The ongoing strike at Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel has led to the cancellation of Surrey International Writers' Conference for the first time in 33 years.
The large annual event has long been held at the hotel every October, but not in 2025, according to "heartbroken" conference organizers in .
"The Sheraton Guildford has notified us that means they will be unable to host our conference this year," the post reads.
"At this late date and for a conference of our size, moving somewhere else is not possible. The board has looked into other possibilities and considered all options, and have come to the conclusion there is no choice but to cancel this year's conference. This will be the first time in 33 years there hasn't been an SiWC."
The conference shifted to an online gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic, and later returned to an in-person event for hundreds of authors, editors, writers and book-industry people from around the world.
Plans are to stage the conference in 2026, according to the Facebook post.
"We hope to see all of you at next year's conference, October 23-25, 2026, with virtual master classes on the 21st and in-person and live-streamed master classes on the 22nd. As we have updates, we will post them on our official website ()."
In early July, more than 140 hotel workers at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford hotel in Surrey began strike action after with their employer.
Unifor Local 3000 members at the hotel have been without a contract since April 2024, according to a the Unifor website. After more than a year of bargaining, workers voted to reject a tentative agreement, and began legal strike action at 5:30 p.m. July 5.
Unifor represents 120 full-time and 24 part-time workers at the hotel, including room attendants, front desk staff, banquet servers, kitchen workers and maintenance workers.
鈥搘ith file from Tricia Leslie