Writer Coaching from Industry Experts

We’re happy to announce that registration for the next round of Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Horror Coaching with Beth Marshea is officially open for February 2027…and at a reduced cost!

Taken courses with us before? Email us for a returning student discount code and save even more.

Register here for this 10-week program led by an amazing literary agent! Only 6 spots are available!

In other news, our Discord Server is back up and running. Join in to chat about writing, books, your pets, and make new online writing friends! Go to syww.org and click the Discord link. Approval is required.

Publishing Opportunities…
The Hudson Review – Prose – General – November 30
Written Tales – Prose & Poetry – General – open submission (fee for non-members)
Philly Chapbook Review – Prose & Poetry – See guidelines – December 15
Full Bleed – Prose & Poetry – Delivery – December 31

A backstory device…
If you’re writing about a character who has been marred, check out Start with Scars, the upcoming workshop presented by Marion Lougheed of Off-Topic Publishing. This virtual 3-hour workshop will run on November 19, starting at 12pm ET (6pm CET) and will teach you how to work those scars into your character’s backstory.
NOTE: This workshop will not be recorded.

A networking opportunity…
The Authors’ Gathering will take place on Thursday, November 26th from 6-9pm ET in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. This event is in person and welcomes writers at any stage, from any genre!

The myths that made us…
advaya will be hosting a 2-day virtual Mythology Summit from November 18-19, featuring mythologists, writers, artists, and teachers. The summit aims to dive into the stories that have shaped cultures and still run through the books we write, read, and love today. The Mythology Summit is free to watch live, but there is a cost for lifetime access to the sessions.

Quote of the week…
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
― Pablo Picasso

P.S. Speaking of summits…watch for emails updating SYWW’s plans for 2027!

Publishing Opportunities…
Bridge Journal – Prose & Poetry – Culture & society (see guidelines) – November 30 (submission fee)
Sheep Meadow Press – Poetry – General – December 15 (opens November 15)
Little Fruits Magazine – Prose – Winter preserves – Nov 1-7, Dec 1-7, Jan 1-7
Unbound Ink – Prose & Poetry – General – February 1

A west coast conference…
The San Francisco Writers Conference is coming in February 2027 and registration is open. Featuring over 100 presenters, and offering the opportunity to network with acquiring editors and agents, this is not one to miss.

The Romantasy Queen continues her reign…
Sarah J. Maas’ latest release has sustained her dominance in the romantasy genre with A Court of Splintered Harmony becoming the UK’s fastest-selling adult fantasy novel since records began in 1998. The book is #6 in Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series, and the first of a four-part story. The next two installments set to release in January 2027, both contained in A Court of Forgotten Melody.

All about indie…
The Toronto Indie Author Conference is back for 2027. Taking place from April 16-18 at the YWCA, the conference offers authors the opportunity to learn anything and everything about taking their careers into their own hands.

Quote of the week…
“My bursting heart must find vent at my pen.”
– Abigail Adams

Publishing Opportunities…
The Lucknow Review: The Egghead – Prose (Essays) – Cultural criticism & critical essays – November 15
WayWords Literary Journal – Prose & Poetry – City – November 20
Black Lawrence Press: Fair Copy – Prose – General (includes early draft and craft essay – see guidelines) – December 31
Swamp Ape Review Zine – Prose & Poetry – Existing – January 1

Sci-Fi returns to Toronto…
The Northern Skies Science Fiction Society has announced a brand new one-day SF con with NorthCon, which will take place on April 24, 2027. The con is very affordable ($15 members/$20 at the door) and will include panels, a dealer room, and lots of opportunity to connect and reconnect with the sci-fi community. No website yet, but those interested can email NorthConSF@yahoo.com

For the collectors….
Audiobook publisher RBMedia has announced a vinyl audiobook edition of A Court of Splintered Harmony, the much-anticipated sixth installment in Sarah J. Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series which released earlier this week. This collector’s item is quite limited: only 10,000 copies will be available, worldwide.

Getting in the spooky spirit…
Just in time for Halloween, 1000 Libraries Magazine shares a collection of library hauntings, guaranteed to get you in the mood for tomorrow!

Quote of the week…
“The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.”
– Thomas Mann

Publishing Opportunities…
IHRM – Prose & Poetry – Social Justice – November 15
Kreatif – Prose & Poetry – General – November 30
The Queer Love Project – Poetry – Queer identity – December 22
Flare: The Flagler Review – Prose & Poetry – General – January 15

Hate marketing…?
The Federation of B.C. Writers presents Writing Marketing Intensive: Books That Sell, a five day webinar for writers who are sick of trying to figuring out the marketing piece of their writing life on their own. The Intensive runs from November 16th to 20th and will be available to participants for 45 days after the last session.

Resisting the divide…
Writers tend to be divided into plotters or pantsers, often with plantsers straddling the divide or bouncing between the two. In her guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog, writer Karmen Spiljak digs into resisting these labels and considering novel prep in a more organic sense.

A day for authors…
The Seattle Writing Day Workshop will take place November 6-7, 2026. This online full-day event offers classes, query and page reviews, as well as the opportunity to pitch agents across genres.

Quote of the week…
“You should write because you love the shape of stories and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.”
– Annie Proulx

Publishing Opportunities…
Mantis – Poetry – General – November 30
Jambu Press: The Veena – Poetry – Sacred spaces – December 10
Superpresent – Prose & Poetry – NOIR – December 10
Unleash Press – Epistolary Prose & Poetry – Dear Body – January 12, 2027 (submission fee)

A literary day…
On November 7-8, Collingwood Public Library (in Collingwood, ON) will host CollingWord, celebrating the South Georgian Bay Writers’ Connection, and providing a literary weekend for writers and readers alike. This event is free to attend, though panels require registration.

Or a literary week…
The Afterwords Literary Festival will take place in various venues across Halifax, NS, from November 1-8 and includes workshops, a book crawl, readings, and events for adults, teens, and kids.

National Book Awards announcement…
The National Book Foundation has chosen actor Kyle MacLachlan to host for the 2026 National Book Awards, which will take place on November 18th in Lower Manhattan. Michelle Zauner, frontwoman for the band Japanese Breakfast, has been selected as the musical guest.

Quote of the week…
“You will never regret writing a story down. You only regret the stories you don’t tell.”
– Laura Stroud

Publishing Opportunities…
Lawrence Landing Company – Prose & Poetry – Blue – November 1 (anthology submissions: free, collection submissions: fee)
Mukoli – Prose & Poetry – Place in peace – November 15
Waywords Fiction Potluck – A special place – Prose – November 15
Fahmidan Journal – Prose & Poetry – General – December 15

The right to read…
October 4-10 is Banned Books Week and Publishers Weekly has published a deep dive into how freedom-to-read bills can find success and come to pass in the United States.

October reads…
Looking for a new read this month or hoping to get an early start on the holidays? Bookfinity shares their top picks for October with something different for a variety of reading types.

The Nobel goes to…
The 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson, the third Canadian to win the award, along with Saul Bellow and Alice Munro. Carson’s varied literary career has also included published scholarship, libretti and translations.

Quote of the week…
“I think the job of writing and literature is to encourage each one of us to believe that we’re living in a story.”
– Naomi Shihab Nye

Publishing opportunities…
The Phare – Prose & Poetry – General (see guidelines) – November 27 (submission fee)
Abraxas Review – Prose & Poetry – General – November 30
Wallstrait – Prose – General – December 1 (submission fee, but pays)
Zoetic Press – Prose & Poetry (for 4LPH4NUM3R1C podcast) – Speculative – December 31

Expert insights…
Last week industry expert Jane Friedman held her mid-year update, covering sales, trends, and factors affecting various genres across publishing. Friedman’s insights and commentary are valuable not only for industry professionals, but for authors in both the traditional and indie spaces.

Mirror, mirror…
In her recent blog post, book coach Nicole Whisler lays out seven methods for describing your protagonist’s appearance without resorting to the dreaded mirror cliche (while also showing an example of where the mirror can actually work!).

An author chat…
On Saturday, October 10th, Chapters in Mississauga, Ontario will be hosting a conversation between authors Corinne Leigh Clark and Kelley Armstrong, to celebrate Clark’s book The Butcher’s Daughter (written with David Demchuk). There will also be a book signing after the event.

Quote of the week…
“Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotizing yourself and going over the work coldly.”
– Anne Lamott

Publishing opportunities…
Tar River Poetry – Poetry – September 30 (submission fee)
Disco Kitchen – Prose & Poetry – General – October 31 (submission fee)
Hushmarrow Press – Prose – The things we bury – November 15
Odd Lobster Press – Prose & Poetry – November 23

Leveraging print sales…
Author and publisher Mark Leslie Lefebvre will be releasing A Book In Hand in November 2026, a guide to help authors optimize their print sales. Early access and all of the details are available via Mark’s just-launched Kickstarter. 

A local book festival…
Booktoberfest is coming to Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, home of Oktoberfest. On October 3rd Gaukel Block will host in downtown Kitchener, and on Oct 10 the festival will be in uptown Waterloo at Old Goat books. Meet local authors, get a jump on the holidays, or pick up some new reads for yourself! 

A resource to ramp up the stress…
I’ve recently picked up Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi’s The Emotion Amplifier Thesaurus (Second Ed), one of the only titles from their collection I didn’t already have. While The Emotion Thesaurus focuses on character expression, this volume is to help you write character stress. And what character doesn’t need more stress?

Quote of the week…
“What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.” – Carl Sagan

Publishing opportunities…
shoegaze literary – Prose & Poetry – Reality Bites Back – October 15
Lemondwood Quarterly – Prose (plays/short stories) – General (see guidelines) – October 16 (submission fee)
Sabre Lake Publishing – Poetry – Senses – October 31
Alchemical Journal – Prose- Literary Speculative – October 31

A quick-read resource…
This week I picked up Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes after one of my favourite authors recommended it on Instagram. This little volume is under 100 pages and covers all the beats you need to ensure you hit in a romance arc, even if you’re not writing romance. She stresses the usefulness of these tips at all stages of writing, from outlining to editing. I read it in a day and will be putting her advice to work as I structure the next draft.

A sci-fi presentation…
On Thursday, September 24, from 7-9pm MT, the Alexandra Writers Centre will host author Nancy Kress to discuss “Why Write Science Fiction? The Good, the Bad, and the Dangerous.” This is a one night in-person event in Calgary, Alberta. Details here!

A literary life recognized…
Salman Rushdie will receive the 2026 Medal for Distinguished Contribution from the National Book Foundation for his literary achievements over the past fifty years. 

Quote of the week…
“I write for the same reason I breathe – because if I didn’t, I would die.”
– Isaac Asimov