2026 Festival Schedule

Please visit the ticket page on our website for information on pricing and access to each event.

Tues, Sept 22

7:00 PM Free Public Readings and Q&A @ Penticton Public Library, Penticton, BC
Reading by Local Okanagan Authors Sarah Carrington, Leigh McFarlane, and Faye Arcand

Thurs, Sept 24

5:30 – 8:30 PM
Free Public Readings and Q&A @ Stillfood Bistro
Reading by Local Okanagan Authors Andrea Buck, Taylor Williams, and Julie Wise

Fri, Sept 25

3:00 – 5:30 PM
Conference Meet and Greet @ Red Rooster Winery, Penticton, BC
Get to know featured guests and fellow attendees at a meet and greet with icebreaker games at Red Rooster Winery

Dinner and Story Slam @ Elma, Penticton, BC
6:30 – 8:00 pm Dinner
8:00 – 9:30 pm Featured Readings by Susan Juby, C.E. Gatchalian, and Janie Chang, followed by a Story and Poetry Slam

Sat, Sept 26

WCWF Conference Day One @ Okanagan College, Penticton, BC
8:30 – 9:30 am Registration, Coffee, and Snacks provided by Federation of BC Writers
9:30 – 9:45 am Indigenous Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:45 – 10:30 am Keynote by Susan Juby – Holding the Line: Writers and the Rise of AI
10:45 am -12:00 pm Workshops/Panels + Blue Pencil Sessions by Editors BC

Craft: Janie Chang – Use Techniques from Historical Fiction to Create an Immersive Reading Experience in Any Genre
Business: Bill Arnott – Building Community through Marketing and Cross-Promo: How to Sell Books, Build Brand, and Develop Great Networks
Community: Danika Dinsmore – Social Installations: Building Community Through Podcasting

12:00 – 1:30 pm Lunch Break
1:30 – 2:45 pm Workshops/Panels + Blue Pencil Sessions by Editors BC

Craft: Michael V Smith – My Hand is a Red Brick: an image-system workshop
Business: Bryan Mortenson – The Life of a Book
Community: Moderated Panel – Navigating the Literary Landscape: Making the most of events, courses, resources, and more

3:00 – 4:15 pm First Page Slush Pile Sponsored by Pulp Literature

5:00 – 10:00 PM
Writers’ Lounge Social, Dinner, and Literary Trivia Night @ The Standard, Penticton, BC
Socialize with other conference attendees, enjoy dinner, and participate in (or watch fellow attendees participate in) literary trivia

10:00 PM – Late
Adult Bedtime Stories (19+) @ The Standard, Penticton, BC

Sun, Sept 27

WCWF Conference Day Two @ Okanagan College, Penticton, BC
8:30 – 9:00 am Registration, Coffee, and Snacks provided by Federation of BC Writers
9:00 – 10:15 am Workshops/Panels + Blue Pencil Sessions by Editors BC

Craft: C.E. Gatchalian – Writing Beyond Yourself: Imagination, Empathy, and the Ethics of Creating Characters
Business: JM Landels, Mel Anastasiou, and Sierra Louie (Pulp Literature) – Slush-Pile Confidential: What goes on behind the scenes at a literary press?
Community: Anne Fleming – Feedback: What are truly useful ways of reflecting our reading of a work back to its author