Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the Surrey International Writers’ Conference #siwc. What an incredible experience! I met so many writers (there were about 600 of us!), some who are published and others who were just starting out. This year’s theme was This day we write! I even bought a tee shirt with this quote to motivate me.

I attended workshops put on by such well known authors as Bob Mayer, Robert Dugoni, Hallie Ephron, and even Diana Gabaldon of the Outlander series. The presenters were professional and incredibly knowledgeable. I had the honour of  having two of my works blue penciled by Daniel Jose Older and Delilah Dawson. I could have had a pitch session with an agent, but I just don’t have anything ready.

One writer I met took part in the SiWC Idol, where writers can drop a page of their work into a basket to be critiqued. The panel members take out a page and after it’s read, they critique it. This writer’s page was good enough that an agent told her to submit the manuscript. How’s that for “being discovered”?

The SiWC is held at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Surrey, BC the fourth weekend of October every year. In fact, next year is the 25th anniversary of this world class writer’s event. Tickets go on sale in June and are usually snapped up early. So if you want to go, don’t hesitate or you might miss out.

Will I go back? You betcha. To see photos and learn more about the SiWC, go to their website at http://www.siwc.ca