Previous Collisions

Curious as to who was at a previous When Words Collide? Can't remember which panels you attended? Wondering who the guests of honour were? Find out here.

2020 (Virtual) Statistics

The statistics for this year are a bit fuzzy as we have no way of telling exactly how many individuals attended at least one session, nor how many people were turned away from sessions that were already full.

2020 Virtual Statistics (Attendance: > 1000)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Fix that Manuscript	100
2	Ten Things I Wish I'd Known	100
3	Turning Your Creative Goals into Reality in Today's 2020	100
4	Emotion in Fiction	100
5	Pace and Flow	100

2019 Statistics

2019 Statistics (Attendance: 811)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Guest of Honour Keynotes	124
2	This is Your Brain on Words	114
3	Writing from the Body—the Physicality of Showing Emotion	109
4	The Editor is In: A Live Editing Demonstration	109
5	Common Manuscript Problems	101
6	PTSD: Not all Wounds are Visible	100
7	Evil Mind Dive	93
8	"What you say?" or, Writing Dialogue	92
9	The 7 Ps of Publishing Success	90
10	Getting the Character's Emotion on the Page	86

2018 Statistics

2018 Statistics (Attendance: 769)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Guest of Honour Keynotes	180
2	The Art of the Plot Twist	100
3	Pressure Point with Detective Dave Sweet	99
4	How to Write a Good Pitch and Query	95
5	Digging Up the Past: Understanding the Power of an Emotional Wound	93
6	Creating Tension	75
7	Creative History	73
8	Non-Medieval Fantasy and Alternate Fantasy Settings	73
9	Traditional Publishing Contracts: Fairness or F*ckery?	70
10	Writing Emotion - Friendship, Rivalry and Love	68

2017 Statistics

2017 Statistics (Attendance: 750)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Guest of Honour Keynotes	156
2	The Write Tech Tools for Authors	116
3	The Reading That Never Was: An Hour with Guy Gavriel Kay	100
4	Common Manuscript Problems	90
5	Worldbuilding: The Lazy Bastard Way	86
6	Will Ferguson on Publishing & Writing	86
7	Managing Sustained Writing Projects	84
8	The Killer Opening — Hook, Line and Sinker	78
9	Maximizing Your Author Revenue	71
10	What Makes a Genre Story Literary – and Vice Versa?	71

2016 Statistics

2016 Statistics (Attendance: 701)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Keynote Addresses	211
2	Common Manuscript Problems	91
3	How to Write a Good Pitch and Query	90
4	Writing Snappy Dialogue	87
5	David Suchet as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot	84
6	No Wallflowers Allowed: Setting	69
7	World Builders!	67
8	45 Tips for Effective Dialogue	67
9	Scrivener & Evernote: Essential Tech Tools for Authors	65
10	World-Building: The Complexity of Ecosystems	63

2015 Statistics

2015 Statistics (Attendance: 665)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Keynote Addresses	251
2	An Hour with Diana Gabaldon	174
3	Historical License	108
4	Festival Guest Readings	107
5	An Hour with Brandon Mull	106
6	Science Fiction and the Future	95
7	Breaking In: The Query Letter and the Pitch	87
8	How to Write a Good Pitch and Query	84
9	Writing the Scene	80
10	On Writing	80

2014 Statistics

2014 Statistics (Attendance: 551)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Keynote Addresses	197
2	Brandon Sanderson on Craft	131
3	How to Build a Consistent and Original Magic System	128
4	An Hour with Brandon Sanderson	96
5	Live Action Slush: Fantasy Edition	96
6	RPG Storytelling	85
7	Motivated Characters	83
8	How to Write a Good Pitch and Query	79
9	Live Action Slush: Early Bird Edition	78
10	Successful Self-Publishing	74

2013 Statistics

2013 Statistics (Attendance: 455)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Keynote Addresses	180
2	Getting Past the Middle Doldrums in Novel Writing	82
3	How To Write A Good Pitch and Query	75
4	Building an Audience Online and Off	61
5	Self Editing: Mastering Revision & Polish	58
6	Inside the Criminal Mind	56
7	Making the Everyday Fantastic	55
8	The Publisher's Panel	54
9	Building a Story from the Bottom Up	54
10	Live Action Slush: Science Fiction Edition	52

2012 Statistics

2012 Statistics (Attendance: 417)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Keynote Addresses	119
2	Conflict and Tension	101
3	Eleven Tips to Increase Your Writing Productivity	90
4	Writer as Editor	90
5	Mastering Point of View	87
6	The Psychology of Criminals and Villains	82
7	Humour in Fiction	81
8	Dead Men Still Talking	67
9	Show, Don't Tell: Writing Nonverbal Emotion	67
10	Live Action Slush - Early Bird Edition	66

2011 Statistics

2011 Statistics (Attendance: 282)
	Top Attended Sessions	Attendance
1	Turning History into Fiction	71
2	Dead Men Do Talk	70
3	Silencing Your Inner Saboteur	66
4	Fostering the Creative Process	64
5	Live Action Slush - Edge	53
6	Mysticism, Religion and Magic in Fiction	51
7	How to Write a Good Pitch and Query	50
8	Live Action Slush - RJS & Bundoran	48
9	Let's Talk About Sex	48
10	Writing Difficult Scenes	44

Previous Collisions

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