When Words Collide 2026 has ended

When Words Collide 2026

A Festival for Writers, Readers, and Fans

Heather Cook

Calgary

Find me on

10:00am MDT

Welcome! Opening Ceremony & Keynote Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4+6Delilah S. Dawson • Kevin McDonald • Andrew Buckley • Bianca Marais • Lily Chu • Craig DiLouie • Gemma Files • Danny Ramadan • Amanda Leduc • Mira Landry • Carly Watters • Cecilia "CeCe" Lyra • Terry Brooks

12:00pm MDT

Make Shame Your Bitch - MASTERCLASS (pre-reg req) Hyatt Regency Calgary - BannermanJessica Waite

3:00pm MDT

Let's Talk About Sex: Writing Effective Sex Scenes Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Brenna Bailey-Davies Adventures in Shorts! Finding Success with Short Fiction and Personal Essays Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7J.C. (John) Corry • Kim Harbridge • Susan Calder • Hilary Faktor No Blueprint Required: Writing Careers Off the Map Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Yewande Daniel-Ayoade • Miranda Krogstad • Andrew Buckley • Finnian Burnett

4:30pm MDT

StoryCentric presents, Writers on Writers Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Andrew Buckley • Gemma Files • Bianca Marais • Craig DiLouie Book Banning and Censorship: Looking at the Bigger Picture Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Kit Dobson Who's afraid to write about aging? Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollMarie Powell • Karen Elizabeth Lee • Robyn Diner • Ann Cavlovic Writing As Resistance: Using Our Words to Critique, Challenge, and Disrupt Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Madison Joyce • Priscille Bukasa • Adrienne Adams • Alex Benarzi • O.L. McAnord Things That Make You Go: Go! A Workshop on Keeping Your Momentum Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4Deniz Soykurumcetin

7:00pm MDT

Goblin Casino & Market Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social HubKim Firmston

9:00pm MDT

Noir at the Bar Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social HubNiall Howell

9:00am MDT

Selling Your Book Without Platform Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Jessica Waite Writing Beyond the Self: Creating Characters Outside Our Lived Experience Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5James Downe • Robert J. Sawyer • Huck Kahng • Finnian Burnett

10:30am MDT

Writers On Writers: In Conversation with Amanda Leduc and Lily Chu Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Nicole Roche • Amanda Leduc • Lily Chu 15 Ways to Make Money in the Writing World Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Suzy Vadori The Modern Hero - Virtues of Uncommon People Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollDave Sweet

12:00pm MDT

An Author's Guide to Longevity and Adapting to the Changing Publishing Landscape Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Mark Leslie Lefebvre • Robert J. Sawyer

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 Surviving Publishing Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollRhonda Parrish • Jason Pearce • Margaret Curelas 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

3:00pm MDT

Beyond the Bottom Line: Running an Anticapitalist Author Business Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Brenna Bailey-Davies Fiction as Riot: Writing When the World is F*cked - MASTERCLASS (pre-reg req) Hyatt Regency Calgary - BannermanFinnian Burnett 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 Accelerate It: Writing in Flow Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Rosey Hwang Laugh Out Loud Literary Devices Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4Miranda Krogstad

6:00pm MDT

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

9:00am MDT

BREAKFAST CLUB: Writing Across Borders: Telling Stories Across Genres with Danny Ramadan and Eliza Reid Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Ashley J.J. White (aka Ashley Frerichs) • Danny Ramadan • Eliza Reid

10:30am MDT

Creativity & Chaos Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4Andrew Buckley • Finnian Burnett Keynotes: The Changing Shape of Authorship: Future-Proofing Your Writing Career Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Amanda Leduc • Danny Ramadan • Craig DiLouie Embrace the cringe of the Canadian identity to find success Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Lexie Angelo The importance of names and language Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldLareina Abbott • Jason Pearce • Camilla Tracy • Onyx Shelton Improv Your Writing Hyatt Regency Calgary - BannermanPeter G. Reynolds

12:00pm MDT

From Manuscript to Market: Ask Us Anything Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldCecilia "CeCe" Lyra • Leanne Janzen • Mira Landry • Ella Beaumont Avoiding the 10 Biggest Mistakes Writers Make w. Bianca Marais Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4Bianca Marais Get that grant! How to win literary arts grants Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Lexie Angelo

1:30pm MDT

Your Process, Your Way: The Busy Wordsmith’s Sustainable Writing Practise Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Nicole Bross Through Fires and Fascism: Staying Creative When the World Seems Upended Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Sarah Johnson • Cait Gordon • Finnian Burnett • Tanya MacIntosh

3:00pm MDT

The Healthy Writer Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Ali Bryan Write What You Know: Transform Lived Experience into Powerful Fiction Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Julie A. Christiansen The Three Bodies Problem - MASTERCLASS (pre-reg req) Hyatt Regency Calgary - WalkerDanny Ramadan Tricks, Tips & Traps for Successful Writing Groups Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldSandy Navrady • Lareina Abbott • Sean Crawford • Em Williamson Write-Her Rhythm Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Laura-Jeanne Stollery

4:30pm MDT

Developmental Editing Your Book Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Suzy Vadori Something in the Air Tonight: Using Setting to Reflect Emotion Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Fiona McTaggart The Hidden Architecture of Character Desire: How Want, Fear, and Contradiction Drive Every Scene Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Sarah Brinley Decolonization of Speculative Fiction Hyatt Regency Calgary - HeraldSusan Forest • Onyx Shelton • Zeva Mah • Calvin Jim Writing the long game: the endurance panel. Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5Bradley Somer • Ali Bryan • Marcello Di Cintio • Leanne Shirtliffe • Nikki Vogel

6:00pm MDT

Closing Ceremony: Keynotes on Courage, Identity, and our Stories Ahead with Andrew Buckley and Gemma Files; plus War of the Words and 2027 festival lookahead Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4+6Andrew Buckley • Gemma Files