Barrier to Entry

When Words Collide was a great conference, and the Alexandra Writers Centre must be one of the best organizations of its kind. I’ve learned a lot from both and made great contacts. The conference is generally topic-based, and it can be easy to meet people — other than economics, there is no barrier to entry. If you write, you are a writer and should be celebrated. There is ego, and there are cliques, but it’s not entirely obvious. The Packaging Your Imagination (PYI) Conference is right up my alley — a topic-based conference all about writing for kids. It’s small, which means fewer topics, which sometimes don’t match, and the community is tight, which makes breaking into pre-existing cliques harder. I was there last year and found fewer opportunities for the kind of serendipitous conversations that make conferences worthwhile — you walk from one room to the next and then it’s over. There is a networking lunch and other events, but mostly for those who already have their tribe. Anyone…