More than 20 invited Canadian authors and editors will descend on Whistler this fall as special guests in a weekend-long siege of word-wielding and poetry-slinging at the eighth Whistler Readers and Writers Festival.

The Festival moves to Creekside this year, turning Whistler’s oldest neighbourhood into ground zero for a creative boot-camp that will allow writers at all levels of practice, from green circle to double black diamond scribblers, to learn some tricks, meet some legends, pitch stories, workshop their drafts, avoid push-ups, and generally enjoy a creative recharge.  With various sessions to choose from, participants can pick, mix and dabble their way through the program, or can follow a more intensive stream in Writing for Children, Writing for the Screen, Writing for Magazines, or the Technique Tune-up: Getting your Prose Lean, your Characters Mean (or meaningful), and your Writing Voice Tuned Up.

Also new for 2009, the Festival will bring together five of Canada’s leading magazine editors for The Pitching Mound, a lunch-hour session presented by the BC Association of Magazine Publishers. Audience members will walk away with a full belly, a full brain and a bag full of magazines for just $35. A limited number of aspiring magazine and non-fiction writers will have the chance to step up to the plate and go all-star, selling their best story ideas to James Little from explore magazine, Leslie Anthony from Skier magazine, Sandro Grison from Color magazine, Matt O’Grady from BCBusiness magazine and Charlene Rooke from Western Living magazine.

Download the festival program and purchase tickets at www.theviciouscircle.ca.