How to Get Published workshop with literary agent Maria Vicente, Sunday, June 22, in Ottawa

The Ottawa Independent Writers present…

“How to Get Published”

~ An editor & an agent tell all ~

Sunday June 22, 2014

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Nepean Sportsplex, Hall E
1701 Woodroffe Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario (Map here.)

If you've ever dreamed of becoming a published author, this workshop is for you. We’ll cover everything from getting started to getting an agent, from getting your short pieces published to finding a book publisher, from writing a query letter to writing what the publishers want. Bring your questions. Come and get ready to be published!

Special Option: Participants are invited to bring a draft of a query letter you might use to interest an agent or publisher in your book. You don’t need to bring anything, but if you do, 3 copies could be helpful.

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 Sarnia 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.

Guest speaker Maria Vicente is an Associate Agent with the P.S. Literary Agency, and she’s the only literary agent based in Ottawa. Maria provides support to her clients through all stages of the writing and publication process and is dedicated to managing their literary brands for the duration of their careers.

Her reading preferences vary across categories and genres, which is reflected in her client list. She is actively looking for literary and commercial fiction, for young adult and middle grade books, and for illustrated picture books. In nonfiction, she’s seeking projects in the pop culture, pop psychology, design, and lifestyle categories.

She likes literary writing, strong character development, and original storytelling formats.

Maria’s publishing career began as an intern with Bree Ogden at D4EO Literary Agency. She also interned at P.S. Literary before joining the agency as an associate agent. Maria has a B.A. in English Literature from Carleton University, a Bachelor of Education from The University of Western Ontario, and many years of experience editing and designing literary magazines. She is currently an editor for Underneath the Juniper Tree, a literary/art horror magazine for children.

Her blog, I Believe in Story features book reviews, advice for writers, publishing industry articles, and lifestyle posts inspired by literature. You can find Maria on Twitter at @MsMariaVicente.

For more about P.S. Literary Agency, see here.

Fee: 40.71 + 13% hst = 46 paid in advance

or 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 if you wait to pay at the door.

To register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

See Brian’s full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Algoma, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

New book: Ella and the Balloons in the Sky by Danny Appleby, with illustrations by Lauren Pirie

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

If you’ve been to one of my How to Get Published workshops when I’ve had literary agent Carly Watters as my guest speaker, you’re familiar with Ella and the Balloons in the Sky by Danny Appleby, with illustrations by Lauren Pirie. You’ve read Danny’s query letter to Carly and Carly’s pitch letter to Tundra Books.

I’m pleased to announce that Tundra has now published Ella and the Balloons in the Sky and it’s being distributed by Random House. Carly will next be my guest speaker at How to Get Published on May 24 in Stouffville (here). If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of hearing Carly speak, you really should. She’s a delight. – Brian

About Ella and the Balloons in the Sky

Ella comes down one morning to feed her pets and finds that they have disappeared. She discovers them floating away on balloons, high in the sky. Try as she might, she can't get them to come back. But although they are out of reach, Ella soon learns they are not truly gone as long as they remain in her heart and her memories.

Written in gentle rhyming verse with light-hearted illustrations, Ella and the Balloons in the Sky is a story that tackles the tough subject of love and loss in a new way – with whimsy, magic, and lightness.

Ella and the Balloons in the Sky is available at bookstores or through Random House here.

For information about submitting to Tundra Books, see here.

P.S. Carly's fellow agent from the P.S. Literary Agency, Maria Vicente, will be my guest speaker at a "How to Get Published" workshop in Ottawa on Sunday, June 22. See here. 

See my full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Algoma, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Stories in the North

Stories in the North is an ad hoc organizing committee that has been plotting and scheming for more than five years. We’ve come together because we love books, we love to hear stories and we want to celebrate those with literary talent in our area.

Thessalon is a town of about 1,400 people located on the shore of Lake Huron between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. We feel our town is the perfect location for our reading series and writing events. We have fun campgrounds, friendly B&Bs and motels, and a great sandy beach for swimming.

Some of us in the organizing group are writers; others are doctors or town administrators; we even have the town librarian! Together we’ve put together workshops and readings since August of 2008, with such writers as Charles Wilkins, Susie Moloney, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, and Jamie Zeppa. This spring on Sunday, March 23, 2014, we’re sponsoring a “How to Get Published” workshop with Brian Henry. (Details here.)

Our focus is on authors who are from, have written about, or who have some other connection to Northern Ontario. We also promote and encourage local talent at our Open Mike nights – all good fun with food and cash prizes – and our annual story contest.

If you want to learn more and/or keep in touch, please visit us at www.storiesinthenorth.com

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Algoma, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Love letters ~ Where your fellow writers are getting published

Hi, Brian.

Thank you so much for mentioning my CommuterLit stories in Quick Brown Fox!

I found out over the weekend that I have another story being published in February in Empty Sink Publishing! So far I have submitted five stories and four have been accepted. I wish it were that way with my other manuscripts too.

I’m very much looking forward to starting the writing course with you. I always enjoy your workshops and feel more confident in my writing afterwards.

Hannah

Hannah McKinnon, Oakville

You can read Hannah’s story “Waiting” on Empty Sink here. And for information on submitting to Empty Sink, see here. You can find three of Hannah’s stories on CommuterLit here.

Dear Brian,

My story, “Moments of Suspension” was posted on CommuterLit  yesterday.  I wanted to thank you for your excellent Ottawa workshop in December.  I have been inspired, by you, to writing some short stories over the next couple of months.  

I continue to promote my Sci-Fi/Fantasy  novel The Rainbow Alchemist and have been invited to the Ottawa Science Fiction Society Meeting later this month to do so.   My novel is doing well in Ottawa, especially via the Ottawa Public Library services which has circulated my novel over a hundred times.

Again, thanks for alerting me to CommuterLit and I will continue read your postings on Quick Brown Fox. 

Best regards,
Martin Bueno

You can read “Moments of Suspension” here. The Rainbow Alchemist is available from Amazon.ca here.

 For information about submitting to CommuterLit, see here.

Dear Brian, 

I'm (shamefully) happy to pass along a little writing good news. It's been a while! But I'm pleased to say my poem "Do You Recognize Me Without My Tomahawk?" has won first prize this year in Geist magazine's Erasure Poetry Contest. Participants had to create a poem by stringing together some of the words of another text.

Cheers and happy writing and reading to all,
Karen 
Karen Kachra, PhD

You can read "Do You Recognize Me Without My Tomahawk?" here.

Hello, Brian.

An excerpt from my YA novel The Way Lies North (Ronsdale Press, 2007 ) is going to be included in a workbook to be used by International Baccalaureate students, ages 11 - 12. 

The excerpt tells of the decision by the protagonist’s family to flee their home in the Mohawk Valley following the defeat of General Burgoyne’s army in the Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution. The excerpt is two pages long. It will be used to develop the students’ critical and research skills. 

The workbook will be published in May 2014. Thirty thousand copies will be printed, and it will be used worldwide. Of course, I'm thrilled!

Also, my fourth YA historical fiction novel, The White Oneida, will be published in the fall, 2014. I am now working on a fifth. 

Jean Rae Baxterhttp://www.jeanraebaxter.ca/

Jean’s young adult books are available through Ronsdale Press here. For information about submitting to Ronsdale Press, see here.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Algoma, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Two new books: Locker Rooms by Patty Lesser and Spice & Kosher – Exotic Cuisine of the Cochin Jews by Bala Menon

Hi, Brian.

I’ve just self-published my first book, Spice & Kosher about the cuisine of the Chochin Jews of southern India, and it’s now available worldwide through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers – here and here.
Regards,
Bala Menon

menonb@gmail.com

Spice & Kosher – Exotic Cuisine of the Cochin Jews
The Cochinis trace their history to 2,500 years ago, when sailors from the fleets of King Solomon visited Malabar in southern India to trade in spices, apes, peacocks and ivory. A few still live in India, but most of the world’s remaining 20,000 – 25,000 Cochinis now live in Israel. Spice & Kosher is the first in a planned series of five books on the history of this community, which will be published within the next two years.

 “Spice and Kosher is a marvelous cookbook, but it is much more than that. Of course, the wonders of Kerala Jewish cuisine are there to stimulate the imagination and jump start the palate. But here is history, anthropology, nutrition, too. Cochin comes alive through the recipes, but also from the personalities that enliven every page.

 - Dr. Nathan Katz, Florida International University, Miami

Published by Tamarind Tree Books as a trade paperback of 222 pages, Spice & Kosher retails at $12.95 + tax. It can be ordered from:

Tamarind Tree Books
14 Ferncastle Crescent

Brampton, ON  L7A 3P2

Hi, Brian.

My self-published novel Locker Rooms is now available online at Amazon.ca here.

Thanks so much,
Patty Lesser

Locker Rooms by Patty Lesser 

Like most people, Alida has contemplated one of life’s biggest mysteries: What happens to your soul when you die? What if it is stolen by a cruel demon, and your eternity’s resting place becomes an empty locker in a secret cavern? What if the biblical hell was a real place, where real people suffered unspeakably?

It is real, and it is a horrifying place, where the souls of good people are imprisoned with no hope for escape or rescue ... until Alida appears. Putting her life in jeopardy, Alida battles a wicked demon and even the true devil to win the right to free the souls and return them to their own graves, where they can rest in peace.

Locker Rooms is a story of love and hate, friends and enemies, religion and history, and the eternal battle between good and evil. It tells the story of a lost woman who changes her life when she saves the souls of good people being imprisoned by a demon for his own narcissistic pleasure. What she experiences in the process will change her life forever.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Algoma, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

“The Queen’s Visit,” by Gordon Miller

It was one of those summer mornings, everything looked yellow except the blue sky, daisies danced in the field and birds flitted about in the trees. With a warning from Ma to behave myself, I set out for a visit with the King and Queen.

It was June 5, 1939, in the tiny village of Gogama, where twenty-six school kids, ages six to sixteen in our one room school, practiced their singing for two whole weeks. O Canada, God Save the King, There’ll Always Be an England, The Maple Leaf Forever and the Queen’s favourite, Allouette, so our teacher said. 

All the countries in pink that took up one quarter of the globe sitting on the stand belonged to the British Empire, and we should be proud to be part of it, Miss Cavandish told us for about the fifth time.

My Dad said they were making this Canadian cross-country tour to drum up support for the European war that was shaping up. Even though he was going to be on the platform with the other veterans of the Great War, he said he had mixed emotions. I had no idea what he was talking about. When you’re eight, it doesn’t seem to matter.

With great anticipation we sat quietly while the teacher counted the votes. Which one of the girls was going to present the bouquet to the Queen? The teacher, with a cheery smile, announced the winner, my cousin Alice!

She sat silently sobbing in class the next morning after being told her homemade dress just wasn’t good enough. Betsy who finished second would be taking her place. The teacher tried to explain because of the Great Depression we had been experiencing for the past nine years, many families were going hungry and didn't even have shoes.

Going on about the stock market crash and dust storms didn't seem to take away the sad feeling and shame many of us felt.

We felt quite different sitting in our desks wearing our good Sunday clothes when we gathered, but then it wasn't a regular school day. There was a sense of excitement in the air, and we weren't even told to be quiet when we started to laugh and talk. The sun shining though the side windows had a special glow while it danced on the blackboards showing the tiny particles of dust hanging in the air.

Sitting on the grass beside the school, squinting in the sun, each waving a small Union Jack for a final practice, we sang our heads off. We then marched down to the viewing stand especially built for the occasion.

We were ready.

More people than I ever saw in my life were gathered around the viewing stand. The kids from the Catholic school, who were about three times as many as us, stood on one side below the platform. We were lined up on the other with the townspeople behind us, as well as the Indians from Mattagami Reserve and families from the settlements along the railroad tracks.

On the platform were the veterans, town representatives, the two girls who were presenting the bouquets, the unofficial mayor for the day, Mrs. M J Poupore, wife of the mill owner who ran the town, wearing a fur stole and a huge blue hat.

It was getting close to ten o’clock when we first heard the piercing scream of the train whistle, the chug-chug of the engine, and saw the white smoke puffing from the stack. When the engine passed by, painted purple and gold, with the bell clanging, the cheering started.

Then all went silent as the royal couple came out of the door, passing the scarlet-clad Mounties standing at attention, and walked down from the coach platform and up the stairs to the viewing stand, the Queen with an even bigger and bluer hat than Mrs. Poupore’s. 

The king wore his dark blue navy uniform, with the medals across his chest glistening in the sun. It seemed to be a dream, or from a fairy tale. The singing and flag waving started; cameras flashed and the cheering from the crowd erupted.

The Queen looked right at me, smiling and waving; it made me feel so proud. In that instant, I knew she liked our singing. She talked to the people on the platform and then accepted the bouquets, while the King talked to the veterans. They were quite proud of him because he was in the famous battle of Jutland, a naval battle between England and Germany in 1916.

Finally, after about twenty-five minutes, they returned to their coach and waved as the train slowly pulled away.

We all watched until the train was out of sight.

It was a great day.

The visit made us feel special and part of something.

The war did start that fall, and most of the young guys joined up.

Seven didn’t come home.

Postscript: When it was announced the Queen was visiting Canada about four years ago, Alice’s granddaughter wrote to the Queen’s staff, telling them the story of the dress and the sadness and shame Alice felt for sixty-some years. Alice was invited to a reception in Ottawa. She isn’t poor anymore. Dressed to the nines, they say she almost outdid the Queen, and probably had a bigger hat.

Gordon Miller is an artist, poet and writer living in Oakville, Ontario. He has recently published a book Kokum’s Gift. A short story of his, "A Quest," has been nominated for the McClelland Journey Prize by Prairie Journal, and He hopes to publish a book of short stories in the near future.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Algoma, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Free contests and paying markets for creative nonfiction, short stories, poetry, erotica, ultra-shorts, and WWI stories

Hello, Brian!

Would it be possible to place a call for submissions for a nonfiction award on Quick Brown Fox? We opened for submissions Feb. 1 and the deadline is Feb. 28:

Do you have a piece of creative nonfiction that is just waiting for an award? Creative nonfiction writers , send us your best work. The Diana Woods Memorial Award in Creative Nonfiction is currently accepting submissions until Feb. 28. 

The winner receives $250 plus publication in Lunch Ticket, a literary magazine published by the Antioch University Los Angeles Creative Writing MFA Program. For guidelines and submission manager, see here. Note, Lunch Ticket has contests throughout the year, see the whole list here.

Be well,
Sheena McFerran
Lunch Ticket

Literary journal New Welsh Review (Wales) seeks dynamic, curious, lively, and outward-looking writing. Looking for short stories (2,500 to 3,000 words) and poems (up to six). Occasionally publishes shorter stories and microfiction. Payment: £100 per story and £28 per each poem, upon publication. Also welcomes submissions and ideas for online content (no payment): short reviews (600-800 words), opinion pieces (450 words) and author interviews (8-15 questions).

Deadline: March 1, 2014. Guidelines here. 

Cleis Press seeks Female Fantasy Erotica. This collection of erotica will feature female protagonists living out their hottest fantasies. From vanilla to kinky, single to partnered, from 18 to elderly. Length: 1,500-4,000 . Payment: $50 and 2 copies of the book on publication. Deadline: March 1.

Cleis Press also seeks seeks sex toy erotica stories of all varieties for another anthology. Length: 1,500-4,000 words. Payment: $50 and 2 copies of book on publication. Deadline: April 1, 2014.

Guidelines here.

The Binnacle ultra-short competition for prose or poetry: The Binnacle is the University of Maine’s Literary and Arts magazine.  It accepts submissions from writers all over the world and sponsors an annual contest that everybody should enter: The Binnacle’s ultra-short competition.  There’s no fee and your piece doesn’t have to be long at all.  In fact, for prose and poetry the maximum length is 150 words (sixteen lines max for poems).

All submissions should be made via email to ummbinnacle@maine.edu

Please include the work in the body of the email message if possible.

Winning entries will be published, and a minimum of $300 in cash awards will be awarded, with a minimum award of $50. At least one of the awards will go to a UMM student.  Please submit no more than two works total, prose and/or poetry.  When you submit your work, please be sure to include your postal address as well as a thirty-five to fifty word self-description.

The deadline is March 15. Contest rules here.

As a literary journal, The Binnacle accepts submissions, too, both from the students, faculty, and staff of the University of Maine at Machias and from writers and artists anywhere in the world. Please submit original poetry, short fiction, short short fiction, creative non-fiction, as well as photography and other works of visual art, both color and black and white. Please limit submissions to 2500 words.

The Binnacle accepts submissions year round. Full submission guidelines here.  

Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop (NOWW) is seeking entries for its 14th Annual Writing Contest in four categories: poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and children's story. First prize: $125. Entry fee: $10.

Deadline: March 25, 2012. Guidelines here.

Speculative fiction submissions wanted for anthology Start a Revolution: QUILTBAG Fiction Vying for Change. Published by Exile Editions (Canada) in Spring 2015. International subs welcome. Length: 2,000 – 10,000 words (under 7,500 preferred). Payment: $0.05/word.

Deadline: March 31, 2014 Guidelines here. 

Seraphim Editions has commissioned me, Bernadette Rule, to edit an anthology of creative nonfiction stories based on Canadians in World War I to be published in 2014, the one hundredth anniversary year of the beginning of that terrible war.  I am looking for creative nonfiction stories of no more than 5,000 words.  There is no minimum word requirement, as shorter is almost always better. 

The stories should illustrate the impact of the war on Canadians and on Canadian society, so some sense of what life was like here before WWI would be welcome.  The stories need not be limited to literal depictions of soldiers and battles, though obviously such scenes may be necessary.

Please note, I am not looking for fiction, but for creative nonfiction.  You may have to imagine some aspects of the story, but it should be based on real people and real incidents.

Deadline for submission of first drafts: April 1, 2014.   Email submissions to: yardstickrule@gmail.com

Please include a telephone contact and a brief (50-75 words) bio, including how the story came to your notice or why it is of particular interest to you.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Algoma, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Intensive Creative Writing course, Wednesday afternoons, April 2 – June 18, in Burlington

Intensive Creative Writing

An adventure in creative growth

Spring session

Wednesday afternoons, April 2 – June 18, 2014

12:15 to 2:45 p.m.

First set or readings emailed March 26
Appleby United Church

4407 Spruce Ave, Burlington, Ontario (Map here.)

Note: Another Intensive  course is offered Wednesday evenings in Mississauga (see here).  A similar course, "The Next Step in Creative Writing," is offered Tuesday evenings in Burlington (see here), Thursday afternoons in Mississauga (see here), and Thursday evenings in Georgetown (see here). Also, a “Welcome to Creative Writing” course is offered Tuesday afternoons in Burlington (see here) and a “Writing Your Life” course is offered Tuesday mornings in Burlington (see here). For information or to register, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

This course is for people who have done a course or two before and are working on their own writing. Over the twelve classes, you’ll be asked to bring in six 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.

Besides critiquing pieces, the instructor will give short lectures at the start of each class, addressing the needs of the group.

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. This is a challenging course, but extremely rewarding.

Instructor Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing teacher for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led writing workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Charlottetown. But his proudest boast is that he's helped many of his students get published.

Fee: 184.96 + 13% hst = 209.  Payment in advance by mail or e-transfer.

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

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

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Barrie, Brampton, Bolton, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Stouffville, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Algoma, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.