When Words Collide 2026 has ended

When Words Collide 2026

A Festival for Writers, Readers, and Fans

Rhythm Staines

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

The AI Argument Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5D.G. Valdron • Jason Pearce • Cleodel Khrishna • Alison McBain

1:30pm MDT

Game Theory 101 for writers Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen BRon S. Friedman Short & Sweet, Why Word-Economy Needs to be in Every Writer's Toolkit Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Alexis Marie Chute

3:00pm MDT

Paths to Publication: Traditional, Hybrid, and Self-Publishing in Today’s Market Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Linda Sanche • Craig DiLouie • Leanne Janzen • Carly Watters • Felicia Zuniga

4:30pm MDT

The Whole Package: Creating a Top-Quality Published Book That Jumps Off the Shelf and Attacks Your Reader (Nicely) Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Jennifer Sommersby 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

9:00am MDT

BREAKFAST CLUB: The Shit No One Tells You About Writing / Books with Hooks Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Bianca Marais • Carly Watters • Cecilia "CeCe" Lyra 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

10:30am MDT

15 Ways to Make Money in the Writing World Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7Suzy Vadori Whose Plot is it Anyway? How to Master the Dominant Arc in Hybrid Fiction Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Kim Cheel

12:00pm MDT

Making Monsters: the Art & Craft of Writing Horror Hyatt Regency Calgary - DollFiona McTaggart • James Downe • Kim Harbridge • Sam Wilket

1:30pm MDT

Butterflies and Plot Twists: Chaos Theory for Writers Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen BRon S. Friedman Real vs. Reality: Impact vs. Facts Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Donna D. Conrad

3:00pm MDT

Offstage Characters: What Are They Up To? Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Susan Forest Live Action Slush: Romance Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Nicole Roche • Mira Landry • Carly Watters • Alison McBain

4:30pm MDT

The Most Powerful Characterization Detail You're Overlooking: A Character's Job Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8Angela Ackerman

9:00am MDT

What Next? Self-editing Strategies for Moving Your Manuscript Forward Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Sandra McIntyre

10:30am MDT

Creativity & Chaos Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 4Andrew Buckley • Finnian Burnett

12:00pm MDT

My Stupid Career, with Kevin McDonald Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6Kevin McDonald

1:30pm MDT

How to Make Readers Fall in Love (or Hate) Your Characters Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Chris Corvan

3:00pm MDT

Write What You Know: Transform Lived Experience into Powerful Fiction Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Julie A. Christiansen

4:30pm MDT

The Hidden Architecture of Character Desire: How Want, Fear, and Contradiction Drive Every Scene Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9Sarah Brinley

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