K.A. Wiggins's Blog, page 6
May 9, 2022
Save The Dates
layout: eventsposttitle: Save the Datesdate: 2022-05-10category: events���
Save the Date #1: WORD Vancouver FestivalDate: September 25, 2022
Time: TBC
Location: SFU Harbour Centre
Type: Panel
I���ll be moderating a panel on children���s publishing featuring CWILLers Claire Lordon, Sara Leach, Bryce Raffle & Danielle S. Marcotte at WORD Vancouver festival, time TBC. Stop by our table in the exhibitor���s hall for free bookmarks and enter our giveaway. And teachers/librians/home learners won���t want to miss Kari Rust���s WORD-sponsored free virtual school talk in the week leading up. More details to come here.
Save the Date #2: CWILL BC Presents: 2022 BC Books + Intro to Collaborating with Local Authors at BCTLA Fall ConferenceDate: October 21-22, 2022
Time: TBC
Location: New Westminster Secondary School
Type: Multimedia Presentation & Workshop
I���ll be presenting a mixed-format multi-media presentation and workshop on behalf of CWILL BC highlighting our free resources for teachers and librarians, presenting 2021-2022 new and upcoming releases, and engaging dialogue around BC books for kids. Exact date/time TBC. We may also have a presence in the exhibitors��� hall. Register here when the details are finalized.
May 8, 2022
UF Panel at Storycrafting Sessions
Date: June 4, 2022
Time: 12:30-1:30 PM EST (9:30-10:30 AM PST)
Location: virtual
Type: Panel + Q&A
Weeknight Writers is a social enterprise dedicated to creating accessible educational resources and events for fiction authors, run by the Business for Authors team.
In addition to their weekly Twitter chats on Thursday nights (at 7pm EST/4pm PST, #WeeknightWriters), they offer Storycrafting Sessions, one-day virtual conferences with panels exploring a specific aspect of writing, such as worldbuilding or story structure.
Join us for a special fantasy edition of Storycrafting Sessions on June 4, 2022.
I���ll be teaming up with four other awesome authors for the Urban Fantasy panel, ���Layering Another World Over Our Own��� from 12:30-1:30 pm EST (9:30-10:30 am PST). This panel will discuss techniques and tips for balancing worldbuilding and realism that you can apply to your Urban Fantasy novel!
Here���s the full lineup:11-12PM EST/8-9AM PST���Fantasy as a Safe Space: Using Fantasy to Explore and Critique Social and Political Themes���This panel will focus on how Fantasy writers can harness the power of narrative distance and readers��� imaginations to create and shape safe cultural spaces for important socio-cultural critique.
12:30-1:30PM EST/9:30-10:30AM PST���Urban Fantasy: Layering Another World Over Our Own���This panel will discuss techniques and tips for balancing worldbuilding and realism that you can apply to your Urban Fantasy novel!
2:30-3:30PM EST/11:30-12:30PM PST���Beyond Elves and Dwarves: Creating Unique Fantasy Species���This panel will explore the possibilities of using under-utilized mythological creatures & unique species of your own creation to build a rich fantasy world.
4-5PM EST/1-2PM PST���They Call Me��� Tim!: Passive Worldbuilding with Names, Epistolary, and Food���A discussion about how passive worldbuilding aspects like epistolary, food, and naming conventions can add complexity to secondary worlds.
5:30-6:30PM EST/1:30-2:30PM PST���Harnessing The Elements: the Potential of Elemental Magic Systems���Learn how to harness elemental magic in new ways by adapting and modifying it to highlight themes, progress specific plot points and display your characters��� development for a more impactful reader experience!
6:30-7:30PM EST/2:30-3:30PM PST���AFTERPARTY!���Everyone who registers for one of the panels will get access to the Discord server where the afterparty will take place!
Register for as many (free!) sessions as you like HERE
March 19, 2022
Collaborating With Local Authors
Date: April 14, 2022
Time: 11 am-12 pm PST
Location: virtual
Type: presentation + Q&A
This is a ticketed event for the BC Library Association���s Young Adult and Children���s Services Youth Services Institute on behalf of CWILL BC and will discuss resources for, benefits of, and inspiration for library collaboration with local authors, particularly as applies to youth services.
BCLA members, nonmembers and students can register here. BCLA members benefit from a reduced rate.
March 14, 2022
Story Studio
I had a great time speaking on fantasy writing for the spring term of StoryStudio���s Young Writers Guild. You can read the teens��� fantastic writing in a beautiful anthology (including a small write-up on my presentation!) Check out their anthology here!
March 8, 2022
Award Finalist
Original Post: Feb 28, 2022Big thanks to @ReaderViews (& ��������indie eco-horror friend @b_bellec for bringing these awards to my attention)����
— K.A. Wiggins needs beta readers for Spooky MG ���� (@kaiespace) March 9, 2022
Score another one for the gothic(-dystopian) fantasy team���my original book baby just brought home another medal!���� pic.twitter.com/ACY6U6fHoZ
So this just happened:
BLIND THE EYES made the @ReaderViews 2021-2022 Literary Awards finalists list!����
— K.A. Wiggins needs beta readers for Spooky MG ���� (@kaiespace) March 5, 2022
Congrats to all finalists ������������ pic.twitter.com/6ejrlb9kDC
March 4, 2022
Award Finalist
So this just happened:
BLIND THE EYES made the @ReaderViews 2021-2022 Literary Awards finalists list!����
— K.A. Wiggins needs beta readers for Spooky MG ���� (@kaiespace) March 5, 2022
Congrats to all finalists ������������ pic.twitter.com/6ejrlb9kDC
February 23, 2022
Story Studio
It���s been another few whirlwind months in writing land and, uh, the rest of the world, too. Wild times!
Popping in today to say I���m excited to be leading a discussion on writing YA speculative (/fantasy) for the teen writers group of Story Studio tonight! I LOVE chatting with teen writers, and so rarely get the chance (so much programming is targeted for younger age groups, for some reason.)
In the spirit of transparency, ease of access, and making life easier for all of us, here are my slides/notes: Students, access slides/notes here!
If you���re not familiar with Story Studio, they���re a Victoria (BC)-based charity that provides free and low cost writing programming, resources, and contests for kids and teens across Canada. Check out their site for all the awesome details!
In other news:
I���m teaching a term-length (remote) ���novel���-writing workshop for kids in Korea this spring + a week long writing (remote) spring break writing ���magic-house-sitting adventure��� camp for kids in White Rock using Diana Wynne Jones���s House of Many Ways and now all I want to do is write about wizards and magical buildings . . .
I���m speaking at the BC Library Association���s Youth Services divisions mini conference in April on collaborations between librarians and local children���s authors
I���m chasing down some leads on behalf of CWILL BC around potentially creating books for kids with language-based learning difficulties
I���ll be at the Vancouver Children���s Literature Roundtable (VCLR)���s Mad Hatter Tea Party next month���join VCLR to get in on this fun event for free!
Cave Story WIP is coming along well in the sense that it���s fun, complete, and off to beta readers. Do I have time to revise and submit or set up for preorders? hahahAHAHAHahahahahaNo, but maybe one day . . .
So, yeah, busy-busy-busy as usual, with more, very fun, upcoming news that I can���t quite share yet, but stay tuned!
February 19, 2022
Speculative Fiction with StoryStudio
Date: February 24, 2022
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm PST
Location: virtual
Type: workshop + Q&A
StoryStudio is a a Victoria, BC-based charity that provides free and low cost writing programming, resources, and contests for kids and teens across Canada.
This is a private event for their existing teen writers��� group, but if you���re a young writer (or a parent), check out their site for how to get involved, upcoming programs, and regular writing contests!
January 23, 2022
WRAD with WORD Vancouver
Date: February 2, 2022
Time: 11-11:45 am PST
Location: virtual
Type: Live reading, book talk + Q&A
World Read Aloud Day is a ���celebration of the power of reading aloud to create community, to amplify new stories, and to advocate for literacy as a foundational human right.���
Join us on February 2, 2022 from 11-11:45 a.m. PST for a FREE virtual reading and Q&A in support of the 13th annual World Read Aloud Day!
I���ll be hosting this event, organized by the lovely folks at WORD Vancouver festival in collaboration with CWILL BC. It features three BC authors of books for pre-K to YA (Jami Gigot, Mahtab Narsimhan & Mark David Smith) reading from their recent releases and reflecting on what and who inspires their writing process.
Also, don���t miss our Q&A bookmark giveaway and grand prize giveaway of books by the authors. Learn More
November 30, 2021
Feb2 WRAD Virtual Reading
Date: February 2, 2022
Time: 9am - 8pm PST
Location: your classroom, library, or book club via Zoom (or similar)
Type: Live Reading
World Read Aloud Day is a ���celebration of the power of reading aloud to create community, to amplify new stories, and to advocate for literacy as a foundational human right.���
As creators of books for young readers, many members of CWILL BC are offering free 10-20 min. virtual readings in support of this wonderful cause.
While I���m more than happy to present to classrooms, library groups or book clubs of all ages, I write for ages 8+ (published YA + forthcoming MG), so for elementary school groups, I���d be happy to read from an age-appropriate Canadian children���s book that inspires me.
Shoot me a message at kaiewrites@gmail.com to book a free 10-20 minute reading + author visit on February 3, 2021!
