The second annual WordBridge: Lethbridge Writing Conference brought together budding authors on Saturday.
Writers came together for a day filled with panels, keynote speeches and networking.
“I was illiterate till (sic) I was 13, completely unable to read,” said Kasia Runte, an aspiring author who attended the conference. “I had trouble writing my own name and basically overnight I learned to, and I started writing because it was freeing.”
Runte is 16 years old and she says writing is a form of escape for her. She’s struggled with dyslexia and an eye disorder that prevented her from seeing straight lines.
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Despite all of that she says her craft has served as her lifeline.
“Writing helped me so much and… being able to express myself through prose is one of the reasons why I’m alive,” Runte said.
The chair of the event said without a doubt there are talented writers in the community who have much potential.
“We’re hoping the conference is a place where everyone in Lethbridge can get together at least once every year — and we may have more additional programming through the year to try and build a cohesive writing community in Lethbridge, that can really help each other get better,” said Robert Runte, the chair of the conference.
He said that writing can be a solitary process, and that conferences can help provide support for Lethbridge’s emerging writing community.
Young author K. Runte said that whether she ever becomes a published author or not will never stop her from writing.
“As long as people can hear my story… because that’s what I’m trying to tell through characters I create, is my struggles and things I wish would be easier on everyone,” she said.