Premee Mohamed, Joseph Dandurand and Tanya Boteju are all presenters at The Federation of British Columbia Writers’ BC Writers Summit in 2024. (Individual photos courtesy Federation of British Columbia Writers)

Premee Mohamed, Joseph Dandurand and Tanya Boteju are all presenters at The Federation of British Columbia Writers’ BC Writers Summit in 2024. (Individual photos courtesy Federation of British Columbia Writers)

BC Writers Summit returning for 4th annual online event

The festival helps writers strengthen their works and showcases talks with award-winning authors

B.C. writers can take part in 34 sessions and activities and hear from notable presenters across B.C. at the 4th annual online BC Writers Summit, from May 27 to June 2.

“The theme this year is ‘for the love of genre’,” said executive director Bryan Mortensen. “We want to celebrate our love for all genres and to glean the best learnings from each to strengthen our works —regardless of what realm our writing inhabits. Whether you consider yourself a genre writer or not, there will be something for everyone.”

The summit’s 34 sessions include a keynote address, workshops, writing sprints, mindfulness exercises, and a gala.

Back by popular demand is the Blue Pencil Sessions from the Darling Axe, a team of award-winning writers and industry professionals who offer novel development and book editing services. They can provide feedback on a work in progress, with costs ranging depending on word count and time of session.

The summit also presents notable speakers, including Premee Mohamed, a Nebula, World Fantasy and Aurora award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author based in Edmonton.

Sixteen additional presenters include playwright Joseph Dandurand, poet Cornelia Hoogland and mystery writer AJ Devlin.

The summit is put on by The Federation of British Columbia Writers, a provincial writing organisation that supports emerging and established writers on a grassroots level, and has over 1,500 active members.

Most sessions will be recorded and made available to participants for one month following the summit. While members of the FBCW get a discounted rate, the BC Writers Summit is open to all interested writers.

For summit registration information and a full list of presentations, visit bcwriters.ca/summit.

Earlybird passes are available until April 30.

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