Mark was bitten by the writing bug at a young age, and he has always enjoyed storytelling. His first published short story appeared in 1992, the same year he began his career in bookselling.
Under the name Mark Leslie, he has published more than twenty-five full length books. He has penned a series of non-fiction paranormal explorations for Dundurn, Canada’s largest independent publisher. He also writes both long and short-form fiction (typically thrillers and Twilight Zone style speculative fiction) and edits fiction anthologies, most recently as a regular editor for the WMG Publishing Fiction River anthology series.
A hybrid author, Mark has indie published multiple books since 2004 under the Stark Publishing imprint, including a series of titles about the business of writing and publishing under his full name, Mark Leslie Lefebvre that include Publishing Pitfalls for Authors, Killing It On Kobo, and An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores.
Mark has spoken as both an author and publishing industry professional across Canada and the United States, as well as in the UK and Europe, and since 2018 he has hosted a weekly podcast on the business of writing and publishing called Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing.
His website is www.markleslie.ca.
Writing True Ghost Stories
An in depth look at the work involved in researching, writing, and publishing books about historic true ghost stories.
Details will include:
- The importance of learning and understanding history, particularly history as it relates to a specific locale
- Methods of research that involve in person interviews, library resources, online resources, local newspaper and magazine searches
- The importance of storytelling and the storytelling arc even in non-fiction essays/stories
- A look at the business of writing and publishing - including researching the market, pitching the book to a publisher/agent
There's Never Been A Better Time To Be A Writer
An encouraging and hopeful overview of the book industry from the perspective of a writer which includes a brief overview of the history of the publishing industry and where we are today. The talk explores the numerous opportunities and options that are available for writers both within traditional publishing channels as well as many of the emerging digital publishing options that now exist.
Writing True Ghost Stories
An in depth look at the work involved in researching, writing, and publishing books about historic true ghost stories.
Details will include:
- The importance of learning and understanding history, particularly history as it relates to a specific locale
- Methods of research that involve in person interviews, library resources, online resources, local newspaper and magazine searches
- The importance of storytelling and the storytelling arc even in non-fiction essays/stories
- A look at the business of writing and publishing - including researching the market, pitching the book to a publisher/agent
