The Perks of the Full-Week Experience

Afternoon seminar options for this year's Antioch Writers' Workshop Full Week Experience are filling quickly, so be sure to register soon! 

In addition to all morning classes and your choice of afternoon seminar, the Full Week Experience includes perks not available to A La Carte registrants including individual pitch sessions with visiting agents Agents Suzie Townsend (New Leaf) and Hannah Gordon (Folio Literary and Media). Both agents are interested in a wide variety of fiction and nonfiction projects and are actively looking for new clients. 

Suzie Townsend Visiting Agent

 

Hannah Gordon
Visiting Agent

Participants can also take advantage of lunch opportunities with faculty, an evening participant reading, one-on-one manuscript consultations (for additional small fee), and a reduced cost for the Saturday Seminar, a one-day writing seminar in craft, nuts and bolts, and inspiration.  

The Full Week Experience kicks off at Antioch University Midwest with a Keynote Address by author Lee Martin on the evening of Saturday, July 6 followed by a dessert and wine reception. The event concludes on Friday, July 12. 

To register for the Full Week Experience, visit our website.

For more information visit  www.antiochwritersworkshop.com or email Sharon Short at info@antiochwritersworkshop.com .

Introducing Visiting Agent Suzie Townsend

After teaching high school English for several years, Suzie Townsend started in publishing at FinePrint Literary Management in January 2009 and worked her way up from intern to agent. Now an agent at New Leaf Literary & Media, she represents adult and children's fiction. She is actively looking to build her list. In adult, she's specifically looking for romance (historical and paranormal), and fantasy (urban fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, epic fantasy). In Childrens' she loves YA (all subgenres) and is dying to find great Middle Grade projects (especially something akin to the recent movie SUPER 8). She's an active member of AAR, RWA, and SCBWI.

She’s interested in strong characters and voice driven stories: she’s particularly keen on strong female protagonists, complex plot lines with underlying political, moral, or philosophical issues, and stories which break out of the typical tropes of their genre. Some of her favorite novels (that she doesn't represent) are Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, Jellicoe Road and Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, Jeaniene Frost's Vampire Huntress series, Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels series, and Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel series. She drinks too much diet orange soda, has a Starbucks problem (those soy chai lattes are addictive), and lives in New York with two dogs who know that chewing on shoes is okay but chewing on books is not.

Introducing AWW 2012 Visiting Agent -- Brooks Sherman

Brooks Sherman

Brooks Sherman--Visiting Agent
Brooks Sherman is on the lookout for adult fiction that runs the gamut from contemporary (with an eye toward multicultural or satirical) to speculative (particularly urban/contemporary fantasy, horror/dark fantasy, and slipstream). He also has a weakness for historical fiction and a burgeoning interest in crime fiction. On the children's side, he is looking to build a list of boy-focused Middle Grade novels (all subgenres, but particularly fantasy adventure and contemporary), and is open to YA fiction of all types except paranormal romance. Brooks is specifically seeking projects that balance strong voice with gripping plot lines; he particularly enjoys flawed (but sympathetic) protagonists and stories that organically blur the lines between genres. Stories that make him laugh earn extra points. Recent favorites include Whiteman by Tony D'Souza, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, the Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey, The Thieves of Manhattan by Adam Langer, and Horns by Joe Hill.

Writing Tips from 2011 AWW Faculty -- Rachel Coyne

As part of our blog series, Antioch Writers' Workshop 2011 Faculty share their tips for writing. You can read complete bios of AWW 2011 Faculty at antiochwritersworkshop.com. Check back regularly for more helpful writing tips.


Those registered for the full-week experience of the 2011 Antioch Writers' Workshop have the unique opportunity to participate in pitch sessions with visiting literary agents as well as attend talks in the Professional Connections Series. Suzie Townsend, who originally planned to join us at this summer's workshop, has had a conflict arise and can't be with us. However, we're pleased to announce Rachel Coyne as one of the TWO fantastic agents who will be joining the 2011 AWW Faculty.

Twelve year publishing industry veteran Rachel Coyne from FinePrint Literary Management will also be part of the 2011 AWW faculty. Rachel has represented fourNew York Times bestselling authors, and is on the lookout for the fifth. She represents young adult novels of all stripes (historical, fantasy, romance, contemporary, literary, humorous), as well as middle grade novels, especially with a humorous voice. She's also looking for adult historical, fantasy, urban fantasy and science fiction.  Writing Tips:  1. Opening pages are important. Make sure your story begins in an exciting place. I often read openings where the character wakes up in the morning, gets ready for school or work, eats breakfast... And there's nothing compelling happening yet. When readers browse in a bookstore, if the first page doesn't grab them, they'll put the book back on the shelf. If you open on an exciting moment, you'll grab readers and get them emotionally invested in your character to keep them reading to find out what will happen next. Remember, if your characters are feeling bored or calm, your readers will start to snooze. If your characters are feeling strong emotions like fear or anger or longing, your readers will feel that with them, and they'll feel compelled to keep reading. 2. Before you submit, proofread your work carefully. Read your dialogue out loud to make sure it sounds natural, and ask a friend to read through it and catch anything you might have missed. Ask your reader to note any places where they felt confused. Sometimes authors know things about the story, such as a character's motivation, but they don't convey it clearly in their manuscript. Your reader will have more objectivity, and can let you know whether or not everything you want to convey in your story is coming across clearly to readers. 3. When it's time to submit, check each agency's website and read their submission guidelines. You can and should submit multiple queries at a time, but submit to only one agent at a time within an agency. (We often refer authors to each other, and it can cause confusion if two agents request the same manuscript within the same agency.) Be sure to follow the individual agent's guidelines, because some agents want just a query letter while others also want a synopsis and/or first pages. Also, some agents only accept email queries, so you could be wasting your time and paper if you submit by regular mail. Other times, agents aren't currently looking for clients and note this on their website. Also, make sure the agent handles the type of work you write.

Writing Tips from 2011 AWW Faculty -- Roseanne Wells

As part of our blog series, Antioch Writers' Workshop 2011 Faculty share their tips for writing. You can read complete bios of AWW 2011 Faculty at antiochwritersworkshop.com. Check back regularly for more helpful writing tips. Those registered for the full-week experience of the 2011 Antioch Writers' Workshop have the unique opportunity to participate in pitch sessions with visiting literary agents as well as attend talks in the Professional Connections Series. Suzie Townsend, who originally planned to join us at this summer's workshop, has had a conflict arise and can't be with us. However, we're pleased to announce Rosanne Wells as one of the TWO fantastic agents who will be joining the 2011 AWW Faculty. Roseanne Wells of Marianne Strong Literary Agency and arts reviewer for PlayShakespeare.com is one of two new visiting literary agents for the 2011 Antioch Writers' Workshop. Roseanne is interested in narrative nonfiction, science (popular or trade, not academic), history, true crime, religion, travel, humor, food/cooking, and similar subjects. She is also on the lookout for strong literary fiction, YA, sci-fi, fantasy, and smart detective novels (more Sherlock Holmes than cozy mysteries). Writing Tips: 1. Begin with the story. Don't spend your pages telling backstory (why the main character doesn't like his mother, how he's allergic to mustard, that time that he got to second base with a girl, etc.) It's important to draw your reader in with action and character development in that first sentence, paragraph, and page--plus, feeding the reader the information over the course of the book will give you more opportunities to create dramatic tension and heighten the stakes. 2. World-building is essential, in all types of fiction and even narrative nonfiction. I want to feel like I am there with the character. And creating an atmosphere (how chilly the beach was) can be much more effective than describing the scenic details (the sky was baby blue, and the ocean was azure). 3. Always proofread, and then have someone else proofread. A great manuscript can dilute grammatical errors, but a bad story--or even a perfectly fine one that just doesn't quite stand out--will make those mistakes big red flags.