LITCON
LitCon is a program aimed to help emerging writers hone their craft. In 2020 we are back with a one day conference filled with workshops and pitch sessions for emerging, indie, and self-published writers! The event takes place at the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre from 9AM to 5PM. Tickets are $20. Check out the schedule below and register!
Registration
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Plotting in Scrivener with Suzy Krause
Book club fiction writer Suzy Krause brings quirky humour and wit in her novels with the assistance of Scrivener. Find out how to use this program to its full potential - for plotting, organizing, editing, and beyond - as Suzy walks us through exercises to plot our own novels. Bonus: Scrivener is offering a discount on their software for all attendees.
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How to Let Your Voice Shine in Genre Fiction with Donna Gartshore
There’s no denying that readers want and expect certain things when they read romance. We all know the rules but does that mean we write by some “fill-in-the-blanks” formula? Absolutely not! In this workshop I will offer suggestions on staying true to your own voice and making the “formula” work for you, not against you.
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Finding the Line -- Where Policing Meets with TV and Movies
with Kim Calfas
"Finding the line - Where policing meets with tv and movies." Ever wonder what's realistic in your favourite program or Hollywood blockbuster? Well now you can learn the truth. This session will address some of the wide variety of crime drama positives and negatives as viewed from the real world of investigation. Have questions? Our session will be very interactive, so this will be the time to ask.
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LUNCH
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Active Dialogue in Kids Lit with Alison Lohans
Crisp dialogue makes a story come alive as characters interact, showing their motivations and growing conflict that keep a story spinning. Weak dialogue will quickly sink a children's story. This workshop explores aspects of the give-and-take of talk in children's fiction - from nonverbal body language when vocabulary may not be adequate to express what needs to be said, to more sophisticated types of dialogue used by older kids. How do we get directly into a child's point of view, avoiding adult abstractions? There will be opportunities to construct dialogue from a child-centric perspective.
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The Nuts and Bolts of Chills and Thrills with André Harden
Anticipation – be it suspense or dread – can be a delicious feeling. We forge it by “suspending” horrible or explosive consequences over a scene then sawing the clarity of what might happen against the rope of when or whether it will happen. This workshop focuses on the scene/sequence level, identifying key elements of suspenseful situations and giving participants the opportunity to play at enhancing a situation of their own creation.
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Slush Pile Readings
Editors: Heather Nickel, André Harden, and Melanie McFarlane Reader: Hannah Ellich
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Socializing and Book Sales
9:00 AM
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
10:30 AM - 11:15 AM
11:30 AM - 12:15 PM
12:15 PM - 1:30 PM
1:30 PM - 2:15 PM
2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
3:30 PM - 4:15 PM
4:15 PM - 5:00 PM
Kim Calfas
Kim Calfas is a 28 year veteran of the Regina Police Service. He has served in a number of roles including Patrol, Traffic, Drug Enforcement, Professional Standards and Major Crime / Homicide. He has an extensive background as an instructor and speaker on a number of law enforcement subjects including Investigation, Use of Force, Firearms Training and Leadership. After his career in policing, Mr. Calfas was a Senior Special Investigator - Manager with the Special Investigation Unit of Saskatchewan Government Insurance. Most recently he is a private consultant with an international security services firm.
Donna Gartshore
I have published two books with the Love Inspired Line of Harlequin and a third one will be coming soon. I also write short stories and have been published in Spring Literary Magazine, The Wascana Review and online at Prometheus Dreaming. I love to talk about writing and to encourage all writers on their journey and to help and promote them in any way I can.
André Harden
André is an award winning screenwriter, CAEA director, author and story consultant. He wrote the screenplay for Numb (2015) and is the author of The Cuckoo House. He likes to hike mountains and coastlines.
Suzy Krause
Suzy Krause is a farm kid from southern Saskatchewan. She's been blogging for over a decade, but she also writes, from time to time, on various arts, entertainment, and lifestyle websites. Her first novel, Valencia and Valentine, was inspired by her time working as a debt collector in Saskatoon (she received a lot of death threats that summer). Her second novel, Sorry I Missed You, is out June 1, 2020, and she's working on a third (and a fourth). When she's not writing books or blog posts, she's hanging out with her kids, listening to music, or walking around Regina trying to find something to do that she hasn't done before.
Alison Lohans
Alison Lohans' 26 books for young people range from picture books to mature YA novels. She's given many writing workshops over the years, and taught writing by correspondence and in person (University of Regina Continuing Education, and the SWG). She has mentored writers who've then published their books, sometimes winning awards. Alison served as Writer-in-Residence at Regina Public Library in 2002-03, and is a founding member of the Children's Writers' Round Robin.
Heather Nickel
Heather Nickel holds a B.A. in English from the University of Saskatchewan (1989), and has completed industry-related seminars and workshops hosted by SaskBooks, PubWest, BookExpo America, the Saskatchewan Writers Guild, the Editors’ Association of Canada, and Frankfurt Buchmesse. She has served on the SaskBooks board since 2007, been a juror for the Hamilton Literary Awards, and given presentations to a number of writers groups. Her company, Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing, has published 170 titles covering a range of genres, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, YA, and children’s books—both juvenile and picture books. For more than 20 years, Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing has worked together in partnership with prairie writers and illustrators to professionally publish stories that might otherwise not be told.
