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Local Author Quarterly
Welcome!!
Welcome to the Local Author Quarterly

Welcome to 2025!  The Local Author Quarterly is a Library newsletter highlighting library events of interest to writers of all kinds. Whether you are a poet, a novelist, a journalist or a biographer, we're excited to share resources with you.   
 
Keep writing!

Poetry Contest
 
It's time for the annual Los Gatos Poetry Contest, organized and judged by Los Gatos Poet Laureate, William Ward Butler. 
 
 Submissions will be accepted from anyone who lives or works in Los Gatos. Submissions to the contest are free, but are limited to up to five poems.
 
Poems can be written on any topic, in any style, although they should be suitable for a wide audience which may include younger members of the Los Gatos community and must not express hatred or prejudice.
 
Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in the following age categories, and all finalists are invited to participate in a celebratory reading at the Los Gatos Library.
 
Visit this website to learn more or submit your poems.  Good luck!
 
 
Working with a Literary Agent
 
Tuesday  January 28, 10 AM
 
Register to join this author talk live to ask questions, or watch it any time after it airs.  
 
You’re writing a book (or thinking about it), but what happens next? Join us for an inside look into working with an agent and the beginning stages of the publishing process with Seth Fishman, Vice President and Literary Agent at The Gernert Company.
 
The Gernert Company represents more than 500 authors and is a full-service literary agency with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Their client list is as broad as the market and they represent fiction, both literary and commercial (such as Liz Moore, John Grisham, Louise Penny, Cixin Liu), as well as general nonfiction and practical nonfiction genres. 
In this presentation, Fishman will deep dive into what happens after you’ve signed with a literary agent. He will cover many topics, including but not limited to: 
  • What agents are and are not looking for, 
  • How to submit your work to an agent and when, 
  • What to expect after you've both said "yes!" to working together, 
  • What you can look forward to as you ready your work with an eye towards submitting to publishers, including the revision process and so much more. 
This extended, 90-minute presentation, includes 30 minutes of Q&A. This is the year to make all of your publishing dreams come true. To learn about this beginning stage of the process, register now! 
About the Author: Head of the Los Angeles office, Seth is a Vice President and agent at The Gernert Company, which he joined in 2010 after beginning his career as an agent at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. Born in Midland, Texas, he graduated from Princeton University and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. His interests are wide-ranging, but in particular he's looking for the new voice, the original idea, the entirely breathtaking creative angle in both fiction and nonfiction. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and children, and is the author of the award-winning picture book, A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars, along with Power Up and The Ocean In Your Bathtub, as well as two YA books.
 
 
More Author Talks

For regular, monthly inspiration, check out these recurring events for authors.  
Online Author Talks
Find some inspiration when you need it. Check out this collection of author talks, available from wherever you are. Several new talks are added monthly, visit the calendar for a complete schedule. You can join in the conversation live, or view the recording later.  Upcoming authors include:
 
  • The Magic of Found Family: In Conversation with Author TJ Klune
  • Notes on Modern Irrationality with Bestselling Author Amanda Montell
  • An Inside Look at Working with a Literary Agent: A Conversation with Seth Fishman
  • How We Create Pandemics, From Our Bodies to Our Beliefs with Smithsonian Curator Sabrina Sholts
  • Dystopian Tropes from an Indigenous Perspective: In Conversation with Waubgeshig Rice
  • I Am Nobody’s Slave: An Author Talk with Pulitzer Prize Finalist Lee Hawkins
  • Power of Reset and How to Change What’s Not Working with Author Dan Heath
  • How Women’s Liberation Transformed America: In Conversation with Clara Bingham
  • Dreams We Chase: An Author Talk with Novelist Jennifer Weiner
  • Wordsmith and Wonder: An Author Talk with Jodi Picoult
  • The Stories, Science, and History of Trees with Smithsonian Gardens Greenhouse Horticulturalist Matthew Fleming
  •  
 
Listen to past author talks or see a complete list of authors.

Writing Instruction on Kanopy
Did you know that Kanopy has dozens of courses on film to help you become a better writer?  It's all free with your Los Gatos Library Card.  
 
Explore Writing Instruction on Kanopy
 
 
 
 
Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques
 
Writing great fiction isn't a gift reserved for a talented few - the craft of storytelling can be learned. Even if you don't dream of penning the next Moby-Dick, you'll enjoy exploring the elements of fiction. A wealth of exercises will get you writing so that you can practice the many techniques you learn. From evoking a scene to charting a plot, this course is a master class in storytelling.
Becoming a Great Essayist
 
If you have a clever anecdote, an interesting memory, a new way to explain how something works, or an opinion on a social or political issue, then you have an essay in you. Unlike a novel, history book, or scientific publication, essays provide you with the versatility to express all the various facets that make you you. The concise and direct nature of an essay means that you may tap into your sense of wit, share your individual point of view, persuade others to your perspective, and record a part of your memories for future generations in as many distinct essay forms as you wish.
Writer's Satchel
Need some inspiration?

Check out one of our Writer's Satchels. This kit has everything you need to move past a case of writer's block. Writing prompts, story cubes, a poetry kit, and inspiring words from Mary Oliver. Great for writers of all ages! 
 
Put one on hold here.  
Los Gatos Library
100 Villa Avenue, Los Gatos, California 95030
(408) 354-6891
library.losgatosca.gov