The Surrey International Writers’ Conference (SiWC) is held every October in
Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...
, Canada. The first conference took place in 1993 and it has been run annually since. The conference aims to "inspire
ndeducate" writers at different stages in their careers. The conference is conducted on a not-for-profit basis and is planned, organized and run mainly by volunteers. The conference was recognised in 2002 for its international reach, with speakers and attendees from North America, Australasia, Asia, and Europe.
Conference Format
The conference takes place over three days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The conference usually has sessions themed around:
* Workshops
* Master Classes
* Editor/Agent Interviews/pitch appointments
* Informal talks with speakers/panelists
* Trade show
* Saturday Evening Author Signing and Book Fair
Speakers
The conference has booked the following authors as speakers for various past conferences:
Terry Brooks
Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly high fantasy, epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 New York Times Best Seller List, ''New York Times'' ...
,
Catherine Coulter
Jean Catherine Coulter (born December 26, 1942) is an American author of romantic suspense thrillers and historical romances who currently resides in northern California.
Early life and education
Coulter grew up on a horse ranch in Cameron Count ...
,
Jennifer Crusie
Jennifer Crusie (born 1949) is a pseudonym for Jennifer Smith, an author of contemporary romance novels. She has written more than twenty novels, which have been published in 20 countries.
Biography
Crusie was born as Jennifer Smith in Wapakone ...
,
Robert Dugoni
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
,
Hallie Ephron
Hallie Elizabeth Ephron (born March 9, 1948) is an American novelist, book reviewer, journalist, and writing teacher. She is the author of mystery and suspense novels. Her novels ''Never Tell a Lie,'' ''There Was an Old Woman'', ''Come and Find ...
,
Diana Gabaldon
Diana J. Gabaldon (; born January 11, 1952) is an American author and television writer. She is best known for the book series ''Outlander''. Her books merge multiple genres, featuring elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventu ...
,
Susanna Kearsley,
Annabel Lyon
Annabel Lyon (born 1971) is a Canadian novelist and short-story writer. She has published two collections of short fiction, two young adult novels, and two adult historical novels, ''The Golden Mean'' and its sequel, ''The Sweet Girl''.
Life and ...
,
Phillip Margolin
Phillip Margolin (born 1944) is an American writer of legal thrillers.
Biography
Margolin was born in New York City in 1944. After receiving a B.A. in Government in 1965, from American University in Washington, D.C., he worked as a Peace Corps v ...
,
Robert McCammon
Robert Rick McCammon (born July 17, 1952) is an American novelist from Birmingham, Alabama. One of the influential names in the late 1970s–early 1990s American horror literature boom, by 1991 McCammon had three ''New York Times'' bestsellers (' ...
,
Jacqueline Mitchard,
Anne Perry
Anne Perry (born Juliet Marion Hulme; 28 October 1938 – 10 April 2023) was a British writer and murderer. She was the author of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt and William Monk series of historical detective fiction.
In 1994 it became pub ...
,
Mary Jo Putney
Mary Jo Putney (born in New York) is an American author of over twenty-five historical and contemporary romance novels. She has also published romantic fantasy novels as M.J. Putney. Her books are known for their unusual subject matter, including ...
,
Karen Robards
Karen Robards (born August 24, 1954, in Louisville, Kentucky) is a best-selling author of over fifty novels. After first gaining recognition for her historical romances, Robards became one of the first historical romance novelists to successfull ...
,
John Saul
John Saul (born February 25, 1942) is an American author of suspense and horror novels. Most of his books have appeared on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list. .
Biography
Born in Pasadena, Saul grew up in Whittier, California, and grad ...
,
Robert J. Sawyer, Michael Slade,
Meg Tilly
Meg Tilly (born Margaret Elizabeth Chan on February 14, 1960) is an American-Canadian actress and writer.
For her role in the 1985 film '' Agnes of God'', she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting A ...
, and
Jack Whyte
Jack Whyte (March 15, 1940February 22, 2021) was a Scottish-Canadian novelist of historical fiction. Born and raised in Scotland, he moved to Canada in 1967. He resided in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Early life
Whyte was born in Scotland on March ...
.
Writing Contest
The SiWC Writing Contest is held annually and in conjunction with the conference. Prizes are awarded to the winner at the awards ceremony on the first evening of the conference. First place wins $1000, and honorable mentions receive $150. The winner and honorable mentions are published online.
History
The conference first took place at Johnson Heights Secondary School and was attended by just over 100 people. The organizers then began planning for a larger conference the following year. The second conference moved to the Sheraton Guildford Hotel, where it has remained since. The second conference featured author
Maeve Binchey as a keynote speaker.
On the tenth anniversary of the conference in 2002, the growth and reach of the conference was recognized by including ‘international’ in the official title to become the Surrey International Writers’ Conference.
The conference operated as an extension of the Surrey School District's Continuing Education department as a non-profit event from its inception up to and including the 2010 conference. It now operates as a not-for-profit society, the Surrey International Writers' Conference Society.
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References
External links
Surrey International Writers' Conference Surrey International Writers' Conference blog
Writers' conferences
Literary festivals in British Columbia