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April

August 13-15, 2021 will be our festival's 10th anniversary. 10 years as a meeting place for readers, writers, and other professionals in the literary world. When Words Collide organizers are already at work planning chapter 10 of our festival, and hope to include a few special events to mark the occasion.

If you have suggestions or would like to be a part of making great things happen, please contact us at:
info@whenwordscollide.org

 

 
  
WWC Online 2021 Festival Passes Are Now Available!
 
Registration is simple and easy, and best of all free. Visit our registration page to get started:
www.whenwordscollide.org/Registration/

If you purchased a pass for our 2021 in-person festival, it has been converted to a 2022 pass, so you are already registered for our 2022 in-person festival. (This includes purchased banquet tickets.)

 
2021 Festival Guests!
 
Check out our fantastic lineup of 10th Anniversary festival guests who will be joining us online:
Cathy Ace - past president of Crime Writers of Canada and award-winning author of mystery fiction.
Vicki Delany - bestselling crime writer and winner of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award.
Steena Holmes - bestselling author in multiple genres with over 2 million copies sold.
Fonda Lee - award-winning speculative fiction author and black belt martial artist.
Dave Reynolds - Local Authors Manager for Indigo/Chapters/Coles for Western Canada.
Morgan Rhodes - bestselling and award-winning YA fantasy author AKA Michelle Rowen - bestselling romance and paranormal author, and past president of Toronto Romance Writers.

 
2021 Hotel Room? Travel Plans?
 
If you have booked a hotel room or airline flight to attend the in-person festival, please remember to cancel them unless... we have noticed during this season of in-person events moving online that some attendees are opting to stay at a hotel anyway and enjoy the virtual event from the comfort of their hotel room. I know our fantastic in-person hotel The Delta South Calgary would appreciate your support. The Delta also appears to have some bargain pricing right now, lower than our festival rate.

 
2021 Program
 
The festival program is well underway where current festival guests, many past festival guests, and dozens of attending experts will provide a wide range of exciting presentations and discussions. Be prepared to view and participate from the comfort of you own home. All you need is a computer or even a smart phone. Client virtual presence software is free and easy to use.
www.whenwordscollide.org/Events/Festival_Program.php

If you would like to present in our online program, there is still space (though it is vanishing quickly). Find out how right here:


Master Classes

We are pleased to announce 10 Master Classes for 2021 ranging from novel writing to getting published to marketing to the inside scoop to working with Indigo. Check out which are the best fit for you.
www.whenwordscollide.org/Events/Masterclasses.php


In Places Between Short Story Contest -- Update!

Stop the presses! The Robyn Herrington Memorial Short Story contest has been changed for this year. There is still no entry fee, but In Places Between will be a contest for young writers. The 2021 contest is open to kids under the age of 18 who reside in Alberta or the Northwest Territories. Deadline for submissions has been extended to midnight on May 31, 2021. Full details at:
https://ipbcontest.weebly.com/

 
Shared Author Table

Authors attending the festival who have books for sale not available elsewhere in the Merchants' Corner are welcome to join the IFWA-sponsored online cooperative booksellers' table.  Sign-up will be available soon.
 

Hidden Art Show 2021
 
The Hidden Art Show will be back and online. If you are an attending artist at the festival. find out how to apply to show your work here:
www.whenwordscollide.org/Events/Hidden_Art_Show.php


Public Events
 
In-person WWC festivals include a number of events open to the public. As we are online this year as a free Eventbrite festival, all regular festival events are open to the public. We invite those who have never attended When Words Collide in the past to take advantage of our free 2021 registration and check us out.

 
Podcasts & Webcasts

A selection of past festival sessions (including our 2020 Online Festival) can be found on our Podcast and YouTube channels:

Podcast channel:
http://whenwordscollide.libsyn.com/

YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/channel/UCYLP-1XdcKWDyRftkL_a8lQ/

Recent additions include:

Edgy Realistic Fiction for Teens with Diane Terrana, Jenna Greene, Rhonda Parrish, and Steve Swanson. An open discussion on realistic themes in young adult fiction. What's out there, who's reading it, and how is it being received? (2019 in-person festival)

Getting the Character's Emotion on the Page with Angela Ackerman, Jonas Saul, Merilynn Ruth Liddell, and Susan Calder. Showing what a character feels can be a big stumbling block for writers. Join a discussion on what works and what doesn't, and how we can move past generic description to create authentic, personal moments that will draw readers in. (2019 in-person festival)

Pitch That Story Idea! with Suzy Vadori. Your story explodes in your brain. You think about it 24/7, and know your characters intimately. So why do freeze when someone asks what your story's about? (or worse, ramble on and on until you've even bored yourself with the details...). Bring your story idea or project to this workshop and you'll work on and practice saying a succinct pitch that will wow publishers and potential readers. (2020 online festival)

Note Webcasts from from our 2020 online festival are only available on our YouTube Channel. Podcasts are available on either channel. 

 
Your Feedback
 
We would love to hear your feedback for our 2020 online festival. If you wish to comment on something you particularly liked or disliked, or have suggestions for future festival guests or content, please let us know:
 
 
News & Notes Archive
 
This and past newsletters can be found at:

 
 
2021 Aurora Award Nominations Close April 24th (This Saturday!)
 
Don’t miss out!  Nominations close this Saturday at 11:59 pm EDT (9:59 MDT). Get you nominations in ASAP. Don’t wait until the last day. You can submit now and add to or change them at any time until closed. 

Note: Nominations for Fan Organizational (Where the When Words Collide Festival is eligible) are part of Fan Related Work category this year. The Short Fiction category has been split into Best Novelette/Novella (less than 40,000 words) and Best Short Story (less than 7,000 words).  For more details visit:
www.prixaurorawards.ca
 
 
Writers in Your House
April 30 - May 2
 
3rd time's the charm. Our 1st 2 events were well attended and much enjoyed. So pick a project for May and join us putting in a highly productive 3 days on your next novel, novella, short story, or whatever project needs doing. We encourage participants to join the Facebook event:
and during the weekend check in/out of your writing sessions. Maybe let us know of your milestones achieved or that special snack you're enjoying while writing. Note: there is no ZOOM or collaborative activity for this event.
 
 
Brenda Strathern Writing Prize
 
$5,000 award for unpublished writers over 40 working on their first work of fiction (novel or short story).
https://calgaryfoundation.org/donor-stories/brenda-strathern-writing-prize/
 
 
Owl's Nest Books Online Events
 
Book launches, readings, and other events listed at:
https://bookmanager.com/1675575/?q=h.calevents
 
 
Alexandra Writers' Centre Society Online Classes & Events
 
Check out the Centre's event calendar.
www.alexandrawriters.org/events/


 

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