Literary agents Jodell Sadler & Loretta Caravette seek picture books, easy readers, middle-grade and young adult books

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Jodell Sadler

Sadler-Cravette Children's Literary

1915 Whitestone Drive

Rockton, IL 61072

Sadler-Caravette represents children’s authors and illustrators, including picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade, and young adult – fiction, nonfiction, folktale and free verse.

“We are interested in pictures books but make sure they are honed. We love early readers with strong characters. We seek chapter books and MG that connect with us emotionally. We gravitate toward contemporary fiction, but we will accept fantasy with a unique approach.”

The two principles at Sadler-Caravette are both looking for authors:

Jodell Sadler earned her MFA in Children’s Writing from Hamline University. She is the author of Picture Book Lunch: 20 Tools for Pacing and Writing Picture Books to Wow. Her published articles include “Picture Book Pacing: Verbal and Visual Tools for Writers, and Picture Book Pacing: The ultimate 20 editing tools for your work,” in the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market, 2011 and 2013, respectively.

Jodell is interested in Young Adult, Middle Grade (especially funny) fiction and nonfiction, book proposals, and picture books. She simply loves a well-paced story that moves her between joy and tears.

Loretta Caravette

Loretta Caravette earned her MFA in Children’s Writing from Hamline University. She was a television producer for twenty years, receiving an Emmy for “Ruth Page, Once Upon a Dancer,” Cine Award for ABC After School drama “Love Hurts,” and National Emmy nomination for music show, “Rhythm and Jam.”

Loretta specializes in Middle Grade fiction and early readers, and will focus on film rights management.

Query Jodell or Loretta at: sadlercaravettesubmissions@gmail.com

Your subject line should read: QUERY – Name or Title – Genre. Your query should include something about your writing background and goals, your affiliation with the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (CBWI) or with The Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP), your publishing credits, if applicable.

For picture books, send a query and the full manuscript. For chapter books, young adult and middle grade, send a query and ten pages pasted into the email. For nonfiction, submit a query, proposal and a sample chapter. For illustrators or author-illustrators, please submit a PDF or dummy that shows your style and medium.

Full submission guidelines here.

Carly Watters

Brian Henry will lead a “How to Get Published” workshop with guest speaker Carly Watters of P.S. Literary agency in Georgetown on October 5 (see here), and will lead a “Writing for Children & for Young Adults” workshop in Mississauga on Sat, Oct 26 (here) and in Caledon at the Bolton Library on January 18 (here).

To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Brian will also lead “How to Build Your Story” workshops in Barrie on Sept 21 (here), in Sudbury on Sept 22 (here) and in Ottawa on Nov 17 (here). 

To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

But before you submit, the best way to get your manuscript into shape is with a weekly course. Brian has a number of courses starting soon: “Welcome to Creative Writing” on Tuesday afternoons in Burlington (see here); “Writing your life & other true stories” on Tuesday evenings in Burlington (here); "Next Step" courses on Thursday afternoons in Mississauga (here) and Thursday evenings in Georgetown (here) and, for more experienced writers, “Intensive” courses on Wednesday afternoons in Burlington (here) and Wednesday evenings in Mississauga (here). 

To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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, Bracebridge, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

A feast of literary journals (some paying) seeking fiction, poetry & nonfiction – everything from babies to the strange & bizarre

The Dreadful Cafe (US) is looking for submissions for the inaugural anthology of independent fiction, Membrane. Seeking fiction of the strange and bizarre from 2,000 to 30,000 words. No restrictions on genre. 

Payment: $125 for short stories, $250 for novelettes, and $500 for novellas.

Deadline: October 1, 2013.

Guidelines here. 

Blank Fiction Magazine is accepting literary fiction submissions for their first issue. Length: 15,000 words max. “Stories should provide a solid understanding of the traditional practices of the genre, especially if they haven’t been established yet or you are going to disregard them completely.” Debut issue will be published November 1 in the iTunes App Store and will be available as a “pay what you like” PDF download on the Blank Fiction site.

Payment: $50 honorarium. 

Deadline: October 15, 2013.

Guidelines here.

In Fact Books (in association with Creative Nonfiction, U.S.) is seeking essays about all things related to babies for an anthology, Oh, Baby: True Stories About Tiny Humans. Looking for true narratives about the art and science/wonder and struggle of birth, babyhood, and childrearing. Essays must combine a compelling narrative with an informative or reflective element, reaching beyond personal experience to some deeper meaning. Length: 4,500 words max.

Deadline: October 14, 2013. 

$3 fee to submit online. Payment not indicated.

Guidelines here.

Creative Nonfiction also wants stories about embarrassing boo-boos, dangerous misjudgments, or fortuitous faux pas in well-crafted stories that explore the nature and outcomes of human fallibility. 

Deadline: November 1.

 Full guidelines here.

Creative Nonfiction also reads general submissions year-round and are open to all subjects and forms. Whatever your story is, we want to hear it! 

Full guidelines here.

GlassFire Magazine (US) seeks submissions of fiction and non-fiction (3,000 words max.), poetry, and artwork for the Winter 2013 issue.

Pays $5 per poem/artwork/photography and $10 per story/nonfiction.  

Deadline: on-going.

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

The Georgetown Wordsmiths, a creative and supportive writing group

The Georgetown Wordsmiths are a group of writers with different personalities and writing styles, but we all share a passion for the printed word. We strive to have meetings that are relevant for both beginner and advanced writers. Some people are in the group for personal growth only, some are published authors and some are aspiring to be so, but we all come together in a spirit of creativity to support each other’s endeavours.

The majority of us met by taking Brian Henry’s classes in Glen Williams, Ontario, starting in spring 2011. Most started with the “Welcome to Creative Writing” class, followed by another similar session (some of us need repetition!) and many have just finished a course (or two) on critiquing called “The Next Step in Creative Writing.”  All highly recommended.

The Wordsmith’s continue to sponsor Brian’s weekly classes and workshops. Currently, Brian has two seminars coming up in Georgetown: a 12-week course, “The Next Step in Creative Writing,” starting September 26 (see here) and a one-day workshop, “How to Get Published,” with a literary agent as his guest speaker, on Saturday, October 5 (see here).

If you would like more information about the Georgetown Wordsmiths, please email Joan Doane at doanesupply@sympatico.ca

or Joan Alderman at jalderman1@cogeco.ca

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

A Life in Pajamas: How to Start a Career in Freelance Writing, Sept 14–15, Cassie Cape New Brunswick

Wendy Kits signing copies of

Sable Island: The Wandering Sandbar

It’s never too late to be what you wanted to be when you grew up.

Do you dream of being a writer but don’t know where to start? Do you long for a career where you can skip the morning commute, work the hours you want, or work in your pajamas all day? Maybe you’re addicted to travel and looking for a way to feed your habit? Or maybe you just want to work at something that inspires you; something that makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning?

A career as a freelance writer can give you the freedom you’re longing for, an income limited only by how much you want to work, and work that seems more like play. And the best part—you can do it from anywhere in the world. 

Rayanne Brennan

Whether from home with your children playing nearby, or from an Italian café while drinking lemon cello—all you need is a laptop and an Internet connection. And A Life in Pajamas: How to Start a Career in Freelance Writing will provide practical advice on how to make your writing dreams a reality—now—regardless of training, regardless of age, from someone who learned first-hand it’s never too late to be what you wanted to be when you grew up. 

A Life in Pajamas: How to Start a Career in Freelance Writing

Join Wendy for a two-day workshop on freelance writing in a beautiful oceanfront beach house in Caissie Cape, New Brunswick (ten minutes past Shediac). Wendy will share her knowledge on how to find stories, create a niche, get publishing credits, expand markets, write queries, and more. Each day will conclude with a session by an editor. Saltscapes editor, Heather White, will provide valuable insight from the other side of the desk, and Rayanne Brennan, freelance writer and editor of Primetime and the Atlantic Co-operator, will share her unique perspective as both a writer and an editor. And both editors will provide feedback on your story ideas.

Heather White

Dates: September 14 - 15, 2013

Times: 10-4 Saturday / 10-3 Sunday

Place: Caissie Cape, New Brunswick (ten minutes past Shediac)

Investment: $165.00 plus HST

Limited seating. To sign-up, please contact Wendy at info@wendykitts.ca

Bring paper, pen and brown bag lunches to eat on the beach with other participants.

About the instructor: Wendy Kitts, a freelance writer since 1999, has written over 200 articles for publications such as Readers’ Digest, More, Saltscapes and the Globe & Mail. She’s the author of Sable Island: The Wandering Sandbar (Nimbus, 2011); and co-author of Breaking the Word Barrier: Stories of Adults Learning to Read (Goose Lane Editions, 2009). Wendy is making her own dreams come true by living half of the year in Caissie Cape and half in San Diego. For more info go to www.wendykitts.ca.

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

The James McIntyre Poetry Contest – free contest open to all ages

James McIntyre poetry contest

Open to all ages from Junior Kindergarten to Adult

Maximum of three entries per person

Suggested Styles: Rhyming Verse, Free Verse, Limerick, Haiku, & Other

Awards given (at judges' discretion) in all styles for different grade all levels and for adults. In addition, the contest bestows four special awards this year:

- Cheese Poet Laureate’s Best Dairy Odes

- J.C. Herbert's Best Long Poems about   Ingersoll, Past or Present

- Bonnie Mott's Best Poems about Famous Local People

- Celebrating the Ingersoll Fire Department’s 150^th anniversary

Deadline:

All entries must be received by Friday, October 11, at 4 p.m. at the Town of Ingersoll Offices (upstairs) or the library (downstairs) or mail to:

James McIntyre Poetry Contest

Ingersoll Public Library

130 Oxford Street

Ingersoll, ON  N5C 2V5

or

James McIntyre Poetry Contest

Ingersoll Town Office

130 Oxford Street, 2nd floor

Ingersoll, ON  N5C 2V5

Brian Henry will be the judge for the Kindergarten and for the Grades 1 through 12 divisions. Brian is a book editor, writer, creative writing instructor and the publisher of Quick Brown Fox, Canada's most popular blog for writers.

Stephanie Gunter will be the judge for the adult division. 

For more information, please call: (519) 485-0120

Download your entry form here. 

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

Two agents at JABerwocky Literary Agency seek new authors

JABerwocky Literary Agency, Inc.

24 – 16 Queens Plaza South

Suite 405

Long Island City, NY  11101-4620

http://awfulagent.com/

JABerwocky currently has two agents looking for authors:

Lisa Rodgers grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from California State University, Sacramento, in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a minor in German literature-in-translation, history, and culture (sadly, she doesn’t speak German, although it’s on her bucket list). 

She moved to New York City in 2012 to attend NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute and joined JABerwocky a few months later. She’s previously worked at San Francisco/Sacramento Book Reviews and Barnes & Noble, interned at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency, and read submissions for Lightspeed Magazine.

As a new agent, Lisa needs authors. She’s seeking science fiction, fantasy, YA and middle grade of all genres, and romance.

Query Lisa at querylisa@awfulagent.com

In the body of the email, please include your query letter and the first 25 pages of your manuscript. A synopsis is also helpful, but by no means required. No attachments. 

Eddie Schneider, Vice President of JABerwocky, is also accepting queries. Eddie is seeking literary fiction, young adult and middle grade books, sf/fantasy, narrative nonfiction and graphic novels. Many more details here.

Query Eddie at queryeddie@awfulagent.com

Paste your query and the first five pages of your manuscript into your email. You may also include a 1 – 3 page synopsis at the very bottom, but a synopsis isn’t mandatory.

Brian Henry will lead a “How to Get Published" workshop with guest speaker Carly Watters of P.S. Literary agency in Georgetown on October 5 (see here), and will lead a “Writing for Children & for Young Adults" workshop in Mississauga on Sat, Oct 26 (here) and in Caledon at the Bolton Library on Sat, Jan 18 (here).

To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Brian will also lead “How to Build Your Story” workshops in Barrie on Sept 21 (here), in Sudbury on Sept 22 (here) and in Ottawa on Nov 17 (here). 

To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

But before you submit, the best way to get your manuscript into shape is with a weekly course. For beginners, Brian is offering “Welcome to Creative Writing” on Tuesday afternoons in Burlington (see here) and “Writing your life & other true stories” on Tuesday evenings in Burlington (here). For writers working on their own projects, he's offering "Next Step" courses on Thursday afternoons in Mississauga (here) and Thursday evenings in Georgetown (here). And for more experienced writers, he's offering "Intensive" courses on Wednesday afternoons in Burlington (here) and Wednesday evenings in Mississauga (here). 

To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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

An excerpt from Salty Pepper by Kathy McHarge

One good thing about Going Fishing was that they offered advice on what to do when you went off-line for a real body-to-body, analogue encounter.  The first date, they suggested, should take place over coffee or lunch and then a follow-up date, if there was one, over dinner.

They even arranged the first date. Lorraine from the service called to tell me to meet Henry at 12:30 at the Spoon, a local favourite. It would be perfect. The food was simple home cooking and the service fast, so if the date proved to be a bust, I could escape quickly.

I arrived a little early, got a booth and waited for Henry to arrive. Lorraine had told me he'd be wearing a yellow shirt in case I couldn't recognize him from his online photo. Online photos weren’t always current, she said. No kidding! My own online photo was at least ten years old. I’d been tempted to post a photo from my university days.

I scanned the crowd. Nothing but white, blue and brown shirts on the men. Then behind a large woman in black paying the cashier at the front emerged a yellow shirt, but it belonged to Hank Robinson from the hardware store down the street. I kept on the lookout when Hank came over to my table.

"I thought it was you."

"Hi Hank. I guess you're wondering about that furnace filter I got last week. Yes, it was the right size. Thanks for your help. I wrote the number down and have it in my purse now, so I won't forget next time."

"Good to hear. Mind if I sit down?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but I'm waiting for someone."

"I know you are. I got a call..."

"Oh no. Hank are you here to tell me he cancelled?"

"Who?"

"Never mind." I was flustered; this casing the joint was getting to me. Why would Hank know anything anyway? He worked at Robinson's Hardware down the street, not here. "Could you shove over a bit? I can't see the door. I'm looking for a fellow in a yellow dress shirt."

"I'm wearing a yellow shirt."

"I see that, Hank." Was this man a simpleton or was he just fishing for compliments? I'd take the bite, and then maybe he'd finally get the hint and vamoose. "Nice golf shirt, but if you could just take that behind of yours and move to the right, so I can see everyone who comes in."

"You're looking lovely today, Maggie. That blue really brings out your eyes."

"Well, it's supposed to bring out my hair."

Hank sat down.

"What the hell, Hank! I told you I was waiting for someone. I don't want you sitting here when he arrives, okay?" I spoke firmly, trying to end the conversation. What was wrong with this fellow? Is there a sale on hardware he thinks I should know about?

"He has arrived."

"Damn it. Where? Were you blocking him, Hank?"

"No. It's me. I'm Henry from Going Fishing."

I raised my eyebrows. "Was that a current picture you posted?"

"It was an older one. The only one of me I could find."

"Well, I'll be. Hank, why did you let me go on like that? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was trying. But, Maggie, you don't make it easy."

Kathy McHarge describes herself as a linguaphile. Before becoming a high school English teacher, she earned degrees in literature and journalism. For twenty-five years, she has been trying to motivate adolescents to read and write. It is only recently that she turned her hand to composing her own short stories and essays after becoming a student again and taking a course in creative writing with Brian. 

When she is not marking for school, reading for pleasure and being a mother to her three amazing children who are almost-grown, Kathy is walking her wily adopted dog. They all live in Hamilton, Ontario.

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