Exciting news for writers and authors! Registration for Write On The Sound (WOTS) Conference opened Monday.

The 29th annual Write on the Sound Conference is set for Oct. 3-5, 2014. Presenters and participants come from all around the Northwest, the U.S. and abroad.

The keynote speaker this year will be the celebrated science fiction author, Robert J. Sawyer, who will take attendees on a travel through the timeline with his presentation, ““The Writing Life: Past, Present, and Future”.

The conference accommodates keynote-only registration for those only able to sit in for the Saturday, Oct. 4 presentation at 1 p.m. The Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 4th Ave. N., will be the venue this year for the keynote address.

Sawyer, who holds an honorary doctorate from Laurentian University, has taught at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, Humber College, the National University of Ireland, and the Banff Centre. He has been Writer-in-Residence at the Richmond Hill (Ontario) Public Library, the Kitchener (Ontario) Public Library, the Toronto Public Library’s Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy, the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, and at the Odyssey Workshop.

Registrants for the pre-conference segment of WOTS 2014 can sign up for “Story Mastery” taught by Michael Hauge, a Hollywood script and story consultant (full day workshop); or “Primed for Success: How to Knock Your Story Out of the Park” by Larry Brooks, which begins at noon.

Enrollment for pre-conference workshops is limited.

Saturday and Sunday workshop titles include such samplings as Truth, Lies and Storytelling, Launching Your Freelance Career, Six Steps to Creating Memorable Villains, Building a Mystery Novel from the Ground Up, Emotional Breakdowns – Set Ups and Pay Offs, A Thematic Approach to Science Fiction, and Romance is in the Air. You’ll fall in love with the array of choices!

There are many workshop selections beyond this sampling for poets, emerging authors, veteran brush-ups, and even a panel entitled, The Happy Author Panel: How to Strike A Balance Between Promoting and Creating.

WOTS is sponsored by the City of Edmonds Arts Commission and community contributors include Edmonds Bookshop, Edmonds Center for the Arts,  Edmonds Conference Center, Edmonds Harbor Inn, Masters Construction Services, PCC Natural Markets, RBS Wealth Management, Rick Stevens’ Travel Europe Through the Back Door, uLearn Arts Now, Walgreen’s – Edmonds, Walnut Street Coffee, and Windermere Real Estate Edmonds.

Fees

$35 Manuscript Critique with Bill Johnson | $15 Contest Fee (per entry) | $15 Box Lunch (must be preordered – available Sat. & Sun. only) | $20 Adult/$12 Student for Keynote-only tickets. (Tickets to the keynote are included with registration for all conference participants.)

For conference details and registration go to the WOTS website or call 425-771-0228.

— By Emily Hill