50 DAYS FOR FALL WRITING!
A writing challenge and fundraiser celebrating 50 years of the Federation of BC Writers!
October 30 to December 18, 2026
Online via Zoom
All session times are PCT / Vancouver time.
A lot can happen in fifty days. You could start that novel, return to a half-finished memoir, revise a collection of poems, or make writing a regular part of your week.
This fall, join the Federation of BC Writers for 50 DAYS FOR FALL WRITING—a chance to work toward a personal writing goal with dedicated writing sessions, friendly accountability, and company along the way. Your registration also supports the Fed’s work as we celebrate our fiftieth anniversary.
Your project, your goal, your pace!
Choose a goal that suits your project and your life. That might mean drafting 50,000 words, revising five chapters, finishing a short story, or showing up at the page three times a week.
Writers of all genres and experience levels are welcome. There is no required word count, and you don’t need to attend every session. Join the gatherings that work for you and continue independently between events.
Registration
FBCW members: $50 CAD
Non-members / guests: $65 CAD
Scholarship passes: $25 CAD (eight available)
All passes include the full fifty-day program, two Words After Dark open mic nights, the Halfway Huddle webinar on November 24, and the December 18 twelve-hour write-in finale. Scholarship passes offer the same access at a reduced price.
What's included:
~ Your 50 Days Participant Packet with all the links and schedules to keep you organized throughout the event.
~ Opening night on October 30: An information and goal-setting session followed by “Words After Dark,” our online open mic.
~ Twelve dedicated writing sprints: Hosted morning and evening sessions on six Thursdays.
~ Six group check-ins: Opportunities to share progress, discuss obstacles, and adjust your goals.
~ The "Halfway Huddle" motivational webinar/workshop on November 24 to keep you going!
~ Weekly emails packed with encouragement, optional prompts, and reminders about upcoming sessions.
~ An optional participant workbook: Printable goal-setting pages, progress trackers, and reflection exercises.
~ Access to the Fed’s ongoing daily writing and editing sprints for additional opportunities to write alongside others throughout the challenge. We offer seven days a week of writing and editing sprint sessions. These are "body-doubling" groups where we log in and work quietly with our fellow wordsmiths.
~ Words After Dark: Chapter 2, a second online open mic event on Friday, December 11. (Preregistration for reading slots required. Writers who read at the October 30 event will be waitlisted to give new readers a shot.)
~ The Big Finish Write-In on December 18: A twelve-hour online write-in to celebrate our progress and give our projects one more push before the holidays. The day will feature different hosts who will bring their own prompts, activities, and/or reflection exercises to share with you.
Writing sprints offer focused time to work on your own project. This event does not include manuscript critiques or individual editorial feedback.
SCHEDULE:
~ Opening night, Friday, October 30, 6–7 p.m., welcome and goal-setting: Learn how the challenge works, explore the schedule, and choose a realistic goal for your fifty days.
7–8:30 p.m., “Words After Dark” Online Open Mic
This open mic event is open to readings from full-pass participants of the 50 Days for Fall Writing event. Should reading spaces remain, we will open sign-ups to all guests.
Fifteen reading spots of up to five minutes each will be available. Spots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. A link to the sign-up sheet will be included in your Participant Packet.
If requests exceed the available spaces, readers will be selected at random, with a waitlist for remaining applicants. Selected readers will be contacted on October 23 and asked to confirm by October 26.
Guests, fans, and friends can register for ONLY the Words After Dark Open Mic event separately for $5 CAD here.
~ Dedicated Thursday writing sessions, November 5, 12, and 26; December 3, 10, and 17, two sessions on each date: 9:30–10:30 a.m. and 5:30–6:30 p.m.
Attend either session or both. Bring your WIP! Simple prompts will be offered in the chat at the beginning of each session.
~ Tuesday evening check-ins, November 3, 10, and 24; December 1, 8, and 15, 5:30–6:30 p.m.
Join us to acknowledge what’s moving forward, ask for encouragement, and plan your next steps. Sessions may finish earlier, depending on attendance.
Please note that the 50 DAYS dedicated challenge sprints and check-ins pause during the November 16–20 Marketing Intensive. The challenge continues with independent writing and a weekly encouragement email. Registration for the Marketing Intensive is separate.
~ Halfway Huddle: Keep Going! Webinar, Tuesday, November 24, 2026 (time TBD)
~ Words After Dark: Chapter 2, Friday, December 11, 7 p.m. Sign-ups for this second open mic night will open on November 16.
~ The Big Finish Write-In, Friday, December 18, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
We’ll close the challenge with a day of hosted writing sessions and a celebration of what we’ve accomplished. Drop in for a session or stay for several; twelve-hour attendance is entirely optional.
Finding your sessions
All events are included in the full-pass registration. ALL the Zoom links will be included in your Participant Packet in one handy-dandy document so you can easily keep track of everything.
While all dedicated 50 DAYS events will use the same Zoom link, several events will have their own registration and Zoom links to make them accessible to anyone who wants to attend. The Fed’s ongoing writing sprints retain their existing links.
Registrants will receive a printable PDF schedule and Participant Packet before the October 30 kickoff. Please keep meeting links private.
Give your writing a place on the calendar this fall—and help support the community that keeps BC writers connected province- and Canada-wide!
Now for the fine print:
- Please watch your inbox for a confirmation of registration email. If you do not receive your confirmation within 24 hours of registration, please check your spam folder.
- A follow-up email will be sent to all registrants containing the Participant Packet, which will include everything you need for a successful 50 Days event!
- Contact us at hello@bcwriters.ca if you have not received your confirmation by Tuesday, October 27, to ensure we can get you the needed information.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
- We are an organization that cherishes the work of writers and artists. To that end, we ask that all participants respect the intellectual property of our presenters, recordings, and material shared.
- Similarly, if other participants share information or excerpts from their projects, please respect their intellectual property.
LIABILITY
- In registering, participants understand and agree that the Federation of BC Writers (FBCW), its board, staff, presenters, and members are not liable for any damages or losses arising and waive any of the above from any and all liability.
- The FBCW provides a space for presenters to share their experiences and insights with participants. The writing industry is a complex and ever-changing environment. As such, the FBCW does not endorse any specific information shared in our programming as being complete or accurate in all scenarios. Participants have a responsibility to research and make informed decisions on any information given or implied.
- Difficult and triggering topics can arise as part of artistic practices that are unforeseeable for staff, volunteers, and other participants. The FBCW is not liable for any damages or harms caused by participating in our programming.
PARTICIPANT EXPECTATIONS
- The FBCW is an organization that celebrates diversity and inclusion; taking part in the program means that participants are expected to be respectful, inclusive, and support the dignity of all people regardless of age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, ancestry, language, ability, nationality, ability, health status, religion, and socioeconomic status. All people have identities that intersect the categories above. Examples of behaviour that undermine the above are: crude jokes, unwanted communication, statements minimizing others’ experiences/histories, and threats.
- Participants are expected to arrive a few minutes before sessions start. This allows for any technical issues to be resolved without the group being disrupted.
- If a participant is late, we ask that they refrain from asking “What did I miss?” type questions so that the event can proceed smoothly. Staff and facilitators will do the best they can to assist if vital information has been shared.
- We ask that participants be mindful of the amount of time they speak at events. All participants should have the ability to join in. Participants are expected to keep comments on topic and under a minute so that as many people as possible can participate.
- Participants understand that if they are muted, it is not an intentional slight to them, but is needed to keep the session moving forward. Participants can be muted at the discretion of the FBCW facilitators.
- Difficult topics can arise, and participants understand that we cannot always know or understand other people’s histories. To help make the space as welcoming and safe as possible, if a participant is to share information or read excerpts from works that contain certain themes (outlined below), they will identify this prior to reading it to the group. (e.g. sexual assault, extreme violence, self-harm/eating disorders/suicide ideation, abortion/miscarriage, mental illness, graphic adult content).
- Participants are expected to understand, be sensitive to, and respect the fact that the work of writers, and their opportunity to read their work may be triggering and/or therapeutic to them. Artistic works require vulnerability and the safety to be vulnerable, especially with sensitive topics. Participants agree to do their best to maintain a safe and supportive space for the sharing of the work, regardless of its nature.
ACCOMMODATIONS AND ACCESSIBILITY
- The Federation of BC Writers strives to make our events accessible to folks across ability and neurodivergence. We will do what we can to make our programming available to all people.
- Our programming is based on Zoom, which means there are some limitations on what can be accomplished, but also advantages such as closed captioning and the ability to join from anywhere.
- Accommodations are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
- Accommodations that would significantly hinder the ability of other participants to be involved or participate are not possible.
- Some accommodations may be beyond our financial and administrative capabilities. In such cases, we will seek funding or alternatives if possible.
- Participants are welcome to step way from their computers if they need to while turning off their camera and microphone, but we will not be able to fill people in on what they missed.
