UPDATES

Follow this page for the latest updates on the BC Writers Summit.

We will be adding information about keynote speaker, special guests, programs, and registration soon.

Check back on march 1st for our keynote Announcement!

Mark your calendars.  The 2021 BC Writer's Summit is going to be an exciting online event.  We know that sitting in front of your computer all day isn't much fun, so we have spaced it out over a week to give our minds and bodies the rest we need to enjoy our summit.

We are so excited to announce the Keynote Speaker for this year's BC Writers' Summit is Jessica Brody, Author of 'Save the Cat! Writes a Novel'.  She will be joining us for 2 events.  In addition to our keynote, Brody has agreed to have a special fire side chat for our members.

Jessica Brody is the author of more than 20 novels for teens, tweens, and adults including The Geography of Lost Things, The Chaos of Standing Still, A Week of Mondays, 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, Better You Than Me, the Unremembered trilogy, and the System Divine trilogy (Sky Without Stars, Between Burning Worlds, and Suns Will Rise) which is a sci-fi reimagining of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, co-written with Joanne Rendell. She’s also the author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel (the #1 bestselling plotting guide for novelists) and several books based on popular Disney franchises like Descendants and LEGO Disney Princess. Jessica’s books have been translated and published in over 23 countries and several have been optioned for film and television. She lives with her husband and three dogs near Portland, OR

Visit her online at JessicaBrody.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaBrody or Instagram @JessicaBrody

Andrew completed the Bachelor of Music degree (2008) from Baylor University in piano performance (cum laude) and the Master of Music degree (2010) in applied music (piano) from the University of Alberta. Andrew served on the executive committee for the Alberta Piano Teachers Association as the Continuing Education Convener and maintained a busy studio at Taylor College for 10 years. He has relocated to the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island where he continues to teach. He is also an examiner for the Canadian National Conservatory of Music.

For 3 separate, mid day sessions, Andrew has volunteered to serenade writers who want to be inspired by live music as they create.   With each session, he will introduce the pieces he has planned and give us some insight into the composers who created them.  We are excited to have Andrew join us for the conference.  To learn more about him, visit his website at www.AndrewSimsPiano.com

Into the Dark Woods: This workshop focuses on retellings and emphasizes the ways writers can incorporate symbolism and archetypes found in fairy tales and myths in order to strengthen these inherent associations within the confines of story.

Carina Bissett is a writer, poet, and educator working primarily in the fields of dark fiction and fabulism. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in multiple journals and anthologies including Bitter Distillations: An Anthology of Poisonous Tales, Arterial Bloom, Gorgon: Stories of Emergence, Weird Dream Society, Hath No Fury, and the HWA Poetry Showcase Vol. V and VI. She has also written stories set in shared worlds for RPGs at Green Ronin Publishing and Onyx Path Publishing. She teaches online workshops at The Storied Imaginarium, and she is a graduate of the Creative Writing MFA program at Stonecoast. Her work has been nominated for several awards including the Pushcart Prize and the Sundress Publications Best of the Net. Links to her work can be found at http://carinabissett.com.

Fancy a Life of Crime? 

Cathy Ace’s Welsh Canadian criminal psychologist sleuth Cait Morgan encounters traditional, closed-circle whodunits around the world, while her internationally bestselling WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries feature a quartet of soft-boiled female PIs who solve cozier cases from their office at a Welsh stately home. Her standalone suspense novel, The Wrong Boy, has been optioned for TV (as have her Cait Morgan Mysteries). Shortlisted for Canada’s Bony Blithe Award three times in four years, winning in 2015, she’s also won IPPY and IBA Awards, and has been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award. Cathy lives in Canada, having migrated from Wales aged 40, and is a past Chair of Crime Writers of Canada.
WEBSITE: CATHY ACE CRIME WRITER

An overview of all the major crime fiction subgenres, with guidance about reader and publisher expectations, as well as some great examples of what you can read to build your insights into what works well in the current world of crime fiction.

Our friends at Darling Axe will be offering Blue Pencil Query Letter and Writing Sample Review.  All registrants will receive a 15 minute consultation to get feedback on their submitted 1 page letter and first page (double spaced 12 pt font) of their manuscript.  Michelle and David know a thing or two about the writing industry and most agents/publishers will know by the first page if a work ready for publication.  This review will give you a taste.  Participants are free to engage Darling Axe for more detailed reviews or follow up to suggested changes.  Register early as we only have 40 spots available!

Michelle Barker is an author/editor from Vancouver, B.C. Her fiction, non-fiction and poetry have been published in literary reviews around the world. Her novel, The House of One Thousand Eyes (Annick Press), was named a Kirkus Best Book of 2018 and has won numerous awards including the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award. Her newest novel My Long List of Impossible Things was named a Top Ten Best Bets by the Ontario Library Association. Michelle holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and works as a senior editor at the Darling Axe.

David Brown founded DarlingAxe.com in 2018 after working as a freelance editor for more than 15 years. He is an award-winning short fiction writer, and his debut novel is represented by the Donaghy Literary Group. He has published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in magazines and literary journals, and he has an MFA in creative writing from UBC. David lives in Victoria, in the traditional territory of the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.

http://darlingaxe.com/

World-building is often discussed in terms of speculative fiction but can be applied across all genres. Whereas a fantasy setting might be foundational to the main conflict, in a literary drama, setting can have connections to theme and symbolism. Choose wisely: your setting will impact characters, conflict, and overall context.

Michelle Barker is an author/editor from Vancouver, B.C. Her fiction, non-fiction and poetry have been published in literary reviews around the world. Her novel, The House of One Thousand Eyes (Annick Press), was named a Kirkus Best Book of 2018 and has won numerous awards including the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award. Her newest novel My Long List of Impossible Things was named a Top Ten Best Bets by the Ontario Library Association. Michelle holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and works as a senior editor at the Darling Axe.

David Brown founded DarlingAxe.com in 2018 after working as a freelance editor for more than 15 years. He is an award-winning short fiction writer, and his debut novel is represented by the Donaghy Literary Group. He has published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in magazines and literary journals, and he has an MFA in creative writing from UBC. David lives in Victoria, in the traditional territory of the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.

It’s no secret that the tides in publishing are constantly and aggressively changing. The so-called “Kindle revolution” that happened over a decade ago changed the book world forever. For the first time in history, writers can publish their work and make it available to a global audience without having to pay a king’s ransom to a vanity publisher (danger!) and fill their garage with books they’ll never sell. In this workshop, we’re going to go in depth into what YOU want from your writing career. We’ll discuss your options as an author today, whether that involves the “traditional” track of finding an agent and seeking a Big 6 publisher (yes, I said Big 6!), striking out on your own as an “indie” author, and why actually doing BOTH could be in your best interest in the long term.

Jennifer Sommersby is an author of ten novels, copy/line editor, creative writing teacher, and committed bibliophile. She is represented by Stacey Kondla at The Rights Factory. Her latest book, under her pen name Eliza Gordon, Welcome to Planet Lara, released on Earth Day 2021.

Website: https://www.sgabooks.com/ (This new umbrella site also covers my other three sites: www.jennifersommersby.com, www.elizagordon.com, and www.plumfieldediting.com).

Simply including queer characters in prose is no longer enough; it’s just as important to represent them authentically. In this workshop we’ll talk about avoiding common tropes and hurtful representations and crafting believable queer characters.

Ruth DyckFehderau writes fiction and nonfiction, and teaches Creative Writing and English Lit at University of Alberta. Her shorter pieces have appeared in literary journals and anthologies, her book The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee: Stories of Diabetes and the James Bay Cree (2017 CBHSSJB, distrib WLUP), written with James Bay Cree storytellers, is currently being translated into five languages, and I (Athena), a novel, is forthcoming in 2023 (NeWest). Currently, Ruth is working on another commission for the James Bay Cree: Finding Our Way Home: Residential School Recovery Stories of the James Bay Cree (Vol 1 forthcoming 2022, CBHSSJB, distrib WLUP). She has won many literary awards.

www.sweetbloods.org

ruthdyckfehderau.com

Aside from your name on the document or the cover of a book, how does your reading know who is speaking? How do you drop clues for your reader to show who this voice belongs to? An embodied narrator can add layers of interest, authenticity, and connection to a narrative! In this workshop, we'll look at some examples from memoirs and use some exercises to help us figure out how to give the voice of the self in memoir corporeal form.

Cooper Lee Bombardier is a queer, trans American writer and visual artist living in Canada. He is the author of the memoir-in-essays Pass With Care. His writing appears in The Kenyon Review, The Malahat Review, Ninth Letter, CutBank, Nailed Magazine, Longreads, BOMB, and The Rumpus; and in 15 anthologies, including the Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology, The Remedy–Essays on Queer Health Issues, and the Lambda-nominated anthology, Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Speculative Fiction From Transgender Writers, which won a 2018 American Library Association Stonewall Book Award. He teaches in the MFA in Creative Nonfiction program at University of King’s College and in women and gender studies at Saint Mary’s University.

www.cooperleebombardier.com

Lyrical language is specific, concrete and sensory. Whether we are writing poetry or prose or dancing the blurred lines between forms, we create memorable work when we explore the lyrical possibilities of language. But what makes writing lyrical? How do we tap into our own abilities to see, write and live inside image, rhythm and the senses? How do we create embodied writing that transcends the ordinary?

In this one-hour workshop, we’ll explore examples of short lyric forms and discuss ways we can cultivate lyricism in our own work. Bring along an idea for —or a rough draft of — a short piece (less than 200 words) of observational writing. Note:Participants are not obligated to share their writing publicly.

Lorri Neilsen Glenn’s most recent full-length work is the award-winning Following the River: Traces of Red River Women (Wolsak and Wynn, 2017), a lyric hybrid that explores the lives of her Ininiwak and Métis grandmothers and their contemporaries. Former Halifax Poet Laureate, Lorri is a mentor in the University of King’s College MFA in Creative Nonfiction program and Professor Emerita at Mount Saint Vincent University. She is the author and contributing editor of fourteen titles of poetry and nonfiction and has received awards for her innovative teaching, ethnographic research and her work in the arts. Lorri’s essays and poetry have appeared in The Malahat Review, Prairie Fire, Event, Grain, CV2, among numerous other journals and anthologies, and her poetry has been adapted for libretti. A Red River Métis, Lorri lived on the Prairies before moving to Nova Scotia in the 80s. Find her @neilsenglenn and writinglorri@gmail.com

From Literary Novel to Thriller: Crossing Genres to Add New Life to Your Craft

Writers too often get stuck writing in just one genre. In this workshop, bestselling novelist and writing mentor Gail Anderson-Dargatz offers her own experience to demonstrate how borrowing from the toolboxes of our literary brethren can breathe new life into our craft and writing lives and open the door to new markets. 

GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ’s novels, The Cure for Death by Lightning and A Recipe for Bees were both finalists for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. A Recipe for Bees was also nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The Spawning Grounds was nominated for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, the Ontario Library Association Evergreen Award, and was short-listed for the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for fiction. Gail also writes hi-lo books for the educational market. Her upcoming novel, The Almost Wife, is a thriller. Gail taught in the UBC CW MFA optional-residency program for nearly a decade. She now offers developmental edits and mentors writers in most fiction genres on her online teaching forums. For more, check out her website: gailanderson-dargatz.ca. Or follow her on Twitter @AndersonDargatz

Getting Yourself Out There: A Discussion on Marketing and Writing.  This workshop focuses on the crucial topics of Marketing and Writing.  Jason will be covering audience development, networking and building relationship capital, getting an agent, and other hacks.

Jason Maghanoy is a graduate of McGill University and the National Theatre School of Canada’s Playwriting Program. Currently, he is the Head of Business Development at SJC Media with a focus on digital innovation, revenue strategy and premium membership, as well as the Associate Publisher of Canadian Business. Prior to St. Joseph Media, he was the Director of Revenue at NOW Magazine, Senior Development Officer, Corporate Partnerships at Canadian Stage, the Manager, Community Investment at Toronto Arts Foundation, and a Sponsorship & Advertising Coordinator at TIFF.

In addition to his work in corporate partnership development and digital media, Jason is considered one of the brightest emerging leaders in the City of Toronto. He is a Mentor at Ryerson's Social Ventures Zone, a member of the Work In Culture Board of Directors. a member of Luminato's Board of Directors, a member of the Advisory Council for the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation, as well as a member of the TELUS Community Board.

Jason is also a playwright. He has been the playwright-in-residence at Theatre Passe Muraille and Young People's Theatre, a member of the Banff Playwrights Retreat, a former member of the Tarragon Playwrights Unit, and a Finalist for the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwriting Fellowship at Juilliard. Currently, he is a playwright-in-residence at Alberta Theatre Projects and was a member of the Playwrights Retreat at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. 

Join Megan Cole for a special BC Writers' Summit Telling the Truth: Conversations about Creative Nonfiction featuring Angie Abdou, Susan Olding and Tamara Jong. Hear these wonderful authors read from their work and discuss how reading informs their writing practice. Writing can be a solitary act but when we read we are surrounded by a chorus of our peers, we can find inspiration, research and community.

Angie Abdou has published seven books and co-edited Writing the Body in Motion, a collection of essays on Canadian Sport Literature. A starred-review in New York’s Booklist declared her best-selling memoir, Home Ice: Reflections of a Reluctant Hockey Mom, “a first rate memoir and a fine example of narrative nonfiction.” Angie Abdou is Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Athabasca University.  Her newest book, a creative nonfiction called This One Wild Life: A Mother-Daughter Memoir, launched in April.

Tamara Jong (she/her) is a Montréal (Tiohtià:ke) born mixed-race writer of Chinese and European ancestry. Her work has appeared in Room Magazine, Body & Soul; Stories for Skeptics and Seekers and The Nasiona. She is a graduate of The Writer's Studio (Simon Fraser University), and a part of Room Magazine’s collective. She currently lives and works on Treaty 3 territory, the occupied and ancestral lands of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinabewaki, Attiwonderonk, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (Guelph, ON).

Susan Olding is the author of Big Reader: Essays, and Pathologies: A Life in Essays, selected by 49^th Shelf and Amazon.ca as one of 100 Canadian books to read in a lifetime. Her essays, fiction, and poetry have appeared widely in literary journals and magazines throughout Canada and the U.S., including Arc, The Bellingham Review, Grain, Prairie Fire, Maisonneuve, The Malahat Review, and the Utne Reader, and have won a National Magazine Award, the Edna Staebler Prize for the Personal Essay, and many other honours. She lives in the traditional territory of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ nations, in Victoria, British Columbia.

Megan is a tattooed food enthusiast with an obsessive reading habit. Heer work has been published in The Puritan, Invisiblog, Kootenay Mountain Culture, The Growler, untethered and more. She's currently working on her first book Head Over Feet: The Lasting Heart Ache of First Loves. When she's not writing, reading or cooking, she works as the director of programming and communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes and recording interviews for the podcast Writing the Coast. She also sits on the board of the Federation of BC Writers.

Digital Doors Open at 6:45, Event Starts at 7PM

Join us to celebrate our contest winners of 2020, announce our special 2021/2022 Ambassador, and kick off this year's contests!

It has been a hard year and for many of us, our formal and semi formal attire is hanging in the closet, gathering dust. Lets get gussied up and send photos of our red carpet entrance to summit@bcwriters.ca Get your photo submissions in at least 1 hour before the event (we know you may have to cheat a little by taking your photo before the event) to be entered for fabulous prizes! OH! and post them the night of using the hashtag #FBCWGala to your social media.

This event is officially part of the summit, but is open to all. Donations welcome. If you have registered for the summit, you are already registered for this event.

We are excited to welcome some of our neighours for this special summit poetry event! Join us for an evening that is sure to inspire.