Great weekly creative writing courses and Saturday workshops starting soon

How to Write Great Dialogue
The writer’s most important tool
Saturday, January 12, 2013
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Cawthra Park United Church, 1465 Leda Avenue, Mississauga (More 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. 

Fee: $44 paid in advance or $48 at the door.
To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Writing your memoirs & other true stories

Saturday, January 19

10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

St. Catharines Central Library, 54 Church St, St. Catharines (More here.)

If you’ve ever considered writing your memoirs or your family history, this workshop is for you. Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor, writer and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years.  But his proudest boast is that he’s helped many of his students get published, including guest speaker Dr. Ross Pennie.

Ross Pennie is the author of The Unforgiving Tides, a doctor’s memoir of Papua New Guinea (Manor House Publishing). Ross has also published two mystery novels with ECW  Press and has a third on the way. Ross will speak on how to turn ordinary life into dramatic material and will answer questions about how he wrote his memoir and got it published. 

Fee: $44 paid in advance or $48 at the door.
To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Newsflash: Writing Your Memoirs & Other True Stories will also be offered as an eight-week course, Tuesday afternoons, 12:45 to 2:45 p.m., Jan 29 to March 26 in Burlington. Details here.

Welcome to Creative Writing

8 weeks of exploring your creative side 

January 21 – March 18, 2013 

Offered in two locations:

Monday mornings, 9:40 – 11:40 a.m.

St. Alban's Church, 537 Main Street, in Georgetown (More here.)

And

Monday afternoons, 12:45 – 2:45 p.m.
Peel Art Gallery, Museum & Archives, 9 Wellington St. E., Brampton (More here.)

This course will open the door to all kinds of creative writing. We’ll visit short story writing, children’s writing, just for fun writing – and all sorts of other kinds of writing. You’ll get a shot of inspiration every week and an assignment to keep you going till the next class. Best of all, this class will provide a zero-pressure, totally safe environment, where your words will grow and flower.

Fee:  $115.04 plus 13% hst = $130
To register for the Monday morning class in Georgetown, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
To register for the Monday afternoon class at PAMA in Brampton, go here.

The Next Step in Creative Writing

8 weeks of creative growth

Thursday evenings, 6:45 – 8:45 p.m.

Jan 24 to March 14

First readings emailed Jan 17
St. Alban's Church, 537 Main Street, Georgetown (More here.)

This course will challenge you to take a step up in your writing. Over the eight weeks of classes, you’ll be asked to bring in three 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.

Fee: $132.74 13% hst = $150

Note: These courses fill up, so enroll early to avoid disappointment.

To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Writing your memoirs & other true stories
Saturday, January 26
10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
World’s Biggest Bookstore, 20 Edward St, Toronto (More here.)

Have you ever considered writing your memoirs or family history? This workshop will introduce you to the tricks and conventions of telling true stories and will show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Whether you want to write for your family or for a wider public, don't miss this workshop.

Fee: $44 paid in advance or $48 at the door.
To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

“Writing Your Life”

~ An eight-week writing adventure ~ 

Tuesday afternoons, 12:45 – 2:45 p.m.
Jan 29 – March 26
Appleby United Church, 4407 Spruce Ave, Burlington (More here,)

If you’ve ever considered writing your memoirs, your family history or just getting your thoughts down on paper, this weekly course will get you going. We’ll introduce you to the tricks and conventions of telling true stories and show you how to use the techniques of the novel to recount actual events. Weekly writing exercises and friendly feedback from the instructor will help you move forward on this writing adventure. Whether you want to write for your family or for a wider public, don't miss this course.

Fee: $115.04 plus 13% hst = $130. 
To reserve your spot now, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca
Note: Brian's writing classes tend to fill up, to avoid disappointment, register early.

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Stone Voices seeks art and writing connecting art and spirituality; Ars Medica seeks personal narratives, short stories, creative nonfiction, poetry and art on illness

Stone Voices (US) is a quarterly publication that focuses on the connections between the visual arts and spiritual journey. 

Published on high quality paper and bound like a book, each issue includes portfolios from several contemporary artists and articles, essays, fiction and poetry that speak to the connections between visual arts and spirituality. 

Stone Voices also publishes additional material on its website.

Stone voices is currently seeking submissions of visual art, nonfiction, fiction, and poetry for their 2013 Summer Art Exhibition and Literary Showcase. Theme: The River.

Deadline: February 15, 2013. Submit one piece of prose (2500 words max.) or two poems. Entry fee: $15.

Selected art and writing will appear on the Stone Voices website from May 25 through September 31. Top art and writing selections will appear in the Summer 2013 issue of Stone Voices magazine. Top artists will be named Stone Voices Gallery Artists and have their work displayed online for one year; they will also be invited to submit a portfolio of work to be featured in an upcoming issue of Stone voices. Both top artists and top writers will receive a one-year subscription to Stone Voices and one year of free advertising.

Submission details here.  General guidelines here.

Ars Medica (Canada) welcomes submissions of short stories, personal narratives of illness, creative nonfiction, poetry and visual art. Two issues of Ars Medica are printed per year. 

The deadline for submission to the Spring issue is February 28, and July 30 for the Fall issue.

“We are often asked about which qualities we look for when we select a piece for publication in Ars Medica. Members of our Editorial Board and our Advisory Board come from diverse health care and literary backgrounds, and the short answer is "We know good writing when we see it." 

“Those of us who do clinical work and encounter narratives of illness everyday have come to identify what feels honest, fleshed out, embodied. We have become demanding readers to the extent that familiar stories of diagnosis and treatment have to bring something new and particular to the telling and to our experience.

“All of the usual rules of storytelling (and writing workshops) still apply: Create characters we care about and let them speak through dialogue. Show us their world through almost cinematic detail, don't just tell us it exists. Build dramatic tension within a structure of a beginning, a middle and an end. 

"If you're writing non-fiction, let yourself enter the piece so we know why you were moved to write about it. Keep up the pacing so we want to know what happens. Leave us feeling something, be it confused, uncomfortable, enlightened, curious or wanting more. Work on your voice as a writer. Readers, like patients, want to be in good hands and to remember what was told and how.

“Endings don't have to be happy or tidy. As Board Member Rebecca Garden says: “I look for work that defies expectations and conventions, whether formally or in terms of content. We all shoulder the burden of conventional narratives and tropes of illness and medicine. The work we publish should communicate in surprising and arresting ways and break through the dominant narratives of illness (e.g. courageous battles ending in triumph or uplift)."

“Some of us also like to become disoriented, ‘defamiliarized,’ to turn a conventional description on its head. (The images we publish can do this too. Some of you will remember Jane Martin's cover of a bouquet of roses juxtaposed against her husband's fresh post-op cranial scar. Beautiful and unexpected).

“We primarily receive submissions from writers about being a patient (or their family member) or about being a professional (a doctor, nurse or health care worker).  

"From patients, we sometimes encounter unprocessed details which have specific, charged meaning for the teller but which are unclear to the reader. These pieces in many ways resemble journaling or therapeutic writing. The author is too close to the events or uses personal code and short-hand which leave gaps. 

"As a result, we are not fully invited into the experience. Stories of trauma and loss are often fragmented, because they remain so for the writer and have not yet been crafted through the personal and creative steps which render them coherent and universal.

“Writing personal narratives may indeed be healing, but to be literary, there needs to be distance, an "observer's eye" which allows us to see the full picture.

“From health care professionals, we often see too much detachment. Diagnostic efficiency cuts to the chase, abbreviates or over-simplifies the story and fills it with jargon, acronyms and even cliché. These narratives are journalistic or more like a rushed case presentation . The subjective is edited out and the reader may know what to think, but not what to feel. 

“Sometimes, we get the sense that a story has been misappropriated, that the author-clinician has not obtained permission to tell it from the client or patient who lived it or else the author has not fully moved the piece from fact to fiction. Our position is that re-telling something shared in confidence in a defined therapeutic context is unethical unless the patient's co-construction is fully acknowledged or else the narrative has moved well beyond the personal and particular.

“In contrast, some of the most compelling pieces we receive are written by doctors or nurses who have become patients themselves. Suddenly the world they know so well has to be re-explained and re-examined, as if encountered for the first time. Everything is suddenly new. And terrifying.

“Each issue of Ars Medica embodies many of these ingredients in its stories and poems of birth, illness, ageing and the death of loved ones. We are introduced to doctors, nurses and other clinicians who either care too little, too much or struggle with finding the right balance with each patient. We meet patients trying to find their way as they navigate illnesses and forge new identities.

Email submissions are preferred, with Microsoft Word attachments only, sent to: arsmedica@mtsinai.on.ca  
Full submission guidelines here. 

The 2013 Canadian Writers' Contest Calendar is available now. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced writer, if you’re looking for places to send your work, you should put contests on your list. The Canadian Writers’ Contest Calendar gives a full listing of contests in Canada arranged by deadline date. It lists contests for short stories, poetry, children’s writing, novels, and non-fiction – contests for just about everyone. The Calendar costs just $20 at one of Brian Henry's workshops or classes or $23.50 by mail (all taxes and shipping included).
To order, email brianhenry@sympatico 

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Love letters (check out where your fellow writers are getting published) and Writer to Writer

Hi Brian,

Thanks for keeping me in the loop with Quick Brown Fox.

I got published again. Read my poem “November in School” in CommuterLit here.

Joan Vinall-Cox, PhD

http://joanvinallcox.ca/

http://joanvinallcox.posterous.com/
http://joanvinallcox.wordpress.com/my-e-portfolio/

http://www.scoop.it/t/the-history-and-future-of-reading

You can read another one of Joan’s excellent poems here.

For information about submitting to CommuterLit, see here.

Writer to Writer:

Hi, Brian.

I'm starting a Writer's Group in Oakville for anyone seriously interested in writing and publishing their non-narrative fiction, short stories or paranormal/magical genre (sort of like the Harry Dresden (author Jim Butcher) series). Anyone who'd like to join can email me at beverleyburgessbell@gmail.com

Thanks so much.

Bev Bell

http://beverley1.com/

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

LitLive invites you to a reading night, this Sunday, Jan 6, at the Sky Dragon Centre in Hamilton

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Annick press seeks fiction and nonfiction for middle grade and teen readers

Annick Press Ltd.

15 Patricia Avenue
Toronto,ON  M2M 1H9

http://www.annickpress.com/

Annick publishes books by Canadian authors for children ages six months to twelve years and for young adults, though at the moment Annick is not accepting picture book manuscripts.

Teen Fiction: 

Annick Press invites writers to submit proposals for teen novels which possess a high degree of originality and capture strong and distinctive contemporary voices. 

There should be creativity in the use of language—language that is lively, dramatic and vivid. The story must involve and stimulate the reader. It is essential that it have authentic dialogue and richly visualized settings. The reader must see the real teen experience reflected through the story line. We encourage the use of appropriate and well-timed humor. 

Please mail a synopsis, together with a sample chapter. (No email submissions.)

Middle Reader Fiction: 

Annick Press seeks middle reader fiction (8 – 11) which captures the imagination of readers and readily engages their interest. The story must be memorable, well-written and notable for its originality. Humor, even if used occasionally, is an asset. 

The characters in the novel should come to life for the reader and the settings must be vivid and rich in detail. We look for gripping action, even though it may be delivered in a subtle form. Stories should involve the reader while simultaneously provoking thought and reflection. 

Please mail a synopsis, together with a sample chapter. (No email submissions.)

Nonfiction for mid-grade and teen readers: 
The degree of originality in an idea or in the approach to a subject is key to our non-fiction program. The subject matter must have inherent appeal to the readership. The key is to combine the skills of a fiction writer, including narrative techniques, to draw the reader into the text. 

At the same time, there must be a dedication to accuracy—fictionalization is not a stylistic option. The text should encourage the reader’s natural sense of wonder, and avoid any tendency to become didactic. Attention should be given to little-known details that serve to fascinate the reader and encourage further exploration. 

The work should have a distinctive voice that uses language in an engaging and lively manner. The topic must be thoroughly researched and a passion for the subject matter must be evident. The writing level must be age appropriate. 

Please mail a synopsis, together with a sample chapter. (No email submissions.) Annick Press also uses illustrators. Full submission guidelines here.

Brian Henry will be leading "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshops in Hamilton on February 9 (details here) and in Guelph on April 13 (details here). 

Also, Brian will lead "How to Get Published” workshops on March 16 in Peterborough (details here) and on March 17 in Kingston (details here).  

To register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

But probably the best single step you can take toward creating a manuscript that’s ready for publication is to join one of the “Next Step” or “Intensive” creative writing courses. Spaces are still available in his Next Step course starting January 24 in Georgetown (details here). Email to inquire about Next Step and Intensive courses this spring in Mississauga, Georgetown and Burlington: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Beginners should look into Brian’s “Welcome to Creative Writing” course starting January 21 in Georgetown (details here) or the “Writing Memoirs” course starting January 29 in Burlington (details here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Two young agents form new literary agency, seek authors

The Booker Albert Literary Agency
P.O Box 20931
York, PA 17402

http://www.thebookeralbertagency.com/

Two young agents have teamed up to create their own agency – The Booker Albert Literary Agency – and are actively seeking clients.

Brittany Booker is a Literary Agent and co-founder of The Booker Albert Literary Agency.

She was formerly with the LoriPerkins agency. Brittany is looking for novels that keep her up at  night. In fiction she is looking for well-written contemporary romances, historical fiction, fantasies, YA and new adult fiction. She is specifically interested in time travel novels.

In Young Adult fiction, Brittany is drawn to contemporary works; dramatic or funny romances; and urban fantasy.  She's especially interested in YA that is funny and quirky. The goofier the heroine, the better. She is a big sucker for happy endings. She also has a passion for books set in the south. Brittany is not looking for erotica, middle grade, memoirs or paranormal works at the moment.

Query Brittany at: brittany@thebookeralbertagency.com

Include first ten pages of your complete manuscript pasted into the email, along with a 1–2 page synopsis. 

Jordy Albert is a Literary Agent and co-founder of The Booker Albert Literary Agency. She was formerly with the Lori Perkins Agency. She is looking for stories that capture her attention from beginning to end; stories that have heart, and characters that are hard to forget. She would love to see fresh, well-developed plots featuring travel with unique, exotic settings, competitions, or time travel. 

Jordy is particularly interested in romance (contemporary or historical) and women's fiction. Jordy is also looking for YA and New Adult contemporary/historical or dystopian, sci-fi/fantasy with romance weaved throughout. She is also open to YA LGBT within those genres. She enjoys intelligent, quirky characters with a deadpan sense of humor. Jordy is not looking for stories post-marriage/divorce/children, erotica, inspirational or paranormal at this time. 

Query Jordy at: jordy@thebookeralbertagency.com
Include first ten pages of your complete manuscript pasted into the email, along with a 1–2 page synopsis. 

Full submission guidelines here.

Brian Henry will be leading "Writing for Children and for Young Adults" workshops in Hamilton on February 9 (details here) and in Guelph on April 13 (details here).

Also, Brian will lead "How to Get Published” workshops on March 16 in Peterborough (details here) and on March 17 in Kingston (details here).  To register, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

But probably the best single step you can take toward creating a manuscript that’s ready for publication is to join one of the “Next Step” or “Intensive” creative writing courses. Spaces are still available in his Next Step course starting January 24 in Georgetown (details here). Email to inquire about Next Step and Intensive courses this spring in Mississauga, Georgetown and Burlington: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Beginners should look into Brian’s “Welcome to Creative Writing” course starting January 21 in Georgetown (details here) or the “Writing Memoirs” course starting January 29 in Burlington (details here).

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Milton, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Orillia, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Happy New Year!

 May your 2013 be a year of beauty and light.