When Words Collide 2026

When Words Collide 2026

A Festival for Writers, Readers, and Fans

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9:00am MDT

Books with Hooks Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Bianca Marais • Carly Watters • Cecilia "CeCe" Lyra Pitch Games Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen BChris Corvan • Stacey Kondla • Lexie Angelo • Ed Willett • Ella Beaumont Breakfast and Play D&D (New and Rusty Player Friendly) Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen AKim Firmston Canada Council for the Arts Funding for Alberta Artists Hyatt Regency Calgary - BannermanFrancine Cunningham Selling Your Book Without Platform Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Jessica Waite What's Under the Bed - Creating monsters who'll haunt readers long after they've closed the book Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Shelly Campbell Feminine Solutions in Science Fiction and Fantasy Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldSusan Forest • Krista Wallace • Sarah Johnson • Bonnie Jacoby • Camilla Tracy Fractured Realities: Time Loops, Parallel Worlds, and What Breaks Between Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollValerie L. King • Michael Gillett • Ron S. Friedman • Randy McCharles Writing Beyond the Self: Creating Characters Outside Our Lived Experience Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5James Downe • Robert J. Sawyer • Huck Kahng • Finnian Burnett Get Outta My Head! Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4Andrew Buckley Writing While Neurodiverse: ADHD Strategies for Authors Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Nicole Bross Beyond Character vs. Plot Driven: The Differences between Literary Upmarket, & Commercial Fiction - MASTERCLASS (pre-reg req) Hyatt Regency Calgary - WalkerMira Landry

10:30am MDT

Beyond the Postcard: Cuba's Untold Stories Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollDiane Din Ebongue • HEBERT POLL GUTIÉRREZ In Conversation with Danny, Amanda, and Lily Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Danny Ramadan • Amanda Leduc • Lily Chu • Ashley J.J. White (aka Ashley Frerichs) 15 Ways to Make Money in the Writing World Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Suzy Vadori How To Pitch in Real Life Hyatt Regency Calgary - BannermanCarly Watters Level Up or Die Trying: Writing and Succeeding in Progression Fantasy & LitRPG Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen BBlake Ravenhart The Modern Hero - Virtues of Uncommon People Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Dave Sweet Asian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldAlison McBain • Zeva Mah • Camilla Tracy • Cleodel Khrishna • Jasmine Sidhu Creating a Unique Detective Figure Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Chris Carolan • Juanita R Violini • Jonathan Whitelaw • Lexie Angelo Panel Intro to TTRPGs: Their Similarities and Differences Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen AKim Firmston • Cipher • Rhonda Parrish • Darren Tenor • Calvin Jim What About Me: From Memoir to Autofiction Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4Robyn Diner Whose Plot is it Anyway? How to Master the Dominant Arc in Hybrid Fiction Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Kim Cheel

12:00pm MDT

Quiplash With WWC Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen AKevin Weir A CRASH COURSE IN COPYRIGHT Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7D.G. Valdron An Author's Guide to Longevity and Adapting to the Changing Publishing Landscape Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Mark Leslie Lefebvre • Robert J. Sawyer Bored of Your Book? How to Fall in Love With Your Story Again Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Nicole Bross Make a Killer Movie: Writing Genre Films For Yourself (and the Market) Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen BMichael Peterson Making Monsters: the Art & Craft of Writing Horror Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollFiona McTaggart • James Downe • Kim Harbridge • Sam Wilket Queer Rep in Mainstream Media Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldSarah L. Pratt • Danny Ramadan • Tanya MacIntosh • Adriaan Brae Live Action Slush: Short Fiction Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Claire Bolton • Jennifer Chevais • Lexie Angelo • Cecilia "CeCe" Lyra Afro-Cuban Poetry: From Myths and Memory to Social Transformation Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4HEBERT POLL GUTIÉRREZ Bring Your Trauma! Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Karen Elizabeth Lee Flying Pork Chops - MASTERCLASS (pre-reg req) Hyatt Regency Calgary - WalkerLee Kvern Master the 5 Elements of Writing - MASTERCLASS (pre-reg req) Hyatt Regency Calgary - BannermanSuzy Vadori

1:30pm MDT

Inside the 'Shop: The Story Behind the Story Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Keenan Jones Butterflies and Plot Twists: Chaos Theory for Writers Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen BRon S. Friedman Confessions of a Pants-aholic — How to Plot a Novel When You’d Rather Do Anything Else Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Claire Bonneau 50 Ways to Kill Your Lover (Homicide at Home) Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldLinda Sanche • JE Barnard • Pamela Donison • Merrilee Robson • Susan Calder Surviving Publishing Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollRhonda Parrish • Jason Pearce • Margaret Curelas • Krista D. Ball This too shall pass… write what you want/write for the market. Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Bradley Somer • Ali Bryan • Marcello Di Cintio • Ben Zalkind Query Slush Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Jennifer Sommersby • Erin Weir • Mira Landry • Bonnie Jacoby Craft a Collaborative Novel Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4Shawn L. Bird Real vs. Reality Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Donna D. Conrad Sawyer On Science Fiction Book Launch Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social HubRichard Graeme Cameron • Robert J. Sawyer TTRPG Games: Legend in the Mist / Vampire the Masquerade Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen ACipher • Calvin Jim

3:00pm MDT

Beyond the Bottom Line: Running an Anticapitalist Author Business Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Brenna Bailey-Davies Offstage Characters: What Are They Up To? Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Susan Forest Disability, Romance, and Adventure: Yes, Your Book Can Have Them All! Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Alex Benarzi • Lavinia Leon • Blake Ravenhart • Julie A. Christiansen • Cait Gordon The Personal is Political and The Political is Personal! Activism and Advocacy Through Fiction Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollBen Zalkind • Amanda Leduc • Ann Cavlovic • Kirti Bhadresa Workplace Horror - Something Smells in the Break Room Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldJason Pearce • Sarah L. Pratt • Rob Bose • Chris Marrs Writing for Tabletop Roleplaying Games (and publishing them) Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen BChris Corvan • Eden Martens • Caelen Bell • Darren Tenor Live Action Slush: Romance Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Nicole Roche • Mira Landry • Carly Watters • Alison McBain Accelerate It: Writing in Flow Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Rosey Hwang Laugh Out Loud Literary Devices Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4Miranda Krogstad Fiction as Riot: Writing When the World is F*cked - MASTERCLASS (pre-reg req) Hyatt Regency Calgary - BannermanFinnian Burnett Screenwriting Essentials - MASTERCLASS (pre-reg req) Hyatt Regency Calgary - WalkerAndrew Buckley

4:30pm MDT

Book Launch: Just One Catch (Nikki Vogel) Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social HubNikki Vogel Channel A Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen AKim Firmston Breaking Barriers: Writing, Developing, and Creating Despite Disabilities Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Steffanie Costigan Resurrecting Religious Legends for a Modern Audience Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Donna D. Conrad The Most Powerful Characterization Detail You're Overlooking: A Character's Job Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Angela Ackerman Cinematic Storytelling: Does Hollywood Flair Work in Speculative Fiction? Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollChris Corvan • Rick Overwater • Don Miasek • James Downe • Michael Peterson From Personal to Perennial: The Craft and Career of Picture Books Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldKeenan Jones • Yewande Daniel-Ayoade • Paola Santos • Maria Marianayagam From the Past to the Page: Transforming Historical Research into Compelling Fiction Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Bob Booth • Susan Calder • Lisa Williamson • Pamela Clark

6:00pm MDT

IFWA at the Improv Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social HubCalvin Jim Board Games and Magic the Gathering Mixer Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen ACipher Kevin McDonald Superstar Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4+6Kevin McDonald

7:30pm MDT

Readings From Your Next Favourite Romance Authors Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social HubJennifer Sommersby • Rosey Hwang • Alix Kelinda • Lily Chu

9:00pm MDT

Open Mic Night Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social HubRandy McCharles • Valerie L. King Midnight TTRPGs (Mothership and D&D) Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen ARhonda Parrish • Darren Tenor