Show Notes
The publishing world has gone through tremendous change in recent years, especially post-pandemic. Even established authors who have found great success being traditionally published have aired their grievances about the hardships and uncertainty in the industry moving forward. Self-publishing has become a popular alternative for writers who want more control and autonomy when publishing their work, but it can be expensive and there still seems to be a level of ambiguity that plagues the process. Both avenues have their pros and cons, but what does it really entail to have your work traditionally published? To self-publish on your own? Is one better than the other, or are they simply different? Are works that are traditionally published valued more? If so, why? Which route might be best for you? Join our panelists this September as they delve into the often polarizing topic of traditional publishing vs self-publishing.
More from Writers' Guild of Alberta Podcast
We say literary merit is a subjective topic, but do we really think that? Is it a matter of taste or is there criteria that defines why some works are thought to carry more literary weight than others? How do we decide which works deserve literary prizes, or what is included in the CanLit canon? How do we judge the qualifications of who does the judging for said prizes? Does how we define “literary merit” exclude genre fiction or marginalized writers? Since the topic seems to be so subjective, would we say determining literary merit is a community initiative? Join our September panelists as they examine these types of questions on the subject of literary merit and more.
May 2026 Controversy at Noon: Is an online presence vital for today's writers by Writers' Guild of Alberta
2026 Alberta Literary Awards finalists online reading by Writers' Guild of Alberta
February 2026 Controversy at Noon: Are Children’s Writers the Ultimate Freedom Fighters? by Writers' Guild of Alberta
November 2025 Controversy at Noon: The Things They Never Told Me About Publishing by Writers' Guild of Alberta