steampunk. QUILTBAG and people of colour as characters are encouraged as well as stories from any Canadian. Alice doesn’t have to be white and blonde. Go beyond Alice in every way.

Pays 5 cents /word

Length: 2,000-5,000 words. Minimum 1,000 words.

Submission window: Feb. 1 to May 31. Full guidelines here.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Navigating tip: For more paying markets, go to the Labels for this posting listed below and click on Paying Markets, or Best Paying Markets. In the list of Labels, you’ll also find a links to various other collections of postings.

How to Write Great Characters workshops, Saturday, June 17, in Burlington

The Burlington Public Library presents …

How to Write Great Characters   

Saturday, June 17, 2017
10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Burlington Central Library, Centennial Hall, 2331 New Street, Burlington, Ontario (Map here)

Whatever you're writing ~ fiction or nonfiction ~ readers will care about your story only if they care about your people. In this workshop, you'll learn techniques for creating fictional characters and depicting real people. You’ll learn how to breathe life into the page so that your characters start telling you how the story should go.

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.

What past participants say:

Hi, Brian.

I just wanted to thank you for the “Writing Great Characters” workshop on Saturday.  I have been stalled in my writing, and I realized at the workshop it was because I didn't have a clear picture of my character's personality and motives.  Your exercises and handouts have inspired me and I'm happy to say I spent the rest of the weekend writing.  Writer's block conquered (for now, ha)!
Looking forward to all the upcoming workshops.

Marina Unger,
Stouffville, Ontario

Brian’s workshops always have new information. Even if I take the same one more than once (which I have), I learn and understand things in different ways. For this workshop, in particular, I especially appreciate the way the character development exercises push my creative side. Of course I enjoy the writing exercise, too, and the helpful feedback on our pieces.  Thanks, Brian!

Angela Michalak,

Barrie, 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

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, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.