Advance Registration for Pitch Sessions, Blue Pencil Café, and Saturday Night Readings, and Guy Gavriel Kay Coffee Klatsch

This year we have 4 types of events where we are requesting Festival Pass Holders to register for in advance (All other sessions are rush seating):

• Pitch Sessions
• Blue Pencil Café
• Saturday Night Readings
• Guy Gavriel Kay Kaffee Klatsch

Click here for the current schedules including assignments from the advance sign-up period. You may still sign up for available spots (or cancel existing ones) via e-mail until midnight Aug 5th. Final schedules will be available at the festival outside the Heritage and Jasper boardrooms.

Send your preferences/cancellations/etc. to info@whenwordscollide.org so that we may accommodate you as best we can.

Pitch Sessions:

Pitch sessions are 5 minutes long. Be prepared to present your elevator pitch and discuss your manuscript. If they like what they hear you may be asked to send them your query or manuscript. Or you may receive feedback on how to improve your pitch technique. (Please check the editor/agent's web site for what they are looking for. Pitching your YA Steampunk manuscript to a house that only accepts Romance may be a hard sell.)

Blue Pencil Café:

Once you have a session confirmed, please email your manuscript to info@whenwordscollide.org so that we can forward it to the editor, giving them a chance to review it beforehand. (Also bring a printed copy with you.) Remember: a Blue Pencil session is 12 minutes long; please do not provide more material than can be properly discussed in 12 minutes (usually 3 or 4 double-spaced pages)

Note: Unlike at many writers conference, these sessions are offered by the editors and agents at no extra charge. Please respect their time and generosity by properly preparing for your session.

Saturday Night Readings:

Saturday Night Readings will take place from 7-10 PM. These are Rapid Readings where each author has 10 minutes, allowing 18 authors to read from one of their published works. Note: If you have a reading scheduled at a Book Social or other reading event, please opt-out of the Saturday evening readings as there are others for whom this will be their only reading opportunity. Thank you.

Guy Gavriel Kay Kaffee Klatch:

This is an intimate 50-minute sit-down with guest author Guy Gavriel Kay. Limited to 10 people Saturday 4 PM or Sunday 1 PM.