So much going on in my life these days, not least of which is planning for this year’s Surrey International Writers’ Conference. 2017 marks the 25th annual SiWC. We’ve come a long way from the borrowed classroom in a local high school where we started to selling out the conference – and the Sheraton Guildford Hotel – every year. It’s gratifying and exciting to be a part of it.
As I work towards leaving for my trip on Friday, the largest part of my to-do list has been getting all the work done for SiWC that I need to have done before we open registration in early June. This has made for long days and late nights, but the more it comes together, the more excited I am to be able to share the details with our attendees. Thinking of the people who’re looking forward to hearing about it and joining us at the conference, I feel the warmth and support of our community of writers. That, more than anything else, is what makes all the work worthwhile.
I often see posts and discussions about what to look for in a writers’ conference. To me, that sense of camaraderie instead of competition is every bit as important as the quality of the workshops. I love that preserving that atmosphere is every bit as important to our repeat attendees as it is to us on the planning team.
Stay tuned on siwc.ca for news in the coming weeks!