Novel Dog

What is it?
It’s a writers conference. And it’s a reunion for students of the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts.

Wait. Is it “writers conference” or “writer’s conference” or “writers’ conference”?
“Writer’s” means there’s only one writer, so a “writer’s conference” is just me at the keyboard most days. “Writers'” is the plural possessive, and there are a lot of us, so that’s probably correct. Then again, I don’t want the grammarians to take over so I’ll drop the apostrophe altogether as an act of civil disobedience. Next question.

Who’s doing it?
My friend Bob (the poet Robert Hoffman) and me, with lots of help from alumni, faculty, and the fine folks at Whidbey Island.

Why another writers conference?
Yeah, there are a lot of those. They’re expensive, and all those strangers can be exhausting for an introverted writer. Okay… we’ll pack this one with writers who are already friends. And then we’ll make it free to the public. No charge. Gratis. You just show up and go to classes.

But that’s crazy.
I know! We’ll get swamped with people! But wait, no one knows about us yet. Someday we’ll need a bigger venue, but as long as we don’t get famous, we’re all good. (By the way we funded this thing with a successful Kickstarter.)

When? And where?
August 3 and 4, 2019. And get this: it’s on an island. At a century-old hotel. Seriously. Because we’re writers.
The Captain Whidbey Inn, on Whidbey Island, way over in Washington State. And if you’re reading this, you’re invited.