SECURE FOOTING IN A CHANGING LITERARY LANDSCAPE
Professional Development Symposium for writers in all phases of their careers

Sponsored by the Writers’ Union of Canada and Canadian Heritage
This full-day event is designed to address the creative and financial questions that arise as writers navigate print-based and digital literary landscapes. The symposium also explores the importance of community and the need for writers to develop their own writing community.

Writers – unpublished, emerging, or established – will gain an insight into their role in the digitalization of the literary industry.

Authors Betsy Warland and Ross Laird will outline the current changes in the literary industry; explore the innovative digital opportunities; and discuss the creativity, economics, and community of a writer’s life. Kelly Duffin, the Union’s executive director, will discuss authors’ contracts in the digital age.

Through personal stories and profiles of writers who have inventively succeeded, Betsy, Ross, and Kelly will assist participants in creating their own personal strategy to address creativity, economics, and community in their writing life.

More information on the next series of workshops will be available here in January 2011.


Betsy Warland is the author of ten books of creative nonfiction and poetry. Her manuscript of twenty-four essays, "Breathing the Page – Reading the Act of Writing," will be published in 2010. Known for her dedication to emerging writers and young authors, she had been an editor, manuscript consultant, and creative writing teacher for over twenty years. She is the Director of The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University, and Vancouver Manuscript Intensive. Please visit www.betsywarland.com for more details.

Ross Laird, Ph.D. teaches creativity, psychology, creative writing, counselling, and leadership at various educational institutions across North America. He is an award-winning poet and scholar, a clinical supervisor to social service agencies in the field of addiction, a corporate consultant in the psychology of leadership, and best-selling author of Grain of Truth: The Ancient Lessons of Craft (short listed for a Governor General's Award). His most recent book, A Stone's Throw: The Enduring Nature of Myth is currently in bookstores. A new book on addictions will be released in 2010. Visit www.rosslaird.info for more information.

At the Writers' Union of Canada, we support the country’s authors by advocating for their rights, freedoms, and economic well-being.

We act collectively to address government and industry about public lending rights, tax reform, copyright legislation, freedom of expression and other industry issues.
We provide publications, professional development programs, contract advice, grievance assistance, group health benefits, funding for public and school readings, and numerous opportunities for communication and networking within the industry.

The Writers’ Union of Canada helps professional authors to stand together while they work alone.