Whew! The first day of our virtual Literacy Day Conference was absolutely incredibly amazing! Yes, that’s a lot of adjectives for a professional writer to be tossing around, but hey, it really was a day to write in the history books.

Why, you ask? What could possibly be that exciting to a seasoned conference organizer and presenter? Well, the fact that my session this morning had 1115 students participating from 55 schools across Saskatchewan is what made it a day to remember. It was full of energy and enthusiasm — and not just all mine.

The Literacy Conference is a joint venture between our Saskatchewan chapter of CANSCAIP, CANSCAIP SK Horizons, and Credenda Virtual High School & College, which is where I teach. The Saskatchewan Arts Board, whose programs serve Saskatchewan by helping to build a strong and vibrant arts sector, funded the Literacy Conference. It runs from Wednesday, January 26, 2011, to Friday, January 28, 2011.

Two of the schools were winners of books I put up for the draw. Belle Plaine Colony School won the autographed classroom set of Adeline’s Dream. Burstall School won the autographed copy of L is for Land of Living Skies: A Saskatchewan Alphabet.

And that brings me to tomorrow, where I’ll present a workshop on how to add details into your writing, using my novel, Longhorns and Outlaws. I’m sure it’ll be as much fun as today.