Are you upgrading your reasonably-new tablet or laptop? SiWC is looking for newer tablets and laptops in good working condition that are capable of running Google Sheets and Zoom. We rely on laptops and tablets in the Fraser Room, at our reg desk, and in the tech set-ups for our live-streamed workshops, and of course the computers and tablets we already have get older every year. We may also be able to make use of microphones, dongles, gaffer tape, and other smaller tech bits and pieces. If you would like to donate your tablet or laptop and are able to get it to Surrey, or if you have other bits and pieces you think may be useful to us, please email Martin at [email protected] with the subject line "SiWC tech gift" or similar. 

 

Note that as a not-for-profit society in BC, we are not able to offer charitable donation receipts for your contributions, but we can provide a receipt for the value of your gift, which may qualify as a legitimate business expense for promotion/advertising, depending on the applicable tax laws in your area. 

 

Thank you so much for considering giving to SiWC. We appreciate you!

 

 

The 2024 master class and draft workshop schedule are now up on our website at siwc.ca. This year's conference runs October 25-27, with master classes on the 23rd (virtual only) and 24th (virtual and in person).

 

For those of you registering for the first time, note that you will need to select any master classes you want to take at the time of registration (or add them on before the conference), but you do not need to select indiviual regular conference workshops. Your virtual conference registration or in-person conference full or basic registration allows you to choose any workshop or panel available to you in any time slot, so you can go where the wind takes you in the moment. And of course you'll have access to the recorded sessions for 30 days once they're posted after the conference.

 

 

Registration for SiWC 2024 opens in just two weeks, on Wednesday, June 5, at noon Pacific. Some years, the conference sells out in a matter of hours, so plan to register early!

 

At noon on the 5th, a "Register Now" button will appear on our registration page at https://www.siwc.ca/registration/. You will need to refresh the page to see the button if it's not there when you arrive anytime from noon onward. 

 

Registration opening day is the most exciting day of the year for us outside the conference itself. It's such a joy to see all the new and familiar names flooding in once we open the gates. We can't wait!

 

 

SiWC wouldn't be SiWC without our amazing team of volunteers. Volunteers do all sorts of jobs at SiWC, including running our Zoom events, helping in the Fraser room or at registration, door monitoring, working with our tech team, and lots more. Volunteers work in person at the hotel and from home for our virtual conference. If you are interested in being a new volunteer at SiWC or know someone who might be, thank you! Check out the info on our volunteer page at https://www.siwc.ca/conference/get-involved/volunteer-at-siwc/ for details and contact info for Stephanie, our volunteer coordinator. If you volunteered last year, Stephanie will get in touch with you around the end of June. 

 

 

 

The conference hotel, the Sheraton Guildford, is filling up quickly. We strongly recommend booking your hotel room before registration opens, as the hotel often sells out by then and is very close to sold out now. Use the group link here to book your room using conference rates: https://www.siwc.ca/conference/venue/hotel-room-booking/. 

 

 

Our annual short story contest is NOW OPEN to entries. Check out the rules here: https://www.siwc.ca/writing-contest/. First prize - the Jack Whyte Storyteller's Award - is $1000CAD and submission for publication, subject to editorial review, to Pulp Literature. Honourable mention - $150 and submission for publication, subject to editorial review, to Pulp Literature.

 

 

Our SiWC scholarships are open to entries until September 15 (September 30 for our young writers). If you are an Indigenous writer, a Black writer, a young writer, or a writer from any underrepresented group, please don't self-reject. Apply! Details are on our website here: https://www.siwc.ca/scholarships/scholarships-for-writers-from-underrepresented-groups/ and here: https://www.siwc.ca/scholarships/young-writers-scholarship/

More soon!

 

Kathy

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Surrey International Writers' Conference Society
Suite #544 | 151-10090 152nd St | Surrey BC V3R 8X8 | Canada