SiWC Team

Kathy Chung, Conference Coordinator

Kathy Chung is a writer and professional genealogist, and has been the conference coordinator of SiWC since 2010. She attended her first SiWC in 2001 and has never left. Since 2007, she’s also served as a volunteer contest assistant, acting as a first reader of the conference’s writing contest.

Kim Harbridge, Administrative Coordinator

Kim is a writer and editor of speculative, scary, and otherwise strange fiction. She started attending SiWC in 2014, and is excited to join the conference team for 2022. She is a voracious consumer of horror movies, crime novels, and Kit Kats.

Camille Netherton, Director, Board Chair

Camille Netherton is a writer, mother and Behaviour Consultant. A long-time volunteer for SiWC, she is pleased to give back to the writing community by serving on the Conference Planning board and hopes every experience you have at the conference exceeds your expectations.

Jennifer Striemer, Director and Treasurer

Jenn S is a technical writer, book lover and a serious tea drinker. She joined the SiWC family in 2008 and fell in love with the supportive community of writers and the electric energy at the conference. When she isn’t writing training and operations manuals, she’s working on a variety of creative projects, or more likely, procrastinating by reading one of her favourite books… again.

Stephanie Candiago, Director and Volunteer Coordinator

Stephanie Candiago is a dedicated publishing consultant who enjoys working with authors at all stages of their writing journeys. With degrees in English Literature and Business Management, she combines her passion for storytelling with practical insights. As a partner in The Creative Academy for Writers and a board member of the Surrey International Writers Conference, she loves helping writers share their words with the world. To learn more about her work visit stephaniecandiago.com and creativeacademyforwriters.com. 

Hayley Lavik, Director and Conference Ambassador

Hayley is a writer of novels and short fiction. She attended her first SiWC in 2010 and we haven’t let her leave since. As our conference ambassador, Hayley helps newcomers and multi-year attendees alike find their stride each year at SiWC. If you see her during the conference weekend, pull up a seat and join the conversation! (Ask her about hyenas. She really likes hyenas.)

Skye Mitchell, Director and Trade Show Coordinator

Skye first came to SiWC as a teen volunteer who quickly became utterly indispensable. Skye runs our trade show, so if you’re interested in participating in that once we get back to in-person conferences, Skye’s the person to contact.

Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Director and Author Showcase Coordinator

Renée Sarojini Saklikar is the author of four award winning books, including children of air india, and Listening to the Bees. She was the first poet laureate for the City of Surrey (2015-2018). Renée’s newest book is Bramah’s Quest. Find out more at thotjbap.com

Leslie Parmar, Director

Leslie Parmar is a writer and a long-time SiWC volunteer. Her love of storytelling spans across all mediums. She is proud to serve on the conference team with this passionate and supportive community.

Martin Chung, Technical Services Wizard

Martin Chung is our multi-talented tech guy. From keeping our website running to creating volunteer-friendly camera set-ups for our hybrid conference, filming keynotes, and all sorts of other things in between, Martin is our guy. You may find him sprinting through the halls of the Sheraton in a massive tool belt, brandishing a roll of gaffer tape.

Carol Monaghan, Our Sparkly Emcee

Carol has been part of SiWC since its humble beginnings, working with our founder Ed Griffin to get the fledgling conference off the ground and serving for many years on the board.

Though she’s retired from her board position, we’re delighted she continues to join us as our emcee, and we don’t intend to ever let her go. Our own “Betty White of the North” sparkles and invites you to sparkle with her.