cons – Musings of a Generic Asian

The summer went by so fast! Now I’m suddenly scrambling to pull myself together for Can Con 2023, a writing and publishing convention held in Ottawa. Things were going well, I actually did a jog in the park yesterday, but then in the afternoon I lost my favorite pair of headphones in the supermarket and my day went haywire from then on (I found myself crawling on the supermarket floor in search of them in case they got kicked under the shelves, but they stayed lost).

Sometimes I feel like whenever I feel happy, that is when things go really wrong. Anyhow, I’m hoping things will go well at the conference now that my bad streak has happened…below is my schedule if you happen to be going to the conference, feel free to come chat with me!

Friday, October 13, 8:00pm – 8:50pm – Making a Podcast That Survives and Thrives
Saturday, October 14, 10:00am – 10:50am – Hope in the Age of AI-Generated Content
Sunday, October 15, 10:00am – 10:50am – Putting the PR in DePRession: Indie Publishing and Mental Health and 1:00pm – 1:50pm Dark Helix Press office hours (offering free consulting on publishing)

The schedule looks action packed with lots of writing sessions, book launches and interesting topics about the future of publishing. It’s one of the few conferences left in Canada that features genre writing and it should be hopping!

Since we are all stuck at home because of COVID-19, it’s made it easier to attending writing events. Mind you, I miss connecting with people in person, nothing can replace this and I hope COVID-19 is over soon so we can travel.

As a person on a budget I’m always looking for free things. Probably cause I grew up in a frugal household. Anyhow, below are a few free events I’m attending which are virtually held to learn more about the craft of writing. Usually after reading sessions there are Q&As, so you can ask questions to help with your own work.

If I find any more interesting ones, I’ll repost with additional information. Eventbrite also has a lot of free online events as well.

Conferences

May 1-15, 2021: FOLD (Festival of Literary Diversity)

The festival takes place in Brampton, Ontario, providing an important space for writers to discuss their craft and the challenges involved in creating stories that ask difficult questions, expose hard truths and push literary boundaries.

July 3-4, 2021: SelfPubCon – The Self-Publishing Advice Conference held by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi)

This online author conference run twice a year in association with the Alliance of Independent Authors and (in normal times) other major global conferences like Digital Book World (US) and the London Book Fair (UK). The event attracts the foremost speakers, sponsors and followers. Competitions and giveaways, as well as interviews, panel sessions, debates, round tables, and live-tweeting all add to the excitement on conference days.

Ongoing Monthly Events

Canadian Authors Association, Toronto Branch – free monthly event series. I am one of the organizers and there are readings, panels and workshops.

The Tartan Turban Secret Readings – free BIPOC reading series held monthly with open mic, all are welcomed.

Canadian Authors Association’s Event Calendar – a list of events put on by branches divided by month, some are open to public, some are not.

San Francisco Writers Conference – monthly online classes, some are free and some are not. They are planning a large conference for 2022.

Writers Union of Canada – there are a few free readings being featured at the moment.

Write-Rice Asian Writers Support Group – monthly support group. I am one of the organizers, we discuss various writing topics. Write-Rice aims to support writers of Asian origin, however, all who celebrate visible diversity are also welcomed.

Brockton Writers Series – a diverse reading series based in Toronto, pay what you can. Site has a blog about writing and publishing.