Agent Donald Maass cross-examines New York Times bestselling authors Terry Brooks, Robert Dugoni, Diana Gabaldon, Anne Perry, Robert McCammon, and Michael Slade to hear their secrets of writing books that come out on top.

Join this expert panel as they discuss the various ways to bring your book to the screen. With Wally Lane, Jeff Arch, Stan Wakefield, Robert J. Sawyer and moderated by Anthony Dalton.

See how this writer (Eileen Cook), agent (Rachel Vater) and editor (Annette Pollert) have forged a strong collaborative working environment. Learn how a book can move from idea to bookshelf, how each defines and fulfils their role and what makes for a good working relationship.

What is suspense, and how do you make your readers feel that urgent need to keep turning pages? Author Hallie Ephron will analyse examples, talk about four different ways to create suspense and try them out with your writing.

Everyone knows a big idea when they hear it. It’s a unique story, based on reality or an alternate reality, that when you hear it, you think, hey that would make a great movie! Join author Carol Mason as she talks about how to dream big – and present your ideas, and yourself, in the best possible way.

Agent Jeffery McGraw moderates a panel of non-fiction experts, including agents Sorche Fairbank, Katharine Sands, Sharlene Martin and editor Howard White for a look at the future of non-fiction in Canada and the US.

Join Mira editor Valerie Gray, and Berkley editor Faith Black for a look at the state of romance writing in Canada (and perhaps a peek across the border).

Join author and actor CC Humphreys and learn how to handle the rough stuff in writing with special reference to mass murderers.

Join acclaimed poet Bernice Lever in this workshop on how to improve your writing by using the senses. Replace cliches with the five senses to add detail and make for more engaging description. International idioms and family sayings can also add life to your pages.

Moderator Don McQuinn leads the discussion as agents Donald Maass, Sally Harding, and editors Lisa Rector and Abby Ranger share their insights into the market for fiction after a year of recession.

Romance fiction has been around for centuries, yet the genre made headlines lately thanks to its broad and enduring appeal. Author Susan Wiggs examines the special appeal of romance fiction to readers, follows a novel on its journey from original concept through publication and explores specific writing techniques designed to sweep the reader off his or her feet in any work of commercial fiction.

Agent Rachel Vater oversees the heartbreak and the ecstasy as agents Meredith Kaffel and April Eberhardt; and editors Kristin Sevick and Annette Pollert rate submitted stories live onstage. Jack Whyte reads the entries.

A look at writing series with author Richelle Mead. Selling it, self-contained plots vs. cliff hangers in each book, carrying on a romance or other subplots, planning and more.

Join Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jacqueline Banaszynski as she discusses how to bring intimacy to reporting. Learn how to tell a journalistic story with a strong sense of character, place, and heart.

Join journalist and blogger Kirk LaPointe as he discusses the business of writing and presenting news to the public in this era of rapid-fire change.

Can you say what your book is about in 25 words or less? This is essential to both writing and selling a tight book. Join bestselling author Bob Mayer to discuss ways to find and state your original idea so that you stay on course while writing the book and with which you can excite those you tell it to when trying to sell it.

We all have a story to tell. Join author Richard Scrimger as he talks about bringing out the story within each of us.

Author Lois Peterson offers ten tips for starting and maintaining a personal journal that enhances your life and your writing.

Non-fiction author Anthony Dalton moderates this panel of historical fiction superstars as they share their secrets of bringing real history to life in fiction. With authors Diana Gabaldon, Robert McCammon, Anne Perry, and Jack Whyte.

Award winning author Robert J. Sawyer gives hints on finding the right symbolism to pull a work of fiction together.

A look at writing in Canada now and in the future. With editors Crystal Stranaghan, Susan Safyan and Howard White and agent Sally Harding.

For both fiction and non-fiction authors, join bestselling author Bob Mayer in a workshop that focuses on educating writers how to be authors. Warrior Writer is a holistic approach encompassing goals, intent, environment, personality, change, courage, communication and leadership that gives the writer a road map to become a successful author. Many writers become focused on either the writing or the business end; Warrior Writer integrates the two.

Join New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni as he looks at the mistakes writers make early in their careers.

How much of a writer’s life should show up in the pages of their stories? Meg Tilly, the author of Porcupine, First Time, Gemma and Singing Songs, discusses ways to let your life influence your work. Explore the idea of using your own story as a starting place for fiction. Come prepared to write!

Join artist and author Kathryn Shoemaker to explore the exciting new world of the graphic novel. Learn about the form and how to write and visualize it, and how to finalize the result into a script for the illustrator.

You're on Twitter and Facebook, and you've got your own blog, but now what? How can you spend your time on these social media channels wisely, and reap the most returns in increased influence, attention and, ultimately, book sales. Darren Barefoot covers how to market effectively in these emerging social web channels, and how to measure the results of the time you expend.

Poet and author Bernice Lever moderates this discussion of the forms and dictates of short fiction with award-winning authors Gary Geddes and Annabelle Lyon.