The Okanagan Valley Writers’ Festival has been such fun, we are sad to see it go.

Our wonderful host facility is undergoing a re-visioning process, installing a new board of directors. Jane Shaak, who played a key role in our success, will no longer be executive director. Because we won’t know for several months whether or not our event will still be a good fit for the facility, we have decided not to proceed for 2019.

One of the most gratifying results of the conference has always been the connections forged, some of which have inspired new opportunities for writers to support one another.

We are delighted the Federation of BC Writers has begun hosting meet and greet opportunities. Our Okanagan-South Writers’ League (OWL) helps foster collaboration of all kinds through their Facebook page . With Faye Arcand’s Sunday evening write-ins, Aggie Stevens’ “Aggie’s Authors” radio program, Norma Hill’s Pen & Paper Mama and more—there is something for every writer.

Full conference experiences are still available not too far afield, with Word on the Lake in Salmon Arm, and we encourage writers to check out what they have to offer.

Change is inevitable, but with change comes new opportunity. We have long wanted to host a one-day self-publishing “trade faire/symposium” with booths and speakers; perhaps now is the time. Or a writers’ boot camp. Maybe another conference, once we know the lay of the land. The possibilities are endless.

Thanks for the memories. Wherever your writing adventures take you, all the best from all of us.