Writing as a Ministry

"Moody's 1987 Write-to-Publish Conference" Newspaper Article

"I can't think of anything you didn't cover," Glenna Holloway of Naperville, Ill., said of Moody Bible Institute's Centennial Write-to-Publish Conference last June. "Don't make any changes," she added. "What impressed me most," another participant in the weeklong event said, "was meeting all those editors, learning the ins and outs of writing, seeing the mixture of people and ages all interested in writing, and gaining information about all the markets there are for articles."

Other participants in the annual Write-to-Publish Conference over the years have become regular contributors to hundreds of Christian magazines.

This year the campus of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago will once again be home for an expected 100 writers June 8-12. Elva McAllaster, keynote speaker for the 16th conference, is professor of English at Greenville College in southern Illinois. "Dr. Mac," as she is affectionately known, will speak each day on different aspects of "Writing as a Ministry."

Joining her speakers will be four prominent Christian authors and more than 30 editors and writers representing publishing houses in the Chicago area and throughout the Midwest. The conference will begin at 8 o'clock each day with Dr. Mac's observations on how God has used her writing of books, articles, and poetry to meet the spiritual needs of her readers.

Afternoon inspiration speakers will include Glenn Arnold, founder of the Write-to-Publish Conference, and popular author and Moody Monthly columnist Winnie Christensen. Thursday evening's banquet speaker will be Jim Johnson, whose newest volume in the popular Christian mystery series known as "Code Name Sebastian" will be released just before the conference begins.

Each morning and afternoon, participants in the conference will be able to choose from four or more workshops. Beginning writers can learn the basics of Christian writing from Rosalie de Rosset, professor of communications at Moody Bible Institute. More than 30 other workshops will deal with everything from rejection letters and author-editor relations to the business side of writing and how to write a feature article.

A highlight of this year's conference will be a trip to Scripture Press in suburban Wheaton. Potential authors will be able to see exactly what happens to the manuscripts they send to publishers.

Les Keylock, coordinator of the conference and author of the Moody Monthly column "Evangelical Leaders You Should Know," is anticipating the largest writers conference in Moody's history. "It is hard to think of a more effective way of making an impact for Christ in today's world than through well-written literature," he says. "Moody's Write-to-Publish Conference is an excellent way to turn people who want to be writers into published authors."

Last updated: March 20, 2002