Three Canadian literary agents at McDermid Agency seek authors, YA to adult fiction, plus nonfiction

Company Town by Madeline Ashby,
represented by The McDermid Agency

The McDermid Agency Inc.

320 Front Street West

Suite 1105

Toronto, ON M5V 3B6

http://mcdermidagency.com/

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in the “Follow Brian by Email” box in the right-hand column 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

The McDermid Agency represents literary novelists and upmarket commercial novelists and writers of nonfiction in the areas of memoir, popular science, investigative journalism, popular culture, lifestyle, biography, history and travel. The agency also represents children's and young adult (YA) writers and writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy. 

The agency’s writers have been nominees and winners of many literary prizes including the Man Booker Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Writers Trust awards, the RBC Taylor Prize for narrative non-fiction, the (formerly named) Orange Prize, the Amazon First Novel Award, the Kobo Emerging Writers prize, the Danuta Gleed Award, and the Commonwealth Prize.

The McDermid Agency has three agents actively looking for new authors:

Monica Pacheco joined the agency in 2008 and represents a growing list of writers. represents a growing list of writers, focusing on Young Adult, science fiction and fantasy, and literary fiction

Her clients include:

Actress/writer/director Sarah Polley (Didi and the Bean, forthcoming from HarperCollins Canada)

Yves Meynard (Chrysanthe trilogy, Tor/Macmillan 2012)

Madeline Ashby (Company Town, The Machine Dynasty series, Angry Robot)

Irina Kovalyova (Specimen, forthcoming from House of Anansi spring 2015)

Sarah Henstra (Mad Miss Mimic, forthcoming from Penguin Canada summer 2015)

Janice Poon

Eli K.P. William

and Bram Stoker Award-winning horror writer David Nickle.

Monica will be one of three guest speakers at Brian Henry's “Writing for Children and for Young Adults” workshop, Saturday, August 12, in Collingwood. Details here.

Martha Magor Webb is a literary agent, director and full partner at The McDermid Agency. She’s been with the agency since 2005. She represents a wide range of books, but her list focuses primarily on literary fiction, narrative nonfiction (including memoir and true crime) and ideas-driven nonfiction. She is especially drawn to approaches that are thought-provoking, controversial, change the conversation on a given subject or have a positive impact on people’s lives.

Her clients include: 

Michael Crummey (multiple award-winning author of Sweetland)

Alison Pick (long-listed for the Booker Prize)

Robyn Doolittle (Bestselling author of Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story)

Deborah Campbell, winner of the 2016 Hilary Weston Writers Trust Prize; Pasha Malla (long-listed for the Giller, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, winner of the Danuta Gleed and the Trillium awards)

Jessica Grant, (winner of the Amazon.ca First Novel and the Winterset awards) Grace O'Connell; Andrew Westoll

and Karen Le Billon, whose first book French Kids Eat Everything sold into thirteen countries and translated into ten languages.

Martha will be one of three guest speakers at Brian Henry's “How to Get Published” mini-conference Saturday, November 18, in Guelph. Details here. 

Chris Bucci is a literary agent, director and full partner at The McDermid Agency. He represents bestselling authors such as Bob Rae, Timothy Caulfield, Susan Delacourt, Jowita Bydlowdka, James Grainger, and Kerri Sakamoto.

Chris began his career at the University of Toronto Press and soon became an acquisitions editor in social sciences and cultural studies. Chris joined HarperCollins Canada in 2003 as a nonfiction editor. Moving to McClelland & Stewart in 2004, Chris helped revitalize their nonfiction program, establishing relationships with international authors, agents and publishers.

Chris represents both fiction and nonfiction. In particular, he’s looking for  literary fiction, mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, commercial literary fiction and narrative nonfiction. For nonfiction, he seeks popular science, sports, popular culture, politics, essays, and history.

Submissions:
Send queries to: info@mcdermidagency.com
You are welcome to include the first 5–15 pages of your manuscript. Please do not send any further material unless invited. And naturally, you should address your query to one agent in particular. Full submission guidelines here.

Brian Henry will lead a Writing for Children & for Young Adult workshop on Saturday, August 12, in Collingwood with literary agent Monica Pacheco (see here). 

In the fall, Brian will lead a weekly Writing Kid Lit class, Thursday mornings, Oct 5 – Nov 30, in Oakville, with guest authors Sylvia McNicoll and Jennifer Mook-Sang (see here).

Note: For updated listings of Writing for Children & for Young adult workshops and for weekly Kid lit classes, see here (and scroll down).

Brian will lead a Writing Your Life and Other True Stories workshop on Saturday, Aug 19 in Brampton (see here). 

Join us for a Fall Colours Writing Retreat, at the wonderful Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park, Friday, Sept 15 – Sunday, Sept 17 (see here).

Also, in the fall, Brian will lead a “How to Make Yourself Write” workshop on Saturday, Oct 14, in Toronto (see here), a “Writing a Bestseller” workshop with New York Times #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong on Saturday, Oct 21 (see here), and a “How to Get Published” mini-conference, with author Hannah McKinnon, literary agent Martha Webb, and HarperCollins editor Michelle Meade on Saturday, Nov 18 (see here).

Brian will lead a full range of courses, introductory to advanced, including (for the first time) a weekly creative writing course in Toronto: 

Image by Nina Leen

Welcome to Creative Writing, Thursday afternoons, Sept 28 – Nov 30, in Burlington. See here.

Writing Personal Stories, Wednesday evenings, Sept 27 – Nov 15, in Burlington. See here.

Writing Kid Lit, Thursday mornings, Oct 5 – Nov 30, in Oakville, with guest authors Sylvia McNicoll and Jennifer Mook-Sang. See here.

Next Step in Creative Writing, Tuesday afternoons Sept 26 – Nov 28, in Burlington. See here.

Intensive Creative Writing, Monday mornings, Sept 25 – Dec 4, in Toronto. See here.

Intensive Creative Writing, Thursday evenings, Sept 28 – Nov 30 in Georgetown. See here.

Extreme Creative Writing, Wednesday afternoons, Sept 20 – Dec 6, in Burlington

See details of all seven courses offered in the fall here.

For more information or to reserve a spot in any workshop, retreat, or weekly course, 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, 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.

Navigation tips: Always check out the labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. Also, if you're searching for a literary agent who represents a particular type of book, check out this post. 

“The Funeral" by Nadine Rodrigo

We enter the city of Colombo and are immediately engulfed in trucks, buses, cars and bullock carts. The stench of fish being transported to the market invades our car like a coiled snake, silent yet potent. We hear raised voices, cars honking impatiently, chaos all around, and although anxious about grandmother’s illness, I am excited to be in the big city. We left our quiet home town at dawn.   

Approaching my grandparents’ house, we notice the garden edged with rows of white plastic chairs and the wrought iron gates wide open. Dad slaps his palm against his forehead. He drives slowly up the driveway to the house, and stops. His head and shoulders slump against the steering wheel and remains still. Mom reaches out across the car seat and holds him.

“Come Daniel,” he tells me, and we slowly get out of the car.

Aunty Lakshmi, Dad’s sister, quickly approaches the car, and hugs him as he steps out.

“When did it happen?” Mom asks gently.

 “Early morning,” says my aunt. “You’d already left home, there was no way of informing you, and anyway it’s a long drive, we did not want to upset you.”  

Aunty Lakshmi’s nose is red from crying. She and her husband, Uncle Wilson, remain at the entrance to greet people.  Mom slips her arm around Dad and they stay silently together in the kitchen, Dad stares out of the window with unseeing eyes. He shows no emotion. He is dazed, as if it were too much to grasp.   

My cousin Sharon, with the birthmark above her lip, holds me by the arm and we slip out to the garden.  We caress the flowers that grandmother has grown with love and care remembering how she talked to her plants. Now, who will talk to the yellow roses and the red anthuriums? A fruit from the Jack tree has fallen and split open. It is attacked by crows with relish, their sharp beaks penetrating the soft flesh. The pungent smell hangs in the air.

My grandmother is in a coffin which has been placed in the centre of the living room. The chairs lining the walls are occupied by family and friends. Aunty Seetha is sobbing, which prods Aunty Joyce to a fresh bout of weeping. Aunty Joyce, her makeup smeared, hurriedly rummages in her bag for a handkerchief. Uncle Jayantha is looking down at his shoes, observing them with great care.

Grandfather sits, silently nodding at people as they talk to him, absorbing nothing, overcome with grief. I’ve never seen grandfather like this but this is my first time at a funeral. Grandmother appears different, smaller in her white sari in the coffin, almost a stranger.   There are others talking softly, regarding the cause of her death.

I hear a whisper. “Where is Jerome?”

“Who knows, maybe he won’t come.”

  “Of course he will. The house, would he not get his share?”

“The other children, would they protest?” 

Sly glances are exchanged as my pretty aunt Lakshmi leaves the room abruptly biting her lips, eyes downcast. I overhear her in the passage which leads to the bedroom, complaining to my uncle that these people should mind their own business. I am puzzled about this Jerome they are referring to, not having heard of him before.

Aunts and Uncles come throughout the day, giving me hugs and patting my head they ask me how old I am and comment on how grown up I am for a twelve-year-old boy.

“You must be missing school, no?” says Aunty Noeline.

 I nod, not caring about the classes I’m missing. In the midday heat the sari blouses of the aunties are wet with underarm sweat and faces smeared with tears. I avoid the embraces by going into the bedroom and staying under the fan, pretending to be asleep.

I can overhear them talking: “The child is tired, long trip no?”

Aunty Lakshmi’s voice unusually sharp: “I hope he doesn’t turn up here”.

I wonder who she is referring to and eventually drift off to sleep.

A commotion from the group of men at the back of the garden wakes me up. I saw them previously, discretely consuming a bottle of Arak. Simon a neighbor is accusing Dad of keeping Jerome away from the house.

Dad’s authoritative voice is deep and clear: “Take the knife from Simon.”

I quickly slip through the back door just in time to see a scuffle.

 “You filthy dog. You’ll get what you deserve. You watch out!” threatens Simon, swaying unsteadily.

I hear another voice: “Get the vagrant out of the compound.”    

There are cries to call the police. People inside the house are streaming into the garden. People passing by are crowding in through the gates, others who had left before are returning to investigate.

I am urged into the house by my harried aunt. “Go in, go in, what are you doing here, go into the room and stay there,” she commands.

I am scared and confused. Should these things be happening at Grandmother’s funeral?

       I run in and see my grandfather, alone, squatting on the floor, covering his head with both hands, swaying back and forth, softly moaning. The living room is empty except for Grandmother who lies silent in the coffin, no longer in the same bed she shared with Grandfather for the past sixty years.  

I crouch beside Grandfather and place my hand in his. Slowly we rise. Still holding hands, we sit beside each other until Dad enters the room. The tears that I didn’t shed before are coming down uncontrollably. I wipe them away with the back of my hand.

Between sobs I choke out, “We must visit Grandfather every month now.”

Dad hugs me and says, “Yes Daniel, we will”.

Dad’s face crumples as he grasps grandfather‘s hand.  An unspoken rift is laid to rest.

Nadine Rodrigo was born in Quebec  and grew up in Sri Lanka, which has influenced much of her writing. She sees writing like having a baby: you give birth to your story, nurture it tenderly and rein it in when necessary and hope the ultimate result will be splendid.

See Brian Henry's 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.

Intensive Creative Writing offered in two locales: Mondays, Sept 25 – Dec 4, in Toronto, and Thursdays, Sept 28 – Dec 7, in Georgetown

Intensive Creative Writing

Ten special weeks with a group of special writers

Monday mornings, 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

September 25 – December 4, 2017 (No class Oct 9)

Glenview Church, Bethelhem Room, 1 Glenview Ave, Toronto, Ontario. (Map here)

And

Thursday evenings, 6:45 – 9:00 p.m.

September 28 – December 7, 2017 (No class Nov 30)

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

See details of all 7 weekly course offered this fall here. 

The Intensive course is for experienced writers; people who have been working on their craft for a while, who have some experience in the art of giving helpful critiques, and who are working on their own projects. 

During course, you’ll be asked to bring in five pieces of your writing for detailed feedback. All your pieces may be from the same work, such as a novel in progress, or they may be stand alone pieces. You bring whatever you want to work on.  

In addition to learning how to critique your own work and receiving constructive suggestions about your writing, you’ll discover that the greatest benefits come from seeing how your classmates approach and critique a piece of writing and how they write and re-write.

Fee: $176.11 + 13% hst = 199

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

Instructor 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’s has helped many of his students get published. 

Read a review of the Intensive course here. Read more 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, 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.

“Butch & Gord” by By Matthew Maloney

“Open up Gord, I know you’re home, I can see the TV on.”  Butch banged on the door of the dilapidated shack Gord called home.  Gord owed Butch 500 bucks and had been dodging him for weeks. 

Butch sighed and peaked through the window on the front porch.  A football game was underway on the TV set and a lit cigarette smoldered in an ashtray on the coffee table.

Just then, a giant woman in a garish pink floral dress dashed across the room, tripped, and fell face-first onto the floor with a thud.

“Damn.”  Butch tapped on the window.  The woman was still as a corpse.

“Gord, your lady friend just knocked her dumbass out cold. Come down here!”

There was no response.

“Alright fine, I’m coming in.”

He reared back and kicked in the front door.  The lock ripped a chunk out of the frame as the door swung open.

Butch walked over to the woman lying still on the floor.

She was enormous.

He could only see the back of her close-cropped head.  And then he noticed her arms; they were covered in thick black hair. 

His eyes widened.

Those arms belonged to Gord.

Gord groaned and rolled over.  He opened his eyes and looked at Butch with alarm. Butch was a full member of the Satanic Falcon Motorcycle Club.

And so was Gord.

“P-please Butch, you can’t tell nobody.”

“I can do whatever I damn well please. Where’s my money?”

“I-In the drawer, the kitchen top drawer.”

Butch kept his poker face which masked his confusion.  He opened the drawer and beneath a pile of lipstick and other cosmetics was a wad of cash.  He peeled off five hundred-dollar bills, stuffed them in his pocket and turned to leave.  As he reached the door Gord pleaded, “Please, Butch, if the guys find out, they’ll kill me.”

Butch stopped and looked at him.  “So, you like wearing red lipstick huh?”

Gord bowed his head.  “Yes,” he mumbled.

Butch shook his head. “Red’s not your colour, Gord. Pink is.  It would match your dress perfectly.  Why don’t you come over tonight and we’ll try out some different shades.”

“W-what?”

Butch pulled down the hip of his jeans a couple inches to reveal a pair of bright pink cotton panties.  Gords’ eyes lit up with delight and Butch gave him a wink.  “But next time, Gord, pay me my money on time.”

Matthew Maloney is an up and coming author who lives in Mississauga, Ontario. His first collection of speculative fiction short stories The Last Keeper of the Seal is set to be released in late 2017 on print and e-book formats.

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.

Three literary agents at Kimberley Cameron & Associates seek commercial and upmarket adult fiction, plus YA fiction, creative nonfiction and memoir

The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall
by Shannon Kirk, represented by
Kimberley Cameron & Associates

Kimberley Cameron & Associates

1550 Tiburon Blvd #704

Tiburon, CA  94920

http://www.kimberleycameron.com/

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in the “Follow Brian by Email” box in the right-hand column under my bio and get each post delivered to your Inbox. And if you’re not yet on my newsletter, send me an email, including your locale, to: brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~Brian

Kimberley Cameron & Associates is a West Coast agency with seven agents on its roster, three of whom are actively looking for authors, including, Kimberley Cameron, the agency’s highly experienced president:

Kimberley Cameron began her career as an agent trainee at the Marjel d Lauer Agency in association with Jay Garon in New York. She worked at MGM for several years developing books for motion pictures. She was the co-founder of Knightsbridge Publishing Company, then in 1993 she became partners with Dorris Halsey of the Reese Halsey Agency, founded in 1957. Among its clients have been Aldous Huxley, William Faulkner, and Henry Miller. She opened Reese Halsey North in 1995 and Reese Halsey Paris in 2006. Her associate Elizabeth Evans opened Reese Halsey New York in 2008, and in 2009, the the agency became Kimberlye Cameron & Associates.

Kimberley lives and works in Tiburon, California, with many visits to New York to make the rounds of the editorial offices.

“I’ve enjoyed being an agent for 26 years, and love to find new voices,” says Kimberley. “I love to lose myself in a story and to be transported to another reality, whether it be in the future, contemporary, or in the past. I am a complete Francophile and have spent lots of time living in Paris and the South of France, and yes, I have sold lots of books from abroad, as I’m always working! I love to read.”

Kimberley represents both fiction and nonfiction, in many different genres and is especially thrilled to take on new authors.

Query Kimberley online here.

Attach the first 50 pages of your manuscript as a Word or PDF file.

Amy Cloughley joined the agency in 2012, with a background in editing, writing and marketing. She seeks authors with unique, clear voices who put forth smart, tightly written prose. She is actively building her client list with both debut and veteran writers.

Amy enjoys literary and upmarket fiction of all types, in addition to commercial fiction, including well-researched historical fiction and well-told women’s fiction. She also loves a page-turning mystery or suspense with sharp wit and unexpected twists and turns.

She has a soft spot for distinctive, strong contemporary characters set in small towns. Amy always looks for an unexpected story arc, a suitable pace, and a compelling protagonist.

In nonfiction, Amy is interested in narrative nonfiction that immerse the reader in a culture, lifestyle, discipline, or industry. She will also consider a travel or adventure memoir.

Query Amy online here.

For fiction, attach the first 50 pages of your manuscript as a Word or PDF file. For nonfiction, attach a full proposal

Mary C. Moore has been with the agency since 2012. She represents both adult fiction and young adult fiction.

She is currently seeking fantasy, science fiction, upmarket book-club fiction, genre romance, thrillers with female protagonists, and stories from marginalized voices.

She prefers clients who are online savvy and who have more than one full-length book project in their drawer.

Check out her website here.

Query Mary online here.

Include the first 5–15 pages of your work.

Full submission guidelines here.

  

This September, join us in Algonquin Park
for a writing retreat. See here. 

Brian Henry will lead a Writing for Children & for Young Adult workshop on Saturday, August 12, in Collingwood with literary agent Monica Pacheco (see here). 

In the fall, Brian will lead a weekly Writing Kid Lit class, Thursday mornings, Oct 5 – Nov 30, in Oakville, with guest authors Sylvia McNicoll and Jennifer Mook-Sang (see here).

Note: For updated listings of Writing for Children & for Young adult workshops and for weekly Kid lit classes, see here (and scroll down).

Brian will lead a Writing Your Life and Other True Stories workshop on Saturday, Aug 19 in Brampton (see here). 

Join us for a Fall Colours Writing Retreat, at the wonderful Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park, Friday, Sept 15 – Sunday, Sept 17 (see here).

Also, in the fall, Brian will lead a full range of courses, introductory to advanced, including (for the first time) a weekly creative writing course in Toronto: 

Welcome to Creative Writing, Thursday afternoons, Sept 28 – Nov 30, in Burlington. See here.

Writing Personal Stories, Wednesday evenings, Sept 27 – Nov 15, in Burlington. See here.

Writing Kid Lit, Thursday mornings, Oct 5 – Nov 30, in Oakville, with guest authors Sylvia McNicoll and Jennifer Mook-Sang. See here.

Next Step in Creative Writing, Tuesday afternoons Sept 26 – Nov 28, in Burlington. See here.

Intensive Creative Writing, Monday mornings, Sept 25 – Dec 4, in Toronto. See here.

Intensive Creative Writing, Thursday evenings, Sept 28 – Nov 30 in Georgetown. See here.

Extreme Creative Writing, Wednesday afternoons, Sept 20 – Dec 6, in Burlington

See details of all seven courses offered in the fall here.

For more information or to reserve a spot in any workshop, retreat, or weekly course, 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, 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.

Navigation tips: Always check out the labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. Also, if you're searching for a literary agent who represents a particular type of book, check out this post.