whenwordscollide's podcast

The celebration of past WWC festivals resumes with Collision Reconstruction: Life-Hacks. Previous guests Jack Whyte, Leanne Shirtliffe and Robert Runté bring words of wisdom on finding inspiration, battling self-doubt and the loss of literacy.

Regardless of the field, early adventures can be unexpectedly pleasant, eye-opening, or tragi-comic. Check out the latest Collision Reconstruction podcast for examples from WWC past guest authors Brandon Sanderson, Jacqueline Guest and Guy Gavriel Kay.

We continue to gather excerpts from WWC panels over the years. We put them in a blender and call them Collision Reconstructions. This time, we present three festival guests--Kevin J. Anderson, Lisa Mangum and Will Ferguson talking about their career starts.

The celebration of WWCs past continues with a new Collision Reconstruction. We combed through four panels from three past festivals for insights on marketing and labels. 

Voices in this reconstruction include Eileen Bell, Mark Leslie, Laini Giles, S. G. Wong, Michelle Beattie, Alyssa Palmer, Jade Buchanan, Kelley Armstrong, Jennifer Estep, Jessica L. Jackson, Ellie Lynn, Axel Howerton, and C.C. Humphreys

Are Canadian crime writers pigeon-holed? Can they "break through" with non-Canadian (read: U.S.) readers. Panelists from the 2012 and 2018 festivals offer their thoughts in another Collision Reconstruction. Anthony Bidulka, Dwayne Clayden, J. E. Barnard, David A. Poulsen, Susan Calder 

To whet your appetite for our first in-person festival in three years, we're dipping into the archive to revisit some past encounters, Collision Reconstructions if you will.

First is a mash-up of editing panels from 2012 and 2018. "We've Been Edited" featured Carrie Mumford, Peter V. Brett, Edward Willett, E. C. Bell, and Raina Schnider. "The Writer as Editor" included a panel made up of Steven Owad, Susan McGregor, Neil Godbout, Jack White and Virginia O'Dine.

(Youngsters--when the late, great Jack White talks about listening to a cassette, feel free to substitute your preferred digital audio format.)

Some of the best ways to get it right and make all the difference in the effectiveness of your story. (NB: embarrassingly, in a panel about facts, one fact is wrong--the Russian Tsar was Ivan the Terrible, not Peter the Great!)

Barb Galler-Smith, Ann Marston, Tony King, Shelley McAneeley, Michaela Ritchie (M)

Join prolific authors, Jonas Saul and Tracy Cooper-Posey, who've both had (or still have) literary agents and who have (and still do) self-publish. This interactive discussion covers the pros and cons of self-publishing and the ups and downs of having a literary agent. Get a feel for which direction to go in your own journey to publication after hearing from both sides.

Does a satisfactory mystery depend on plot? Or has the classic whodunit evolved into a mainstream novel with a murder or other significant crime? Panelists debate the elements of a good crime/mystery book (e.g. plot, character, action) and which elements are most important to the story.

Alice Bienia, Jim Jackson, P. J. Vernon, David Poulsen (M)

The rise of environmental fiction, both in literature and film, has spawned several sub-genres such as climate fiction, eco-thrillers, eco-mystery, eco-punk, and eco-romance. Is eco-fiction part of science fiction? Is eco-fiction simply a new fad or does it reflect a cultural awakening to current environmental issues? What role does eco-fiction play in storytelling and defining ourselves? Who are readers and why? Should eco-fiction educate? How can an eco-fiction writer prevent it from becoming a polemic?