Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

October already!

The leaves are changing colour and the rain has returned to SiWC Central. In just two-and-a-half weeks, we’ll be setting up at the Sheraton Guildford Hotel to welcome you to this year’s Surrey International Writers’ Conference.

Have you registered yet? Space is still available in all registration packages and master classes at the time of writing this, though a couple of master classes are getting very close to full. Registration will remain open until October 18 online at www.siwc.ca and October 15 by phone. Why not register today? For you true procrastinators, we will also have on-site registration at the conference, as long as we don’t sell out before then.

REFER-A-FRIEND PROMOTION: We are so lucky to have great word-of-mouth advertising from our attendees, and we’d like to reward you for it. If you refer a friend who registers for SiWC between now and October 18, email me at kathychung at siwc dot ca to tell me about it, and I’ll enter you both in a draw for a prize package valued at over $50, including a signed hardcover book by one of our presenters and a coveted SiWC t-shirt.

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

Five weeks until SiWC 2011!

Just a quick reminder that our early bird prices end tomorrow, Thursday, September 15. Register by then to save. After September 15, registration will remain open until we sell out.

As of today, space remains in all master classes, but they are filling fast. If you want to be sure of getting a space, especially in Donald Maass’s class or Jack Whyte’s, register soon! If you’d like to add a master class to your existing registration, call or email us.

Wondering what our Saturday night theme will be this year? Whether you’re waiting to find out which costume to pull out of your closet or you’re someone who’d rather just come as you are, our Saturday night fun has something for everyone. In the next few days, we’ll be starting our Guess the Theme contest on our blog. Stay tuned at www.siwc.ca/blog

Also on our blog is our annual room share thread. Looking for a roommate to share costs at the Sheraton this year? Check it out at http://www.siwc.ca/blogs/kathychung/room-share-2011

On Sunday, September 25, SiWC board members and I will be hanging out at our table at Word on the Street at Library Square. Come by and say hi if you’re in the area!

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

This day we WRITE!

Hello, SiWC friends! Just a few more weeks and October will be here and, with it, the 19^th annual Surrey International Writers’ Conference. We have lots of exciting news to share.

First of all, we are thrilled to announce our new conference motto, which you may have spotted in the subject line of this newsletter: This day we WRITE! Our sincere thanks to SiWC presenter and friend Robert Dugoni for creating it for us. It’s always our hope that what you learn at our conference will send you home eager to get words on the page, and think our motto sums up exactly the energy we want you to take home with you. You’ll find our motto on our conference t-shirts and in a couple of other places this year, too.

Have you sent in your entry to our writing contest yet? If so, congrats on being an early bird! If not, don’t delay! The deadline is Friday, September 9 at 4:00pm. You can find all the details on our website here. You don’t have to attend the conference to enter the contest. Any writer over 18 is welcome to enter, and we have over $4000 in prizes up for grabs, with $1000 first prizes in each category. Please spread the word this week. We’d hate for someone to miss out because they didn’t know about it.

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

Hello, everyone! We are so excited to tell you that registration for SiWC 2011 opens tomorrow, Tuesday, June 7, at noon, PDT. As usual, you’ll have the option of registering online at our site or by phone or mail. All the information is available on our registration page at http://www.siwc.ca/2011/registration. A reminder that for the first time, we’re offering you the opportunity to lock in last year’s prices in the month of June only. It’s our way of saying thanks to all our early birds.

Our workshop topics are now available for your perusal. Check out conference details on the left side bar menu on our site at www.siwc.ca. Descriptions will follow in the next few weeks, but the topics should give you a good idea of what we have in store for this year.

Writing contest entries are already coming in. Some of you are very organized indeed. Want a shot at $4000 in contest prizes? Check out the details at http://www.siwc.ca/contest/2011

That’s it for today. Set your reminder for noon tomorrow!

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. You can use the contact form on our site or email me directly at kathychung at siwc dot ca.

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

Welcome to SiWC 2011!

A little over five months from now, hundreds of writers will gather to spend three or four days at what we think is the best writers’ conference anywhere, the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. Will you be there?

If you’re anything like me, the prospect of SiWC, of a few days spent in the welcoming atmosphere of a large group of people who all completely understand that having voices in your head is just part of being a writer, thrills and excites you. I can’t wait!

And what a year our 19th annual conference is turning out to be. We have all sorts of special things to tell you about.

First up, our roster. We’re delighted to be bringing you an amazing group of writers, agents, editors, producers, and social media experts, among them many new faces and some returning friends. If you’ve been following our blog at www.siwc.ca/blog, you’ll have met some of them already. We’re adding several names a week, working towards introducing you to our full roster before the end of May. Come by and have a peek!

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

Nine More Days!

Just nine days until this year’s Surrey International Writers’ Conference kicks off! Are you getting excited? We sure are!

If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time. Space is available in all registration packages and most master classes at the time of writing. Why not register today? Just not sure it’s going to work this year but hoping it will at the last minute? As long as we don’t sell out, you’ll be able to register on-site at our conference registration desk.

On our website, you’ll now find the list of authors who’ll be at our Saturday evening Book Fair. This free event, held between 5:30 and 7:00 pm on Saturday, October 23, is open to the public as well as conference attendees, so is a great chance for your friends and relatives to get a tiny taste of your SiWC experience.

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

Fall is upon us in the Lower Mainland, with the gray skies and rain to prove it really isn’t summer anymore. But here at SiWC Central, we are thrilled to see clouds so low we can reach up and touch them (no, really, we are!) because that means the Surrey International Writers’ Conference is just around the corner.

A reminder: early bird prices are in effect until September 30. That means this is your very last week to register at those rates. We’ll happily sign you up right up until conference time or until we sell out, of course, but if you’d like to save a few dollars, register between now and the end of the day on Thursday, September 30. Don’t delay!

Now onto all the exciting stuff we have going on:

We’ve posted the names of all our keynote speakers for this year. I am so looking forward to hearing them all. Remember, conference basic and one-day registrants get to see morning keynotes. People who register for the full conference or buy banquet tickets at the conference (if any are available) get to hear the evening/Sunday afternoon keynotes, too.

Morning keynotes this year are bound to get the day off to a terrific start with an amazing group of speakers over the three days: Elizabeth Engstrom, Ivan Coyote, and Arthur Slade. Woohoo!

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Lots of news here from the above-ground offices of SiWC Central. I’ve wrenched the computer back out of kc’s mouldy fingers – did no one tell her to wash her hands after cleaning between her toes? – and locked the door to the dungeon so I can fill you in on a whole bunch of great stuff we have going on and a couple of roster changes.

First of all, have you noticed our brand new master class addition? James Scott Bell, author of the excellent PLOT AND STRUCTURE as well as THE ART OF WAR FOR WRITERS, REVISION & SELF EDITING and numerous novels, has joined our presenter roster for this year. His master class, Next Level Fiction, promises to be a great one, perfect for those of you looking to take your writing, well, to the next level. If you have already registered and would like to add Next Level Fiction to your registration, email me.

Also joining us this year is book reviewer, librarian, and writer Jeff Ayers. Jeff will be bringing his moderating skills to some of our panels this October, and we’re very pleased to have him.

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

Heigh Ho all you relaxed summer people!

kc dyer here. I may no longer be lounging in the conference coordinator's elegant offices [eating bonbons -- ordering my slaves to re-read the gory bits of Michael Slade novels to me ] but I can still crack the writing whip of doom. These days, my place is here, deep in the bowels of the dreaded dungeons beneath SiWC Central. It's cold here...drippy and damp, with a certain smell in the air. I can't quite put my finger on it...

When I am not scraping mould from between my toes, I spend my days longing for something new, fresh and exciting to read. Something -- say, contest-entry sized. The perfect thing to peruse between castigations... but enough of me and my sorry life.

Let us turn to YOU, gentle writer. Where might you be? Basking in Northern Hemisphere sunshine during the day? Sitting back gazing at the Perseid Meteors every night? Well, I'm here to tell you to quit it! Stop all that leisurely enjoyment. You are writers, gosh darn it -- pick up a pen, flex your typing fingers and get at it!

Surrey International Writers' Conference Newsletter

From conference coordinator Kathy:

Welcome to summer!

Have you registered for SiWC yet? You can do so at www.siwc.ca.

Things have been moving along here at SiWC Central. Registration continues to be brisk, and we’re absolutely thrilled to have registrants so far from five provinces, thirteen states, and one country in Europe. Wherever you’re from, whether it takes you five minutes, five hours, or five flights to get to the conference, we’re so glad you’re coming.

If you’ve been following our blog, you’ll know by now that we have a Saturday Night Owl event in the works in addition to our already scheduled Friday Night Owl. We’re dropping occasional hints about just what Saturday night’s may be, because the air of mystery suits this particular event. (Perhaps that’s another hint...) Stay tuned!

An important registration note: if you’re thinking about taking Joanna Bourne’s master class on Thursday, Advanced POV, and haven’t signed up yet, don’t wait much longer to register. At the time of writing this newsletter on Monday morning, there were only a handful of spaces left in what’s sure to be an excellent class. Jo’s reputation as an incredible writing teacher precedes her, and we are very pleased she agreed to teach a master class for us this year.