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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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Val Simard
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
Launch of last year's WWC collaborative novel, Whiskers Through Time
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Thompson Social Hub
Shawn L. Bird
It's a Bird. It's a Plane -- Crafting Realistic Imaginary Creatures for Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9
Shelly Campbell
You're Write About It!
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen B
Kevin Weir • Winston Pei • Megan Baldrey • Erin Weir
Survival Skills in Dystopian Fiction
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Herald
Valerie L. King • Sandy Fitzpatrick • Gary Renshaw • Don Miasek • Susan Forest
1:30pm
MDT
A CRASH COURSE IN CONTRACTS FOR WRITERS
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7
D.G. Valdron
Fear Factor: How Fear Rewires Your Character’s Behavior, Logic & Responses
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9
Angela Ackerman
Game Theory 101 for writers
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen B
Ron S. Friedman
From the Author’s Chair: Looking at the Gatekeepers from the Author’s POV
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5
Ali Bryan • Shane Kroetsch • Bradley Somer • Danny Ramadan
Full Circle - How to thrive in a writing circle
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Doll
Kelli Etheridge • Kim Harbridge • Louise Dumayne • Kristyn Pacione • Ennis Lucy
Series Crossovers & Shared Worlds
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Herald
Lexie Angelo • Rick Overwater • Camilla Tracy • P.D. Workman
Speak Up! Techniques for Readings and Literary Performances
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6
Miranda Krogstad
3:00pm
MDT
No Blueprint Required: Writing Careers Off the Map
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5
Yewande Daniel-Ayoade • Miranda Krogstad • Andrew Buckley • Finnian Burnett
4:30pm
MDT
Bucket of Bones: Building the Skeleton of Your Murder Mystery
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9
Dave Sweet • Charlotte Morganti
Who's afraid to write about aging?
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Doll
Marie Powell • Karen Elizabeth Lee • Robyn Diner • Ann Cavlovic
Saturday
, August 15
9:00am
MDT
Selling Your Book Without Platform
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7
Jessica Waite
Feminine Solutions in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Herald
Susan Forest • Krista Wallace • Sarah Johnson • Bonnie Jacoby • Camilla Tracy
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
Level Up or Die Trying: Writing and Succeeding in Progression Fantasy & LitRPG
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Stephen B
Blake Ravenhart
Whose Plot is it Anyway? How to Master the Dominant Arc in Hybrid Fiction
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Kim Cheel
1:30pm
MDT
Confessions of a Pants-aholic — How to Plot a Novel When You’d Rather Do Anything Else
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9
Claire Bonneau
Query Slush
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6
Jennifer Chevais • Jennifer Sommersby • Erin Weir • Bonnie Jacoby
3:00pm
MDT
Beyond the Bottom Line: Running an Anticapitalist Author Business
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7
Brenna Bailey-Davies
Live Action Slush: Romance
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6
Nicole Roche • Mira Landry • Carly Watters • Alison McBain
Sunday
, August 16
9:00am
MDT
What Next? Self-editing Strategies for Moving Your Manuscript Forward
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9
Sandra McIntyre
10:30am
MDT
Embrace the cringe of the Canadian identity to find success
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 9
Lexie Angelo
Marketing Without the Ick: Show Up, Be Seen, and Share With Heart
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Rosey Hwang
12:00pm
MDT
Get that grant! How to win literary arts grants
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Lexie Angelo
1:30pm
MDT
Feedback Without Freefall: How to Hear Critique and Know What to Do Next
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Sarah Brinley
3:00pm
MDT
Live Action Slush: Science Fiction
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 6
Richard Graeme Cameron • Bonnie Jacoby • Krista Wallace • Ella Beaumont
4:30pm
MDT
Developmental Editing Your Book
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 7
Suzy Vadori
Something in the Air Tonight: Using Setting to Reflect Emotion
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 8
Fiona McTaggart
Cross-Genre Careers: Keeping Series & Voice Coherent Across Genres
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Doll
Jennifer Sommersby • Alison McBain • Alexis Marie Chute • P.D. Workman
Writing the long game: the endurance panel.
Hyatt Regency Calgary - Imperial Ballroom 5
Bradley 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+6
Andrew Buckley • Gemma Files
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