Join us for an exciting gathering of indie authors in the heart of Toronto! This in-person event is a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow writers, learn from industry experts, and gain valuable insights into the world of independent publishing.

Whether you're a seasoned author or just starting out, the Toronto Indie Author Conference 2024 offers a range of informative workshops and engaging panel discussions. Discover new strategies for marketing your books, explore innovative self-publishing techniques, and get insider tips on building your author brand.

Expand your network and make lasting connections with like-minded authors who share your passion for storytelling. Connect with professionals from our faculty for small group mentor sessions to take your writing career to the next level.

Don't miss this incredible opportunity to immerse yourself in the vibrant indie author community of Toronto and beyond. Join us at the Toronto Indie Author Conference 2024 and take your writing journey to new heights!

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Admission:

One ticket, two days of programming! Admission is just $60 a day, $120 for the weekend.

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Speakers:

Eva Chase is an Amazon top 100 bestselling author of fantasy and paranormal romance. She grew up on a steady diet of magic, mayhem, and romantic angst, and brings plenty of all three to her stories. Eva is a life-long Canadian and lives in Toronto with her husband, kids, and one very snuggly cat. She also writes gritty contemporary romance as Eva Chance.

Tao Wong is a Canadian author based in Toronto, with series in the LitRPG and xianxia science fiction and fantasy markets. He has over five different series spanning a wide range of worlds, with works in audio, paperback, hardcover and ebook formats and translations to German, Spanish, Portuguese and other languages.

Becca Syme (MATL) is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and has been coaching success alignment for more than a decade. She is the author of the Quitbooks for Writers series and the popular Write Better-Faster course. She also writes mystery novels in her spare time and lives on one of the thousand lakes in Minnesota.

Mark Leslie Lefebvre is a writer with over three decades of experience in the publishing and bookselling industry. He is the former Director of Self Publishing and Author Relations for Rakuten Kobo, the former president of the Canadian Booksellers Association, and a previous board member of BookNet Canada. Mark thrives on innovation, particularly in relation to digital publishing and new technologies he continues to mentor authors and publishers in writing and publishing opportunities under his Stark Publishing and Stark Reflections brands.

Genevieve Clovis is a self-published author, an editor, and writing coach. She specializes in developmental editing speculative fiction novels for indie authors. Genevieve’s debut novel, Tea and the Transcendent, is an urban fantasy novel in stories. She also owns a secondhand bookstore in Toronto, ON and hosts a variety of online writer’s groups.

Michael Chatfield is an international bestseller who lives to create character-driven stories set in fact-paced worlds. His main genres are Fantasy, Science Fiction, and LitRPG, but he enjoys adding enough realism to make the stories leap off the page.

Sylvia Frost is an author and award winning book cover designer who lives with her husband and daughter in Chicago, IL. She has designed thousands of covers for New York Times Best Sellers and newbie authors alike. Her favorite thing about the indie world is the revolutionary spirit and supportive community. She loves that it’s her job to help people take control of their destiny and publishing dreams and make them real.

Melissa Storm is an industry veteran with more than 13 years experience under her belt. She currently juggles four active pen names (including Molly Fitz, Luna Ryder, and SK Prince) and also serves as CEO and lead Facebook ads consultant for Novel Publicity. Her client list includes multiple NYT and Amazon top 100 bestselling authors in a variety of genres. Melissa has a particular fondness for #whychoose, lives in Alaska, and really likes cats.

Stephen Kotowych is a writer, anthologist, and podcaster who is winner of the Writers of the Future Grand Prize, Spain’s Ictineu Award, and a two-time finalist for the Prix Aurora Award, Canada’s highest prize for SF. His stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and been translated into a dozen languages. He is the editor and publisher of the Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction series and spent 15 years in the Canadian publishing industry before going freelance.

Robin Siegerman is a 4-time One Voice Award Nominee and an Earphones Award winning narrator. She has narrated over 60 books with a particular love for historical fiction, and also does voiceovers for documentaries, commercials, corporate explainers, e-Learning and dubbing. In her former life, she was an internationally published and award-winning interior designer and author of a kitchen renovation book. She has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences, annual meetings, and a presenter for corporate training events, video training and a frequent guest on HGTV and radio. She is a passionate dog rescuer and new Glamma.

Senn Annis draws on a decade of stage performance experience as an award winning circus aerialist to create memorable characters and stirring vocal performances. She has worked with both traditional publishers and Indie authors to create an extensive portfolio of more than 100 audiobooks and had also produced an award winning multicast of an Agatha Christie novel. She is particularly drawn to coming-of-age stories, and YA, and Fantasy.

Melissa Yi could slice your throat and sew it back up again. Legally. Because she’s an emergency doctor. Her heroine, resident Dr. Hope Sze, leaps from fixing ingrown toenails to solving full-blown murders. Melissa won the 2023 Derringer Award for the best short mystery in the English language and the Prix Aurora Award for the best speculative poem in Canada. She lives with her family, including two rescue dogs, in Eastern Ontario.

Sessions:

Embracing All Your Publishing Options To Maximize Your Revenue

Speaker: Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Writers have never had more opportunity and options than ever before in the history of publishing. When it comes to earning revenue as an author, writing and publishing a book is just one of many ways to earn money. What are the various ways an author can maximize their revenue, forge multiple income streams, and effectively exploit their IP to gain the most benefit from their earning potential?

Seven Productivity Myths and Why You Should Stop Believing Them

Speaker: Becca Syme

When people throw around advice about productivity, there are some old staples that don’t actually apply to everyone. The goal of this session is to deconstruct how to apply advice to you as an individual, and to help you have a sustainable author career.

Marketing Strategy 101

Speaker: Tao Wong

Marketing Strategy for Authors is designed to illuminate the process of developing a marketing strategy as an author in the 21st century. It provides a high level, strategic overview of the components of a comprehensive marketing plan that is flexible, focused and uniquely tailored to an author’s writing career.

Writing What You Love To Market

Speaker: Eva Chase

If you’ve spent much time in the indie publishing world, you’ve probably heard the phrase “write to market” as a key strategy for success. It’s often presented as the opposite of writing what you love, but what if you can do both? This workshop will give you proven techniques for reaching broader audiences while keeping the joy of writing.

The Anatomy of a Best-Selling Book Cover

Speaker: Sylvia Frost

What is the difference between a pretty piece art and a best-selling book cover? From composition, to trends, to how to get the illusive “pop”, award-winning book cover designer, Sylvia Frost of The Book Brander, uncovers the secrets of book cover design.

What Indie Authors Need to Know about Editing

Speaker: Genevieve Clovis

Editing is an important part of the publishing process, but it can be difficult to know where to start. This presentation will teach indie authors everything they need to know to get started with an editor. It will provide an explanation of the different types of editing, what each type entails, where to find editors, and how to figure out which editor is right for their project.

Stuck, Blocked, or Burned Out?

Speaker: Becca Syme

Everyone’s tossing around the B-word lately. Burnout. And some of us feel a physical recoil when we see that word, so we might be afraid to think about or talk about times when we’re not writing, for fear of someone using that B-word. But there are lots of reasons we might not be writing, and some of them are even about another b-word… beneficial. So come to this talk and learn, when might not-writing be good for me?

How to Master Facebook Ads Strategy

Speaker: Melissa Storm

The market is constantly changing. Tech is always changing too. This is why it’s so important to master strategy rather than simply learning tactics. We’ll discuss major roadblocks and how to navigate a new path for success with Facebook ads.

Create an Additional Revenue Stream with Audiobooks

Speaker: Robin Siegerman and Senn Annis

Talk all things audiobooks with narrators Robin Siegerman and Senn Annis! They’ll walk you through the process of how to have an audiobook produced, how audiobooks expand exposure for your book to an additional audience, and how they create another revenue stream.

How My First Kickstarter Funded Over 900% and How Yours Can Too

Speaker: Stephen Kotowych

A step-by-step walkthrough of how Stephen Kotowych built, ran, promoted, and fulfilled his very first Kickstarter and funded 900%+ of his funding goal for the Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy and Science Fiction: Volume One anthology. He’ll walk authors through the process he followed, highlight the resources, mentors, and strategies that helped him succeed from a zero follower/fan/community base, and offer lessons on what he learned doing his first Kickstarter and what he will do differently next time.

Elevating Your Reach Through Newsletter Automation

Speaker: Tao Wong

A practical how-to guide on crafting newsletters that go beyond mere updates, transforming them into potent engagement tools. Learn how to captivate your audience, foster reader loyalty, maximize data collection to tailor your content and boost your author brand through strategically designed email automations.

Do You Need to Quit Your Day Job?

Speaker: Melissa Yi

Writing full-time seems like the holy grail. How do you know when you’re financially and psychologically ready? Some suggestions on how, if, and when to make the leap.

Diversifying Income Streams Panel

Speakers: Michael Chatfield, Tao Wong, Robin Siegerman, Mark Leslie Lefebvre, and Kobo’s Laura Granger

Audiobooks, Kickstarters, subscriptions, direct shops and publishing wide, oh my! Where’s an author to start? Prepare your questions for this panel of experts with Michael Chatfield, Tao Wong, Robin Siegerman, Mark Leslie Lefebvre and Kobo’s very own Laura Granger.

Running an Author Business Panel

Speakers: Michael Chatfield, Tao Wong, and Melissa Storm

There’s more to writing a book and figuring out the marketing plan when it comes to running your author business. Join authors Tao Wong, Melissa Storm and Michael Chatfield as they talk all the nitty-gritty of owning a business, from hiring a PA, outsourcing and team management to incorporation, contracts, copyright and strategy.

Accessibility Fund:

We believe in the power of stories and are committed to supporting all authors on their writing journey. If you have financial constraints, please apply to the Conference Accessibility Fund, sponsored by Rakuten Kobo.

Refunds:

Refunds may be processed on a case-by-case basis. Eventbrite fees are not refundable. We will not issue refunds within 30 days of the event.