When I first met with the rest of the planning committee for the Ontario Writers’ Conference, I had no idea the conference would be so successful, so appreciated, so fulfilling. Coming up on our 5th conference (and our 7th year of planning), I see that we have become a vital part of the writing landscape of Ontario. And I’m so very proud of this fact.
We recently announced the recipient of our 2013 Student Scholarship to the conference. If you missed the boat on this one this year, keep your ear to the ground next winter. We announce the nomination process for this scholarship early in the winter. You can read a bit about this year’s recipient, SPENCER HAZE, here: OWC STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCED
We’re thrilled to have WAYSON CHOY back with us this year. Wayson has been with us since the OWC’s inception. His giving heart and open soul have supplied many a magical memories for our attendees (not to mention the committee–who are still thoroughly enthralled with Wayson). Never was this more visually obvious than when those leaving Wayson’s lecture series last year came out of the room waving origami butterflies in the air. It was an amazing moment. Adults went into that lecture, but children came out. Wayson has that ability.
The committee is always committed to finding the best speakers, facilitators, panelists, agents, mentors, venue, etc. We do it because we attempt to create the one yearly event that we ourselves would want to attend. We do not get paid for this. We are an army of volunteers…and we love creating this space for writers to converge on every year. Yes…it’s a tiring job. But it’s also an exciting thing to see the conference come together every year. I am constantly amazed on the day of the conference–to see it all operate so efficiently. Sometimes I just sit there and think, “we did this!”
That we is a royal we. Not only does the committee come together every year to knock this thing out of the park, but we are also blessed with an amazing cavalry of student volunteers, sponsors, venue staff and the like. It takes a community to run such a stunning ship. And I do believe that we are blessed to have the greatest group of registrants one can imagine. Every year, it’s the people who attend our conference that make it special and magical. I can’t wait to see what this year’s crowd brings to our abundant table! I hope you count yourself among our fearless attendees!
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KEVIN CRAIG 