Dianna Gunn is a fantasy and horror author who grew up “one step away from the gutter”. The more she pursued her dreams of a life in publishing, the more aware she became of how the industry’s focus on in-person events and New York City offices shut out people living in poverty.

Gunn started a Twitter chat under the hashtag #WeeknightWriters to create an accessible, virtual community space for writers to chat about all things life and writing. This soon grew into a Discord server, and in 2020, she brought on Jade Benjamin to help host the first Weeknight Writers Virtual Conference. Since then, she’s hosted over a dozen virtual conferences, launched the Writing Roundtables series of in-depth author panels, and started #FirstDraftFall, a community event supporting writers through the creation of a first draft.

Find out more about Gunn by visiting her on Bluesky @DiannaLGunn.Bsky.Social and checking out her author website.

Jade Benjamin is a Canadian writer and editor who is fiercely in love with language, words, and magical worlds. After acquiring a double undergraduate degree in English (and Environmental Sciences), a Postgraduate Certificate in Book Publishing, and interning as an Editorial Assistant at Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd. (Markham, Ontario) she discovered that finding a permanent paid position in Canadian traditional publishing was easier said than done. 

Jade now works as a freelance editor, fitting work for independent author clients around her 9-5 expenses-paying job. She has a penchant for collecting interesting names and a fondness for projects that expand her knowledge of story structure and use of evocative language. You can find out more about her editorial work and how to hire her at Eclipse Wordsmything.

When she isn’t working, writing, or editing, Jade can be found reading, keeping up with an inordinate number of podcasts, adopting furry family members, and contributing to Weeknight Writers events.