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When Words Collide 2026
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When Words Collide 2026
A Festival for Writers, Readers, and Fans
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Leslie Shai
Friday
, August 14
10:00am
MDT
Welcome! Opening Ceremony & Keynote
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4+6
Delilah 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
Survival Skills in Dystopian Fiction
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Herald
Valerie L. King • Sandy Fitzpatrick • Gary Renshaw • Don Miasek • Susan Forest
1:30pm
MDT
The Ruminating Muse: Spiral Into Poetry
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4
Lavinia Leon
3:00pm
MDT
Adventures in Shorts! Finding Success with Short Fiction and Personal Essays
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7
J.C. (John) Corry • Kim Harbridge • Susan Calder • Hilary Faktor
High stakes short fiction
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Lexie Angelo
4:30pm
MDT
Writing As Resistance: Using Our Words to Critique, Challenge, and Disrupt
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5
Madison Joyce • Priscille Bukasa • Adrienne Adams • Alex Benarzi • O.L. McAnord
Writing Hopepunk: Marginalized Perspectives
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Herald
Cait Gordon • Keenan Jones • Amanda Leduc • Adriaan Brae
7:00pm
MDT
Goblin Casino & Market
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social Hub
Kim Firmston
9:00pm
MDT
Noir at the Bar
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social Hub
Niall Howell
Saturday
, August 15
9:00am
MDT
Writing Beyond the Self: Creating Characters Outside Our Lived Experience
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5
James Downe • Robert J. Sawyer • Huck Kahng • Finnian Burnett
10:30am
MDT
The Modern Hero - Virtues of Uncommon People
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Doll
Dave Sweet
12:00pm
MDT
Making Monsters: the Art & Craft of Writing Horror
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Doll
Fiona McTaggart • James Downe • Kim Harbridge • Sam Wilket
Afro-Cuban Poetry: From Myths and Memory to Social Transformation
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4
HEBERT POLL GUTIÉRREZ
1:30pm
MDT
Real vs. Reality: Impact vs. Facts
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Donna D. Conrad
3:00pm
MDT
Fiction as Riot: Writing When the World is F*cked - MASTERCLASS (pre-reg req)
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Bannerman
Finnian Burnett
The Personal is Political and The Political is Personal! Activism and Advocacy Through Fiction
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Doll
Ben Zalkind • Amanda Leduc • Ann Cavlovic • Kirti Bhadresa
Accelerate It: Writing in Flow
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Rosey Hwang
Laugh Out Loud Literary Devices
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4
Miranda Krogstad
4:30pm
MDT
Breaking Barriers: Writing, Developing, and Creating Despite Disabilities
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7
Steffanie Costigan
6:00pm
MDT
IFWA at the Improv
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social Hub
Calvin Jim
Kevin McDonald Superstar
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4+6
Kevin McDonald
9:00pm
MDT
Open Mic Night
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social Hub
Randy McCharles • Valerie L. King
Sunday
, August 16
9:00am
MDT
A Quiet Hour of Reflection and Poetry
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen B
Josephine LoRe
10:30am
MDT
Improv Your Writing
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Bannerman
Peter G. Reynolds
12:00pm
MDT
When Dark Clouds Roll In
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9
Dave Sweet
Hard Science Fiction Shouldn't Be Hard
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Doll
Sarah Johnson • Robert J. Sawyer • Don Miasek • Calvin Jim
1:30pm
MDT
Your Process, Your Way: The Busy Wordsmith’s Sustainable Writing Practise
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7
Nicole Bross
Through Fires and Fascism: Staying Creative When the World Seems Upended
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5
Sarah Johnson • Cait Gordon • Finnian Burnett • Tanya MacIntosh
3:00pm
MDT
Write-Her Rhythm
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Laura-Jeanne Stollery
4:30pm
MDT
Something in the Air Tonight: Using Setting to Reflect Emotion
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Fiona McTaggart
Decolonization of Speculative Fiction
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Herald
Susan Forest • Onyx Shelton • Zeva Mah • Calvin Jim
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+6
Andrew Buckley • Gemma Files
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