“How to Build Your Novel” with guest Kelley Armstrong

“How to Build Your Novel”

With New York Times #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong

Sunday, July 20, 2025
1:15 – 5:00 p.m. Toronto time
Offered online and accessible wherever there's Internet

This workshop will show you how writers actually plot out a novel. Guest speaker Kelley Armstrong and I will explore both the process of creating a novel-length story and what you actually need to give your novel the structure it requires to hold your readers' attention. Kelley will also be sharing her story of her writing career so far. Most important, we’re here to answer all your questions. ~Brian

Guest speaker Kelley Armstrong lives in Aylmer, south of London, Ontario, with her husband and three children and spends her summers in the Yukon. She used to program computers and attend Brian Henry workshops. Now she writes international bestsellers. Kelley has hit the New York Times bestseller list with both her supernatural thrillers for adults and her urban fantasy for teens.

To date, she's published more than 60 books, most recently, I’ll Be Waiting (from Macmillan, available here), Schemes and Scandals (Subterranean Press, here), The Boy Who Cried Bear (St. Martin’s, here), and Finding Mr. Write, (Grand Central Publishing, here). And coming in February, Cold as Hell (St. Martin’s, here). By the time we get to July, she’ll have more books out, so keep tuned!

Bitten, a TV series based on Kelley’s first 13 novels, was on the air Jan 2014 through April 2016.

Visit Kelley’s website here. 

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 Windsor 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 reviews of and works inspired by Brian's classes, workshops, and retreats here.

Fee: $45.13 + 13% hst = $51 paid in advance by mail or Interac

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

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here. 

Online workshop: How to Write a Bestseller with New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong

How to Write a Bestseller

 With book editor Brian Henry

  & New York Times #1 bestselling author 

   Kelley Armstrong 

Saturday, April 3, 2021
1 – 5 p.m.

Offered online, so you can join from wherever there's Internet

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader 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 guest speaker Kelley Armstrong...

Kelley Armstrong  lives in Aylmer, south of London, Ontario, with her husband and three children. She used to program computers and attend Brian Henry workshops. Now she writes international bestsellers. Kelley has hit the New York Times bestseller list with both her supernatural thrillers for adults and her urban fantasy for teens.

Kelley's principal publishers are Penguin Random House in Canada and St. Martins in the U.S. To date, she's published more than 50 books, most recently A Stitch in Time, a gothic novel for adults,  Wolf’s Bane, a YA urban fantasy, Every Step She Takes, a thriller for adults, and The Gryphon’s Lair, a middle grade fantasy novel. Coming in February 2021: A Stranger in Town, an adult mystery/thriller.  

Bitten, a TV series based on Kelley’s first 13 novels, was on the air Jan 2014 through April 2016.

Fee: $39.82 + 13% hst = $45 paid in advance by mail or Interac

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

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.

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.

This weekend: Writing Conflict; and Secrets of Writing a Page-turner

Writing Conflict: Fight scenes, Dialogue scenes & Love scenes

Saturday, November 30, 2019
1 – 4 p.m.
London Central Library, Stevenson & Hunt Room B, 251 Dundas St, London, Ontario (Map here).

This workshop is geared to both beginners and more experienced writers. We'll look at how to create the most difficult scenes of all: the fight scene, the dialogue scene, and the love scene.  You’ll learn how to use great dialogue and how to mix it with your narrative so that the interaction between your characters comes alive, and you'll go home with some of the best tricks of the trade so that you'll never write a lifeless scene again.

Fee: $37.17 + hst = $42 paid in advance or $39.82 + hst = $45 if you wait to pay at the door

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

Secrets of Writing a Page-Turner

Sunday, December 1, 2019

10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (Includes lunch!)

Arrive at 9:30 to check in and for coffee and snacks

Sho – Art Spirit & Performance Centre, 628 Monmouth Road, Windsor, Ontario. (Map here)

Ever stayed up all night reading a book? In this workshop, you’ll learn you how to build that kind of tension.  And we'll help you put into practice the techniques professionals use – on every page and in every kind of story – to create drama and tension.

Fee: $65 in advance or $75 at the door (Registration includes lunch)

Register online here.
Or reserve a spot now by emailing brianhenry@sympatico.ca

And mail a cheque to:

Windsor International Writers

c/o Sho

628 Monmouth Road, Windsor, ON  N8Y 3L1

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, he's led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown, and he's the author of a children's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 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 reviews of Brian's classes and workshops here.

See Brian’s complete current schedule here, including Saturday 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, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, New Tecumseth, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor,  Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

How to Write a Bestseller with New York Times #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, Saturday, Oct 26, in Waterloo

How to Write a Bestseller

 With book editor Brian Henry

  & New York Times #1 bestselling author 

   Kelley Armstrong 

Saturday, October 26, 2019
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Waterloo Regional Police Station, Community Room
45 Columbia St. E. Waterloo, Ontario (Map here)

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader 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 guest speaker Kelley Armstrong...

Kelley Armstrong lives in Aylmer, south of London, Ontario, with her husband and three children. She used to program computers and attend Brian Henry workshops. Now she writes international bestsellers. Kelley has hit the New York Times bestseller list with both her supernatural thrillers for adults and her urban fantasy for teens. 

Kelley's principal publishers are Random House in Canada, St. Martins and HarperCollins in the U.S. and Doubleday and Little Brown in Britain. To date, she's published more than 32 books, most recently Watcher in the Woods, a thriller for adults, Portents, gothic tales for adults, Aftermath, a mystery-thriller for young adults, and coming In June 2019, Wherever She Goes, a thriller for adults.  

Bitten, a TV series based on Kelley’s first 13 novels, was on the air Ja 2014 through April 2016.

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

How to Write a Bestseller Workshop, with NYT #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, Saturday, March 2, in London

How to Write a Bestseller

 With book editor Brian Henry

  & New York Times #1 bestselling author 

   Kelley Armstrong 

Saturday, March 2, 2019
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
London Public Library Byron Branch, 1295 Commissioners Rd W, London, Ontario (Map here)

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader 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 guest speaker Kelley Armstrong...

Kelley Armstrong lives in Aylmer, south of London, Ontario, with her husband and three children. She used to program computers and attend Brian Henry workshops. Now she writes international bestsellers. Kelley has hit the New York Times bestseller list with both her supernatural thrillers for adults and her urban fantasy for teens. 

Kelley's principal publishers are Random House in Canada, St. Martins and HarperCollins in the U.S. and Doubleday and Little Brown in Britain. To date, she's published more than 32 books, most recently Portents, gothic tales for adults, Aftermath, a mystery-thriller for young adults, and coming in February, Watcher in the Woods, a thriller for adults.  

Bitten, a TV series based on Kelley’s first 13 novels, has been broadcasting since January 2014.

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

How to Write a Bestseller, with New York Times #1 bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, Saturday, Oct 27

The Burlington Public Library presents…

How to Write a Bestseller

 With book editor Brian Henry

  & New York Times #1 bestselling author 

   Kelley Armstrong 

Saturday, October 27, 2018
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Burlington Central Library, Centennial Room, 2331 New Street, Burlington, Ontario (Map here)

This workshop will give you the inside scoop on what gives a novel best-selling potential. You’ll learn how to get readers emotionally involved in your story, how to raise tension, control your pacing and keep your readers turning the pages. But you won't just hear about some of the best secrets of the trade; you'll learn how to apply them to give your own writing a sharp new edge.

Workshop leader 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 guest speaker Kelley Armstrong...

Kelley Armstrong lives in Aylmer, south of London, Ontario, with her husband and three children. She used to program computers and attend Brian Henry workshops. Now she writes international bestsellers. Kelley has hit the New York Times bestseller list with both her supernatural thrillers for adults and her urban fantasy for teens. 

Kelley's principal publishers are Random House in Canada, St. Martins and HarperCollins in the U.S. and Doubleday and Little Brown in Britain. To date, she's published more than 32 books, most recently  Portents, gothic tales for adults, This Fallen Prey, a thriller for adults, Rituals, a gothic novel for adults and Missing, a fantasy novel for teens; and coming in May, Aftermath, a mystery-thriller for young adults.

Bitten, a TV series based on Kelley’s first 13 novels, has been broadcasting since January 2014.

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 complete current schedule here, including writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.