No need for Monday to be dull when there are presenters to meet !

But first, have you signed up for our conference email newsletter? If you've ever received one from us before, you're already signed up. Not sure? Sign up today! We will NOT inundate you with email, but a few times a year, fewer than ten, we send out a newsletter to keep you up-to-date on all the SiWC news. Our first newsletter of 2011 will be coming up in the next few weeks.

A random pick from our terrific presenter list came up with a good mix today: a storyteller, a writers' university dean, and a former Green Beret:

A warm SiWC welcome to storyteller Ivan Coyote, agent Laurie McLean, and author Bob Mayer!

Ivan Coyote was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. An award-winning author of six collections of short stories, one novel, three CD’s, four short films and a renowned performer, Ivan’s first love is live storytelling, and over the last seventeen years she has become an audience favourite at music, poetry, spoken word and writer's festivals from Anchorage to Amsterdam. The Globe and Mail called Ivan "a natural-born storyteller" and Ottawa X Press said "Coyote is to CanLit what k.d. lang is to country music: a beautifully odd fixture." Toronto Star praises Coyote’s “talent for sketching the bizarre in the everyday”, and Quill’s Magazine says Ivan has a “distinctive and persuasive voice, a flawless sense of pacing, and an impeccable sense of story.” Ivan’s column, Loose End has appeared monthly in Xtra West magazine since 2001.

Plans for 2010 are coming together well. Here at SiWC Central, we are SO excited about all that's going on. Keep your eyes on this space, because there's big news coming soon... Very Big News.

Did I say that loudly enough? Perhaps I should put it in bold. Very Big News. Coming soon! I wish I could tell you now, but I will. Soon. I promise.

To tide you over until then, here's a bit of news I'm tremendously excited about, a brand new presenter. Meet Ivan Coyote.

Ivan Coyote was born and raised in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. An award-winning author of five collections of short stories, one novel, two CD’s, four short films and a renowned performer, Ivan’s first love is live storytelling, and over the last fifteen years she has become an audience favourite at music, poetry, spoken word and writer's festivals from Anchorage to Amsterdam. The Globe and Mail called Ivan "a natural-born storyteller" and Ottawa X Press said "Coyote is to CanLit what k.d. lang is to country music: a beautifully odd fixture."

Welcome, Ivan!