We lost Liza Palmer yesterday to cancer. She was an absolutely brilliant writer. She was smart and casually insightful. You should pick up Family Reservations, or any of her books, really. But I also have this video of her talking about the book. It's the closest I can come to letting you meet her

Sad news: We are deeply saddened today by the death of our dear friend Liza Palmer. Liza was a gift, and we already miss her dearly. ❤️

We're currently looking for a literary agent to add to our team! Details on this flexible, remote work opportunity are available on our web site.

Our latest newsletter is on its way to your inboxes. If you're not on our email list but would like to be, you can sign up here: www.siwc.ca/newsletter/. Past newsletters are also on that page so you can catch up on all our news.

Congratulations to SiWC 2026 presenter Loghan Paylor, whose novel THE CURE FOR DROWNING came first in this year's CBC Canada Reads, after being championed by Tegan Quin! www.cbc.ca/books/canada... Loghan is teaching some really great workshops and a master class for us in Oct. Schedule coming soon!

You definitely want to see that! Join us.

Please help my friend Piper fight cancer www.gofundme.com/f/help-autho...

Come join us in New West on April 30th and throw your pennies in the jar to make me or one of my fellow Phantom Players die a melodramatic death live on stage at the end of the show.

YVR folks, join us for Twisted Tales, a Half-o-ween radio show inspired by Shock Theatre, where ghosts whisper, doors creak, and your support brings the story to life! Join us for a burger, a show, and a fun way to support SiWC! square.link/u/8WMjxKXe

Donate $90+ USD to gofundme.com/f/support-siwc today (Feb 27) and email your donation receipt to [email protected]. This will get you access to my Auditioning Characters live class tomorrow, Feb 28 at 8 PM ET, benefitting @siwc.bsky.social. Hope to see you there!

Want access some writing classes while supporting a great cause? Donate $45+ USD to @siwc.bsky.social fundraiser and get instant access to my Scene Writing class (prerecorded). $90+ USD by Feb 27 will secure your invitation to my live Auditioning Characters class on Feb 28 at 8 PM ET. More below...

To get access to the workshop, email your donation receipt to [email protected] by Feb 27.

Donor bonus extension! The amazing and generous @maryrobinettekowal.com is offering access to her digital class Auditioning Your Characters on Feb 28 to people who donate $90 USD+ to the SiWC GoFundMe before then. Learn from one of the best and support an incredible community. gofund.me/bde2e8d72

Acoustic guitars used to just be called ‘guitars.’ Then, we invented electric guitars. Oh no. Which meant saying ‘guitar’ wasn’t clear enough. So 'guitars' became 'acoustic guitars.' ‘Acoustic guitar’ is an example of a ‘retronym.’ 🧵⬇️

Our deepest condolences to our friends at @writersfest.bc.ca, and all the colleagues, friends, and family of Hal Wake. We spent many a @wordvancouver.bsky.social with a table near Hal and @writersfest.bc.ca over the years, and he always had a friendly word for every writer who came by.

Did you know SiWC Kathy is also a professional genealogist? Check out her new adventure for people interested in researching their Scottish family history in Edinburgh! Next trip is June 13-20. (And yes, she's still our SiWC Kathy, too!). scottishgenealogy.ca

Happy new year!

As 2025 ends, we're reflecting on the amazing generosity and support we’ve received this year. It was a difficult year at SiWC HQ, but every dollar, every share, and every act of kindness reminded us of the strength of this incredible community.

They're always looking for the secret handshake, no matter how many times people tell them it doesn't exist, and they have to actually do the work to (hopefully, no guarantees) get the results.

I was in first-year university, living away from home for the first time, when these women were murdered at school because of their gender. I will always remember. Je me souviens.

Giving Tuesday is here! If you're able, we'd appreciate your help so SiWC can continue to provide an inclusive, welcoming, and career-expanding experience—online and in person—for many years to come. www.gofundme.com/f/support-siwc Thank you!

We're thrilled to announce that the strike at our conference hotel has been resolved. We'll be returning to our home of three decades for SiWC 2026. Join us from October 23-25 with master classes on the 21st (online) and 22nd (in person and live-streamed).

Five days left to take advantage of our donor bonus, a 90-minute Zoom with agent Sara Megibow on December 4 (thanks, Sara!). www.gofundme.com/f/support-siwc

We're thrilled to offer a 90-minute Zoom session with agent Sara Megibow as a donor bonus for our GoFundMe. Donate $250CAD or more Nov 15 - 30 inclusive to get an invite to the Dec 4 Zoom. We're incredibly grateful to Sara for her generosity! www.gofundme.com/f/support-siwc

We're thrilled to offer a 90-minute Zoom session with agent Sara Megibow as a donor bonus for our GoFundMe. Donate $250CAD or more Nov 15 - 30 inclusive to get an invite to the Dec 4 Zoom. We're incredibly grateful to Sara for her generosity! www.gofundme.com/f/support-siwc

The Surrey International Writers Conference has been my happy place for 5 years running. It's where I recharge & refocus for the year. If you value books, please support the people who create them. Your contribution to SiWC will help hundreds of writers bring their stories to life for you to enjoy.

We are so very grateful to our community. More than 100 people have given to our GoFundMe. Thank you for your support! We're closing in on a 15k miletone. Let's try to get there this week! www.gofundme.com/f/support-siwc

This is also my favorite writing conference, hands down. Hoping we can come through for them and keep this con going. It's the best.

We are just $23 short of hitting $10k on our fundraiser! Every little bit helps. Thank you to everyone who's given and spread the word so far. www.gofundme.com/f/support-siwc

@siwc.bsky.social is, hands down, the highlight of my writing year, and their conferences are truly the best. If you’ve ever been touched by them in any way, or hope to attend in the future, please help now. They wouldn’t ask if they didn’t need you.

Hey #WritingCommunity Surrey Int’l Writers Con needs our help. Instead of crossing the picket line at their long-time hotel venue, organizers cancelled. But now they’re on the hook for presenters’ airfare etc. Please donate to keep this incredible con going? 🙏 & pls boost! ✨ gofund.me/5b4760382

I kicked in a few dollars tonight because back in 2020 SIWC held an online conference in conjunction with Writing Excuses. That conference gave me a big boost when I needed it, and I met so many of my friends because of this conference. If y’all can donate, please do. It’s a good group of people.

The Surrey International Writers Conference has been my favorite conference for over a decade. This year, it's not happening, because the hotel is in a labor disputed. SiWC had already purchased plane tickets, etc, for all the presenters. Can you help ensure its future? gofund.me/19c353dac

We have the most amazing community! You've already raised more than $8500 to help the magic of SiWC stay alive long into the future. Let's keep it going! www.gofundme.com/f/support-siwc

We need storytellers now more than ever. Please support SiWC and keep the magic alive. www.gofundme.com/f/support-siwc

SiWC has been the beating heart of my local writing community for over thirty years—please consider donating to keep this not for profit conference going after a financially brutal year.

I really like the Surrey International Writer's Festival. It should be happening right now. But they canceled their event because of the workers who are fighting for a fair deal from the hotel that usually hosts the convention. It was the right thing to do, but the cost to SIWC was $$$$$. help?

SIWC is an amazing conference and community I've been part of many times. They're very worth supporting.

SIWC invited me last year, paid me fairly for my workshops, and covered my hotel and flights; it was a fantastic conference and it's focused on classes, panels, pitches, and professional development. It's a very useful resource for Canadian writers and I hope it continues!

We were heartbroken to have to cancel this year’s SiWC. We want to continue to provide an inclusive, welcoming & career-expanding experience for years to come. We're running a GoFundMe to help secure the future of SiWC. Please help if you can by boosting or donating. Thank you! gofund.me/5b4760382

October should be conference month. We're all missing our friends, so we thought it might be fun to swap some anonymous words of writerly encouragement to support each other & SiWC Send a message: forms.gle/1GRHKDBJz4Ai... Receive a message & support SiWC at the same time: square.link/u/P7tmMvzh

It’s World Teachers Day. Who are some of the teachers - at school, workshops, conferences or anywhere - who’ve had the biggest impact on your writing so far?

Hello! I'm open to unsolicited submissions for the first time in ages... Looking for: Adult Epic Fantasy and Horror only Guidelines are here: www.dongwonsong.com/submission-g...

Truth and Reconciliation Day is an opportunity to acknowledge that Indigenous Peoples continue to face systemic racism, cultural erasure, and the generational trauma caused by residential schools. Honour these truths and assume responsibility for our role to make sure that it never happens again.

Conference organizers: If you want people who work outside of academia (or financially secure company), to give a talk at your conference bc you value their expertise, it's unreasonable to make them pay for registration. Artists/Nonprofit folks do not have the funding to pay you to share expertise.

Interested in joining the PSLA crew? We're currently seeking a literary agent with publishing experience to represent commercial fiction and a broad range of nonfiction. Full job posting at: http://psliterary.com/opportunities/

Covid is a disabling disease, and we are seeing it at high levels across the country. Just because the majority of people decided it doesn’t matter doesn’t change how it affects us—people still die of it every day. No matter your politics, vaccines make us less likely to be hospitalized and die.

We have the best volunteers.

As is often the case on no good very bad days, I am touched beyond measure by the kindness of friends, colleagues, acquaintances, and strangers alike. So many good people in the world. 💕

We are heartbroken to announce that an ongoing labour dispute at our conference hotel has forced us to cancel this year's SiWC for the first time in our 33-year history. We hope to see you at next year's conference, October 23-25, 2026 with master classes on the 21st and 22nd. Reg opens June 3, 2026