Vancouver Writers Fest—Oct. 21–27

The 2024 Vancouver Writers Fest takes place October 21 to 27 in person at Granville Island. Signature events include The Poetry Bash, Lyrics Night, Food for Thought, and Afternoon Tea. That’s only a small sample of offerings that celebrate works across genres, from fiction and creative non-fiction to poetry.

Editors Canada members are eligible for a 10% discount on event tickets! Email csm@editorsbc.ca for the discount code. Act fast—some events are sold out!

Check out the full schedule at https://writersfest.bc.ca/2024-festival-events

Editors BC General Meeting: Writers and Editors Together! 

When: Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 7:00–8:00 pm PDT

Where: Online through Zoom

Cost: Free for Editors Canada members, $10 for non-members, $5 for student non-members

Writers need editors and editors need writers. How do we connect with each other? Learn about the Federation of British Columbia Writers’ plans for 2024–25, Editors BC’s plans, and how we can work together. We’d love to hear your suggestions—or answer your questions—during this interactive member meeting. 

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The 2024 Editors Canada Conference: Reflections from the Co-chairs

Taking on the role of local organizer for an Editors Canada conference is a big commitment—but it can also be a lot of fun. Tara Avery and Kyle Hawke of Editors BC talk about some of the highlights and challenges of co-chairing “Present Progressive: Passion, Precision and Purpose” in Vancouver this past June. 

Find out what happened…and whether Tara and Kyle would do this again!

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Explaining POV to New Writers

Written by Lisa Hislop | Copy edited by Lisa Guglielmi

In this article, Lisa shares how to help new writers understand and choose suitable points of view. You can attend Lisa’s session, Helping Your Author Pick a POV That Pops, at the 2024 Editors Canada Conference.

When a writer asks me to explain narrative point-of-view (POV), they’re not looking for a definition. They’ve done their research and understand the main differences between first-person and third. Where they’re stuck is the glossary of associated terms: limits of perception, degree of objectivity, narrative distance, and narrative bias. They want to know how these aspects relate to each other and the POV they’ve chosen for their story. 

To give them a complete grounding, I invite them to translate the POV of a story, which I’ll illustrate here for you to use in guiding your writers.

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Transform Your Business by Talking to Your Clients

Written by Erica Machulak and copy edited by Mahima Bhagwat

This blog post is a teaser for the author’s workshop session at the 2024 Editors Canada Conference. Register online to attend “Face Time: Transform Your Business by Talking to Your Clients” and join us as we test drive the ideas below with practical exercises and discussion.

If you hope to grow your business, raise your rates, and discover new services that you might offer, my best advice is that you meet with every new client before you agree to work with them. This initial conversation sets the tone for your future work together and gives you valuable information before you commit to the project. When clients get to know you, they are more likely to hire you again, refer their friends, and come to you when they need something different from what you have already provided.

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In Conversation with JJ Lee: The Art and Business of Memoir Editing

In this candid interview, JJ Lee guides us through the tricky waters of memoir editing. From the mentoring skills needed to do the job to identifying an author’s narrative springboard, JJ’s insights can help enhance any editor’s toolkit.

A black and white photo of JJ Lee
JJ Lee

WCE

Let us start. How do you approach storytelling and personal narratives in your work? And what drew you to the nonfiction genre?

JJ Lee

Oh, that’s a three-part question. What drew me to nonfiction is my background. When I was approached to start writing, I was already a radio journalist and had started participating in semi-experimental programs like Outfront at the CBC, where they were bringing in first-time broadcasters to do small 15-minute documentaries. I challenged a former Globetrotter, Mel Davis, to one-on-one basketball, then I did a documentary called “Typewriter Guy” and another one, “Sing Like Marvin.” That began my role of jumping in and doing things. 

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