What’s Up, CWG? (May 2011)

Hi, Members! Karina Fabian here with the behind-the-scenes scoop on the happenings in the Guild (or at least in “officer country”):

* We are having an essay contest! We’re still working out some of the details with the coordinator, Maria Rivera, but I can tell you the topic is “How to Create a Prolife Culture” and the deadline for submissions will be December or January. Start thinking, but DON’T SEND ANYTHING until we get the rules out. We’ll publicize, promise! This will be open to non-members, too.

* We’re still hashing out some details on the October Writer’s Retreat. This is different from a conference in that it will be smaller, more intense, and more writing focused. I can tell you it’s in Michigan, and that we’ve got shuttle service from the airport to the retreat center. More later!

* We’re talking about increasing dues, but “grandfathering” everyone who is a current member on the subscription program, meaning those members will stay on the the current rate of $24 a year. We’re going to ask our accountant (Diane Embry, the Detail Diva) do an analysis of the Guild expenses to see how much/how little we need to raise it. We have a lot of expenses, and with the increase in activities, we expect more.

* Speaking of activities, we have a lot of great stuff going on. The newest development is the Catholic Writers Guild Wiki, which will be a special showcase just for Catholic writers. Dave Law is going to get the coding worked out in the next couple of weeks and import as many Catholic writers as he can from Wikipedia. Then he’ll start adding other authors.

* The volunteer drive has been a success so far, and has taken the pressure off some very busy committees. However, we still need some help. Here are the most urgent needs:

–We need someone with some basic knowledge of HTML or BBC code to code the Inside the CWG newsletter.
–We need writers for the CWG newsletter.
–We will need editors and helpers with the Catholic Writers Wiki, a project which should start up in a couple of weeks.
–We may some assistants with the Essay Contest
–The Live Conference needs helpers

That’s the gist for this month. Stay tuned for more exciting news from your Guild.

Blessings,
Karina