Happy August, ladies and gents!

Those of you paying close attention will notice I'm a day late awarding this book prize. Sorry 'bout that. But never fear, the cut-off date was exactly as promised, with everyone who had registered by the end of August 7 entered to win.

The prize? A book, of course. If you're our lucky winner, your prize will be waiting for you at our registration desk in October.

As usual, I relied on a trusty random number generator to pick the winner, who is...

Hayley Lavik!

Congratulations, Hayley!

And BJ? You don't even want to know how close you were this time. Maybe next time!

More soon!

I'm ba-ack! Did you miss me? I was offline for a couple of weeks of holidays. Now that I'm home, the weather is finally starting to hint at being summer-like here at SiWC Central, and for the first time this year, I'm writing a blog post on the patio under a clear blue sky. Lovely!

Registration has been going swimmingly. August 7 will mark two months since we opened our doors, so I'm going to celebrate, because I can, with a book draw. I'll pull a random name or two from the list of everyone who's registered by the end of day on August 7. If you're already on the list, you're in. The sooner your register, the more chances you'll get to have a free book added to your registration package.

Finally for today, I'm so pleased to be able to introduce you to terrific agent Elizabeth Wales, who'll be joining us for SiWC this year.

Elizabeth Wales of Wales Literary Agency, Inc. represents writers of narrative nonfiction and quality mainstream fiction.

Many thanks to all the people who made our first week of registration so exciting. It's terrific to see so many people from so many different places coming to join us in Surrey, BC, this fall. So far, we have registrants from all over BC, AB, SK, ON, QC, WA, OR, CA, CO, NC, TN, and TX, and that's just in the first week!

As promised, our first book draw of the season celebrates our first week of registration. Thanks to the services of a first random number generator, this year's first winner is...

...(sorry, BJ, maybe next time)...

Máirín Fisher-Fleming
 

Máirín, we'll have a book with your name on it waiting for you at the registration desk at the conference. Congratulations!

More draws and contests to come...

So, have you registered for SiWC yet?

About time we had an attendee draw, don't you think? I'll give you a couple of days to get in on it, but if you register by 23:59:59 on Monday night (PDT), I'll put your name in a hat with all the first week registrants for a great book prize you can pick up when you arrive at the conference. Is there much writers like better than free books? I love 'em!

If you're already registered, you're in. And as a bonus for registering early, you're automatically in on any future draws, so more chances for free books!

Just one more day until SiWC registration opens at NOON, JUNE 7.

Don't forget to register early to take advantage of the opportunity to lock in last year's prices in June only.

Wondering what to expect from this year's presenters? Our workshop titles are now available! Check out conference details on the left sidebar menu here at www.siwc.ca. Detailed descriptions to come, so check, back over the coming weeks for those, but the tentative schedule is up and will give you a good idea of what we have in store.

It's official!

It's set!

Systems are ready, people are ready, and the wait will soon be over.

SiWC 2011 registration will open on Tuesday, June 7 at noon. (That's our noon, here at SiWC Central in the Pacific time zone.)

Remember, for the first time EVER, this year, we're offering you the chance to book at LAST YEAR'S PRICES in JUNE only. And registering early also gives you the best selection of blue pencil cafe and pitch appointments, if you're planning to make them.

Register online at http://www.siwc.ca/2011/registration or by phone or mail (please be aware that Canada Post is currently affected by rolling strike action at the time of writing this on Saturday, June 4. You should check their status before mailing in your registration.)

A link to the registration form will appear on the registration page WHEN REGISTRATION OPENS, so don't worry if you can't find it now. It's not there yet.

Our 2011 registration and pricing information is UP! Check out the registration link HERE for his year's information.

We have something very special for all you early birds this year. As well as getting the best choice of appointments, we're also rewarding your early commitment to the conference with savings! Book in June, and you get to LOCK IN last year's prices!

You may know we work on a cost recovery basis, and do our very best to keep our prices as low as possible, and we are delighted to be able to offer you the chance to save a few dollars in June.

Check it out!

More soon... 

Just a few more days now until SiWC kicks off with master classes on Thursday, October 21!

There is still room in all registration packages, but take note! Online registration will end at the end of the day on Tuesday, October 19. After that, you'll have to register by phone or in person at the conference.

Still thinking about registering? Appointments are getting very heavily booked, so don't delay. Registering before the conference is your only way to guarantee getting an appointment. At the conference, remaining appointments are first-come, first-served basis each day, and bookings stop when all appointments for the day are full.

A note about making appointments in person: if you plan to book an appointment at the conference, you can only do so any day you're registered for, and only for the same day you're standing in line.

Wow. You people (you'll note I say that as if I'm not one of you, when, in fact, I am...) have a talent for leaving things to the last minute! I suppose it only makes sense that writers respond to deadlines.

We had a terrific registration rush leading up to the end of the month and the switch to our regular prices, but for those of you who haven't registered yet, never fear! We still have space available for all registration options from one day to the whole conference and in almost all our master classes, too. We'll keep registration open until the conference or until we sell out, whichever comes first. Given the numbers, if you know you want to come, don't wait too long to sign up!

Happy fall, everyone! Mother Nature has cooperated by providing a very West Coast fall day to kick things off. Nothing like a few gray skies to make the possibility of a prize seem even better...

Thanks to everyone who got their registrations in during the summer. We appreciate it!

Just remember that if you haven't had a chance to register yet, early bird prices are still in effect for another week, until the end of the month. Sign up soon!

If you were organized to register in the spring (gasp! - you people are amazing) or in the summer (hey, not too shabby either. It's hard to be productive in the summer!), you were automatically entered in our end-of-summer book draw.

The winner was decided by a random number generator, so blame it, not me, if you didn't win. (I'm talking to you especially, BJ Muntain! :-) )

And the winner is.... *drum roll*.... Kate Rose of Oregon! Congrats, Kate! We'll have a book prize waiting for you at the registration desk at the conference.

If it wasn't you this time, don't despair. I think maybe, just maybe there's one more of these contests up my sleeve between now and the conference. Keep an eye on the blog for details.