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• February Writers' Social

  • When
    10 Feb 2026
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:15 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  
  

  Join us for a Writers' Social on Tuesday, February 10, from 7:00 - 8:15 PM Pacific by registering here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) and a Zoom link for the event will be sent to you. When it’s time for the event you can click on the Zoom link to join the event.

  
  

  Many of us strive for a connection with our fellow writers. This members-only monthly event is designed to bring us together for casual chats with breakout rooms. Join us to talk craft, career, and connection for about 75 minutes over Zoom. Meet new people and get the most out of being a part of a provincial organization! Below are the proposed discussion groups for this month's meeting (subject to change). Please email Kim@bcwriters.ca if you would like to suggest a discussion topic for an upcoming meeting. See you there! 

  
  

  Discussion Groups:

  • All about poetry 
  • Editing and revision
  • Children's books / picture books
  • What are you reading? Current reads, favourite books
  • Memoir writers connect
  • Non-fiction writers connect (travel writing, journalism/reporting, research, etc)
  • Connecting writers with chronic illnesses
  • History and Mythology in Fiction
  • Romance writers
  • Traditional publishing chat (publishers, queries, finding an agent, etc)
  • Self-publishing chat 
  • General writing discussion

  This event is exclusive to FBCW members. Want to come chat with us but not yet a member? Add a FBCW membership to your event registration, or find out more about how to join the organization at bcwriters.ca. 

  
  

  Digital Doors Open at 6:55 pm, Event Starts at 7:00 PM Pacific

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• Evening Webinar: Permission to Smooch: Why Romance ROCKS & How to Make Yours Sing with Jenn Sommersby

  • When
    12 Feb 2026
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Permission to Smooch: Why Romance ROCKS & How to Make Yours Sing

  with Jenn Sommersby

  Member Price: $18

  Non-Member Price is $28

  **This event will be recorded. Registrants can access the recording for 45 days.
  

  
  

  Workshop/Event Description

  Romance isn’t easy, frivolous, or “just tropes.” It’s a genre built on emotional honesty, character change, and earned intimacy. This session busts myths, digs into craft, and gives you permission to write love boldly—without apology.

  
  

  Connect with Jenn on her website:

  Here

  
  

  Intended audience:

  Writers of every skill level and any genre

  
  

  Bio:

  Jennifer Sommersby is a freelance editor (via Plumfield Editing), publishing mentor, educator, and author of a baker’s dozen books written under Sommersby and Eliza Gordon, including award-winning YA and best-selling rom-com titles. Through her company SGA Books, she supports indie authors with publishing resources and hands-on teaching, as well as branding, design, and custom merch through Bard & Bloom. Her first nonfiction series geared toward early-career writers will publish in 2026. Shop direct: shop.sgabooks.com.
  

  
  

  Digital doors open at 6:55 pm, event starts at 7:00 pm

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• Evening Webinar: Story Generator Fun Time! with Cadence Mandybura

  • When
    17 Feb 2026
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Story Generator Fun Time!

  with Cadence Mandybura

  Member Price: $18

  Non-Member Price is $28

  **This event will be recorded. Registrants can access the recording for 45 days.
  

  
  

  Workshop/Event Description

  Sharpen your pens for this generative workshop! Using techniques intended to beat perfectionism and decision paralysis, we'll start with a prompt and carry it through idea generation and reflection until you have the bones of a story you can develop further after the workshop. We recommend bringing a notebook with several colours of pens!

  
  

  Connect with Cadence on her website:

  Here

  
  

  Intended audience:

  Writers of all skill levels, best suited to narrative writers (fiction/creative non-fiction)

  
  

  Bio:

  Writer and editor Cadence Mandybura has never veered far from her passion for telling stories and fixing apostrophes. She is a graduate of the Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University, and her speculative fiction has appeared in Metaphorosis, Tales & Feathers, and Pulp Literature, among others. Find her at CadenceMandybura.com.
  

  
  

  Digital doors open at 6:55 pm, event starts at 7:00 pm

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• Sunday Webinar: The Arc of Life: Finding Narrative Arc in Memoir with Lynne Melcombe

  • When
    22 Feb 2026
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  The Arc of Life: Finding Narrative Arc in Memoir with Lynne Melcombe

  with Lynne Melcombe

  Member Price: $18

  Non-Member Price is $28

  **This event will be recorded. Registrants can access the recording for 45 days.
  

  
  

  Workshop/Event Description

  What is the role of narrative arc in structuring memoir? How do we find exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, and resolution when life doesn't unfold that way? It can be tricky, but finding the narrative arc in memoir can transform an unfocused ramble into a true story, well told.
  
  
  

  Intended audience:

  Writers of any skill level

  
  

  Bio:

  Lynne Melcombe has been writing and editing for over 30 years. She graduated from the prestigious University of King's College Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Non-Fiction Writing in 2015. Lynne writes a blog (lynnemelcombe.com) with weekly posts on creative non-fiction books published by graduates of the program. In addition to workshops and webinars, Lynne provides writing, editing, manuscript evaluation, and coaching services. Her first book, "No Such Thing: A Memoir of "mild" Traumatic Brain Injury and My Twenty-Year (so far) Recovery" will come out in 2026.

  For more information, visit https://lynnemelcombe.com/aboutme/

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• Fireside Chat: What it Takes to Finish a Memoir with Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho, Christina Meyers, and host Rachel Dunstan Muller

  • When
    24 Mar 2026
  •  
    7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Memoirists Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho and Christina Meyers join moderator Rachel Dunstan Muller for a deep-dive discussion into the many joys and challenges of writing—and finishing—a book-length memoir. This chat will be about ninety minutes long, and the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions.

  Join us on Tuesday, March 24th at 7:00 pm Pacific by registering here and a Zoom link for the event will be sent to you. When it’s time for the event you can click on the Zoom link to join the event.

  Digital doors open at 6:55 pm!

  **This event will be recorded. 

  
  

  Christina Myers is a freelance writer and editor, a former journalist, and the author of the essay collectionHalfway Home: Thoughts from Midlife and the novel The List of Last Chances. She has been the editor of two non-fiction anthologies. She was longlisted for the Leacock Medal, twice shortlisted for the Fred Kerner book prize, and won the 2023 Canadian Book Club Award in the fiction category. She teaches fiction and non-fiction through SFU's creative writing continuing studies department. She lives in Surrey and is a member of Da'naxda'xw First Nation. Find her online at www.cmyers.ca.
  
  Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho (Wei-Chiun pronounced "Way Jun") is a Taiwanese Canadian writer, whose award-winning short stories and personal essays have been published in PRISM international, Ricepaper Magazine, River Teeth, Room and several anthologies. A champion for literary community, she is a member of the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop, the Federation of BC Writers, and the North Shore Writers' Association. Her first book The Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street was just released with Douglas & McIntyre this month! Find her online at www.wileyweichiunho.com; Instagram: @howiley
  
  Rachel Dunstan Muller is the author of four children’s novels and over a hundred articles and stories for adults, as well as the producer of two podcasts: Hintertales: Stories from the Margins of History, and Sticks and Stones and Stories, featuring original tales for young listeners. To date, episodes of Sticks and Stones and Stories have been downloaded more than 40,000 times. Her most recent project, Once Upon a Fiddle, is a collaborative live music and storytelling production for adults that celebrates the power of art and the resilience of the human spirit. With assistance from a BC Arts Council grant, she is currently collaborating on a new production, Never Meant to Be: The Unlikely Life and Music of Mel Bonis. Rachel is the managing editor of the FBCW Press. Find her online at https://racheldunstanmuller.com
  
  
  

  
  

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• Writers' Grants: An Overview of Grants for Writers at the BC Arts Council

  • When
    27 Mar 2026
  •  
    12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  An Overview of Grants for Writers at the BC Arts Council

  About: In this interactive session, learn about the funding programs at the BC Arts Council that are relevant to writers at all stages of their careers. After a brief presentation, Michelle Benjamin will answer questions and provide insight into the world of arts funding.

  This event is for FBCW members only. Find out more about the benefits of FBCW membership at bcwriters.ca.

  Presenter Bio: Michelle Benjamin is a Program Advisor at the BC Arts Council with responsibility for literary programs including book and periodical publishers, literary festivals, and creative writing. She also co-manages the Early Career Development and Arts Impact programs.
  
  Before joining the BC Arts Council in 2020, Michelle was Executive Director of the Gabriola Arts Council for ten years. Before that, she worked for 25 years in book publishing – she was owner and publisher of Polestar—a small literary press—for ten years; publisher at Raincoast Books in the 2000s; and a Project Editor at Greystone Books.
  
  Michelle lives on Gabriola Island and is grateful for the privilege of residing on the traditional and unceded lands of the Snuneymuxw people.

  Digital doors open at 11:55 am, event starts at 12:00 pm PST

  **This event is being recorded

  Show details
• Sunday Webinar: Writing Hi-Lo Books for the Educational Market with Gail Anderson-Dargatz

  • When
    19 Apr 2026
  •  
    2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Location
    Zoom

  Register

  
  

  Writing Hi-Lo Books for the Educational Market

  with Gail Anderson Dargatz

  Member Price: $18

  Non-Member Price is $28

  **This event will be recorded. Registrants can access the recording for 45 days.
  

  
  

  Workshop/Event Description

  People think writing for kids is easy, but any writer of children’s or YA fiction will set you straight: writing for kids is hard. Writing hi-lo books for striving readers can be even harder. In this interactive workshop, award-winning novelist Gail Anderson-Dargatz will talk about the craft involved in writing high-interest, low-reading-level (hi-lo) books, and illuminate this vibrant and rewarding market that many writers aren’t aware of.

  Intended audience:

  Writers of any skill level

  
  

  Bio:

  GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ’s internationally bestselling novels The Cure for Death by Lightning and A Recipe for Bees were both short-listed for the Giller Prize. Her thrillers The Almost Wife and The Almost Widow were national bestsellers, and The Almost Widow was shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada. HarperCollins will release her next novel, The Atlas Keeper, in the fall of 2026. Gail also writes hi-lo books for the educational market. She taught for nearly a decade in the CW MFA program at UBC and now works as a mentor and developmental editor.

  For more, visit her website: gailanderson-dargatz.ca

  
  

  Pick up Gail's latest book 

  Here

  
  

  Digital doors open at 1:55 pm, event starts at 2:00 pm

  
  

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