Two new books: Broken Promises by Anitha Robinson and Lycan's Mate by AR McKinnon

Hi, Brian.

I'm thrilled that the second book in my YA trilogy, Broken Promises, has been released by CBAY Books! It’s available at Chapters/Indigo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other independent book sellers.

Thank you for your continued support and encouragement, Brian.

All my best,

Anitha Robinson

For more about the first two books in Anitha’s YA science fiction trilogy – Broken Worlds and Broken Promises – (or to buy them) see here.

Hi, Brian.

My third self-published erotic romance Lycan's Mate is now out with Loose Id and is available for download on kobo.com and amazon.ca here.

I'd be thrilled if you would share my news with your readers. I also wanted to say thank you for the wonderful workshops which have helped me immensely while writing.

Cheers,

AR McKinnon

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Writing for Children & for Young Adults workshop, Saturday, Aug 12, in Collingwood

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

The Collingwood Public Library presents....
Writing for Children & for Young Adults ~ the world’s hottest market

Saturday, August 12, 2017
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Collingwood Public Library, 55 Ste Marie St, Collingwood, Ontario (Map here)

Note: Starting in September, I'm offering a weekly Writing Kid Lit course. See here. ~Brian

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.

Special option: You may, but don't have to, bring 3 copies of the opening couple pages (first 500 words) of your children’s book or young adult novel (or 1,000 words if that will get you to the end of your picture book or to the end of your first chapter.) If you’re not currently working on a children’s story, don’t worry, we’ll get you started on the spot!

Captain Monty Takes the Plunge,
a picture book by Jennifer Mook-Sang,
one of Brian's students

Workshop leader Brian Henry has been a book editor and creative writing instructor for more than 25 years. He teaches at Ryerson University and has led workshops everywhere from Boston to Buffalo and from Sarnia to Saint John. 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). But his proudest boast is that he’s helped many of his students get published. 

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

“Dusty Rose” by Jennifer Smith

“Which colour do you prefer?” the bride asked.

Let’s face it, it was a loaded question; surely the bride had a preference. We were out on a mission to find bridesmaid’s dresses. The five of us had agreed on a style that miraculously flattered our diverse figures relatively well but the fabric itself was still in question. The bride insisted she didn’t care – she had no colour theme for her wedding. The market, however, limited our choices. Pastels were in. In the late 80s everything from kitchen wear to underwear was Wedgewood blue or dusty rose. Even at the bridal shop these colours dominated the swatch palette.

“Anything but Dusty Rose,” I blurted out a little too emphatically. I couldn’t stand that colour. In an instant it took me back twenty years.

The house I’d grown up in was a depression-era build. The windows had leaked out heat and let in cold. The radiators had clanged and hissed, the fixtures were cheap, and the hardwood floors were splintery. The ceilings seemed posh at twelve feet high, but the plaster was cracking, which diminished the charm. There wasn’t one thing about it that was fancy.

There was one three-piece bathroom in the house and in it there was no shower. All we had for bathing was an old claw-foot tub; white enamel on cast iron. Not some acrylic remake from Home Depot, ours was the real deal. The taps were white porcelain – smooth oblong levers with the words “HOT” and “COLD” in grey lettering.

The tub was big enough that my two sisters and I could get in it together. And we often did, allowing my Mom to get the job of bathing us done in one shift.

There were no tiles in the bathroom. The tub sat on a cheaply finished floor. The dark red linoleum with strange black swirls was brittle and cracking in places where the underlying floorboards were warped. The bathroom walls were painted blue. The bathmat was gold shag. My mom was no Martha Stewart, but what she lacked in interior decorating skills, she made up for with her loving heart.

Even when the furnace was working, in the dead of winter the prospect of a bath was unthinkable without pre-warming the room with the electric heater. My Mom plugged it in by the sink. It stood on the floor a kilter on flimsy grey metal legs. The elements glowed red, the fan hummed, throwing a comforting heat across the bath mat at the tub.

Mom held a towel up in front of the heater to warm that for us too. She’d hold it stretched out between her open arms and instruct each of us when it was our turn to step out. A warm towel and a loving hug from Mom were worth getting out for – even better than the warm bath itself. I have no fonder memory. The love and care in that gesture filled my innocent heart.

But then we all got Chicken Pox - all three of us – all at once. The bath became a nursing station and although the warm water with Epsom Salts was soothing and the hot towel enveloped me in that wonderful warm embrace, there was a most disturbing final step added to our bath-night routine.

After drying off, my Mom unwrapped me, the comfort of that cozy towel stripped away. My little body, pink from the hot water was covered in angry red pox. In an effort to keep the itching and inevitable scratching at bay Mom applied Calamine Lotion.

With a white fuzzy cotton ball against the open bottle Mom had soaked the swab. Then sitting on the lid of the toilet as I slowly turned on that gold shag mat, she’d applied the lotion to every sore she found. The Calamine Lotion had been cold and smelled funny and the dabbing had been torture on those raised red sores. I’d hated it. Everything about it had been awful – even the colour.

Decades later I still recoiled in disgust from anything that reminded me of Calamine Lotion, even “Dusty Rose” fabric. The colour was too close, too close to a trauma I didn’t want to relive.

In the end my revulsion didn’t cause any trouble. It was a beautiful wedding day. The bride was radiant and we bridesmaids were pretty in our Periwinkle gowns.

Jennifer M. Smith recovered from the Chicken Pox but never recovered from Calamine Lotion. Favouring a blue-green palette, she has lived on the water with her husband aboard s/v Green Ghost, for thirteen of the past twenty-one years while travelling extensively by sail.  She currently lives a land-life in Burlington, Ontario, where she works to develop her creative nonfiction and memoir writing skills.

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Plougshares lit journal pays for fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction; Pen & Kink pays for shapeshifter stories

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in the "Follow Brian by Email" box to the right under my bio and get each post delivered to your Inbox. Also, if you’re not yet on my newsletter, send me an email, including your locale, to: brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~Brian

Ploughshares is one of the most prestigious literary journals in the U.S. (and the world) and publishes short stories, creative nonfiction and poetry. It’s been around since 1971. Besides the journal, it also publishes Ploughshares Solos – digital-first long stories and essays – and a lively literary blog. Since 1989, it’s been based at Emerson College in downtown Boston. Ploughshares accepts submissions to the journal from June 1, to January 15. Ploughshares pays its writers. Pieces for the journal pay $45 U.S. per printed page, $90 minimum and $450 maximum, plus you receive two contributor copies and a one-year subscription to the journal (3 issues).

To submit to the journal, please see the guidelines here.

To submit to the Ploughshares Solos series, featuring longer works of fiction and nonfiction, see the guidelines here.

To submit a Look2 essay to the journal, see the guidelines here.

To submit to the Emerging Writer’s Contest, for writers who have never published or self-published a book, see the guidelines here.

Pen and Kink Publishing seeks stories wanted for shapeshifter romance anthology.

“From lycans to skin-walkers and everything in between, shapeshifters give us a chance to connect with our inner selves and celebrate our intriguing differences, our passions, and ultimately our humanity through their necessity of striking a balance between their human selves and supernatural selves.

“We are seeking romantic and heated stories that delve into the different challenges all shifters face while navigating the mysterious paths of love and forbidden attraction. Transformed will be an exploration of our dark side through characters that challenge the human experience by simply being different. We would love for you to write with passion and energy, but please keep violence to a respectful and tasteful level. All heat levels accepted, but strong emphasis on plot is a must if you wish to succeed.”

Stories should be 1,000 – 15,000 words long (query for longer).  Pays $10 U.S.. 

Deadline: August 31, 2017. Guidelines here.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Two new agents at Canadian literary agency The Rights Factory; Eight agents altogether seeking all kinds of fiction and nonfiction for adults and for children, picture books to YA to new adult

Time After Time by Hannah McKinnon,
represented by The Rights Factory

The Rights Factory Inc. 

PO Box 499, Station C
Toronto ON M6J 3P6

http://therightsfactory.com/

Note: Don't ever miss a post on Quick Brown Fox. Fill in the Follow Brian by Email box in the right-hand column under my bio and get each post delivered to your Inbox. And if you’re not yet on my newsletter, send me an email, including your locale, to: brianhenry@sympatico.ca ~ Brian

The Rights Factory (TRF) has a roster of eleven agents, eight of them seeking authors. “Whether you are a debut author just finishing your first novel, an expert, teacher or journalist working on a narrative nonfiction or prescriptive work, someone with a memoir or great life story to tell, or a graphic novelist, we’re interested in hearing from you,” says Sam Hiyate, president of TRF. “Every agent at TRF is looking for work they can get excited about, in every genre and category. If you’re in the market, we encourage you to look at the agents here and see if one of them seems like the perfect business partner for you.”

The newest members of the team are Lindsay Leggett and Anna Trader, and like all new agents, they need authors:

Lindsay Leggett is an associate agent at The Rights Factory. She grew up in the frozen wilds of Northern Ontario and turned a love of reading and writing into a passion for editing. After working for a variety of authors and publishers, she found a home at The Rights Factory.

Lindsay is focused on Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Children’s books with unique, engaging, and diverse world’s and unforgettable characters. She’s particularily interested in: magical realism, fantasy, science fiction, LGBTTQIA+, #ownvoices

Query Lindsay through The Rights Factory contact page here.

Anna Trader is an associate agent at The Rights Factory. In her previous career, Anna worked at the New York office of Consumer Reports Magazine. While working full time, she earned an MBA in Human Resources at Iona College, and years later left the big city to work with attorneys and court reporters as a general manager for a national court reporting company in West Palm Beach. 

Each of her jobs in her varied career has opened her to the variety of life’s experiences and allowed her to find new and interesting ways to improve her business knowledge, experience, technology, creativity, and editing skills, all to the benefit of her clients.

Anna’s love for literature has sustained her spirit throughout her life.   She is certainly reading a book (or two) when she isn’t with her young daughter. Like her life, she has an eclectic approach to literature, moving easily between general fiction, historical fiction and nonfiction, including health, mind & body and children’s books.  Recently, to sharpen her publishing skills, she completed her graduate certificate in publishing at Centennial College in Toronto and began working with The Rights Factory, first as an intern, then as an Agency Assistant. She is now working on building her own client list.

 In fiction, Anna is seeking Commercial Fiction, General Fiction, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Thrillers, and Women’s Fiction.

In nonfiction, she’s looking for Food and Drink, Health & Wellbeing, Lifestyle, and Memoir,

Query Anna through The Rights Factory contact page here.

Other agents at The Rights Factory seeking authors:

Sam Hiyate is the president and co-founder of The Rights Factory.  Among others, Sam represents Andrew Kaufman, author of such literary works as All My Friends Are Superheroes and The Waterproof Bible; Rupinder Gill, This Hour Has 22 Minutes staff writer and author of the humorous memoir On the Outside Looking Indian; and David Gilmour, multi-award winning author of The Film Club and The Perfect Order of Things. 

Sam’s projects for the agency have been in various categories, including memoir, literary and commercial fiction, narrative non-fiction and graphic novels. He’s looking for works of all categories with distinct and compelling voices. He loves to discover and help new writers prepare their works for the market, and to help them build a career with their talent.

In particular, Sam is seeking Commercial Upmarket Fiction, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Business Books, and Nonfiction.

Query Sam through TRF’s submissions page here.

Ali McDonald is The Rights Factory’s lead agent specializing in children’s literature. She represents a select list of authors with projects ranging from novelty, board books, picture books, early readers, chapter books, and graphic novels, to middle grade, young adult and new adult fiction and nonfiction. She enjoys working primarily with debut authors, but also has the distinguished pleasure of representing literary stars among her international clients.

Ali is seeking Action/Adventure, Biography, Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Magic Realism, Mystery, Popular Science, Recent Historical, Romance, Science Fiction, Speculative, and Thrillers – all for children to YA.

Query Ali through The Rights factory submissions page here.

Olga Filina is an associate agent with The Rights Factory. A graduate of Humber’s Creative Book Publishing Program, Olga spent over a decade as a sales manager and book buyer for both national and independent book store chains and two years as a literary assistant at The Cooke Agency.

While Olga will read anything that may set her book clubs on fire, she gravitates towards commercial and historical fiction, great genre fiction in the area of romance and mystery, nonfiction in the field of business, wellness, lifestyle and memoir, and young adult and middle grade novels with memorable characters.

In nonfiction, Olga is seeking Business, Lifestyle and Memoir.

 In her spare time, Olga sits on library boards, organizes literary festivals and runs more book clubs than she can count.

Query Olga through The Rights factory submissions page here.

Cassandra Rodgers has recently been promoted to full agent at the Rights Factory. (Congratulations, Cassie!) Cassandra has a diverse group of clients from across North America that ranges from debut authors to celebrities. 

(Many readers of Quick Brown Fox will know one of Cassie’s authors, Hannah McKinnon, from attending my classes with her and more recently from her being a guest speaker at workshops with me. Hannah is the author of Time After Time and the upcoming novels The Neighbours and of a so-far untitled third novel.)

Cassandra is actively building her list and is seeking literary fiction and commercial women’s fiction. With a degree in History and Political Science from the University of Toronto, she does have a weakness for historical fiction. 

Nonfiction is another passion – particularly politics, history, science, and finance. Memoirs that can make her laugh, cry, or inspire her are always welcome.

“I’m generally interested in a wide range of genres with a focus on the adult market,” says Cassandra.

Query Cassandra through The Rights Factory contact page here.

Natalie Kimber is as associate agent based in New York City. Natalie brings her list from her self-started Sun Rae Agency. Previously, she worked with Georgetown Booklab and as an associate to Muriel Nellis at Literary and Creative Artists, Inc.

She is inspired by bringing experimental, risky, and thoughtful new literature into the world of traditional publishing.  She appreciates authors who have a vision incorporated into their writing, from exploring history untold to re-telling timeless tales with a twist, Nat looks for writers who unveil meaningful new ways to see the world and ourselves in it.  Her passion is helping authors share their vision and talent with a grateful audience, and guiding the process that manifests a vision into book form is her raison d’etre.

On the fiction side, Natalie is seeking Action/Adventure, Commercial Fiction, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction and Young Adult boy books.

In nonfiction, she is looking for Cooking, Creative Nonfiction, Memoir, Pop Culture, Science, Spirituality, and Sustainability.

Query Natalie through The Rights Factory’s submissions page here. 

Haskell Nussbaum is a lawyer turned writer turned (associate) literary agent. He is the author of Beat That Parking Ticket and has contributed articles and stories to the National Post (Canada) Jerusalem Post, Pacific News Service and others, and he has appeared on, or been featured in, national and local news, radio and TV, including Fox and Friends, NPR, NY Post, New York Magazine, USA Today, NY1, CBS, Today in New York, and many others. 

His list is diverse, ranging from clients on the New York Times Bestseller list to debut authors. (Many readers of Quick Brown Fox will have read pieces on QBF by one of Haskell’s authors: Gila Green, author of King of the Class and the upcoming No Way Home.)

Query Haskell through The Rights factory submissions page here.

Literary agent Monica Pacheco,
guest speaker for Writing for Children
& Young Adults, on Aug 12 (see here)

Brian Henry will lead a You can write great dialogue, workshop on Saturday, July 22, in London (see here), and a Writing Your Life and Other True Stories workshop on Saturday, Aug 19 in Brampton (see here). 

Also, Brian will lead a Writing for Children & for Young Adult workshop on Saturday, August 12, in Collingwood with literary agent Monica Pacheco (see here). 

In the fall, Brian will lead a weekly Writing Kid Lit class, Thursday mornings, Oct 5 – Nov 30, in Oakville, with guest authors Sylvia McNicoll and Jennifer Mook-Sang (see here).

Note: For updated listings of Writing for Children & for Young adult workshops and for weekly Kid lit classes, see here (and scroll down).

Join us for a Fall Colours Writing Retreat, at the wonderful Arowhon Pines Resort in Algonquin Park, Friday, Sept 15 – Sunday, Sept 17 (see here).

Also, in the fall, Brian will lead a full range of courses, introductory to advanced, including (for the first time) a weekly creative writing course in Toronto: 

Welcome to Creative Writing, Thursday afternoons, Sept 28 – Nov 30, in Burlington. See here.

Writing Personal Stories, Wednesday evenings, Sept 27 – Nov 15, in Burlington. See here.

Writing Kid Lit, Thursday mornings, Oct 5 – Nov 30, in Oakville, with guest authors Sylvia McNicoll and Jennifer Mook-Sang. See here.

Next Step in Creative Writing, Tuesday afternoons Sept 26 – Nov 28, in Burlington. See here.

Intensive Creative Writing, Monday mornings, Sept 25 – Dec 4, in Toronto. See here.

Intensive Creative Writing, Thursday evenings, Sept 28 – Nov 30 in Georgetown. See here.

Extreme Creative Writing, Wednesday afternoons, Sept 20 – Dec 6, in Burlington

See details of all seven courses offered in the fall here.

For more information or to reserve a spot in any workshop, retreat, or weekly course, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Read reviews of Brian’s courses and workshops here.

See Brian’s complete current schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Saint John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.

Navigation tips: Always check out the labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. Also, if you're searching for a literary agent who represents a particular type of book, check out this post. 

How to Write Great Dialogue, Saturday, July 22, in London

How to Write Great Dialogue

Saturday, July 22, 2017

10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

London Central Library, Tonda Room, 251 Dundas St, London (Map 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.Whether you’re writing fiction or memoir, you need to be able to write great dialogue that both sounds natural and packs dramatic punch, and you need to know how to mix your dialogue and narrative so that your characters come alive. Come to this workshop and learn both the basics and the best tricks of the trade.

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 St. John. But his proudest boast is that he has helped many of his students get published.

Read a review of "How to write great dialogue" here. For more reviews of Brian's weekly courses and Saturday workshops see here and scroll down.

Fee: 43.36 + 13% hst = 49 paid in advance

or 46.90 + 13% hst = 53  at the door

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

See Brian's full schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Algonquin Park, Barrie, Bracebridge, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Guelph, Hamilton, Ingersoll, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Midland, Mississauga, Newmarket, Orillia, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, St. John, NB, Sudbury, Thessalon, Toronto, Windsor, Halton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.