SEE BARB IN PITTSBURGH!

Because of an upcoming confluence of business engagements in the heartland, I will be able to squeeze in a speech at the St. David's Christian Writers Mini-Conference on April 17, 2004.

I used to do a lot more Christian Writers Conferences - they were the first ones who started inviting me to teach seminars and give speeches - but as my schedule has loaded up, I have had to pass offf most of these events every year. I miss them sometimes because they are generally such faith-filled, encouraging opportunities to meet other writers. I have made some great friends through the writer's conferences - Linda Seger, Jim Bell, Deidre Knight, Christy (put Married Name Here), Chip MacGregor, Carmen Leal, several of the Act One alumns - really, many more.

I am continually amazed at the large network of Christian (read: Evangelical) Writers Conferences that are happening all the time in every state. And then I start to muse as to why we Catholic writers don't have a similar network? Or, because I hate reinventing the wheel, why we Catholics don't make up a larger presence at the "Christian" Writers conferences.

Part of the reason is undoubtedly because the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) drives a lot of the conferences - by sending publishers, reps. editors and sponsorships - and the CBA is 95% Evangelical. Another part of the reason might be the polarization in the Catholic Church would have most of the biggest Catholic publishers sitting out events because they are either too-rightwing or not rightwing enough. Protestants are able to work together with much less ideological verisimilitude. (Am I using that word right?)

Anyway, it would be very neat if we could muster at least a couple of annual Catholic Writers Conferences. (I have been to two only - one at St. Thomas Aquinas College and one at Franciscan University.) Someone, see to it, won't you?

Anyway, here is the info about the upcoming near-Pittsburgh conference:

Writing Success XIII

April 17, 2004
at
Bethany United Presbyterian Church
100 Venango Street, Mercer, PA
9:00 - 4:45

Keynote Address: "Five Things Christians Can Do to Fix the Culture Fast" by Barbara Nicolosi

Click here for more and then click on "Mini-conference."