What Is GET LIT?
Think of it as a mini-conference. A jam-packed Saturday of workshops, blue pencils, networking and community building.
Each month will focus on a different genre or a different element of craft or the literary world. Hear from industry professionals: writers, agents, publishers. Have your work reviewed, meet other writers all working in your same genre.
What are you waiting for?
Each month will focus on a different genre or a different element of craft or the literary world. Hear from industry professionals: writers, agents, publishers. Have your work reviewed, meet other writers all working in your same genre.
What are you waiting for?
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The Writer's Life
Write. Edit. Publish How does one go from writer to published author? In this full-day mini conference, we will look at the writer’s life from idea to publication and how to get your work noticed. Whether your goal is the traditional route, or to self-publish, the journey is mostly the same. From the first word, to engaging your community of peers for support and encouragement, to staying on track and dealing with rejection in all forms, resilience that will get you to the finish line. January 28, 2023 | 9am - 5pm | RGO Treehouse - cSpace Marda Loop AWCS Members: $150 | Non-Members: $200 Bradley Somer | Jodi McIsaac | Kelly Kaur | M. Jane Colette Blue Pencil Sessions available with select presenters - only 20 sessions available. Register early to secure a spot. Note: Participation in Get Lit is entirely IN PERSON. Full schedule with times will be available to participants. |
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KEYNOTE
The Golden Age of Authordom - Treehouse
Bradley Somer
That’s today… the golden age. Never have authors had more opportunities to get their words to more people, everywhere, and by all means. Let’s look at how lucky we are by putting down the milestones of written history, literacy, technology, technique, and purpose! You’ve landed in the perfect time to live as a writer… how will you choose to use this opportunity?
WORKSHOPS
Write! Writing Scenes with Restrictions - Treehouse
Bradley Somer
Writing is the easiest thing… just put the first word down, and then the next, and the next, until you have eighty thousand (or so) amazing ones, then just write ’the end'! Well, it’s a bit harder than that, and in this session we will workshop the most important part of any narrative: the scene. We will be deconstructing the scene, turning it from one side to the other, looking at it from all angles, and putting it back together with restrictions that will make it even stronger. Looking at story this way does make it all easier, because what is a story but a series of really strong and amazingly written scenes.
The Organized Creative, the Procrastinator's and Pantser's Edition - Treehouse
M. Jane Colette
How to create a ritualized, flexible and sustainable writing practice that works for the unique snowflakes that we are.
Get Involved: Activating the Power of Community - Treehouse
Kelly Kaur
Join this session about how you can actively engage the writing community. While writing can often feel like a solitary occupation, finding your place in the writing community can be vital to your writing practice. How can you authentically engage the community? How do you find peer support and make connections? Are you ready to read in public? What does it really mean to build a fully realized identity as a writer? We’d like to start building that community with you, by providing a short period for public reading. We encourage you to bring your favourite short piece to share.
The Resilient Writer - Treehouse
Jodi McIsaac
“There is no innovation and creativity without failure,” according to Brené Brown. But how does one navigate the painful seasons of failure, struggle, and rejection that are an inevitable part of the writer’s life? More importantly, how does one develop the resilience to keep going? This workshop will give you the inspiration and practical tools you need to weather the storms, make peace with rejection, and use it all as fuel to achieve your goals.
On Publishing - Traditional vs Small Press vs Self-Publish
Bradley Somer | Jodi McIsaac | Kelly Kaur | M. Jane Colette
Join all our presenters for an open discussion on all things publishing. Learn tips and tricks from the front lines and decide which route is the best for you.
Blue Pencil Sessions (Optional) - AWCS Classrooms
Only 20 spots available.
What is a blue pencil session? Blue pencil sessions are an opportunity for you to have a small section of your work reviewed by another published writer. You will submit your work in advance (3-5 pages). The writer will review your work and you get a short (15-20 minute) consultation to discuss. It is not an in-depth critique. It's more for first impressions, guidance and quick suggestions.
Blue Pencil Sessions are included with registration. All Blue Pencil sessions are in person and will be held during the conference.
Writer's Salon - AWCS Classrooms
Need a break? The Writer's Salon is open throughout the conference to catch your breath, have a snack or continue a conversation.
Keynote & Presenters
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Bradley Somer holds degrees in Archaeology and Anthropology, where his studies focused on paleoenvironments and human prehistory in North America. His newest novel, EXTINCTION, is available in North America (Blackstone Publishing, 2022) and throughout the Commonwealth (HarperCollins UK, 2022). He is the author of two previous novels, IMPERFECTIONS (Nightwood Editions, 2012) and FISHBOWL (St. Martin’s Press, 2015), and too many short stories to count.
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Jodi McIsaac is the bestselling author of The Thin Veil series (47North), the Revolutionary series (47North), the pre-pandemic pandemic novel A Cure for Madness (Thomas & Mercer), and two short stories. Her non-fiction has been published in Writer’s Digest, The Globe and Mail, and other outlets. She is also the owner of Inkwood Communications, a boutique copywriting agency serving the non-profit sector. Born and raised on the East Coast, Jodi made her way to Calgary via Belfast, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Vancouver. She lives with two delightful teenagers and their cat, Chaucer.
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Kelly Kaur's novel, Letters to Singapore, was launched in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, and Vancouver and at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali, Indonesia (2022). Some publications include poems on IHRAF, the International Human Rights Arts Festival New York (2021and 2022) and her poem, “The Justice of Death,” being awarded Honorable Mention in the Creators of Justice Literary Awards (2021). Her story, “The Kitchen is Her Home,” in Fragmented Voice, Heart/h, Home Anthology, United Kingdom, 2021, was nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2022. She was also featured on several CBC and radio interviews.
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M. Jane Colette writes tragedy for those who like to laugh, comedy for the melancholy, and erotica for people who like their fantasies real. She believes rules and hearts were made to be broken; ditto the constraints of genres.
Her novels include Tell Me, Consequences (of Defensive Adultery) Cherry Pie Cure and Text Me, Cupid, She’s currently working on a seven-book series called Fat Yoginis in Love and a rom-com about online dating. |
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