TORONTO – "If you have a message you want to share, a story you need to tell, or you just need to recharge your batteries by hanging out with other creative people, then Write! Canada is for you. You’ll find both practical tools and a supportive community at Write! Canada 2011." So says award-winning novelist and conference director, N. J. Lindquist of Markham, Ontario. The conference, Canada’s largest for writers who are Christian, is scheduled for Guelph, Ontario, June 16-18. "This will be my eighth year attending Write! Canada," writes Dorene Meyer of Norway House, Manitoba. "I basically plan my year around it. Especially since I live in a fairly isolated part of Canada, I really look forward to this opportunity to be part of the larger Canadian writing community." "Write! Canada has synergy," says award-winning author Ed Hird of Vancouver. "It helps us to be a team together. Writing can be very isolating. Write! Canada is very relational and liberating, helping Canadians to tell their unique stories. It is of top quality and it stretches me to ‘go for the gold.’" Delegates will be inspired by eminent theologian and award-winning author, Dr. J. I. Packer, as well as author and speaker Grace Fox, and Write! Canada conference director and co-founder of The Word Guild, N. J. Lindquist. They will learn from skilled writers, editors and agents teaching in-depth continuing classes and workshops, providing manuscript critiques or interacting one-on-one. And they can take advantage of networking opportunities, open-mic reading sessions and a well-stocked bookstore. Participants may choose one of the six 6-hour continuing classes from the following: 1. "What Hollywood Knows that Writers Need to Know," with Warner Brothers Story Administrator Sean Gaffney; 2. "Proposals: The Who, What, When, Why, and a Little about the How," with the American Christian Fiction Writers agent of the year for 2010, Sandra Bishop; 3. "Six Things Authors Need to Know," with author and speaker Grace Fox; 4. "Substantive and Copy Editing," with award-winning editor Kathryn Dean; 5. "Reaching Readers with Successful Freelance Articles," with Faith Today senior editor Bill Fledderus and freelance writers Lisa Hall-Wilson and Marcy Kennedy; and 6. "Time Management for Creative People," with time management expert Harold Taylor. In addition, each attendee may select up to three of the 18 workshops, taught by a variety of people from the writing community, including publishers Jeff Gerke (Marcher Lord Press) and Larry Willard (Castle Quay Books Canada), author and speaker Sheila Wray Gregoire, freelance writer Carl Friesen, and many more. Workshop topics include: "How to Build a Speaking Business," "Writing Outside Your Comfort Zone," "Essentials You Should Know Before You Self-Publish a Book," "Writing True Stories that Won’t Bore Your Readers," "Is Your Story Ripe for Film?," and "Christian Speculative Fiction." This event, in its 27th year, is organized by The Word Guild, a national association of writers and editors who are Christian (www.thewordguild.com). Anyone who has an interest in writing, whether a beginner or veteran, is encouraged to attend. Delegates are encouraged to register early. To find out more or to register online, go to www.writecanada.org. Media: For photos or more information, email Julie-Anne Brace, Write! Canada administrative coordinator, at writecanada [at] rogers [dot] com. ABOUT WRITE! CANADA The conference has impacted three generations of Canada’s Christian writers, from their teens to eighties, from much-published professionals to aspiring writers. Many have notched up significant career achievements thanks to Write! Canada, ranging from getting their first article published to meeting their literary agent, editor or publisher, to finding a new job, signing a book contract or making key industry contacts. From 1984 to 2001, Faith Today magazine and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada organized an annual Christian writers’ conference, known as God Uses Ink. The Word Guild was established and assumed responsibility for the conference in 2002, and In 2004 changed the conference name to Write! Canada. ABOUT THE WORD GUILD
In addition to Write! Canada, its flagship event, The Word Guild sponsors a number of awards programs for published and unpublished writers, including Canada’s largest literary prize for writers who are Christian, the $5,000 Grace Irwin Award. It also holds an annual black-tie Writing Awards Gala and regional Write! events in locations such as Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, and London, Ontario. Three categories of membership, renewed yearly, are available: professional writers and editors; associate members, who are beginning to put together a body of published work; and affiliates working in publishing, bookselling, libraries, etc. Membership benefits include discounted rates for Write! Canada.
More information at www.thewordguild.com. Media: For photos or more information, email Julie-Anne Brace, Write! Canada administrative coordinator, at writecanada [at] rogers [dot] com. |
