When Words Collide Festival explodes into Calgary this weekend

By Christopher Walsh, editor

Sparks are expected this weekend as the first annual When Words Collide Festival hits the city. Organizers are expecting a large turnout of book lovers, writers and industry experts for the festival that starts Saturday at the Best Western, Village Park Inn in northwest Calgary.

 

The aim of the festival is to put the focus back on – and celebrate – the written word of science fiction and other crossover genres.

“It will be educational, but it will be fun,” said festival spokesman Tony King. “The idea is to bring together the commercial genres – science fiction, fantasy, mystery, thriller, romance, historical, all together. As a writing and reading community, we probably have more in common with each other than we have differences.”

Other conventions that focus solely on science fiction have drifted away from the literary aspects of the genre and the crossover genres, King adds. When Words Collide will offer something for everyone.

“We don’t want fans to have to choose between one [convention] or the other,” he said. “What we’d like to do is make sure the literary aspects of science fiction, fantasy and mystery, thriller, romance, historical are all represented in a festival.

“Everybody is going to find something there they wouldn’t have gotten at just a straight science fiction convention or a straight mystery convention or a straight romance convention.”

Special events this year include a guided tour of the Eric Korn collection of H.G. Wells at the University of Calgary, which includes an autographed copy of the War of the Worlds audio play that Orson Welles used for his notorious hoax. The Calgary Association of Romance Writers of America will be hosting a pyjama party Saturday night (no word on whether that will also involve a pillow fight). Then there are two days crammed with panels, forums, small group discussions as well as readings, autograph sessions and “slush” reads from publishers of unpublished works. The event will feature over 80 panellists including writers, publishers, illustrators, artists, academics and even a detective.

Brain Hades, publisher of Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, will be the featured publisher guest, holding discussions with writers that explore the ins and outs of Canadian book publishing.

Hades says science fiction and fantasy genres are popular today in the publishing industry.

“It’s one of the more stable areas in publishing,” he said. “Obviously, we have our challenges, all publishers do these days. [But there are] good stable markets both in Calgary and across the country.”

Hades has attended similar festivals in the United States and says hosting an event like this in Calgary is positive for the industry.

“It’s a big step, it really is,” he said. “The folks who have put this together have agonized a lot over how to make the first one the best one. They know they’re setting the bar very high.”

Events before the weekend’s festivities kick off include a free reading and discussion with noted science fiction, fantasy and thriller writers Rachel Caine, Jack Whyte, Walter John Williams and Robert J. Sawyer this Thursday and Friday. Thursday’s discussion will take place at 7 p.m. at the Fish Creek library branch and Friday’s chat will be held at noon at the CIBC hub room at the University of Calgary, Rosza Centre. Both events are free to the public.

King says that while this is the first year of the event, organizers have already started planning for next year.

“There will be a next year,” he said. “We’ve already signed contracts and arranged guests who will be announced Sunday afternoon. It is definitely the first annual, it is not the only…”

Tickets to the event can be purchased at the door in the form of a $60 membership, which will grant access to all the scheduled When Words Collide events. More information can be found at www.whenwordscollide.org.

 

Category: Calgary