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    <atom:link href="http://www.bcwriters.ca/page-18140/EventModule/5257234/RSS" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
    <title>FBCW upcoming events</title>
    <link>https://www.bcwriters.ca/Events-for-Writers</link>
    <description>FBCW upcoming events</description>
    <dc:creator>FBCW</dc:creator>
    <generator>Wild Apricot - membership management software and more</generator>
    <language>en</language>
    <pubDate>Thu, 06 Aug 2026 02:55:48 GMT</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Thu, 06 Aug 2026 02:55:48 GMT</lastBuildDate>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Thu, 06 Aug 2026 02:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Writer Talk: With Author Loghan Paylor, 2026 Canada Reads Winner (5 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/event-6742863.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Writer Talk, Featuring Loghan Paylor&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;
Free or by donation&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h5 style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Event Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/h5&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;WRITER TALK is our new live interview series designed to pull back the golden curtain on the publishing world. Casual chitchat—not a workshop or webinar—a low-key Q&amp;amp;A between host and guest where you can bring your writing and publishing questions.&lt;br&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;
Each session features a guest from within the industry, including writers of all career stages who rep a variety of genres and styles, successfully published authors, freelance and publishing house editors, agents, publicists, and other book-world professionals, in a candid chat meant to inform and inspire. We’ll dig into the real questions we all have about how to go from page 1 to published.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Digital doors open at 6:55 pm!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;**This event will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants within a week of the session. The recording will be available for 45 days.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h5 style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;About Our Guest:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h5&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Loghan Paylor is a queer, trans writer whose first novel &lt;em&gt;The Cure for Drowning&lt;/em&gt; (Random House Canada, 2024) won Canada Reads 2026, was longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize, named a &lt;em&gt;Globe and Mail&lt;/em&gt; Best Book, and was a finalist for the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and the Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes. Their work has also appeared in &lt;em&gt;Room&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Prairie Fire&lt;/em&gt;, CBC Arts, and on the longlist for the CBC Nonfiction Prize. A graduate of the Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University, they also have an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and divide their time between teaching, writing, and co-owning a game company.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;They can be found online at &lt;a href="https://loghanpaylor.com/" target="_blank" style=""&gt;loghanpaylor.com&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;After the initial Q&amp;amp;A, attendees will have the opportunity to ask their own questions and join the discussion. If you’ve ever wanted to sit in on the kinds of conversations that usually happen behind closed doors, then we shall save you a spot!&lt;br&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;
If you have a topic burning a hole in your brain, drop us an email at hello@bcwriters.ca&lt;/font&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6742863</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6742863</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101 (7-week course) (8 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/Enrolled-event-6729143.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="enrolled-self-publishing-101" id="enrolled-self-publishing-101"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font&gt;FBCW Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;With Jenn Sommersby, freelance editor and indie/trad published author&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Member price: $210 CAD (That's just $30 a session!)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Non-member price: $280 CAD&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;**This series will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants each week after the session. The recordings will be available for 45 days.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;If you signed up after week one and are missing any recordings, please email hello@bcwriters.ca and let us know which sessions you are missing.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style=""&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;em style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;NOTE: Because this is a series of ongoing sessions, there will not be reminder emails about the individual sessions. This series uses the same Zoom link each week.&amp;nbsp;&lt;em style=""&gt;We suggest saving the Zoom link in a calendar event, a Word Document, or the Notes app&lt;strong style=""&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;EVENT DESCRIPTION:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="Xed474f00f9a3148862acd832105c275b00ec8b8" id="Xed474f00f9a3148862acd832105c275b00ec8b8"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font&gt;A seven-week, &lt;em&gt;everything you wanted to know about indie/self-publishing but didn’t know who to ask&lt;/em&gt; course with Jenn Sommersby and guests! Join us on &lt;strong&gt;Saturdays from July 11th to August 29th&lt;/strong&gt; for this informative and hands on series.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dates and time, all via Zoom:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturdays, July 11, 18, and 25, from 10:30 a.m. to noon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturdays, August 8, 15, 22, and 29, from 10: 30 a.m. to noon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(We are skipping the BC Day long weekend.)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Self-publishing can be empowering, creative, and practical—but it can also be confusing to figure out alone. From editing and design to distribution, marketing, launch planning, and long-term sales, there are a lot of decisions between “I have a manuscript” and “My book is out in the world.”&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;FBCW’s &lt;strong&gt;Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101&lt;/strong&gt; is a seven-week course designed to help writers understand the full self-publishing process from beginning to end. Led by longtime indie publisher and freelance editor Jenn Sommersby, with special guests bringing insight into key parts of the publishing journey, this course will give participants a clear, realistic roadmap for preparing, producing, publishing, and promoting their own book.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;This course is for writers who are considering self-publishing, actively preparing a manuscript, or looking for a better understanding of what it takes to publish independently. Participants will learn how to make informed decisions, avoid common pitfalls, understand publishing platforms and production needs, and build a launch plan that fits their goals, capacity, and budget.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Over seven weeks, participants will explore the self-publishing landscape, develop a practical publishing plan, learn the basics of book production and distribution, strengthen their author platform, and prepare for marketing, launch, and post-publication opportunities.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;By the end of the course, participants will have a clearer understanding of the self-publishing process and a personalized roadmap for moving their book forward.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="weekly-topics-may-include" id="weekly-topics-may-include"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font&gt;Weekly topics may include&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;font&gt;:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 1: Understanding Self-Publishing&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Explore the differences between traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing models; what authors are responsible for; common myths and scams; and how to define success for your book.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 2: Publishing Strategy and Project Planning&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Develop a realistic plan for your book, including audience, comparable titles, budget, timeline, production needs, and what support you may need to hire.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 3: Book Design and Production&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Learn what goes into creating a professional book, including cover design, interior formatting, ISBNs, metadata, print and ebook files, and key production decisions.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 4: Publishing Platforms and Distribution&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Compare platforms such as Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Publish Drive, direct sales via Shopify and WooCommerce, print-on-demand (Lulu, BookVault, Books.by), and other distribution options, including considerations for bookstores and libraries.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 5: Author Platform and Branding&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Clarify your author identity, reader audience, website, newsletter, social media presence, book description, and public-facing materials.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 6: Marketing and Launch Planning&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Build the foundations of a launch plan, including advance review copies, endorsements, reviews, media outreach, events, promotions, and realistic marketing strategies.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 7: After Publication&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Look beyond launch day to royalties, sales tracking, updates and new editions, audiobooks, rights, awards, festivals, speaking opportunities, and planning for future books.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="participants-will-leave-with" id="participants-will-leave-with"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font&gt;Participants will leave with:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;
  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;A better understanding of the self-publishing process from start to finish&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A practical publishing timeline and production checklist&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A clearer sense of budget, platform options, and distribution path&lt;font&gt;s&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Tools for thinking about author platform, marketing, and launch&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A personalized roadmap for next steps&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bio:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jenn Sommersby&lt;/strong&gt; is a novelist, editor, publishing educator, and Superman nut. A graduate of SFU’s Writer’s Studio (2007), her YA debut, &lt;em&gt;Sleight&lt;/em&gt;, was a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Book for Kids &amp;amp; Teens (fall 2018) and an Ontario Library Association Best Bets Honourable Mention Book for Young Adults (2019). Jenn was also awarded a BC Arts Council Grant in 2019 for a YA eco-fiction/dystopian novel about water scarcity. She’s written a baker’s dozen books as Sommersby and Eliza Gordon, including best-selling rom-com titles, and her most recent women’s fiction/dramedy novel, &lt;em&gt;Wish Upon a Rosie&lt;/em&gt;, released in February 2026 and was chosen as a finalist in the 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Jenn’s worked as a freelance editor since 2005 (via her company Plumfield Editing) for numerous internationally best-selling authors. Through her company, SGA Books, she supports indie authors with loads of publishing resources. Her&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;first nonfiction advice/craft/confessional project in a new series, aptly titled &lt;em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Please Don’t Make Me Read This&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; is scheduled to publish in late 2026. She also works with FBCW as the Community Planning Manager. She is a &lt;em&gt;tiny bit&lt;/em&gt; obsessed with writers and books.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Visit &lt;a href="http://www.jennifersommersby.com"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;font color="#467886"&gt;www.jennifersommersby.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.sgabooks.com"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;font color="#467886"&gt;www.sgabooks.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/a&gt; for more.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6729143</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6729143</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Aug 2026 02:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>August Writers' Social (11 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; --darkreader-inline-bgcolor: transparent;" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3);" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/event-6695904.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px !important;"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; --darkreader-inline-bgcolor: transparent;" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=""&gt;&lt;em style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3);" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Join us on Tuesday, August 11th, from 7:00 - 8:30 PM Pacific for our monthly Writers' Social.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; --darkreader-inline-bgcolor: transparent;" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=""&gt;&lt;font face="Raleway, sans-serif" style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3);" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px !important; --darkreader-inline-bgcolor: transparent;" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=""&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 18px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Many of us strive for connection with other writers. This monthly members-only event is designed to help bring us together for casual chats, with breakout rooms for specific topics, genres, and niches. Join us for craft, career, and connection talk, with the chance to meet new people and get the most out of being a part of the FBCW.&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;
&lt;br&gt;
Below are the proposed discussion groups for this month's meeting (subject to change). Email &lt;a href="mailto:hello@bcwriters.ca" target="_blank"&gt;hello@bcwriters.ca&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;to suggest a discussion topic for an upcoming Writers' Social.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px; margin-top: 0px !important; margin-bottom: 0px !important; --darkreader-inline-bgcolor: transparent;" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=""&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 18px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px !important; --darkreader-inline-bgcolor: transparent;" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 18px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Discussion Groups:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul&gt;
  &lt;li&gt;&lt;span data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=""&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;All about poetry&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Editing and revision&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Children's books / picture books&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;What are you reading? Current reads, favourite books&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Memoir writers connect&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Non-fiction writers connect (travel writing, journalism/reporting, research, etc)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Connecting writers with chronic illnesses&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Romance writers&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Traditional publishing chat (publishers, queries, finding an agent, etc)&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Self-publishing chat&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Writing and visual arts (film, theatre, photo essays)&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font face="Arial" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;General writing discussion&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;This event is exclusive to FBCW members. If you’re not a member yet, we would love to have you join us. You can find out more about membership on our &lt;a href="https://bcwriters.ca/benefits" target="_blank"&gt;benefits page&lt;/a&gt;. Email &lt;a href="mailto:hello@bcwriters.ca" target="_blank"&gt;hello@bcwriters.ca&lt;/a&gt; with any questions about joining.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="font-weight: bold; --darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 18px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; background-color: transparent; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-top: 0px !important; --darkreader-inline-bgcolor: transparent;" data-darkreader-inline-bgcolor=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 18px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Digital doors open at 6:55 PM. Event starts at 7:00 PM Pacific.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6695904</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6695904</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>August 2026 Member Orientation (14 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/event-6659693.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;Whether you’re a new FBCW member or a seasoned member who wants a refresher, join us for Member Orientation! We’ll be discussing member benefits, focusing on ways that the FBCW members can: Learn, Write, Connect, and Promote. Find out about the latest events, writing sprints, how to get involved, and where to get the information you seek.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px; --darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3);" color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;The orientation overview will take about 20 minutes, and then there will be 10 minutes for questions at the end (30 minutes total).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px; --darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3);" color="#000000" face="Calibri, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Digital Doors Open at 11:55 AM, Event Starts at Noon Pacific Time&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;**This event will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants within a week of the session. The recording will be available for 45 days.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6659693</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6659693</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 17:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101 (7-week course) (15 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/Enrolled-event-6729143.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="enrolled-self-publishing-101" id="enrolled-self-publishing-101"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font&gt;FBCW Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;With Jenn Sommersby, freelance editor and indie/trad published author&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Member price: $210 CAD (That's just $30 a session!)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Non-member price: $280 CAD&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;**This series will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants each week after the session. The recordings will be available for 45 days.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;If you signed up after week one and are missing any recordings, please email hello@bcwriters.ca and let us know which sessions you are missing.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style=""&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;em style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;NOTE: Because this is a series of ongoing sessions, there will not be reminder emails about the individual sessions. This series uses the same Zoom link each week.&amp;nbsp;&lt;em style=""&gt;We suggest saving the Zoom link in a calendar event, a Word Document, or the Notes app&lt;strong style=""&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;EVENT DESCRIPTION:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="Xed474f00f9a3148862acd832105c275b00ec8b8" id="Xed474f00f9a3148862acd832105c275b00ec8b8"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font&gt;A seven-week, &lt;em&gt;everything you wanted to know about indie/self-publishing but didn’t know who to ask&lt;/em&gt; course with Jenn Sommersby and guests! Join us on &lt;strong&gt;Saturdays from July 11th to August 29th&lt;/strong&gt; for this informative and hands on series.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dates and time, all via Zoom:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturdays, July 11, 18, and 25, from 10:30 a.m. to noon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturdays, August 8, 15, 22, and 29, from 10: 30 a.m. to noon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(We are skipping the BC Day long weekend.)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Self-publishing can be empowering, creative, and practical—but it can also be confusing to figure out alone. From editing and design to distribution, marketing, launch planning, and long-term sales, there are a lot of decisions between “I have a manuscript” and “My book is out in the world.”&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;FBCW’s &lt;strong&gt;Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101&lt;/strong&gt; is a seven-week course designed to help writers understand the full self-publishing process from beginning to end. Led by longtime indie publisher and freelance editor Jenn Sommersby, with special guests bringing insight into key parts of the publishing journey, this course will give participants a clear, realistic roadmap for preparing, producing, publishing, and promoting their own book.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;This course is for writers who are considering self-publishing, actively preparing a manuscript, or looking for a better understanding of what it takes to publish independently. Participants will learn how to make informed decisions, avoid common pitfalls, understand publishing platforms and production needs, and build a launch plan that fits their goals, capacity, and budget.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Over seven weeks, participants will explore the self-publishing landscape, develop a practical publishing plan, learn the basics of book production and distribution, strengthen their author platform, and prepare for marketing, launch, and post-publication opportunities.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;By the end of the course, participants will have a clearer understanding of the self-publishing process and a personalized roadmap for moving their book forward.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="weekly-topics-may-include" id="weekly-topics-may-include"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font&gt;Weekly topics may include&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;font&gt;:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 1: Understanding Self-Publishing&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Explore the differences between traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing models; what authors are responsible for; common myths and scams; and how to define success for your book.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 2: Publishing Strategy and Project Planning&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Develop a realistic plan for your book, including audience, comparable titles, budget, timeline, production needs, and what support you may need to hire.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 3: Book Design and Production&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Learn what goes into creating a professional book, including cover design, interior formatting, ISBNs, metadata, print and ebook files, and key production decisions.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 4: Publishing Platforms and Distribution&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Compare platforms such as Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Publish Drive, direct sales via Shopify and WooCommerce, print-on-demand (Lulu, BookVault, Books.by), and other distribution options, including considerations for bookstores and libraries.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 5: Author Platform and Branding&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Clarify your author identity, reader audience, website, newsletter, social media presence, book description, and public-facing materials.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 6: Marketing and Launch Planning&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Build the foundations of a launch plan, including advance review copies, endorsements, reviews, media outreach, events, promotions, and realistic marketing strategies.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 7: After Publication&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Look beyond launch day to royalties, sales tracking, updates and new editions, audiobooks, rights, awards, festivals, speaking opportunities, and planning for future books.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="participants-will-leave-with" id="participants-will-leave-with"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font&gt;Participants will leave with:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;
  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;A better understanding of the self-publishing process from start to finish&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A practical publishing timeline and production checklist&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A clearer sense of budget, platform options, and distribution path&lt;font&gt;s&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Tools for thinking about author platform, marketing, and launch&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A personalized roadmap for next steps&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bio:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jenn Sommersby&lt;/strong&gt; is a novelist, editor, publishing educator, and Superman nut. A graduate of SFU’s Writer’s Studio (2007), her YA debut, &lt;em&gt;Sleight&lt;/em&gt;, was a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Book for Kids &amp;amp; Teens (fall 2018) and an Ontario Library Association Best Bets Honourable Mention Book for Young Adults (2019). Jenn was also awarded a BC Arts Council Grant in 2019 for a YA eco-fiction/dystopian novel about water scarcity. She’s written a baker’s dozen books as Sommersby and Eliza Gordon, including best-selling rom-com titles, and her most recent women’s fiction/dramedy novel, &lt;em&gt;Wish Upon a Rosie&lt;/em&gt;, released in February 2026 and was chosen as a finalist in the 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Jenn’s worked as a freelance editor since 2005 (via her company Plumfield Editing) for numerous internationally best-selling authors. Through her company, SGA Books, she supports indie authors with loads of publishing resources. Her&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;first nonfiction advice/craft/confessional project in a new series, aptly titled &lt;em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Please Don’t Make Me Read This&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; is scheduled to publish in late 2026. She also works with FBCW as the Community Planning Manager. She is a &lt;em&gt;tiny bit&lt;/em&gt; obsessed with writers and books.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Visit &lt;a href="http://www.jennifersommersby.com"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;font color="#467886"&gt;www.jennifersommersby.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.sgabooks.com"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;font color="#467886"&gt;www.sgabooks.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/a&gt; for more.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6729143</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6729143</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 02:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Writer Talk: With Eliana West (19 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/event-6755122.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Writer Talk: With Eliana West, Award-Winning Author and Founder of Writers for Diversity&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Free or by donation&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong style="font-family: Nunito, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"&gt;Event Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;WRITER TALK is our new live interview series designed to pull back the golden curtain on the publishing world. Casual chitchat—not a workshop or webinar—a low-key Q&amp;amp;A between host and guest where you can bring your writing and publishing questions.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;em style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Digital doors open at 6:55 pm!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;**This event will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants within a week of the session. The recording will be available for 45 days.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h5 style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;About Eliana:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h5&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;font color="#1F272B" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;From small towns to close-knit communities, award-winning author &lt;strong style=""&gt;Eliana West&lt;/strong&gt; loves stories that bring people from different backgrounds together through the common language of unconditional love and acceptance. Eliana is an award-winning author and passionate advocate for diversity within the writing community. She is the founder of Writers for Diversity, teaching classes and workshops that encourage writers to create diverse characters and worlds with an empathetic approach.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;font color="#1F272B" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;When Eliana isn’t plotting her characters' happy endings, she can be found embarking on adventures with her husband, traversing winding country roads in their beloved vintage Volkswagen Westfalia, affectionately named Bianca. Whether it’s traveling abroad or exploring locally, Eliana and her husband are always willing to get lost and see where the adventure takes them.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;font color="#1F272B" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Eliana loves connecting with readers through her website:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;a href="http://www.elianawest.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;, Times, serif;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;www.elianawest.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#1F272B" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;font style=""&gt;Connect with Eliana at the Fall Into Writing Retreat, where she will be the Writer in Residence. Join us November 23-27, 2026 at Loon Lake Lodge &amp;amp; Retreat Centre and&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;unplug, get some writing done, learn new skills, feel inspired, and make connections&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif;"&gt;&lt;font color="#1F272B" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Learn more and sign up: &lt;a href="https://fbcwretreats.com/fall2026/" target="_blank"&gt;fbcwretreats.com/fall2026&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color="" color="#1F272B" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"&gt;After the initial Q&amp;amp;A, attendees will have the opportunity to ask their own questions and join the discussion. If you’ve ever wanted to sit in on the kinds of conversations that usually happen behind closed doors, then we shall save you a spot!&lt;br&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;
If you have a WRITER TALK topic or guest idea burning a hole in your brain, drop us an email at hello@bcwriters.ca!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6755122</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6755122</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Sat, 22 Aug 2026 17:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101 (7-week course) (22 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/Enrolled-event-6729143.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="enrolled-self-publishing-101" id="enrolled-self-publishing-101"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font&gt;FBCW Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;With Jenn Sommersby, freelance editor and indie/trad published author&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Member price: $210 CAD (That's just $30 a session!)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Non-member price: $280 CAD&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;**This series will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants each week after the session. The recordings will be available for 45 days.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;If you signed up after week one and are missing any recordings, please email hello@bcwriters.ca and let us know which sessions you are missing.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style=""&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;em style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;NOTE: Because this is a series of ongoing sessions, there will not be reminder emails about the individual sessions. This series uses the same Zoom link each week.&amp;nbsp;&lt;em style=""&gt;We suggest saving the Zoom link in a calendar event, a Word Document, or the Notes app&lt;strong style=""&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;EVENT DESCRIPTION:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="Xed474f00f9a3148862acd832105c275b00ec8b8" id="Xed474f00f9a3148862acd832105c275b00ec8b8"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font&gt;A seven-week, &lt;em&gt;everything you wanted to know about indie/self-publishing but didn’t know who to ask&lt;/em&gt; course with Jenn Sommersby and guests! Join us on &lt;strong&gt;Saturdays from July 11th to August 29th&lt;/strong&gt; for this informative and hands on series.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dates and time, all via Zoom:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturdays, July 11, 18, and 25, from 10:30 a.m. to noon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturdays, August 8, 15, 22, and 29, from 10: 30 a.m. to noon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(We are skipping the BC Day long weekend.)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Self-publishing can be empowering, creative, and practical—but it can also be confusing to figure out alone. From editing and design to distribution, marketing, launch planning, and long-term sales, there are a lot of decisions between “I have a manuscript” and “My book is out in the world.”&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;FBCW’s &lt;strong&gt;Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101&lt;/strong&gt; is a seven-week course designed to help writers understand the full self-publishing process from beginning to end. Led by longtime indie publisher and freelance editor Jenn Sommersby, with special guests bringing insight into key parts of the publishing journey, this course will give participants a clear, realistic roadmap for preparing, producing, publishing, and promoting their own book.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;This course is for writers who are considering self-publishing, actively preparing a manuscript, or looking for a better understanding of what it takes to publish independently. Participants will learn how to make informed decisions, avoid common pitfalls, understand publishing platforms and production needs, and build a launch plan that fits their goals, capacity, and budget.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Over seven weeks, participants will explore the self-publishing landscape, develop a practical publishing plan, learn the basics of book production and distribution, strengthen their author platform, and prepare for marketing, launch, and post-publication opportunities.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;By the end of the course, participants will have a clearer understanding of the self-publishing process and a personalized roadmap for moving their book forward.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="weekly-topics-may-include" id="weekly-topics-may-include"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font&gt;Weekly topics may include&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;font&gt;:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 1: Understanding Self-Publishing&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Explore the differences between traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing models; what authors are responsible for; common myths and scams; and how to define success for your book.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 2: Publishing Strategy and Project Planning&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Develop a realistic plan for your book, including audience, comparable titles, budget, timeline, production needs, and what support you may need to hire.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 3: Book Design and Production&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Learn what goes into creating a professional book, including cover design, interior formatting, ISBNs, metadata, print and ebook files, and key production decisions.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 4: Publishing Platforms and Distribution&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Compare platforms such as Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Publish Drive, direct sales via Shopify and WooCommerce, print-on-demand (Lulu, BookVault, Books.by), and other distribution options, including considerations for bookstores and libraries.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 5: Author Platform and Branding&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Clarify your author identity, reader audience, website, newsletter, social media presence, book description, and public-facing materials.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 6: Marketing and Launch Planning&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Build the foundations of a launch plan, including advance review copies, endorsements, reviews, media outreach, events, promotions, and realistic marketing strategies.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 7: After Publication&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Look beyond launch day to royalties, sales tracking, updates and new editions, audiobooks, rights, awards, festivals, speaking opportunities, and planning for future books.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="participants-will-leave-with" id="participants-will-leave-with"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font&gt;Participants will leave with:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;
  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;A better understanding of the self-publishing process from start to finish&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A practical publishing timeline and production checklist&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A clearer sense of budget, platform options, and distribution path&lt;font&gt;s&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Tools for thinking about author platform, marketing, and launch&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A personalized roadmap for next steps&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bio:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jenn Sommersby&lt;/strong&gt; is a novelist, editor, publishing educator, and Superman nut. A graduate of SFU’s Writer’s Studio (2007), her YA debut, &lt;em&gt;Sleight&lt;/em&gt;, was a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Book for Kids &amp;amp; Teens (fall 2018) and an Ontario Library Association Best Bets Honourable Mention Book for Young Adults (2019). Jenn was also awarded a BC Arts Council Grant in 2019 for a YA eco-fiction/dystopian novel about water scarcity. She’s written a baker’s dozen books as Sommersby and Eliza Gordon, including best-selling rom-com titles, and her most recent women’s fiction/dramedy novel, &lt;em&gt;Wish Upon a Rosie&lt;/em&gt;, released in February 2026 and was chosen as a finalist in the 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Jenn’s worked as a freelance editor since 2005 (via her company Plumfield Editing) for numerous internationally best-selling authors. Through her company, SGA Books, she supports indie authors with loads of publishing resources. Her&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;first nonfiction advice/craft/confessional project in a new series, aptly titled &lt;em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Please Don’t Make Me Read This&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; is scheduled to publish in late 2026. She also works with FBCW as the Community Planning Manager. She is a &lt;em&gt;tiny bit&lt;/em&gt; obsessed with writers and books.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Visit &lt;a href="http://www.jennifersommersby.com"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;font color="#467886"&gt;www.jennifersommersby.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.sgabooks.com"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;font color="#467886"&gt;www.sgabooks.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/a&gt; for more.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6729143</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6729143</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 21:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Sunday Webinar: Prepare to Shine at Markets and Events, with Bonnie Jacoby (23 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/event-6790232.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 18px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font&gt;Sunday Webinar:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Prepare to Shine at Markets and Events&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;with Bonnie Jacoby&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 21px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Member Price: $18&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 21px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Non-Member Price is $28&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 21px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;**This event will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants within a week of the session. The recording will be available for 45 days.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Workshop/Event Description&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font color="#1F1F1F" face="Google Sans Text, Google Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Readers love meeting local authors. Selling your books at markets and events can boost sales and increase exposure.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font color="#1F1F1F" face="Google Sans Text, Google Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;But how do you start, and what makes you stand out?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font color="#1F1F1F" face="Google Sans Text, Google Sans, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Whether you’ve just published your first book or published many but haven’t ventured into the market space, this session will provide tips and a checklist of everything you need to sell your books and grow your brand. We’ll cover everything from how many books to stock and how to transport them, to finding a venue and setting up your sales display. You’ll leave this session with the tools needed to remove the stress so you can enjoy meeting your future readers and fans.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Intended audience:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div style=""&gt;
  &lt;div style=""&gt;
    &lt;div style=""&gt;
      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Writers of any skill level&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Bio:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;&lt;font color="#3C434A" face="-apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif"&gt;Bonnie Jacoby writes science fiction and fantasy set in worlds inspired by the Pacific Northwest.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;&lt;font color="#3C434A" face="-apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif"&gt;She is the author of the YA fantasy series, Dragon Descendants of Drakkoia, featuring rebellious teen dragons and adventurous teens. Her debut book, &lt;em&gt;Dreams of a Dragon Girl&lt;/em&gt;, was awarded 5 stars by IndieReader.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;&lt;font color="#3C434A" face="-apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif"&gt;Bonnie’s stories feature delightfully conflicted teens who discover their inner strength and fight for what they believe. Her books tackle themes of identity, self-worth, justice, equality, and making a difference.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;&lt;font color="#3C434A" face="-apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif"&gt;Known for her engaging characters, immersive world building, and action-packed journeys, she creates stories that make readers laugh, cry, and feel hopeful for a better world.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;&lt;font color="#3C434A" face="-apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif"&gt;With a special love of dragons and spaceships, Bonnie’s stories will transport you to a world both familiar and fantastical, where anything is possible if you just believe in yourself.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font color="#3C434A" face="-apple-system, system-ui, Segoe UI, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, Helvetica Neue, sans-serif"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"&gt;Find Bonnie online at&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://www.bonniejacoby.com/" target="_blank"&gt;bonniejacoby.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;**Digital doors open at 1:55 pm, event starts at 2:00 pm**&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6790232</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6790232</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 02:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Writer Talk (and BOOK LAUNCH!) with Gail Anderson-Dargatz (25 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/event-6770702.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Writer Talk (and BOOK LAUNCH!): With Gail Anderson-Dargatz&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;
Free or by donation&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h5 style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Event Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/h5&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;This &lt;strong&gt;special&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;edition&lt;/strong&gt; of WRITER TALK will include our usual casual one-on-one Q&amp;amp;A publishing chitchat, but it is also a &lt;strong&gt;BOOK LAUNCH CELEBRATION for award-winning author (and frequent FBCW instructor) Gail Anderson-Dargatz!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;
Gail and Jenn will chat about publishing stuff—Gail's publication journey, the highs and lows of this business, the stark realities of getting a book published in 2026 and how to keep the creative fires lit—while also celebrating Gail's latest literary achievement, which has been noted as one of &lt;strong&gt;Indigo's Most Anticipated Books for 2026!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Digital doors open at 6:55 p.m.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;**This event will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants within a week of the session. The recording will be available for 45 days.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h5 style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;About Our Guest:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h5&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;" color="#1F272B"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ&lt;/strong&gt;’s internationally bestselling novels &lt;em&gt;The Cure for Death by Lightning&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;A Recipe for Bees&lt;/em&gt; were both short-listed for the Giller Prize. Her thrillers &lt;em&gt;The Almost Wife&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;The Almost Widow&lt;/em&gt; were national bestsellers, and &lt;em&gt;The Almost Widow&lt;/em&gt; was shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada. HarperCollins will release her next novel, &lt;em&gt;The Atlas Keeper&lt;/em&gt;, August 25, 2026.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;" color="#1F272B"&gt;Gail also writes hi-lo books for the educational market. She taught for nearly a decade in the CW MFA program at UBC and now works as a mentor and developmental editor. For more, visit her website: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.gailanderson-dargatz.ca" target="_blank"&gt;gailanderson-dargatz.ca&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;After the initial Q&amp;amp;A&lt;/strong&gt;, attendees will have the opportunity to ask their own questions and join the discussion. If you’ve ever wanted to sit in on the kinds of conversations that usually happen behind closed doors, then we shall save you a spot!&lt;br&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;
If you have a WRITER TALK topic or guest idea burning a hole in your brain, drop us an email at hello@bcwriters.ca!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6770702</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6770702</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2026 02:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Evening Webinar: Your Book, But Better: Following IBPA Publishing Standards, for Indie and Self-Published Authors (27 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/event-6776097%20jsy.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Evening Webinar: Your Book, But Better: Following IBPA Publishing Standards, for Indie and Self-Published Authors&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;with Jenn Sommersby&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 21px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Member Price: $18&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 21px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Non-Member Price is $28&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 21px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;**This event will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants within a week of the session. The recording will be available for 45 days.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Workshop/Event Description&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 18px;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;A great book is more than just good writing—it’s a complete package that includes strong editing, professional design, and smart branding. How many times have you been turned off from buying a book because the layout or design was just . . . not great? It screams amateur, right?&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 18px;"&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;This session will cover the must-have elements of creating a well-designed, pleasing product so you’re taken seriously in the book world. We’ll discuss the importance of cover design, levels of editing, formatting, blurbs, metadata, and marketing as well as how to use the IBPA Industry Standards checklist to make sure you don’t hit a sour note when your opus makes her debut on the world stage. Readers really do judge a book by its cover (and pretty much everything else within the covers)!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul style=""&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Intended audience:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div style=""&gt;
  &lt;div style=""&gt;
    &lt;div style=""&gt;
      &lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Writers of all genres and styles who are looking to independently publish their books&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bio:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Jenn Sommersby is a freelance editor, publishing mentor and educator, and author of a baker’s dozen books written under Sommersby and Eliza Gordon, including award-winning YA and best-selling rom-com titles. Her latest women’s fiction/dramedy, &lt;em style=""&gt;Wish Upon a Rosie&lt;/em&gt;, published in February and was a National Indie Excellence Award Finalist. Through her company SGA Books, she supports indie authors with publishing resources and hands-on teaching. Her first nonfiction series geared toward early-career writers will publish in 2026. And of course, she is the Programming Director for the Federation of BC Writers.&lt;/font&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Pick up Jenn's latest books:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;a href="https://shop.sgabooks.com/" target="_blank" class="stylizedButton buttonStyle001" style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;Here&lt;/a&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;**Digital doors open at 1:55 pm, event starts at 2:00 pm**&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 18px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6776097</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6776097</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Sat, 29 Aug 2026 17:30:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101 (7-week course) (29 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/Enrolled-event-6729143.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="enrolled-self-publishing-101" id="enrolled-self-publishing-101"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font&gt;FBCW Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;With Jenn Sommersby, freelance editor and indie/trad published author&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Member price: $210 CAD (That's just $30 a session!)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Non-member price: $280 CAD&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;**This series will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants each week after the session. The recordings will be available for 45 days.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;If you signed up after week one and are missing any recordings, please email hello@bcwriters.ca and let us know which sessions you are missing.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style=""&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;em style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;NOTE: Because this is a series of ongoing sessions, there will not be reminder emails about the individual sessions. This series uses the same Zoom link each week.&amp;nbsp;&lt;em style=""&gt;We suggest saving the Zoom link in a calendar event, a Word Document, or the Notes app&lt;strong style=""&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;EVENT DESCRIPTION:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="Xed474f00f9a3148862acd832105c275b00ec8b8" id="Xed474f00f9a3148862acd832105c275b00ec8b8"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font&gt;A seven-week, &lt;em&gt;everything you wanted to know about indie/self-publishing but didn’t know who to ask&lt;/em&gt; course with Jenn Sommersby and guests! Join us on &lt;strong&gt;Saturdays from July 11th to August 29th&lt;/strong&gt; for this informative and hands on series.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Dates and time, all via Zoom:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturdays, July 11, 18, and 25, from 10:30 a.m. to noon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Saturdays, August 8, 15, 22, and 29, from 10: 30 a.m. to noon&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(We are skipping the BC Day long weekend.)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Self-publishing can be empowering, creative, and practical—but it can also be confusing to figure out alone. From editing and design to distribution, marketing, launch planning, and long-term sales, there are a lot of decisions between “I have a manuscript” and “My book is out in the world.”&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;FBCW’s &lt;strong&gt;Enrolled: Self-Publishing 101&lt;/strong&gt; is a seven-week course designed to help writers understand the full self-publishing process from beginning to end. Led by longtime indie publisher and freelance editor Jenn Sommersby, with special guests bringing insight into key parts of the publishing journey, this course will give participants a clear, realistic roadmap for preparing, producing, publishing, and promoting their own book.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;This course is for writers who are considering self-publishing, actively preparing a manuscript, or looking for a better understanding of what it takes to publish independently. Participants will learn how to make informed decisions, avoid common pitfalls, understand publishing platforms and production needs, and build a launch plan that fits their goals, capacity, and budget.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Over seven weeks, participants will explore the self-publishing landscape, develop a practical publishing plan, learn the basics of book production and distribution, strengthen their author platform, and prepare for marketing, launch, and post-publication opportunities.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;By the end of the course, participants will have a clearer understanding of the self-publishing process and a personalized roadmap for moving their book forward.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="weekly-topics-may-include" id="weekly-topics-may-include"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font&gt;Weekly topics may include&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;font&gt;:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 1: Understanding Self-Publishing&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Explore the differences between traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing models; what authors are responsible for; common myths and scams; and how to define success for your book.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 2: Publishing Strategy and Project Planning&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Develop a realistic plan for your book, including audience, comparable titles, budget, timeline, production needs, and what support you may need to hire.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 3: Book Design and Production&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Learn what goes into creating a professional book, including cover design, interior formatting, ISBNs, metadata, print and ebook files, and key production decisions.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 4: Publishing Platforms and Distribution&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Compare platforms such as Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, Publish Drive, direct sales via Shopify and WooCommerce, print-on-demand (Lulu, BookVault, Books.by), and other distribution options, including considerations for bookstores and libraries.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 5: Author Platform and Branding&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Clarify your author identity, reader audience, website, newsletter, social media presence, book description, and public-facing materials.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 6: Marketing and Launch Planning&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Build the foundations of a launch plan, including advance review copies, endorsements, reviews, media outreach, events, promotions, and realistic marketing strategies.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Week 7: After Publication&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Look beyond launch day to royalties, sales tracking, updates and new editions, audiobooks, rights, awards, festivals, speaking opportunities, and planning for future books.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a name="participants-will-leave-with" id="participants-will-leave-with"&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font&gt;Participants will leave with:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;ul style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;
  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;A better understanding of the self-publishing process from start to finish&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A practical publishing timeline and production checklist&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A clearer sense of budget, platform options, and distribution path&lt;font&gt;s&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Tools for thinking about author platform, marketing, and launch&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;

  &lt;li&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;A personalized roadmap for next steps&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Bio:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jenn Sommersby&lt;/strong&gt; is a novelist, editor, publishing educator, and Superman nut. A graduate of SFU’s Writer’s Studio (2007), her YA debut, &lt;em&gt;Sleight&lt;/em&gt;, was a Canadian Children’s Book Centre Best Book for Kids &amp;amp; Teens (fall 2018) and an Ontario Library Association Best Bets Honourable Mention Book for Young Adults (2019). Jenn was also awarded a BC Arts Council Grant in 2019 for a YA eco-fiction/dystopian novel about water scarcity. She’s written a baker’s dozen books as Sommersby and Eliza Gordon, including best-selling rom-com titles, and her most recent women’s fiction/dramedy novel, &lt;em&gt;Wish Upon a Rosie&lt;/em&gt;, released in February 2026 and was chosen as a finalist in the 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA).&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;font&gt;&lt;font color="#000000"&gt;Jenn’s worked as a freelance editor since 2005 (via her company Plumfield Editing) for numerous internationally best-selling authors. Through her company, SGA Books, she supports indie authors with loads of publishing resources. Her&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;first nonfiction advice/craft/confessional project in a new series, aptly titled &lt;em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;Please Don’t Make Me Read This&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"&gt;,&lt;/span&gt; is scheduled to publish in late 2026. She also works with FBCW as the Community Planning Manager. She is a &lt;em&gt;tiny bit&lt;/em&gt; obsessed with writers and books.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Visit &lt;a href="http://www.jennifersommersby.com"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;font color="#467886"&gt;www.jennifersommersby.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.sgabooks.com"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;font color="#467886"&gt;www.sgabooks.com&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/a&gt; for more.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6729143</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6729143</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Sun, 30 Aug 2026 21:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Sunday Webinar: The Curiosity Mindset: Designing Experiments to Strengthen Your Writing Practice (30 Aug 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/event-6776128.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Sunday Webinar: The Curiosity Mindset: Designing Experiments to Strengthen Your Writing Practice&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;with Cadence Mandybura&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 21px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Member Price: $18&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 21px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Non-Member Price is $28&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 21px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;**This event will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants within a week of the session. The recording will be available for 45 days.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Workshop/Event Description&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font color="#222222" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;What's the next step for your writing practice, right now? You might be struggling with practical considerations, like finding the time to write, or working on an aspect of craft, like honing your dialogue. In this session, we'll learn how to use a curiosity mindset to design custom experiments for facing challenges and developing our strengths—judgment free.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;div style=""&gt;
  &lt;div style=""&gt;
    &lt;div style=""&gt;
      &lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Intended Audience:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Writers of any skill level&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Bio:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Cadence Mandybura is a writer and editor who joined the Federation of BC Writers in 2016, shortly after moving to BC from Alberta. She volunteered at the Federation’s 2022 Summit, then took the helm of WordWorks magazine for four issues between 2022–23 and helped launch the Federation’s Roots to Branches anthology series.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Cadence’s speculative fiction has appeared in Metaphorosis, Pulp Literature, and Tales &amp;amp; Feathers, among others. She is a graduate of the Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University and a past associate producer for the fiction anthology podcast &lt;em&gt;The Truth&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;By day, Cadence works for the people of BC as a stakeholder relations coordinator in the BC Public Service. She is grateful to live in Victoria on the land of the lək̓ʷəŋən People, known today as the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="line-height: 16px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;**Digital doors open at 1:55 pm, event starts at 2:00 pm**&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

      &lt;p style="line-height: 18px; font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;font color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6776128</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6776128</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
    <item>
      <pubDate>Thu, 03 Sep 2026 02:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <title>Writer Talk: With Alix Kelinda (2 Sep 2026)</title>
      <description>&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/event-6779857.jpg" alt="" title="" border="0"&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Writer Talk: With Alix Kelinda&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;span style=""&gt;Free or by donation&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;strong style="font-family: Nunito, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"&gt;Event Description&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;WRITER TALK is our live interview series designed to pull back the magical curtain on the publishing world. Join us for a casual chitchat—not a workshop or webinar—just a low-key Q&amp;amp;A between host and guest where you can bring your writing and publishing questions.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;&lt;em style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;Digital doors open at 6:55 pm.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="line-height: 19px;"&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;em style=""&gt;&lt;font style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;**This event will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants within a week of the session. The recording will be available for 45 days.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h5 style=""&gt;&lt;strong style=""&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;About Alix:&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h5&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#1F272B" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Alix has been honing her craft for over a decade but reading furiously long before that. She enjoys helping her characters find love and humor amidst self-discovery and growth. When not writing, she works as a biostatistician analyzing healthcare data. She can also be found climbing rocks and drinking coffee, although not usually at the same time.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px;"&gt;&lt;font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#1F272B" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Alix’s debut romance novel &lt;em&gt;The Christmas Curse&lt;/em&gt; will be published October 20, 2026, by Doubleday Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House. She has short stories published both online and in print and holds an undergraduate degree in psychology, a master’s degree in medical sciences, and a certificate in creative writing.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font color="#1F272B" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Visit Alix online:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href="https://alixkelinda.com/" target="_blank" style=""&gt;alixkelinda.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font color="#1F272B" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;Preorder Alix's book HERE:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=""&gt;&lt;font color="#1F272B" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: 16px;"&gt;&lt;a href="https://alixkelinda.com/order-the-christmas-curse/" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img src="https://bcwriters.ca/resources/Pictures/The%20Christmas%20Curse.jpg" alt="" border="0" width="141.75" height="218" title=""&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style="font-size: 14.4px; line-height: 22px;"&gt;&lt;font style="--darkreader-inline-color: var(--darkreader-text-000000, #e8e6e3); font-size: 16px;" color="#000000" face="Arial, sans-serif" data-darkreader-inline-color=""&gt;After the initial Q&amp;amp;A, attendees will have the opportunity to ask their own questions and join the discussion. If you’ve ever wanted to sit in on the kinds of conversations that usually happen behind closed doors, then we shall save you a spot!&lt;br&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&lt;br&gt;
If you have a WRITER TALK topic or guest idea, drop us an email at hello@bcwriters.ca!&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <link>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6779857</link>
      <guid>https://bcwriters.ca/event-6779857</guid>
      <dc:creator />
    </item>
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