What’s New, CWG?

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Hi all!  A little late with this because my life has been busy!  The great news is, the Guild has been busy, too!  We’ve been going strong with several of our projects, and a couple that have been on hold took off this month.  Here’s the scoop:

Catholic Writers Conference-LIVE: Arlington, TX, Aug 29-31 (http://catholicwritersconference.com/index.php):  Are you going?  It will be an awesome time, as usual.  In addition to the workshops on writing, the opportunity to promote your work to publishers and bookstores on the events floor, and the in-person pitch sessions, we have secured a special deal with SPQN!  They are having their conference next door to ours, and for an extra $25, you can attend their Friday workshops on blogging.

Ann Lewis still needs some volunteers to help her out.  Contact her at president(at)catholicwritersguild.com.

The Catholic Arts and Letters Award:  We hope eventually this award, also known as the CALA or the Lilly, will become the premier award for Catholic writing.  After a small start, we had to put it on hiatus for a year because of lack of volunteers to help out.  (Folks—we need you!)  However, Michelle Buckman has courageously taken it on, and is gearing up to do an award in 2013 for books published in 2011 and 2012.

In addition to fiction, the 2013 award will have nonfiction categories.  We’re tentatively thinking theology, devotionals, biographies and self-help/misc.  We may also be able to offer a cash prize to the winner—someone has offered a grant, and we are talking with that person about details.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT ENTER:  You must have an Imprimatur or the CWG Seal of Approval to qualify.  That means if your book is published in late 2012, you must get the manuscript approved (if you are a member) or the book submitted no later than Jan 2013 to the CWG committee.  There will be no exceptions!

Right now, we have a committee of three and could use some more folks to help.  Of special need are a couple of people to receive and distribute the books to the judges (CWG will pay for postage), and folks to help promote in conjunction with the publicity committee.  Please e-mail MichellePBuckman(at)gmail.com if you can help.

Catholic Writers’ Retreat:  April 19-23, Indianapolis, IN:  Things are looking good as far as getting a grant to help us keep the costs down on this.  We’re putting a down payment on the Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House in order to hold the dates.  Mark your calendar!

Steady as she goes…

Catholic Writers Conference Online: March 4-13, (http://catholicwritersconference.com/index.php).  We’re already lining up presenters and publishers.  If you know someone who could do a workshop (or want to do one, yourself), contact Laura Lowder at laura.lowder(at)gmail.com

Blog:  If you’re here, you know it’s awesome.  However, it’s getting BIG!  Jennifer would like someone to help her with the tech side of wordpress to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.

Note for Paying Members Only:  We are taking poetry submissions for the blog.  No pay, just credit, and do remember that publishing on a blog does count as publication to some magazines.  If interested, send your submission and a short bio to:  poems(at)catholicwritersguild.com.  If you can devote an couple of hours a month to tweaking and some simple tasks, e-mail her at blog(at)catholicwritersguild.com

Seal of Approval:  We’re in our second quarterly cycle, and things are running smoothly.  Please note that we have a new PO Box for sending hardcopy books to.

CWG Book news:  We send out a monthly newsletter to bookstores and interested readers.  We’d like to expand this list.  If you know any stores, libraries, schools, etc. that might be interested in learning about new Catholic books, please send a note to Ellen Hrkach at vicepresident(at)catholicwritersguild.com

CWG newsletter:  Maria is always looking for new writers!  She especially wants some help with book reviews, the saints column, and news.  Please contact her at mariarr(at)comcast.net

 

Seal of Approval Now Accepting Submissions

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We’ll be accepting submissions for the Seal of Approval from April 1-30.

If you meet the qualifications below, consider applying now!

Purpose

The purpose of the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval is to help Catholic bookstores and venues in their determination of the Catholicity of a work. This reassurance from a professional organization can assist authors in marketing and promoting their works.

Our Process

Submission and awarding periods as follows:

  • Accepting submissions January 1-31, awarding by March 31
  • Accepting submissions April 1-30, awarding by June 30
  • Accepting submissions July 1-31, awarding by September 30
  • Accepting submissions September 1-30, awarding by November 30

Requirements

For a book to be considered for the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval:

  • Book is published OR will be self-published OR book is under contract with a publisher
  • Author must be Catholic
  • Book is Catholic in nature (for fiction, this means Catholic themes and characters)
  • Book does not contradict nor disparage Catholic teaching
  • Book does not speak disparagingly of an accepted Catholic practice (such as Novus Ordo Mass or Tridentine Mass) nor give the impression that only a particular Catholic practice is the right way to salvation.
  • Book does not support heresies or New Age philosophies

One of the concerns we face as an organization is the quality of the work we stand behind. While we do reject titles when we have concerns with poor editing, there is now the opportunity for one resubmission with proof of professional editing.

We may request up to five hard copies and/or electronic copies for our evaluators.

The Seal of Approval application is here. If you are a Catholic Writers Guild member, you may apply free of charge. If you are not a Guild member, there is a processing charge.

We also need volunteer evaluators!

To be an evaluator, you have to be a member in good standing with the Catholic Writers Guild. To evaluate a book, you read the title you sign up to read and complete the evaluation form. We ask that you have some background in the Catholic faith and that you are willing to look up things that may be questionable.

All evaluations must be true and faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

What we evaluate:

  • Is the work libelous or slanderous?
  • Does the work seek to foster hatred or conflict among individuals or groups, including racism, religious fanaticism, or anarchy?
  • Does this work contain obscenity or promote anti-Catholic views of modesty, decency in language, actions, or basic morality?
  • Does this work contain pornography?
  • Does this work promote pre-marital, extra-marital, or other non-marital sexual relationships?
  • Does this work lack respect for the reasonable privacy of others?
  • Does this work degrade the dignity of the person, including the promotion of euthanasia, abortion, homosexual actions or unions, child labor, or prostitution?
  • Does this work promote the worship of false gods?
  • Does this work attempt to draw others away from the orthodox teachings of the universal Catholic Church?
  • Does this work use others’ proposals or ideas without credit or permission?
  • Does this work present others’ work as the author’s own original ideas?
  • Does this work violate any known laws?
  • Does the author of this work belong to an association(s) or participate in activities that may compromise integrity, damage credibility, or cause scandal in the Guild’s sole determination that you are aware of? Examples include freemasonry, Catholics for a Free Choice, NAMBLA, a history of works opposed to the Guild’s values or ethics, excommunication, etc. For example, these may be stated on the book jacket or may be from your prior knowledge of the author.
  • Is this work so badly written or edited that granting the Seal of Approval would harm the reputation of the Catholic Writers Guild as a writers organization?
  • Can you see this book in your local Catholic bookstore?

We have a “theological experts team” that is on-hand to answer any issues we have with doctrinal issues.

If you’re interested, email us at SOA -a-t- catholicwritersguild.com

Meet the committee:

  • Sarah Reinhard, Fearless Chair (or Big Boss Lady, depending on the day)
  • Carol Ann Chybowski, Submissions and Evaluator Coordinator
  • Mary Gildersleeve, Awarding Coordinator

If you’re interested in learning more about the Seal of Approval, email us at SOA -at- catholicwritersguild.com.

The New and Improved Seal of Approval Process

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The purpose of the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval is to help Catholic bookstores and venues in their determination of the Catholicity of a work. This reassurance from a professional organization can assist authors in marketing and promoting their works.

Our process includes submission and awarding periods as follows:

  • Accepting submissions January 1-31, awarding by March 31
  • Accepting submissions April 1-30, awarding by June 30
  • Accepting submissions July 1-31, awarding by September 30
  • Accepting submissions September 1-30, awarding by November 30

These are the requirements for a book to be considered for the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval:

  • Book is published OR will be self-published OR book is under contract with a publisher
  • Author must be Catholic
  • Book is Catholic in nature (for fiction, this means Catholic themes and characters)
  • Book does not contradict nor disparage Catholic teaching
  • Book does not speak disparagingly of an accepted Catholic practice (such as Novus Ordo Mass or Tridentine Mass) nor give the impression that only a particular Catholic practice is the right way to salvation.
  • Book does not support heresies or New Age philosophies

One of the concerns we face as an organization is the quality of the work we stand behind. While we do reject titles when we have concerns with poor editing, there is now the opportunity for one resubmission with proof of professional editing.

We may request up to five hard copies and/or electronic copies for our evaluators.

The Seal of Approval application is here. If you are a Catholic Writers Guild member, you may apply free of charge.

We also need a team of volunteer evaluators!

To be an evaluator, you have to be a member in good standing with the Catholic Writers Guild. To evaluate a book, you read the title you sign up to read and complete the evaluation form. We ask that you have some background in the Catholic faith and that you are willing to look up things that may be questionable.

All evaluations must be true and faithful to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

These are the items we consider on the evaluation:

  • Is the work libelous or slanderous?
  • Does the work seek to foster hatred or conflict among individuals or groups, including racism, religious fanaticism, or anarchy?
  • Does this work contain obscenity or promote anti-Catholic views of modesty, decency in language, actions, or basic morality?
  • Does this work contain pornography?
  • Does this work promote pre-marital, extra-marital, or nother non-marital sexual relationships?
  • Does this work lack respect for the reasonable privacy of others?
  • Does this work degrade the dignity of the person, including the promotion of euthanasia, abortion, homosexual actions or unions, child labor, or prostitution?
  • Does this work promote the worship of false gods?
  • Does this work attempt to draw others away from the orthodox teachings of the universal Catholic Church?
  • Does this work use others’ proposals or ideas without credit or permission?
  • Does this work present others’ work as the author’s own original ideas?
  • Does this work violate any known laws?
  • Does the author of this work belong to an association(s) or participate in activities that may compromise integrity, damage credibility, or cause scandal in the Guild’s sole determination that you are aware of? Examples include freemasonry, Catholics for a Free Choice, NAMBLA, a history of works opposed to the Guild’s values or ethics, excommication, etc. For example, these may be stated on the book jacket or may be from your prior knowledge of the author.
  • Is this work so badly written or edited that granting the Seal of Approval would harm the reputation of the Catholic Writers Guild as a writers organization?
  • Can you see this book in your local Catholic bookstore?

We have a “theological experts” team that is on-hand to answer any issues we have with doctrinal issues.

Meet the committee:

  • Sarah Reinhard, Fearless Chair (or Big Boss Lady, depending on the day)
  • Carol Ann Chybowski, Submissions and Evaluator Coordinator
  • Mary Gildersleeve, Awarding Coordinator

If you’re interested in learning more about the Seal of Approval, email us at SOA -at- catholicwritersguild.com.

Rejection: A thorn by any other name still stings…

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Ouch.

I don’t care who you are, rejection hurts. But as writers, we all experience it, so it behooves us to learn to deal with it.

It’s tempting to pitch a fit, sulk, or even threaten to quit writing altogether. But when we take a look at these responses, it’s clear they are self-sabotaging…and ultimately ego driven.

This is what I’ve learned about rejection. It’s not about me. It’s about the needs of the publisher, or timing, or the quality of the writing – but it’s never about me, the author (unless I’ve made such an @$$ of myself that no one wants to work with me, no matter how brilliantly I write. But you’re too professional for that!)

Some factors that lead to rejection are out of our control. If a publisher just signed a contract for a story involving a blind golfer, and my story is about a blind golfer, it’s unlikely they’ll buy mine, even if it’s more brilliantly written. Or the editor hates stories about blind golfers. Or the editor just got sued by a blind golfer. Or… Well, you get the idea. None of these are within our control, so we cannot take the rejection personally, even when it’s unlikely we’ll ever find out the underlying why.

The other two reasons are within our control. Maybe I’ve pitched my epic poem about a blind golfer to a house that doesn’t publish poetry. Do your homework. Use Writer’s Digest or other resources to see what a specific publisher is looking for. Read your target publisher, then tweak your work to fit their needs and style.

Finally, maybe the quality of the work is an issue. (Ouch, again!) I look back on my initial submissions and cringe at the amateurish mistakes I made. Yet, at the time, I thought my work was brilliant! We all need to continually work on improving our craft, no matter our level of experience. Read books on craft. Check your local library. Take online classes, get involved in the CWG forums, the CWG online conference, or a writing group. Volunteer to judge contests. (That’s a real eye-opener, a glimpse into an editor’s life.) Find or create a critique group; it’s much easier to see someone else’s blunders, and eventually you’ll learn to recognize and fix those weaknesses in your own work.

If you’ve done all those things and still get rejected, what next? Bounce back. Is there is a lesson in a particular rejection? Learn it. Don’t give up. Keep writing. Keep submitting – but don’t beat a dead horse. If a project doesn’t sell, either re-work it or move on. Keep a positive attitude. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb on his 1000th try. He did not view the first 999 attempts as failures, rather as the 999 ways to not make a light bulb. Each step was necessary for his eventual success. Each rejection we receive brings us one step closer to our success.

What are your favorite ways to deal with rejection? How do you turn rejection into a positive element in your writing life?

Committees: Introduction by Karina Fabian

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I’m Karina Fabian, and I’ll be posting on second Fridays (and perhaps other times) about what’s going on with the committees of the Catholic Writers Guild.

Committees are the hands and feet of the Guild—they do things and take us forward.  When you see someone announce that they’re book received the Seal of Approval or that a bookstore has just ordered copies because they saw it in a newsletter, when you attend one of the conferences, when you read this blog—you are seeing the result of the hard work of our Guild committees.  These people give of their time, talent and sometimes their treasure to take on projects to help others achieve their writing dreams.  The Committee Chairs in particular give a lot of themselves to keeping these programs going.  Without their dedication, we would have a Guild that is name only.

I’m honored to be the Committee Coordinator in 2012.  I’ve been with the Guild since it was just an idea on a Yahoo group.  I helped found it, create rules for it, and have led it as President, Vice President, and Secretary.  However, I feel like the most important practical aspect of our Guild is in the committee work.  There, we harness the power of our group and its reputation to help not just each other, but Catholic literature in all its forms.

However, this is often frustrating work—there’s so much to do, and so few who step up to help out—or those that offer their help aren’t consistent.  This is a long-running problem in the Guild, and this year, I want to dedicate my efforts to building our cadre of volunteers and finding ways to make the experience of working in the Guild more rewarding.

I’m certain this isn’t a matter of “finding the right people.”  We have a wonderful, giving membership!  However, we also have a busy membership, so we need to find ways to make it easier to volunteer, to match guild needs to member strengths, to encourage consistency, to improve communication and direction.  I’ve started talking to the committee chairs about what they need.  Members, soon, you’ll be seeing a request from us to fill out a survey with your talents interests and how much time you can volunteer, as well as specific volunteering opportunities.  In the meantime, if you have any ideas about how we can improve Guild operations, please make your comments below or e-mail me privately at http://karinafabian.com/index.php?name=ContactPro.

President’s Column: Ineffable Twaddlings

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by Ann Margaret Lewis, CWG President

By the time you all read this Thanksgiving will be over, Advent and our new translation of the Mass hours away and December descending quickly upon us. However, before the New Year starts, I want to offer some resolutions to you as your newly re-elected president. (For those of you unaware – we did have an election and your old board of officers was reelected with some folks switching roles…more on that under “In-House Announcements” below.)

Basically – these are my goals for the coming year in my role as president:
1. Finish tracking down a grant (with Laura Nelson’s help) and get our web sites re-developed.
2. Spend more time on the web site in the meantime. I don’t go into the forums nearly enough, and there is a lot there.
3. Clean out my email box (I have almost 10 thousands messages. Can you believe it?)
4. Get my office so completely organized that I know where everything is and why… that way I can work more efficiently and effectively as your president.
5. Finish writing a book – any book – by May. To be president of a group of writers, I must write…

As I think of more things I’ll let you know. Meanwhile, don’t be shy in sharing some goals you’d like to see your officers attain by writing us at [email protected]. God bless you all and have a blessed Advent!

Catholic Writers Retreat Set For Oct 5-9; Register by Sep 28

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NOTE: We need more people to sign up by the 20th or we have to cancel, so if you know you want to go, please register before then!


Catholic Writers to Enjoy Special Spiritual Retreat

Lansing, MI: In collaboration with FAITH Catholic Publishing and Communications, The Catholic Writers Guild, will sponsor Your Word is My Delight, a Catholic writers’ retreat, Oct 5-9, 2011. Come and delight in God’s word and sacrament, and pray in a beautiful and serene retreat setting.

The retreat’s key presenter is Pat Gohn, Catholic columnist, podcaster and catechist (link: http://www.patgohn.com/patgohn/About.html) . Other presenters are Father Charles E. Irvin, David Krajewski, Father David Rosenberg and Father Larry Delaney.

Writers will enjoy five spiritually-enriching days of daily Mass, adoration, the sacrament of reconciliation and many hours of writing time. Talks will explore how God speaks to and encourages writers through Scripture, papal writings and other topics in order to promote faith-filled writing.

Opportunities for networking also will be offered through an informal “book bash and social hour” Wednesday evening and Faith Catholic’s one-on-one “pitch sessions” that give writers the chance to sell their current writing projects.

Cost for the four-day retreat is $450, which includes meals and accommodations. Deadline for registration is Sept 28. A nonrefundable deposit of $45 is required at registration.

Catholic Writers to Convene August Conference in Valley Forge

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Valley Forge, PA–The third annual Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE will take place August 3-5, 2011, at the Scanticon Hotel Valley Forge in King of Prussia, PA. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild (CWG) and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), it will be held in conjunction with CMN’s annual retailer trade show. The Catholic Writers Conference LIVE provides Catholic authors with a prime opportunity to meet and share their faith with editors, publishers, fellow writers, and bookstore owners from across the globe.

CWG President Ann Margaret Lewis said this year’s conference will, “focus on marketing and selling one’s written work.” Highlights of the conference include:

• Over 30 sessions taught by professionals in writing, marketing, blogging and publishing
• Pitch Sessions where writers may meet privately with representatives from four publishers
• One-on-one coaching sessions. For $35 an author can have a 30 minute private consultation with a specialist who will review their manuscript and guide them toward publication.
• Rapid-fire readings. Published authors will each have five minutes to read a selection from one of their books. A mass book sale and signing will follow.

Lewis says the conference comes at a modest cost. “Registration for the jam packed three days is only $90 for CWG members or $100 for non-members. And we have a special price of $42 for students. Our conference allows you to connect personally with Catholic publishers and retailers, to show your work, learn the craft and network.” Priests and religious are invited free of charge, but must register at the email address: http://www.catholicwritersconference.com.

This year’s conference speakers include:

• Catholic publishing representatives Claudia Volkman of Servant Books/St.Anthony Messenger Press,
• Regina Doman, author of numerous young adult and children’s books and acquisitions editor for Sophia Institute Press,
• Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, EWTN TV host of “Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms” and author of numerous Catholic books including “Mother Teresa and Me,”
• Michelle Buckman, author of the young adult novel “Maggie Come Lately” and the adult drama “Rachel’s Contrition,”
• Angela Breidenbach, author of “Gems of Wisdom” and
• Patti Armstrong, co-author of the best-selling Amazing Grace book series and author of “Catholic Truths for Our Children, Stories for the Homeschool Heart.”

Past attendees gave glowing accounts of their experiences at the conference:

• Carol Bannon, author of the children’s book “Handshake from Heaven,” said, “Attending this conference has been the best thing I have done for myself professionally.”
• Writer Melanie Cameron concurs, “I recommend this conference as a resource for any author (or wannabe) at any stage. You will walk away empowered!”
• Maureen Martin, a consultant and trainer said she attended to connect with other professional Catholics. “It was such a wonderful, nurturing environment where we could share our faith and our love for literature.”

The Catholic Writers Guild, a religious non-profit organization, sponsors both this live conference in August and an online conference in February to further its mission of promoting Catholic literature. “Our conferences are totally focused on encouraging faithful Catholics to share genuine Catholic culture and faith in their writing no matter what genre,” says Lewis. “These events are integral to our mission of ‘creating a rebirth of Catholic arts and letters.”

Also at this year’s conference, the CWG will be presenting its first ever Catholic Arts and Letters Awards (called the “Lilies”) for the best in Catholic fiction. This award will recognize one book in the adult market and one in the children’s market for its literary merit.

Information for the Catholic Writer’s Conference can be found on the conference web site: http://www.catholicwritersconference.com.

The CWG is a professional group of writers, artists, editors, illustrators, and allies whose mission is to build a vibrant Catholic literary culture. The organization is loyal to the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic Church.

Volunteer Drive: Seal of Approval

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CWG MEMBERS ONLY: This is the first of a series of activities the Guild does, and that it needs volunteers to help with. The CWG wants to be a force for promoting quality Catholic works–and quality works by Catholics. Won’t you give of your time and talent for this worthy endeavor? If the program below doesn’t appeal to you, but you want to help, check out the other programs here.

Seal of Approval:

This is a BIG project for the Guild. Not only are we providing a perk for marketing, but we are developing relationships between the Guild and bookstores. However, as this has increased in numbers applying, Sarah Reinhard, the hardworking coordinator, is getting overwhelmed as are the small core of readers. Here’s what Sarah needs:

A SECOND COORDINATOR TO SHARE THE LOAD: You two would decide how to split the load of applicants. Here’s the process Sarah follows:

1. Receive the application via email. (Though some applications come via hard-copy in the mail.)
2. Gather information into email, send to distribution list of possible reviewers.
3. Enter information into spreadsheet (which I can share with you if you’d like, it’s a Google Doc) as reviewers reply.
4. Send appropriate electronic copies OR contact submitter with addresses of those who get hard copies.
5. Track down reviewers to find out if they have finished reading the book (this is what leaves things lingering; some people take the full 60 days, or find out halfway through that they can’t do it. Also, there are the times that people raise questions/concerns about aspects of the book and I then contact Father Pat Toner, who’s my “is it okay theologically etc” expert.
6. Once I have the responses from reviewers, send letter to submitter confirming or denying.
7. Copy Margot Davidson on that email if it’s an award letter, because she takes care of sending them the actual seals.
8. Once a month, I send an email of all the SOA titles awarded to Maria and a few other folks (Ann, Ellen, Jennifer Gladen, Margot, you, Ann).
9. Rinse and repeat.
Sarah wants four volunteers who are well-versed in Catholic teachings to be a core go-to group for when a reader has concerns about a book. These people would read the book and make a final decision.

WE ALSO NEED READERS! This is your chance to get free books! You just need to read them for their Catholicity and minimum quality standards. (We are not a critique group, but if a book is so badly edited that it would embarrass the Guild to approve it, we will reject on those grounds.) Sarah sends out a call for readers. You pick what you’d like, send back a request (and whether you want it electronic or print.) You do not have to read all the books! Once you read it, you fill out the judging sheet, send it in–and that’s it! The book is yours to do with as you will. (except resell on eBay.)

To help with the Seal of Approval, contact Sarah Reinhard at sarah(at)snoringscholar.com

What’s Up, CWG?

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Happy Friday! I am so looking forward to the weekend, but there’s always so much to do–and it starts with telling all of you about the exciting stuff going on with CWG!

We had our officer’s meeting last night–what a crazy thing that was! You’d think getting 5 people together would be easy, but not with our schedules! Here’s what kept some of us going until nearly midnight:

We are hosting a Catholic Writers’ Retreat October 5-9 in DeWitt, Michigan. We’re still working the price with the St. Francis Retreat Center, but we have a draft program set up. Pat Gohn, Claudia Volkman, Father Charlie Irvin, Fr. Joe Krupp, and Father David Bosenberg will have workshops on faith in writing, and how faith inspires writing. There will be ample time to write and regular critique sessions. This is an intense workshop with limited attendance. We’ll be sending out a notice when we get things finalized, but in the meantime, mark the dates!

We are working on a Members-Only page for the website where we will post such things as useful mailing lists, copies of the newsletter Funds for Writers, and other goodies just for Guildies!

Incidentally, as many of you have noted, our website is difficult to navigate. We want to hire a professional company to revamp it, but that takes money. We’ve decided to start by asking for donations. We’ll let you know when we get that set up. We’ll also be doing some raffles and other fundraisers. We figure we need at least $2000 to get a really rocking site that will be easy for members to navigate–and take some of the pressure off those working the back-end.

We’re planning an essay contest! Guildie Maria Rivera has wanted to do this for a long time. The topic is “How to promote a Pro-Life culture” and it will have a $10 entry fee, but pay prizes to the top three winners–plus up to seven will be in an e-book the Guild will publish. We’re just working details now, and plan to start the contest around August, so get your ideas brewing. If you would like to help judge, please comment on this blog.

We want to recognize Jennifer Fitz and Sarah Reinhard for starting this amazing blog! KUDOS!

The Catholic Arts and Letters Award for 2011 is in the judging stage. Thanks to the amazing folks who made this happen!

The Seal of Approval program has been going well, but we’ve also learned a lot in the process. We made a couple of changes to the judging criteria, and have decided to make a couple of standards a little more stringent as well. Stay tuned and be sure to check out the website for current guidelines when submitting.

Finally, the topic dearest to my heart. We do a lot in this guild, and want to do more, but we need more helpers. Right now, about 15 people are handling a dozen projects of national scope–and usually are involved in several. We need some leaders, but we also need some worker-bees: folks who will read a book, do a mail-out, contact an individual, write a short article or press release… If we get more folks doing just one task a week–a month!–we would relieve some pressure. I’ll do a separate blog on this next week, but if you want to help, just comment below!

Our meetings always begin and end with a prayer. Please know that we pray for all of you–for your writing successes and that you may always stay close to God the Inspirer.

Blessings,
Karina

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