Online workshop: Writing Kid Lit with guest Anne Shone, Executive Editor, Scholastic Books, Saturday, Jan 30

Wolf's Bane a YA novel by Kelley Armstrong,
a New York Times #1 bestselling author
and one of Brian's students

Writing for Children and for Young Adults

  ~ The world’s hottest market

With Scholastic Books Executive Editor

  ~ Anne Shone 

Saturday, January 30, 2021
12:30 – 5:00 p.m. {or maybe a bit later}

Online via Zoom and accessible wherever there’s Internet

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. Be sure to bring all your questions – we'll have lots of time for interaction.

Special option: Participants are invited to submit the opening couple pages (first 500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel (or up to 750 words if that gets you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first chapter.) Email your pages to me  prior to our workshop. We want to do some peer critiquing for everyone, and Anne and I will publically critique several submissions, at least half a dozen, so everyone can see what works, what doesn’t and how to improve your story-telling. If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry, we’ll get you started on the spot! ~Brian

Guest speaker Anne Shone is the Executive Editor at Scholastic Canada, where she acquires books for publication. Scholastic Canada does not usually accept un-agented manuscripts, unless you’ve heard Anne speak at a workshop, so for anyone considering submitting to Scholastic, this workshop is a great opportunity.  

Anne has worked in book publishing for over twenty-five 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 (Friends for Real by Ted Staunton, illustrated by Ruth Ohi; Can You Imagine? by Wallace Edwards; and Nibi’s Water Song by Sunshine Tenascoc , illustrated by Chief Lady Bird); novels (My Best Friend and Other Illusions by Suri Rosen; Waiting Under Water by Riel Nason; and the Almost Epic Squad series); nonfiction (Keep Up, Katmai by Barrett Hedges and Pili Palm-Leis; and It Seemed Like a Good Idea….  by Ted Staunton and Will Staunton), to name just a few. 

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor, author, 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. 

"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 – a YA urban fantasy –  hit number 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list. Currently, Random House Canada, Bantam U.S. and Little Brown in Britain have contracted my next seven books.  So it looks like I’ll be writing for a while."

~ Kelley Armstrong, Aylmer, Ontario

P.S. Kelley and I will be doing an online workshop "How to Write a Bestseller," on Saturday, November 7. Details here. 

Read reviews of Brian’s classes and workshops here.

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

To reserve a spot now, 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. ~ Brian

See Brian’s complete current schedule here, including online and in-person writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Alliston, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.