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Welcome to the SWG Annual Fall Conference!

“What gets measured, gets done.” When your benchmark is Great Expectations, and such is our theme this year, our hope is that you will have a great writing experience through the interaction with other writers. Just like Dickens leading character, Pip, we anticipate that the conference provides growth and development for your writing career and enhances your involvement in the writing community. Explore the events, fabulous sessions and the stimulating ideas presented; we trust that the skills and tools you learn will become a part of your writing success.

Looking forward to meeting with you! Enjoy the conference!

Sincerely,

Jeanne AlexanderPresident of the Board, SWG

“No varnish can hide the grain of the wood; and that the more varnish you put on, the more the grain will express itself.”

- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

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Dianne Warren’s Governor General’s Award-winning novel Cool Water, published by HarperCollins in 2010, was called unforgettable by the Globe and Mail, a “contemplation on the subtle and magical ecology of the great sand hills.” She has published three other books of fiction and won several awards for her short stories, including Western and National Magazine Awards. She won the Marian Engel award for fiction from the Writers’ Trust of Canada in 2004. Both A Reckless Moon and Cool Water were listed in the Globe and Mail’s top books of the year. Cool Water has been published in several countries and was released as Juliet in August in the US, in July 2012 (Amy Einhorn Books). In 2013, she was the recipient of the Cheryl and Henry Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence. Her latest book Liberty Street was published this Fall. Dianne lives in Regina and is currently finishing a new novel.

Dianne Warren, the 2015 Caroline Heath Lecturer. Photo courtesy Don Hall.

“Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.”

- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

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Literary Agents/Consultants

12:00 pm Conference Registration table opens 1:00 pm — 2:15 pm Journey to the Centre of the Poet

Trapped in a middle-earth poetry fissure, Daniel Scott Tysdal and his travelling companion Adam Pottle tunnel their way to the heart of poetic thinking. Why did they pick poetry? What about this journey compelled them to write poetry? How does the poetic form keep them anchored to the rocket of writing? These concepts will surface when the poets’ voyages are uncovered.

1:00 pm — 2:15 pm Merchant of Menace

Hoping to woo the wealthy consumers of the internet with their books and skills as writers, Toby Welch and Anthazia Kadir will loan you their tips and tricks for marketing on today’s penniless writing budgets. How do you market yourself when you’re new to the province, or new to the country, or even new to writing? What makes you stand out from the crowd? Learn how to safely sail without tipping your marketing boat over!

2:30 pm — 3:30 pm Gone with the Trend

From plantation to writing nation, Ed Willett and Dawn Dumont survive the latest literary movements. Sharing epic tips and tricks on new trends in writing for science-fiction, fantasy, comedy, Indigenous, and women’s writing, our love-struck writers will help you survive the romance and help you explore writing the tangled affairs of genre and novelty.

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2:30 pm — 3:30 pm Anne of Green Fables

Mired on a writing island, Anne Lazurko and Anne Campbell will share ideas about developing your fiction, nonfiction and poetry. These two will help you adopt new skills to flourish your prose. Be prepared to be whisked away on this adventurous session! 3:45 pm — 4:45 pm Charlotte’s Web

Escaping the pen and finding words for the web will be made easier when you listen to Linda Aksomitis and Jillian Bell speak. Their farm of ideas will broaden your knowledge on using the web, allowing your writing to live beyond the pen. Untangle the confusion of the net, and embrace the freedom and tools of writing online. 3:45 pm — 4:45 pm Around the World in 80 Minutes

Get carried away across the globe with Anthazia Kadir, Theodora Agyeman-Anane, and Nilofar Shidmehr, on a voyage to discover more about writing from cultural perspectives. Accept the wager to attend, and find yourself circumnavigating the unique ideas and stories of these three accomplished writers. Humour and knowledge abound, these three will share their worldly secrets and sow the seeds to help you develop your own cultural stories into books. 5:00 pm — 7:00 pm Tale of Two Cocktails / Supper on Your Own

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of times to have a drink/meal with fellow writers on your own.

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7:30 pm — 8:30 pm Caroline Heath Lecture Writing Local: Random Thoughts about Regionalism

When Dianne Warren’s novel Cool Water appeared in 2010, it was called a regional novel by one popular literary blogger, who in fact liked the novel and had nothing negative to say about it in his review. So why, she wondered, call it regional? What is the purpose of calling a Canadian book regional, and what does it say about the book and the reviewer using the term? Referring to an amazing crop of 2015 Saskatchewan-based novels, “Writing Local” will explore the label of “regional”, who applies it, and what writing from a particular place can really achieve.

8:45 pm — 11:15 pm Open Mic/Social

9:00 am — 10:00 am O(t)Hello — Writers Group Chat 10:15 am — 11:45 am Workshops — Word of the Flies, Word in the Willows

Word of the Flies with Daniel Scott Tysdal: In this hands-on 90 minute session, poets will sharpen their skills, test out new techniques, and generate original work by exploring the “convergence of occasions” through their own practice, the work of a wide-range of poets, and encounters with other artistic mediums.

Word in the Willows with Dianne Warren: This 90 minute session will focus on the importance of moving beyond a first draft to create layers of meaning in your fiction work.

12:00 pm — 1:30 pm John V. Hicks Luncheon 2:00 pm SWG AGM

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Book Table

The book table is open the following hours:

October 23, 201512:00 - 5:00 pm and 7:00 - 10:00 pm

October 24, 2015 8:30 am - 12:00 pm

SWG Members and presenters of the conference can leave up to five copies of a title at any one time. Please make sure the price is clearly marked on the book.

Please pick up your unsold books Saturday by 1:30 pm.

Registration Table Information

October 23, 2015 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Registration Table Open 7:00 pm - 7:30 pm: Registration Table Open

October 24, 2015 8:45 am - 10:30 am: Registration Table Open 1:30 pm - 2:00 pm: Registration Table Open for AGM

Volunteers

We thank the following people for their hard work on the SWG Conference Committee:

Jeanette MontgomeryBrett Bradshaw

Need a new headshot?

Stop by the SWG Photo Booth onFriday Oct 23

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

$10 Donation to the Caroline Heath Memorial Fund

Your photo will be emailed to you afterthe conference. Use it for your website,

author portrait, promotions, etc.

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Theodora Agyeman-Anane is a writer and photographer. Born in Ghana and raised in Italy; she spent her formative years commuting from Vicenza to

Verona, Italy, to study Optics, but all she dreamt about was writing and photographing. She’s living her dreams in Saskatchewan with her husband and two kids. Her debut novel, Wasting Away, is available anywhere they sell books.

Linda Aksomitis is the developer and instructor for the course, Publish and Sell Your E-Books, offered at over 4000 colleges and libraries in dozens of

countries around the world. Her e-book publishing career began in 2000, and since then she’s published 16 books with traditional publishers, and independently e-published a dozen books.

Jillian Bell is a writer and freelance editor living in the Qu’Appelle Valley in Saskatchewan. She works for the Saskatchewan Publishers Group. She is

a blogger and has worked with the Canadian Blog Awards and with the Canadian Weblog Awards. She has also served on the board of directors of the Saskatchewan Book Awards since 2005.

Anne Campbell is the author of five collections of poetry, as well as editor of popular nonfiction, including Regina’s Secret Spaces: Love and Lore of Local

Geography. She has received many awards including the City of Regina Writing Award and the City of Regina Mayor’s Arts and Heritage Awards.

Dawn Dumont is the award-winning author of Nobody Cries at Bingo and Rose’s Run. In 2015, Rose’s Run was shortlisted for three Saskatchewan

Book Awards and won the Regina Book Award for Fiction. Her first book, Nobody Cries at Bingo, also published by Thistledown Press, was nominated and shortlisted for three awards including the Alberta Reader’s Choice Award.

Anthazia Kadir has worked as a journalist and travel writer for the Guyana Entertainment Magazine. She emigrated to Toronto ON, in 2007 and

published her first novel, What a Woman Wants in 2009. She translated Afzal Shaq’s life story from Pasto/Urdu into English and that translation was released as Daughter of Pharaoh, which came out in 2011.

“You are in every line I have ever read.” - Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

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Anne Lazurko’s debut novel, Dollybird, won the 2014 WILLA Award for Historical Fiction, and was nominated for the Saskatchewan Book Award

for Fiction. A graduate of the Humber School of Writing, her poetry and fiction has appeared in anthologies and literary magazines. Lazurko has a Political Science degree, works as a freelance writer and a farmer. She lives near Weyburn.

Adam Pottle is a Saskatoon writer whose work explores the social and philosophical aspects of disability. He’s published two books: a poetry collection

called Beautiful Mutants, and a novel called Mantis Dreams. He is currently developing his play, Ultrasound, for production in Toronto, ON.

Nilofar Shidmehr, is an arts-based inquiry scholar, an Iranian-Canadian writer, and a British Columbia-Book-Prize nominated poet. She has written

four books: In the Garden of Exile (2014), Between Lives (2014), Two Nilofars: Before and After Migration (2009), Shirin and Salt Man (2008), and a Farsi translation of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. She is the Writer-in-Residence at the Regina Public Library.

Daniel Scott Tysdal is the author of three books of poetry, Fauxccasional Poems (forthcoming from icehouse 2015), The Mourner’s Book of Albums (Tightrope

2010), and Predicting the Next Big Advertising Breakthrough Using a Potentially Dangerous Method (Coteau 2006), which received the ReLit Award for Poetry (2007), the Anne Szumigalski Poetry Award (2006), and the John V. Hicks Award (2005).

Toby Welch has been a full-time freelance writer for a decade. In that time she has published over 230 articles in magazines and newspapers, 400+ pieces

online, and 41 e-books under her own name and a pseudonym. Welch finds inspiration in country music, impressionist artwork, and jars of Nutella.

Edward Willett, moved to Saskatchewan from Texas as a child, and grew up in Weyburn, where he began his career as a newspaper reporter/photographer, and

eventually editor, of the Weyburn Review. He’s the author of more than 50 books for children, young adults, and adults. His latest book is Lake in the Clouds, the third book in his YA series The Shards of Excalibur.

“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”

- George Bernard Shaw, Great Expectations

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Please fill out the Conference/AGM evaluation form included in your registration packet and return it to the registration table. Your input will be considered in planning for the next Fall Conference and AGM.

The last word is yours!

We are grateful for the support of SaskCulture, the Saskatchewan Lotteries Trust Fund, Saskatchewan Arts Board, and the City of Regina.

Thank you to our sponsors

“There was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.” - Charles Dickens, Great Expectations