VSW Experts

We choose our instructors and coaches based on the following primary criteria:

They sell their work globally
They don’t just know how to do their expertise successfully, they also know how to teach others
They are current in their expert knowledge

We strive to give skills and valuable information that is unique or rarely discussed that can help authors excel to a generous degree.

Caroline Adderson

Caroline Adderson is the author of four novels (A History of Forgetting, Sitting Practice, The Sky Is Falling, Ellen in Pieces), two collections of short stories (Bad Imaginings, Pleased To Meet You) as well as many books for young readers. Her work has received numerous award nominations including the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, two Commonwealth Writers’ Prizes, the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Rogers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist. Winner of three BC Book Prizes and three CBC Literary Awards, Caroline was also the recipient of the 2006 Marian Engel Award for mid-career achievement. She lives in Vancouver. http://carolineadderson.com

Eileen Cook

Eileen Cook is a multi-published author specializing in YA fiction and romantic comedy with her novels appearing in eight different languages. She is both traditionally published (Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster) as well as indie published. Her books have been optioned for film and TV. You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com or on Twitter (where she spends entirely too much time @eileenwriter) Eileen lives in Vancouver.

Heather Conn

Heather Conn is co-author of Vancouver’s Glory Years (Whitecap Books 2003) and author of Vancouver’s Trolley Buses 1948-1998 (BC Transit 1998). A former oral historian, she has written on history and other topics for 50+ publications. Heather has taught at Capilano University, Selkirk College and elsewhere. A University of B.C. history graduate, she has a master’s degree in creative nonfiction writing from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. Heather currently lives on the Sunshine Coast in B.C. See www.heatherconn.com.

David Crawley

Dave Crawley is a musician, song-writer and speaker who has been working as a chartered accountant for the past twenty five years, providing a wide range of services to small growing companies. He lives in North Vancouver, where he gives occasional talks to community groups on a variety of fun but business related topics. He can also be seen all around Greater Vancouver, playing with his eclectic four-piece band, Persons of Interest. David loves educating writers and artists on how tax and accounting knowledge can help them thrive.

Martin Crosbie

In a press release, Amazon referred to Martin Crosbie as one of their success stories of 2012. His self-publishing journey has been chronicled in Publisher’s Weekly, Forbes Online, and Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper. Martin’s debut novel, MY TEMPORARY LIFE, has been downloaded over one hundred thousand times and became an Amazon bestseller. MY NAME IS HARDLY, his second book, was written following reader requests to hear more about Hardly, the beloved character from MY TEMPORARY LIFE. In April of 2013 he also released a collection of short stories-LIES I NEVER TOLD. In more recent years we won a Kindle Scout campaign for his new John Drake detective series THE DEAD LIST while also about to release MY TEMPORARY LIFE third book in the trilogy, ALL GOOD MEN MUST FALL. http://martincrosbie.com

Kathrin Lake

Kathrin Lake is the author of the well reviewed book, Writing with Cold Feet; she is an award-winning playwright, screenplay writer, teacher of writing, professional speaker and author of number of other non-fiction books. She is also a developmental editor and writing coach who helps individuals write their first books or keynote speeches using her Power of Story system. Kathrin lives in Canada and Mexico where she holds writing retreats through the VSW. She has a degree in film and theatre from Simon Fraser University. http://kathrinlake.com

Lorraine Murphy

Lorraine Murphy, probably better known as Raincoaster (her internet-famous handle) and head of raincoaster media is more than just a blogger in Vancouver, she’s a prolific queen of social media knowledge sharing and pro-blogging. She gets paid to write on blogs such as TheCryptosphere.com and also gets paid to read gossip blogs and linkblog on ayyyy.com (her sister is so jealous!). Her blog posts routinely get millions of hits. https://raincoastermedia.com/

Susan Pieters

Susan Pieters has a Masters degree in English, and has taught the language in China, US and Canada. She writes in a variety of genres and has won awards for her short stories and essays. She wears many editorial hats as an acquisitions editor at Pulp Literature magazine, a quarterly short fiction anthology based in Vancouver, B.C. as well as a freelance editor for writers. http://pulpliterature.com/

Peggy Richardson

Peggy Richardson uses her dual background in technology and content creation to create eBooks for clients worldwide. She has personally authored over 150 eBooks on a variety of non-fiction topics, and has edited many more as a freelance editor and writer. Says Peggy, “Editing for self-publishing is actually more important than in the traditional publishing world. Let’s face it—self-publishing hasn’t always had the best history. It’s up to us as pioneers in this area to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We need to make sure that we’re not just correcting spelling and grammar mistakes—we need our work to be not just good, but great.” http://peggyrichardson.com/