Our lovely Diana Gabaldon's new book AN ECHO IN THE BONE has arrived, and debuts at #2 on the New York Times Bestseller list.

 Hooray!!!!

Diana talks about hearing the news from her publisher [in a conversation that also included a bottle of scotch and Dan Brown], and you can read about it here in her blog.

I love this picture of Diana. I took it many years ago at the conference, and what you can't see is, along with her Ladies of Lallybroch t-shrt, she is wearing her pyjama bottoms. It was at the end of a long day, but she still came out to join the CompuServe gang at our annual Par-Tay. She is one of the most generous writers I know -- of her time, her expertise and her knowledge, and is a huge asset to our conference every year.

She'll be at the conference (AND at the Par-Tay) again this year, and now with something to celebrate.

Congratulations, Diana!

~kc

also blogging as leftwriter

tweeting @kcdyer & @SiWC2009

Kristen Nelson, great friend of SiWC and agent extraordinaire, today writes a very illuminating blog post in which our fine conference figures prominently.

It's an exciting story, filled with passion, thrills, chills and a six-figure deal for a debut author! 

We've talked about author Janice Hardy in this blog before, but it's never too late to offer her congratulations again on her new y/a series, as featured in Kristen's blog.

Just for the record, [and, as noted in Kristin's comments] the pitch and blue pencil appointments at the Surrey International Writers' Conference come without extra charge. To keep things as even as possible, we offer every attendee the opportunity to sign up for a Blue Pencil and Pitch appointment with their registration.

Extra appointments can be made daily at the conference appointment desk, subject to availability.

If you have any other questions about this process, be sure to check out our FAQ page under the banner of 'About the Conference' on our main menu bar.

Now, the question is...will YOU be the next big discovery at SiWC?

~kc

also blogging as leftwriter

tweeting sweetishly @kcdyer & @siwc2009

The wonderful Book Broads pinned Kathy Chung and myself down at Word on the Street in Vancouver this year, and we chatted about the conference.

Watch here -- 

http://thebookbroads.com/the-broads-interview-kc-dyer-and-kathy-chung/

[If I figure out how to embed it, I'll replace the link.]

~kc [aka, the big-mouth in the video....]

also blogging as leftwriter

sweetly tweeting @kcdyer and @SiWC2009

Our conference is best known for the incredible level of professional development it brings to writers, but we also have a reputation for being a wonderful starting place for new writers.

So new writers with questions...? This post is for YOU.

Don't know the difference between an editor and an agent? Just what the heck is a blue pencil -- I mean, I know it's cold in the Great White North, but cold enough to turn all the pencils blue?

If you are brand new to writing or even just to the 'getting published' part, your best place to start is HERE at our FAQ page. It'll explain why our pencils are blue [hint: not cold, but EDITORIAL!] and some of the other writing jargon you'll need to know.

There are a tonne of great resources out in the ether for you to access, but for beginners, I have a couple of favourites. Nathan Bransford is a young agent out of NYC, and his blog is chock-a-block with great advice. For the absolute beginner, I have to recommend THIS post -- he's done a tremendous glossary of publishing terms. A great post to read before you come to SiWC 2009 so the whole thing doesn't seem so confusing. Nathan has a ton of great info on his blog, as do agents Janet Reid, Kristin Nelson, Miss Snark and many others. Look 'em up! You'll be glad you did.