LOOKING FOR: ADULT FICTION, NON-FICTION Julie Gourinchas (she/they) is developing a selective list focused on upmarket and literary adult fiction across a wide variety of genres. Writers she represents have been nominated for the British Book Awards, the Hugo Awards, the BSFA Awards, and the Saltire National Book Awards, among others. In fiction, she's drawn to a uncommon voices, and striking, intelligent writing – whether vibrant and floral or tense, quick, and sparse – as well as texture in both tone and setting (particularly anything with a strong aesthetic). Above all, she is looking for hooky, high-concept work, but her taste can perhaps be best summarised as "the weird, dark, and gruesome." While literary-speculative is her sweet spot, she considers herself genre agnostic within upmarket/literary fiction, and remains open to compelling and well-executed genre overlap. These include: upmarket and literary horror: especially featuring feminist or cultural themes, body horror, mangled nature, or cosmic, Lovecraftian vibes and looking for a fresh, literary take on vampires. Think Mona Awad, Lucy Rose, Julia Armfield, Jade Song, Stephen Graham Jones. dark and spiky literary dramas with high emotional stakes - think Eliza Clark, Julia May Jonas. razor-sharp dark academia particularly with something to say about the complex and exploitative systems within academia, more The Secret History, less The Atlas Six. gothic fiction, specifically regional gothic anchored in an evocative sense of place in the vein of Alexis Henderson and Alix E. Harrow. grounded fantasy or otherwise speculative fiction with coherent, sharp worldbuilding that feels recognisable and familiar, or directly set in our world. Play with magic, faith, and technology in your story like Babel, or a more literary version like Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, Blood Over Bright Haven, Metal From Heaven. Searing contemporary fiction centred on themes of identity and belonging: think Sally Rooney, Torrey Peters, or what Saltburn should have been. dark westerns, in particular any that play with the truth and false hopes of the American Dream. magical realism both whimsy with a touch of darkness, and darkness with a touch of whimsy. unhappy romances anything -punk: steampunk, solarpunk, silkpunk, clockpunk, dieselpunk, cyberpunk and more of these! Suffice to say: if you can successfully and smartly comp to Arcane, Julie wants to see it! character-focused historical fiction with a literary edge: think Lauren Groff, Anthony Doerr, Eleanor Catton, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries; including and indeed encouraging alternate history. Stylistically, Julie loves uncommon, thought-provoking experimentation with both prose and form, and anything spiky, toothy, and dark. Happy endings, to her, should feel earned. In all things, compelling character development should come first. First person narration is not impossible, but hard to sell. A smart genre blend is always welcome, as is any fresh-eyed approach to a well-trodden trope. Julie is also very much looking for her first romantasy – especially one that approaches this exciting new genre from a fresh, bold perspective. She is keenly interested in hearing from authors traditionally underrepresented in the industry, including but not restricted to writers of colour; queer, trans, and nonbinary writers; working class writers; disabled writers; etc. Her enduring favourite books include All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien, The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series. More recent favourites include the masterful Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, Babel by R.F. Kuang, Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters, Matrix by Lauren Groff, Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt, Brother Alive by Zain Khalid, and Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. In non-fiction, Julie is keen to read in the narrative and “big ideas” spaces, particularly in the realms of politics, history, and the social sciences. Please note: Julie is not looking for young adult, middle grade, and children’s books. Strictly no AI-generated content of any description. Please also bear in mind that, despite a deep and abiding love for all things Tolkien and Star Wars, she is not typically the right fit for epic or high fantasy, nor space-faring science fiction. She would also prefer to avoid pulpy crime and straightforward romance/romcoms. Julie would like you to submit a covering letter, 1 page synopsis and the first 5,000 words of your manuscript in a single word document. (In addition to the paid sessions, Julie is kindly offering one free session for low income/under-represented writers. Please email agent121@iaminprint.co.uk to apply, outlining your case for this option which is offered at the discretion of I Am In Print). By booking you understand you need to conduct an internet connection test with I Am In Print prior to the event. You also agree to email your material in one document to reach I Am In Print by the stated submission deadline and note that I Am In Print take no responsibility for the advice received during your agent meeting. The submission deadline is: Tuesday 29th April 2025
This programme helps communicators to prepare for and deliver an effective speech. Here, you learn to motivate people by speaking to them in terms of the benefits they will receive by taking action. Each instructional segment is followed by participant speeches that put the newly-learned skills into action. We cover public speaking fear and how to move forward despite it, as well as increasing enthusiasm. This builds speaker confidence. By organising information clearly for the audience, participants grow in their conviction and are perceived more as experts. Delegates will be able to: Work through fear of public speaking; Build confidence and enthusiasm by creating meaningful, memorable speeches; Develop greater abilities for thinking and speaking with less preparation; Minimise self-defeating speech and behavior; and Present ideas to, and inspire the audience. Online Format—Introduction to Public Speaking is a 4-hour interactive virtual class. Register for this class and you will be sent ONLINE login instructions prior to the class date. Working with Dr. Atkins of Improving Communications has been a very positive experience. Everything about the program is exemplary! Managers have made it a point to tell me how pleased they are with the improvements made in the communications skills of the participants. The Professional Development Workshop is an extremely effective program. The participants are looking forward to follow-up sessions with Dr. Atkins and we recommend his programs. Heather Ragone, Training ManagerNetwork General
If you don't want to go to a group yoga class or prefer to learn on your own at your own time & pace, I offer private yoga classes
Negotiating Skills ► Into Action strengthens participants’ ability to apply a collaborative, problem-solving approach to the negotiating process. It is exercise-based, highly interactive and designed to yield results that can be put to use immediately. Outcomes – Participants will be able to: Recognize their default negotiating style Work more effectively with clients who have different styles Understand the process of collaborative negotiations Prepare appropriately for an upcoming negotiation Craft agreements that satisfy both party’s underlying interests Format—Negotiating Skills ► Into Action is a 4-hour interactive virtual class. Register for this class and you will be sent ONLINE login instructions prior to the class date. Dr. Atkins, thank you for sharing ‘Language of Happiness and Power of Praise‘ with our chapter! We enjoyed the interactive presentation and your professionalism. I received positive feedback from our members—there is nothing better than that! Thanks again. Olga Otero, Chapter PresidentHuman Resources Association of Palm Beach County (HRPBC)
Advanced C++ training course description The course will give a broad overview of the C++ Programming language, focusing on modern C++, up to C++17. This course will cover the use of the Standard Library, including containers, iterator, function objects and algorithms. From the perspective of application development, a number of design patterns will be considered. What will you learn Write C++ programs using the more esoteric language features. Utilise OO techniques to design C++ programs. Use the standard C++ library. Exploit advanced C++ techniques Advanced C++ training course details Who will benefit: Programmers needing to write C++ code. Programmers needing to maintain C++ code. Prerequisites: C++ programming foundation. Duration 5 days Advanced C++ training course contents Study of a string class Create a string class as a means to investigate many issues, involving the use of operator overloading and including overloading new and delete. Creation of the class will also require consideration of 'const correctness'. Exception handling Consider the issues involved in exception handling including the concept of exception safety. Templates Review definition of template functions, including template parameter type deduction. Introduction to template metaprogramming. Newer features including template template parameters and variadic templates. Creation of template classes. Design patterns Introduction to Design Patterns and consideration of a number of patterns, such as, factory method, builder, singleton and adapter. The standard C++ library (STL) Standard Library features, such as, Containers, Iterator, Function Objects and Algorithms. Introduction to Lambda expressions. C++ and performance The writing of code throughout the course will be oriented towards performant code, including use of R Value references and 'move' semantics. Pointers The use of pointers will be considered throughout the course. Smart pointers will be considered to improve program safety and help avoid the use of 'raw' pointers. Threading This section will consider the creation of threads and synchronisation issues. A number of synchronisation primitives will be considered. Async and the use of Atomic will also be considered. New ANSI C++ features Summarising some of the newer features to be considered are: Auto, Lambdas expression, smart pointers, variadic templates and folds, R Value references and tuple together with structured binding.
Advanced Java training course description A tour of the more advanced features of Java following on from the Introduction to Java course. JDBC and JavaBeans are covered in separate courses. What will you learn Use Java to implement OOA/D. Use within Java programs - Internationalisation - Object serialisation - Reflection - RMI - Swing - JAR files Write Servlets and Java Server Pages Advanced Java training course details Who will benefit: Those wishing to program in Java. Prerequisites: Introduction to Java programming Duration 5 days Advanced Java training course contents What you should already know OO features in Java Static initialisers, object destruction, finalisation, constructor chaining, shadowing, Abstract classes and interfaces, inner classes, nested classes, member classes, local classes, anonymous classes. Internationalisation Locales, Unicode, local customs, localising messages. Object Serialisation Simple and custom serialisation, class versioning. Reflection Obtaining class and member information. RMI Restrictions, RMI architecture, Stubs, skeletons, rmic, the registry server, The RMI API. Swing An overview, examples, comparison vs. AWT, data transfer cut & paste. Servlets Servlet API, Java Web server, The servlet life cycle, chaining servlets, Hybrid servlets. JAR files and signed applet JAR files and signed applet
WE WORK HARD TO BE MORE PRODUCTIVE AND AVOID WASTING TIME. THEREFORE, THE MEETINGS WE HAVE SHOULD BE IMPORTANT. In order to make the best use of our time, we need to be efficient. Our main goal is to increase productivity and avoid wasting time. Therefore, it is important that the meetings we have are meaningful and necessary. Unlike the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” we want our meeting attendees to understand the value of our work. We show them by setting a good example. Over time, they realize that our meetings are held for important reasons. When attendees know that our meetings are productive, respectful (in terms of length and content relevance), and serve a purpose, they are happy to attend and contribute their best. This class will help participants organize their ideas and communicate clearly. As facilitators, you will learn to be concise and communicate with confidence. By running more productive sessions, you will increase satisfaction and open up dialogue with your audience. FORGE AHEAD – THE REWARDS AWAIT.THROUGH THE IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS RUNNING EFFECTIVE MEETINGS CLASS, YOU WILL: Gain new perspective and methods to create better, more productive sessions; Have a clear purpose to keep focus and engage with interest; Inspire facilitator-audience dialogue, ensuring a genuine exchange of ideas; Manage distractions and disruptions appropriately, keeping efficiency; and Probe for information, getting the most useful level of detail for improvement. Online Format—Running Effective Meetings is a 4-hour interactive online class for up to six people. Register for this class and you will be sent ONLINE login instructions prior to the class date. As a trainer and human resources professional, I truly believe in the value that Dr. Atkins can add to any organization. The seminar he provided was easy to follow and thought provoking. His personable demeanor along with his humble spirit and obvious expertise make his sessions gems that you cannot afford to pass up. Deirdre Cash, PHRPaco Group, NYC
Leading SAFe®: In-House Training During this course, attendees gain the knowledge necessary to lead a Lean-Agile enterprise by using the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®) and its underlying principles derived from Lean, systems thinking, Agile development, product development flow, and DevOps. Participants in the class gain insights into mastering business agility to thrive in competitive markets. They discuss how to establish team and technical agility and organize and re-organize around the flow of value. Attendees also learn and practice the skills to support and execute PI Planning events and coordinate multiple Agile Release Trains (ARTs). Class participants will explore the importance of adopting a customer-centric mindset and Design-Thinking approach to Agile Product Delivery. Learners will also understand how to implement a Lean Portfolio Management function within their enterprise. What you will Learn After attending this class, attendees should be able to: Lead the transformation to business agility with SAFe® Become a Lean-Agile leader Understand customer needs Design Thinking Enable Agile Product delivery Implement Lean Portfolio Management Thrive in the digital age with business agility Become a Lean-Agile leader Establish Team and Technical Agility Build solutions with Agile Product Delivery Explore Lean Portfolio Management Lead the change Become a Certified SAFe® Agilist
Leading SAFe®: Virtual In-House Training During this course, attendees gain the knowledge necessary to lead a Lean-Agile enterprise by using the Scaled Agile Framework® (SAFe®) and its underlying principles derived from Lean, systems thinking, Agile development, product development flow, and DevOps. Participants in the class gain insights into mastering business agility to thrive in competitive markets. They discuss how to establish team and technical agility and organize and re-organize around the flow of value. Attendees also learn and practice the skills to support and execute PI Planning events and coordinate multiple Agile Release Trains (ARTs). Class participants will explore the importance of adopting a customer-centric mindset and Design-Thinking approach to Agile Product Delivery. Learners will also understand how to implement a Lean Portfolio Management function within their enterprise. What you will Learn After attending this class, attendees should be able to: Lead the transformation to business agility with SAFe® Become a Lean-Agile leader Understand customer needs Design Thinking Enable Agile Product delivery Implement Lean Portfolio Management Thrive in the digital age with business agility Become a Lean-Agile leader Establish Team and Technical Agility Build solutions with Agile Product Delivery Explore Lean Portfolio Management Lead the change Become a Certified SAFe® Agilist
PIEROGI or Dumplings are Poland's best loved dish. In this class I’ll will share with you my Grandma's original recipe.