Upcoming Courses and Events
All About Fantasy Virtual Retreat
Sponsored by The Story Engine
Join Bianca Marais (the bestselling author of The Witches of Moonshyne Manor and a cohost on The Shit No One Tells You About Writing) on the 28th of September from 9am-5pm ET as she hosts a one-day virtual retreat specifically aimed at fantasy authors!
Whether you write YA Fantasy, Romantasy, Adult Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Dystopian Fiction, or any other variation of the genre, you won’t want to miss out on this amazing day of learning dedicated especially to you and those writing in your genre.
The incredible lineup of speakers includes:
The retreat will be taped - the recording and materials will be sent out to all registered delegates the next day. Each session that includes a Q and A will allow you to ask the speakers all your burning questions.
A closed Facebook group will be created so that delegates can interact with one another before and after the retreat as a way of building and maintaining community.
The Story Engine, who is sponsoring the retreat, is hosting an awesome giveaway of an "All Things Fantasy Storytelling" package that contains a copy of each of their decks, Story Engine Deck and Deck of Worlds, each with their associated Fantasy Expansions, the Mythology, Dystopian, and Fairy Tale Boosters valued at $237 CAD. All registered delegates will automatically be entered into the draw for this incredible prize which will be announced at the end of the retreat.
The Story Engine will offer an exclusive 15% limited discount code for all delegates when they shop on the website.
The early bird discount will apply for one day only on the 16th of August which is when registrations will open at US $ 109.00.
After that, the registration fee will be US $ 149.00.
Whether you write YA Fantasy, Romantasy, Adult Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Dystopian Fiction, or any other variation of the genre, you won’t want to miss out on this amazing day of learning dedicated especially to you and those writing in your genre.
The incredible lineup of speakers includes:
- Author Tomi Adeyemi who is a Time100, #1 New York Times Best-Selling, Hugo and Nebula award-winning novelist and screenwriter. She has worked with Disney, Amazon, and Netflix, and penned the adaptation of her best-selling series for Paramount Studios. Her novels include Children of Blood and Bone, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, and Children of Anguish and Anarchy.
- Topic: Writing the Breakout Fantasy Debut Novel (a one hour presentation followed by a half an hour Q & A).
- Author Amber Chen who is the UK #1 bestselling author of the YA silkpunk fantasy novel, Of Jade and Dragons. She is currently based in sweltering Singapore and spends much of her free time living within Chinese fantasy novels and dramas. She also drinks one too many cups of bubble tea. One of her webnovels, The Cutting Edge, has been adapted for television.
- Topic: Pacing in YA Fantasy Through a Screenwriter's Lens (a one hour presentation followed by a half an hour Q & A).
- Author Andrea Hairston who is a novelist, essayist, playwright, and the artistic director of Chrysalis Theatre. She is the author of Redwood and Wildfire, winner of the 2011 Otherwise Award and the Carl Brandon Kindred Award, and Mindscape, short-listed for the Philip K. Dick and Otherwise Awards and winner of the Carl Brandon Parallax Award. In her spare time, she is the Louise Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor of Theatre and Afro-American Studies at Smith College. Hairston has received the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts Distinguished Scholarship Award for outstanding contributions to the criticism of the fantastic. She bikes at night year-round, meeting bears and the occasional shooting star.
- Topic: Dramatic World Building: How to make Setting, Cosmology, and Backstory part of the Action in Fantasy (a one hour presentation followed by a half an hour Q & A).
- Literary Agent Mary C. Moore who has represented the Nebula-nominated The Unbroken by C.L. Clark (Orbit,2021); and Indie Next and Book of the Month pick The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker (Inkyard, 2021). Mary’s first career was in field biology, which took her around the world, from Ghana to Costa Rica to Maui, before settling at the San Francisco Zoo. But her love of books proved to be just as strong as her love of animals. While working at the zoo she earned her MFA in Creative Writing and English at Mills College, Oakland. She worked as a literary agent at Kimberley Cameron & Associates before moving to Aevitas. Mary represents a wide range of fiction as an Aevitas agent based in the Bay Area.
- Topic: Mary will critique 3-4 query letters submitted by delegates ahead of the retreat. (This one-hour critique session will be recorded a few days ahead of the retreat as Mary is unable to attend it live, but every delegate will have the opportunity to have their work potentially selected by Mary for the critique).
- Elizabeth Hitti who joined the Atria editorial team in 2022 and works on a range of bestselling fiction that includes fantasy, rom-com, cozy mysteries, and speculative fiction. She acquires romantasies, cozy fantasies, and romance novels that are plot-driven, swoony, and escapist, while seamlessly layered with emotional and intellectual depth. She is especially drawn to novels featuring observant social commentary, poignant family dynamics, nuanced characters, chemistry that leaps off the page, and any form of magic. Her upcoming fantasy titles include The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski (S&S's Top Shelf Pick for Fall 2024), Hopelessly Teavoted by Audrey Ruoff, and The Underachiever's Guide to Love and Saving the World by Sloane Brooks.
- Topic: Romantasy and the Cozy Fantasy - Everything You Need to Know About These Two Best-Selling Trends (a one hour presentation followed by a half an hour Q & A).
- Sanaa Ali-Virani who is an Assistant Editor at Tor Publishing Group.
- Topic: How to Make an Editor Fall in Love with Your Book (a 45-minute presentation followed by a 15-minute Q & A)
The retreat will be taped - the recording and materials will be sent out to all registered delegates the next day. Each session that includes a Q and A will allow you to ask the speakers all your burning questions.
A closed Facebook group will be created so that delegates can interact with one another before and after the retreat as a way of building and maintaining community.
The Story Engine, who is sponsoring the retreat, is hosting an awesome giveaway of an "All Things Fantasy Storytelling" package that contains a copy of each of their decks, Story Engine Deck and Deck of Worlds, each with their associated Fantasy Expansions, the Mythology, Dystopian, and Fairy Tale Boosters valued at $237 CAD. All registered delegates will automatically be entered into the draw for this incredible prize which will be announced at the end of the retreat.
The Story Engine will offer an exclusive 15% limited discount code for all delegates when they shop on the website.
The early bird discount will apply for one day only on the 16th of August which is when registrations will open at US $ 109.00.
After that, the registration fee will be US $ 149.00.
Hacking Writing on a Line Level: A 3-Day Event
No matter what genre you write in, knowing how to elevate your writing on a line level is an essential skill. But what does strong writing on a line level look like exactly? Are there rules and/or techniques that can help storytellers elevate their writing?
And how can writers know if they’re improving this element of the craft?
Join CeCe not just to unpack strong writing on a line level, but to learn how to *hack* it!
This class will be jam packed with real-world examples of writing on a line level that work—and that don’t.
All examples, all the time.
For the first time ever, we're meeting for 3 days!
November 7th at 8pm ET: First Craft Session November 11th at 8pm ET: Second Craft Session November 26th at 8pm ET: Live, cozy Q&A session (attendees will have the option of turning on their cameras and interacting with CeCe)
Come prepared to take lots of notes!
If you’ve taken this class before, then the First Craft Session on November 7th will feel familiar to you, but the Second Craft Session will include new techniques and workshops!
Don’t worry if you have to leave early or if you can’t attend one (or more) sessions live: all sessions will be recorded and each recording will be emailed to everyone who is registered 24h later. Recordings will be available to the viewer for a limited time.
And how can writers know if they’re improving this element of the craft?
Join CeCe not just to unpack strong writing on a line level, but to learn how to *hack* it!
This class will be jam packed with real-world examples of writing on a line level that work—and that don’t.
All examples, all the time.
For the first time ever, we're meeting for 3 days!
November 7th at 8pm ET: First Craft Session November 11th at 8pm ET: Second Craft Session November 26th at 8pm ET: Live, cozy Q&A session (attendees will have the option of turning on their cameras and interacting with CeCe)
Come prepared to take lots of notes!
If you’ve taken this class before, then the First Craft Session on November 7th will feel familiar to you, but the Second Craft Session will include new techniques and workshops!
Don’t worry if you have to leave early or if you can’t attend one (or more) sessions live: all sessions will be recorded and each recording will be emailed to everyone who is registered 24h later. Recordings will be available to the viewer for a limited time.
The Author's Publishing Playbook
Proven strategies to prepare your manuscript, pitch your book, and get your work published.
Unlock the methods to staying published and successfully promoting your books.
Unlock the methods to staying published and successfully promoting your books.
Webinars and Recordings
To look at recordings of webinars that Bianca offers,
and to see what she's currently teaching,
head over to:
www.biancamarais.com/courses-and-recordings.html
To look at recordings of webinars that CeCe offers,
and to see what she's currently teaching,
head over to:
cecilialyra.com/webinars/
To look at recordings of webinars that Bianca offers,
and to see what she's currently teaching,
head over to:
www.biancamarais.com/courses-and-recordings.html
To look at recordings of webinars that CeCe offers,
and to see what she's currently teaching,
head over to:
cecilialyra.com/webinars/