Experience VPL's day-long celebration of local writers and publishers. Meet authors and publishers, attend free workshops for writers and more!

Information: 604.331.3603

Highlights include:

Keynote: From Cave Walls to Computers
12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. | Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level
Award-winning author Sylvia Taylor discusses how we share stories to help make sense of ourselves and the world.

Writers Resist
10:30 a.m. – noon | Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level
Poets Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Leah Horick, Juliane Okot Bitek and Sonja Larsen read poems and lead participants through a writing exercise that may be added to a community archive.

Self Publishing 100: Introduction to Ebooks
10:30 a.m. – noon | Inspiration Lab, Level 3
Want to share your story with the world? This workshop will provide an introduction to all of the steps involved with creating an ebook and making it available to readers.

How to Get a Book Deal: The Path to Traditional Publishing
10:30 a.m. – noon | Peter Kaye Room, Lower Level
Overwhelmed by the publishing process? Fantasy author E. Latimer discusses the ins and outs of the publishing industry. Get tips on getting an agent, submitting your work, contracts and more!

Writing Non-fiction: How I Wrote the Story of Bard on the Beach
10:30 a.m. – noon | Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level
Author Jayne Seagrave offers practical, first-hand advice about: choosing a unique idea, researching content, creating a manuscript, publishing and marketing.

Practical Book Marketing
2:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | Peter Kaye Room, Lower Level
Author, editor and teacher Susan Kelly will show you how to create and implement an online marketing plan that will translate into readers and a long-term career as an author.

Dealing with Rejections
2:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. | Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level
Slushpile readers and acquisition editors give tips on how to submit your work to literary magazines.

Self Publishing 101: Create Your First Ebook
2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. | Computer Training Lab, Level 3
Learn how to create your own ebook in VPL’s Inspiration Lab. This demo with hands-on practice will explore how to format text, add images and create a digital manuscript.
Pre-requisite: Self-Publishing 100 or equivalent knowledge.

Who Do We Write For
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level
Who we write for is a question that all writers face. Poet Raoul Fernandes will moderate a lively discussion with local writers Zoey Leigh Peterson, Anna Ling Kaye and Minelle Mahtani.

Writing a Page Turner
4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level
Bestselling thriller author S.M. Freedman leads an engaging workshop on tapping into personal fears to create suspenseful writing in any genre.

Book Cover Design
4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Inspiration Lab, Level 3
This demonstration with hands-on computer time explores the basics of creating an effective book cover design using Adobe InDesign. Based on a workshop created by Fiona Raven and Glenna Collett, authors of Book Design Made Simple.

The Medicine in Our Stories: A Journey Through Healing
4:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m. | Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level
Writers Carleigh Baker, Jónína Kirton and Kat Norris explore indigenous resurgence, writing as an act of healing, and the relationships and responsibilities that emerge.

New Voices Lightning Round
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Public Program Space, Level 3
Discover local writers at this fast-paced, day-long showcase. Hear excerpts from their work and meet them at their author table.

Author Tables
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Promenade
Meet with local authors and talk about their work. Authors include: Elen Ghulam, Alyson Quinn, Ara (K.A. Thomsen), Cheri Champagne, Children's Writers and Illustrators of BC (CWILL), Crime Writers of Canada, Cynda Yeasting, David Tracey, Doris Gregory, Edwin Lee, Federation of BC Writers (FBCW), Gail Daldy, Heather Haley, Jayne Seagrave, Jerome Bacco, John Young Sykes, Karen Dodd, Kate Bird, Lisa Anne Smith, Mari Swingle, Mary Ann Clarke Scott, Michael Seidelman, Neall Ryon, Patrick Hill, R.J. McMillen, Ruth Kozak, S.M. Freedman, Sisters in Crime, Wayne Gatley, Winona Kent and Writers 4 Utopia.

Publisher and Organization Tables
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Moat, Lower Level
Meet with publishers and organizations that are experts in the field. Representatives include: Association of Book Publishers of BC, Caitlin Press, Editors BC, Granville Island Publishing, Paper Trail Publishing, Pulp Literature, Punk Books, Rascal Media, Rutherford Press and Tradewind Books.