Happy Passover ~ Next year, in Jerusalem!

Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" sung in Hebrew

And a Passover poem by Marge Piercy, "The cup of Eliyahu" (Elijah in English). On Passover, Eliyahu is said to return to Earth and may drop by for a cup of wine or to herald the Messiah. So at every Seder meal, an extra glass of wine is poured for Eliyahu and the door is opened, in case he should happen by...

The cup of Eliyahu

Passover Cup, Vienna
mid-19th Century 

In life you had a temper.

Your sarcasm was a whetted knife.

Sometimes you shuddered with fear

but you made yourself act no matter

how few stood with you.

Open the door for Eliyahu

that he may come in.

Now you return to us

in rough times, out of smoke

and dust that swirls blinding us.

You come in vision, you come

in lightning on blackness.

Open the door for Eliyahu

that he may come in.

In every generation you return

speaking what few want to hear

words that burn us, that cut

us loose so we rise and go again

over the sharp rocks upward.

Open the door for Eliyahu

that he may come in.

You come as a wild man,

as a homeless sidewalk orator,

you come as a woman taking the bima,

you come in prayer and song,

you come in a fierce rant.

Open the door for Eliyahu

that she may come in.

Prophecy is not a gift, but

sometimes a curse, Jonah

refusing. It is dangerous

to be right, to be righteous.

To stand against the wall of might.

Open the door for Eliyahu

that he may come in.

There are moments for each

of us when you summon, when

you call the whirlwind, when you

shake us like a rattle: then we

too must become you and rise.

Open the door for Eliyahu

that we may come in.

How to Build Your Novel, an online workshop, Sunday, April 11

How to Build Your Novel

 ~ An editor and an author give you their insights

Sunday, April 11, 2021
12:45 – 5:00 p.m.
Online and accessible wherever there’s Internet.

In this workshop, we’ll work with you on creating the arc of your novel. Beyond giving you a how-to overview of plotting and story-telling, participants are invited to submit a one-page synopsis of a novel they have in process or have in mind. Your synopsis must be less than 500 words, and if it’s only 50 words – just a concept, not a synopsis – that’s fine. And if you’ve got nothing, don’t sweat it; we’ll get you started on the spot.

Guest speaker Laurie Elizabeth Flynn is a former model who lives in London, Ontario, with her husband and their three children. Under the name L.E. Flynn, she is the author of three young adult novels: Firsts (Macmillan), Last Girl Lied To (Macmillan), and All Eyes On Her (Macmillan Imprint label).

Her adult fiction debut, The Girls Are All So Nice Here, will be released by Simon and Schuster in the US and Canada on March 9, 2021. It has sold in 11 territories worldwide and been optioned for television by AMC. Pre-order your copy from Chapters (here) or from your favourite independent bookstore here.

When she’s not writing, you can likely find Laurie hiking in the woods, perusing thrift stores for vintage dresses, or bingeing on reality TV.

At the workshop, Laurie will talk about her process for plotting her novels and creating character arcs and about her career as an author.

Visit Laurie’s website here.

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

Read a review of Brian's various courses and workshops here (and scroll down).

Fee: $39.82 + hst = $45 advance payment only

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

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

New Canadian imprint, Greenbank Books, seeks submissions focusing on activism

Hi, Brian.

Sumeru is Canada’s leading independent Buddhist book publisher. We have a new secular imprint, Greenbank Books, focusing on activism in the fields of environmental issues, social justice, and the public good.

We’re looking for submissions, if you’d like to mention it in your blog. Authors and agents can contact me via email.

Thanks,

John Negru

Karma Yönten Gyatso

Publisher, The Sumeru Press

john@sumeru-books.com

sumeru-books.com

More about Sumera

The Sumeru Press Inc. is dedicated to publishing and distributing Buddhist books and art. We celebrate and support all traditions and lineages.

We are located in Ottawa. Follow us on Facebook (SumeruBooks) and Twitter (@SumeruBooks). You can also contact us at: info@sumeru-books.com

In addition to our publishing activities, we also maintain Canada’s leading Buddhist news blog (accessible at the bottom of our home page), and a directory of more than 580 Canadian Buddhist organizations here. 

We have also been involved in a variety of Buddhist community development projects over the years. In 2011-12 we collaborated with the University of Toronto program in Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health to prepare the feasibility study for an online academic journal in the field. In 2012-13 we collaborated with the University of Toronto Department of Religious Studies to complete a two-year sociological survey of Canadian Buddhist organizations, the key findings of which were published in the Journal of Global Buddhism.

Since 2013 we have been involved in a global eco-Buddhist initiative on Facebook, called Plot to Save the Earth. More recently we have been working with others on developing a Buddhist Literary Festival and a series of Buddhist Literary Events.

In 2010, Sumeru received a blogisattva award. 

The inspiration for our name is Mount Sumeru, the mountain in the centre of the universe according to Buddhist cosmology.

To read more about The Sumeru Press, here's an interesting feature on us from Buddhistdoor here.

*** 

For information on Brian’s upcoming creative writing classes, workshops, and retreats – online and in-person – see here.

 

Online: Writing Kid Lit ~ Picture Books to YA, April 21 – June 16

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

Writing Kid Lit

Picture Books to Young Adult Novels

Wednesday evenings, 7 – 9 p.m.
April 21 – June 16, 2021
Offered online and accessible from anywhere there's internet 

Also on offer this spring: “Welcome to Creative Writing” {see here} and "Writing Personal Stories" {see here }.

 This course is for adults {or teens} interested in writing picture books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade books, or Young Adult novels. This course is accessible for beginners and meaty enough for advanced writers. Through lectures, in-class assignments, homework, and feedback on your writing, we’ll give you ins and outs of writing for younger readers and set you on course toward writing your own books.

We’ll have two published children’s authors as guest speakers, Jeenifer Mook-Sang and Kira Vermond.

Jennifer Mook-Sang grew up in Guyana and moved to Canada when she was fourteen. While reading bedtime stories to her two sons, she fell in love with picture books and decided to write one of her own. In one of Brian Henry's classes, she found the beginnings of a story. 

That story grew into the humorous middle-grade novel, Speechless, published by Scholastic Canada, and since translated into Portuguese for Brazil (Não Cale! Fale!) and Turkish (Bir Konuşabilse).

Speechless won the Surrey Schools Book of the Year Award, was shortlisted for many others, and was recommended by the Ontario Library Association, the Canadian Children’s  Book Centre, the CBC, and the TD Summer Reading Club. 

Jennifer has also published a picture book, Captain Monty Takes the Plunge, with Kids Can Press. Captain Monty is the boldest, stinkiest pirate to sail the six or seven seas; in fact, he’s never had a bath. Naturally, the Junior Library Guild immediately selected him for its fall list of recommended books; it was short-listed for the Rainforest of Reading Award; and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre put it on its best books of the year list.

Jennifer’s next picture book will be published by Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada.

Kira Vermond is an award-winning writer with over 2,000 articles to her name. She has been a frequent contributor to the Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, CBC and Today's Parent.

Kira is the author of six nonfiction books for young readers:  Trending: How and Why Stuff Gets Popular, which was recently nominated for a Yellow Cedar Award (more here); Why Don’t Cars Run on Apple Juice (more here); Half-Truths and Brazen Lies, (more here); Why We Live Where We Live (more here);  Growing Up: Inside and Out (nominated for on Ontario Library Association Forest of Reading Award); and The Secret Life of Money: A Kid's Guide to Cash, which was my son’s and daughter’s favourite book  the year it came out, although my kids are four years apart.

Plus, Why Does My Shadow Follow Me? coming March 8, 2021, and available to pre-order now. See here.

Fee: $176.11 plus 13% hst = $199

To reserve your spot, email: brianhenry@sympatico.ca

Instructor 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 Saint John.  Brian is the author of a children's version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Tribute Publishing). But his proudest boast is that he’s has helped many of his students get published. 

Read reviews of Brian's various courses and workshops here (and scroll down).

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

Two Agents at Azantian Literary seek books for young people, picture books to YA, plus graphic novels

Azantian Literary Agency

40509 Calla Lilly Street
Murrieta, California

http://azantianlitagency.com/

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

Azantian is a young agency. Founded in 2014 by Jennifer Azantian, the agency has five agents altogether, four of them Associate Agents, relatively new to the business. Azantian does represent adult fiction and nonfiction, but leans toward kid lit: picture books to young adult, including graphic novels. Two Associate Agents at Azantian are actively seeking new authors:

Andrea Walker started her career in publishing through several internships, eventually joining Olswanger Literary as a contracts intern. It was there she first began building her client list. As a writer herself, Andrea isn't afraid to rework something several times to make it shine.

Before publishing, Andrea earned her B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies focusing on Creative Writing and Education from UCF and is currently working towards her Masters. When she's not reading or writing, Andrea is enjoying time with her family.

Andrea represents Picture Books, Middle Grade, and Young Adults. Like everybody else, she is especially interested in seeing submissions from underrepresented voices.

Picture Books: “My tastes are very selective for Picture Books. I'm looking for high-concept stories with a great hook. Text that is so well written, I visualize the illustrations as I'm reading. I love to laugh in the PB space and enjoy anything quirky or fun like I WANT MY HAT BACK or filled with heart like in A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE. While, I love lyrical prose, I am not a good fit for rhyming text or anything that is overly sweet. Overall, I love to be surprised, if you've taken a concept and flipped it on its head, I'd love to see it!”

Middle Grade & Chapter Books: “I am eager to build my middle grade list and on the lookout for lower MG and chapter books too. I'm always interested in high-concept, but I'm really looking for voice and the ability to capture the complex feelings of this age. 

"I would love to visit lush worlds like THE NIGHT GARDENER with characters you can't help but root for a la GHOST, anything filled with heart and hope as in FR GarageBand ONT DESK or that helps kids deal with tough topics like THE REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF COYOTE SUNRISE or THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH. I'm not a good fit for high fantasy, but I'm open to all else.”

Young Adult: “I absolutely love YA, it's what really drew me to the world of publishing. Again, I'm really drawn to high-concept and commercial young adult works. I'm looking for stories that stay with you long after you finish them like SLAY and THE WILDER GIRLS. Beautiful prose that sweeps you into the world with no looking back like CARAVAL or THE HAZEL WOOD. Books that blend prose and epistolary like SADIE or RULES FOR VANISHING. Stories with standout voice like YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN and explore tough topics or deeper truths as in THE GRACE YEAR. I'm always interested in stories where magic is real and hiding in plain sight, books with speculative elements, and mysteries.”

To query Andrea, fill out her submissions form

Alexandra Weiss joined the world of publishing in 2016, as an associate agent with the Jennifer De Chiara Agency. In 2021, she joined Azantian Literary Agency. She holds a BFA in creative writing and publishing from Columbia College Chicago and has written for Bustle and Buzzfeed, among others.

She regularly volunteers with literary organizations and has a soft spot for working with young readers. When she isn't reading or writing, she's probably baking up a storm or snuggling with her cat.

Alexandra is looking for fiction and nonfiction picture books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novels, and select adult nonfiction. Like everybody else, she’s looking for “marginalized creators and diverse stories. I'm actively seeking BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, genderfluid, neurodiverse, and disabled voices for all ages and genres.”

Graphic Novels: “Please send me your early reader, MG, and YA graphic novel proposals! I'm actively seeking contemporary projects but am open to all genres. Some recent favorites include THIS WAS OUR PACT, SEANCE TEA PARTY and GO WITH THE FLOW. I'd also love to see some nonfiction graphic novels that cover fascinating topics.”

Picture Books: “I love heartfelt, funny, and whimsical picture books. If you have a clever concept that's never been done before or provides a fresh twist on a classic tale (such as PRINCE AND KNIGHT), please send it my way.

"I'm also eagerly searching for picture books books that introduce STEAM concepts and make complex topics approachable (and fun!) for young readers. I'm also interested in representing more author/illustrators. I enjoy a lot of different styles but generally lean toward art that's unique, bold, and playful.”

Middle Grade: “I adore all types of adventurous, smart, and out-of-the-box chapter and middle-grade books. Silly schemes! Fantastic friendships! Ambitious adventures! If it has magic, science, or time travel, I'm all in. I'm also a big fan of contemporary middle grade that pulls at your heartstrings (think I'LL SEE YOU IN THE COSMOS and SONG FOR A WHALE). I'm particularly interested in finding more middle grade that isn't afraid to explore the complicated emotions and challenges preteens face today.”

Young Adult: “I'm most drawn to contemporary, light science fiction and fantasy, as well as magical realism in YA. I'm looking for strong, distinct, and diverse voices that authentically capture the coming-of-age experience. I'm a fan of angsty characters and stories that explore difficult situations, but I'd also love to see more lighthearted and fluffy romcoms. I'm also interested in YA stories that take place outside of the US or feature mythology from non-western cultures.”

Adult Nonfiction: “Currently, I'm seeking nonfiction proposals from scientists and experts in their field. Some topics I'm interested in include global warming, space exploration, and mental heath. I'm also open to unique gift books that bring something new to the table.”

To query Alexandra, fill out her submissions form

Literary agent Meg Wheeler 

If you’re interested in meeting an agent and in getting published, don’t miss our online How to get Published workshop Saturday, May 8, with literary agent Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists (see here).

If you’re especially interested in writing for children, don’t miss Writing Kid Lit and Young Adult Fiction course, offered online Wednesday evenings, April 21 – June 16 (see here) and Writing for Children and for Young Adults workshop with Orca Books editor Liz Kemp, offered online Saturday, April 24. Details here. 

Beyond that, Brian Henry’s schedule continues to take shape...

Online: How to Write a Bestseller, with New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, Saturday, April 3.  Details here.

Online: How to Build Your Novel, with author Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, Sunday, April 11. Details here.

Spring classes:

Online: Writing Personal Stories, nine weeks of creativity and fellowship. Two sessions offered: Tuesday afternoons, April 13 – June 15 and Thursday afternoons, April 15 – June 24 {no class June 10}. Details here.    

Online: Welcome to Creative Writing, an introductory, low pressure course to get the creative juices flowing. Thursday evenings, April 15 – June 24 {no class May 27}. Details here.

More workshops:

Online: Beginning Right – How to open your novel, Saturday, May 15. Details here.

Online: Finding Your Voice, Sunday, May 30. Details here.

Writing retreat:

Algonquin Park: Writing Retreat at Arowhon Pines Resort, an island of luxury in the middle of a wilderness. Friday, June 11 – Monday, June 14.  Details here.

Summer classes ~ in person:

In-person: Exploring Creative Writing, Wednesday afternoons, July 7 – Aug 25, in Burlington. Details here.

In-person: Intensive Creative Writing, Wednesday afternoons, July 7 – Aug 25, in Burlington. Details here.  

Information about online summer courses to come.

For more details or to register for any workshop, retreat or weekly class, email brianhenry@sympatico.ca

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

 Navigation tips: Always check out the Labels underneath a post; they’ll lead you to various distinct collections of postings. For more children’s and young adult publishers, see here {and scroll down}. For book publishers in general, see here {and scroll down}.