Another year has rolled around – bringing new workshops, contests, readings, festivals and other great writing events. Scroll down to read the latest details.
Note: the Federation of BC Writers is not directly affiliated with the following organizations or groups.
Submit your event or announcement to our next blog post here, or contact Rachel at rachel@bcwriters.ca.
North Shore Writers’ Association Annual Writing Contest
Submissions accepted from January 15 – March 15
In its 28th year, the contest champions local and national literary talent, with cash prizes given in the categories of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Winners will be announced during the North Shore Writers’ Festival in April.
Submissions must be original, unpublished material, maximum 2,000 words per entry. Multiple entries per author are accepted. For more details and to submit an entry, visit https://www.nswriters.org/annual-contest/
Penned in the Creek Writing Group
Meets 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm every other Tuesday, beginning January 16, 2024
Roberts Creek Library, 1044 Roberts Creek Rd, Roberts Creek, BC
January 16 and 30; February 13 and 27; March 12 and 26
Please contact Caitlin Hicks for more information: caitlin@caitlinhicks.com
Planet Earth Poetry Presents: “Postcards from the World”
A Poetry Workshop with Ariel Gordon
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 1:00 to 4:00 pm
Location: A comfortable private home in the Gorge area of Victoria, BC. (Directions upon registration.)
What does it mean to slow down and pay attention to the urban ecosystem? This workshop focuses on what it means to pay attention to the natural world, to stop and see what’s living there.
Ariel Gordon is a Treaty 1 territory/Winnipeg-based writer, editor, and enthusiast, and the ringleader of Writes of Spring, a National Poetry Month project in collaboration with the Winnipeg International Writers Festival and the Winnipeg Free Press.
Cost: $65. Limited sliding scale tickets available – $25 to $45 – for those in need. Please enquire during registration. Two fully-funded bursaries for participants who identify as Indigenous and who register by January 13th.
For more information and to register, visit https://planetearthpoetry.com/ariel-gordon-workshop-1
Wild Prose Reading: The Subversives
Thursday, January 25, 2024, Doors 6:30 pm; Open Mic 7:00 pm; Featured Readers 7:30 pm
Paul Phillips Hall, 1923 Fernwood Road, Victoria, BC
Admission: $5 or pay what you can; free refreshments
Featuring JD Derbyshire reading from Mercy Gene: The Man-Made Making of a Madwoman, Kathryn Mockler, reading from Anecdotes, and Emi Sasagawa reading from her debut novel, Atomweight. The evening will start with an OPEN MIC. Please bring some work to share!
Please bring CASH for admission and books. For more information, visit https://www.susansanfordblades.com/wild-prose-reading-series
2024 SCWES Book Contest
Submissions open February 1, 2024
The Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society Book Contest is open to both traditionally and self-published authors. A first-prize winner in each genre will be announced at the Art & Words Festival, Aug. 22-25, Gibsons Public Market, with a $100 prize for each first-place winner for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Children’s/YA, Illustrated/Graphic Novel, Indigenous Voices, Diverse Voices and Sunshine Coast Voices.
For more information, visit https://www.scwes.ca/contests
2023 Okanagan Short Story Contest
Submissions now open
Deadline, February 2nd 2024
The Okanagan Short Story Contest awards the best new short stories by writers in the Southern Interior of British Columbia: east of Hope, west of the Alberta border, north of the US border and south of Williams Lake. Past winners have gone on to publish with Penguin Random House, Arsenal Pulp Press, and NeWest Press, as well as numerous magazines and journals nationally and internationally.
Submissions must be between 1,000 and 4,000 words in length (about 4-20 pages, typed, double-spaced). Entries must be original, unpublished works of fiction. For more information, or for the submission page and instructions, please see https://fccs.ok.ubc.ca/short-story/
Launch Your Writing Project: Get That Novel, Family History, or Memoir Started This Winter
Saturday, February 3, 10, 17, 24, March 2 and 9, 2024
ONLINE 1 pm – 3:30 pm, PT
Fee: $295 + GST; please register by January 15
Have you got a story idea that needs fleshing out? Join author Jeanette Taylor and storyteller Margo McLoughlin for a special online series. Taylor and McLoughlin will help writers with a new story idea devise a plan and get started on their project, whether it’s short fiction, writing for children, or a novel. We’ll engage in discussions and try writing exercises designed to get your pen moving as you work toward a first draft.
For information, visit: https://www.mcloughlingardens.org/literary-arts
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Literary Journalism: Memoir – Summer 2024
Program dates: June 10 – 21, 2024
Application deadline: February 7, 2024
This residency gives memoir writers time to work on their manuscripts, have individual consultations with faculty, and participate in workshops.
For more information, visit https://www.banffcentre.ca/programs/literary-journalism-memoir-summer-2024/20240610 or Literary Arts residency programs.
Jewish Book Festival
Feb 10-15, 2024 (+ Prologue event January 28)
Jewish Community Centre, Vancouver, BC
The Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival attracts a varied audience of over 5,000 people of all ages, and brings together prominent and emerging Jewish writers and non-Jewish writers on Jewish subject matter.
For more information and the event program, visit https://www.jccgv.com/jewish-book-festival/
Editors BC Seminar: Build Your Freelance Editing Business Website with Erin Brenner
Saturday, February 24, 2024, 1:00 to 4:00 pm PST
Online via Zoom
Early bird on or before January 9, 2024:
After January 9, 2024: Member of Editors BC: $90; Non-member: $170; Student Affiliate: $50
Are you ready to establish your editing business online? This seminar will guide you through creating and managing a professional website to attract new clients and grow your freelance editing work. Erin Brenner is the owner of editorial services firm Right Touch Editing, which specializes in providing small and midsized organizations with writing and editing teams. Additionally, Erin provides freelance editor coaching and website reviews through Archer Editorial Training.
Registration is limited and closes February 20, 2024, at 11:59 pm. For more information and to register, visit https://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1262&EID=31421
