How to Get Published with Brian Henry and guest speaker Rachel Letofsky, literary agent with the Cooke Agency

Saturday, October 17, 2015 - 10:00am

Mills Hardware Event Space
95 King Street East
Hamilton, ON
L8N 1A9

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. We'll be packing in as much information as we can from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 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 Rachel Letofsky is a literary agent with the Cooke Agency. The Cooke Agency represents literary and commercial fiction (including science fiction, fantasy and crime), narrative-driven nonfiction in the areas of popular culture, science, history, natural history, politics, personal reference and children's books.

The Cooke Agency represents many national and international award-winning authors of quality fiction and nonfiction, including John Irving, Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, Catherine Gildiner, Mary Novik, Nancy Richler, Guy Vanderhaeghe and Joyce Wayne. The Cooke Agency's clients are routinely long-listed, short-listed and awarded prizes for the high quality of their work.

Rachel is the newest agent on the team. She is a graduate of both the University of Toronto, where she specialized in English Literature, and The Humber Creative Book Publishing Program. She joined The Cooke Agency in 2010 following an internship, and is currently growing her own list of clients. Rachel is particularly drawn to debut authors with whom she can work in a hands-on, collaborative fashion.

Her clients include multiple award-winning poet and novelist Méira Cook – whose new novel Night Watching was just published by HarperCollinsCanada in 2015; Kim Gaal, a fresh voice in urban fantasy from Australia and Erin Frances Fisher, whose short story "Girl" won this year's RBC Bronwen Wallace award and is currently available for free download from iTunes (you should read it!).

Her personal tastes are eclectic and in fiction she is looking for everything from literary fiction to ground-breaking and heart-breaking middle grade and YA titles in all genres. She is drawn to works with a whimsical nature or a grounded, gritty edge in equal measure, though in either instance, unforgettable characters and original concepts are a must. In nonfiction, Rachel is looking for narrative-driven memoirs and anything with a high level of quirkiness.

Fee: $40.71+ 13% hst = $46 paid in advance by mail or Interac
or $43.36 + 13% hst = $49 if you wait to pay at the door

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