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This weekend, May 24-26 talented writers, editors and publishers all convened in Edmonton for the Words in 3D Conference and so far it is the conference to beat for me. I was impressed to say the least.
Saturday’s keynote address by Rosemary Shipton, editor of trade and scholarly books, got to the heart of the three dimensions and how they all work together to create the books and e-books everyone loves.
Here are some snippets from Twitter (#wordsin3d) of Rosemary’s talk:
We are in a new age of writing and distribution. #wordsin3d
— Get Publishing (@GetPublishing) May 25, 2013
“To me, it seems a very exciting time for writers.”-Rosemary Shipton on the changes in the publishing industry#wordsin3d — Jason Halbauer (@Jasonw3) May 25, 2013
Challenge to writers:create a bold new literary form that wasn’t possible w/print.Don’t just transfer words from paper to screen #wordsin3d
— Breanna (@bre_jm) May 25, 2013
To summarize Rosemary Shipton said: without authors, we wouldn’t have writers and publishers, they are the foundation of the three-dimensional structure. With the advances in the Internet as a platform for publishing, there are more opportunities for writers who can now play with the standard format of the narrative and create something new. Editors needs to keep on top of technology and publishers have to navigate their way in developing new business models for e-publishing. It was a great keynote, which really set the tone for the rest of the conference.
The weekend included several sessions on topics related to one, two or all three dimensions and there were some major players from the industry including, editor and writer at Writer’s Digest—Chuck Sambuchino. Not only did I get to hear him speak, which is even better than reading his articles on WD because you can hear/see is personality, but I also got to speak to him one-on-one for a moment and he even tweeted me back.
@nicolebasaraba Good luck with he lifestyle writing and such!
— Chuck Sambuchino (@ChuckSambuchino) May 25, 2013
P.S. I love Twitter.
Image via http://www.wordsin3d.com
The conference was a partnership between Get Publishing Communications Society, the Writers’ Guild of Alberta and the Editors’ Association of Canada Prairie Provinces Branch. It included: a Pitch Camp, where writers got one-on-one time with editors and publishers from multiple magazines and presses; the Blue Pencil Café where participants could ask authors and editors questions about writing or the profession; and the Writers’ Circus where participants could observe or perform poetry, prose, memoir, and opinion with humor. During the Blue Pencil Café I got to meet with Rosemary Shipton who is, like I am, excited to see where the e-publishing will take us. It was great talking with her and I felt like I could have chatted with her for hours mulling over her experience as an editor and educator.
It was a packed weekend that left me inspired and excited about the future of the three dimensions in the context of the digital age. It definitely gave me some ideas for my MA projects as well. I look forward to the next Words in 3D Conference.
What was the best conference you’ve ever been to? What made it so great? (and please don’t say the food).
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RWA Nationals by far was the greatest experience for me as a writer. I had no idea there were so many like-minded individuals. It’s also when it hit me that “I am a writer. This is a career for me.”
I’m so excited about e-pubbing. I recently submitted a short romantic suspense novel to three reputable publishers (all whom now offer digital first or only lines) making it easier for a newbie like me to break in. *fingers crossed*
Writer’s conferences are just the best! That’s so exciting that you submitted! So you’re saying the places you submitted emphasize digital and therefore it might be a little easier to break in because they don’t need to invest as much in a debut author? Interesting and please keep me posted.