Press Release: Catholic Writers to Hold Conference in Arlington, Texas

May 10, 2012/0 Comments/in Catholic Writers Conference Live, CWG News and Announcements/by Ann Lewis

M E D I A R E L E A S E

CONTACT: Ann Margaret Lewis

Phone: (317) 755-2693

e-mail: president@catholicwritersguild.com

For Immediate Release

Catholic Writers to Hold Conference in Arlington, Texas

Arlington, TX–The fourth annual Catholic Writers’ Conference LIVE will take place August 29-31, 2012, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, TX. Sponsored by the Catholic Writer’s Guild and the Catholic Marketing Network (CMN), and 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.

This year’s conference will focus on “Writing and the New Evangelization.” Speakers include Catholic publishing representatives Claudia Volkman of Servant Books/St.Anthony Messenger Press, Mike Marshall of FAITH Catholic Publishing, authors Ellen Gable Hrkach (In Name Only and Stealing Jenny) and Patti Armstrong (Catholic Truths for Our Children, Stories for the Homeschool Heart), Ann Margaret Lewis (Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes), and EWTN personalities Teresa Tomeo and Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR. More excellent speakers are still being confirmed.

The conference will offer “pitch sessions,” allowing authors an opportunity to meet personally with publishing professionals and pitch their writing projects. In addition, attendees have the opportunity to sign up for critique with professional editors and writers. Information for this event can be found on the conference web site.

In partnership with the Catholic New Media Conference, also taking place in the convention center, writers conference attendees will be able to attend a special track on blogging for $25. Information on this opportunity will be made to attendees upon registration.

“It’s not just writing, it’s not just fellowship, it’s inspiration, too!” says 2011 Conference attendee Sarah Reinhard, blogger and author of Catholic Family Fun: A Guide for the Adventurous, Overwhelmed, Creative or Clueless and several other Catholic family books. “It was great to put faces with names and personalities with suspicions. It was also great to share the Eucharist and evening meals in person with writers who inspire me, encourage me, and motivate me the rest of the year. I enjoyed it so much I’m afraid I’m addicted.”

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 CWG President Ann Margaret Lewis. “These events are integral to our mission of ‘creating a rebirth of Catholic arts and letters.”

Registration costs $70 for CWG members, $75 for non-members and $40 for students. There’s also a discounted combined membership. To register or for more information, go to http://www.catholicwritersconference.com.

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Graphics, interviews and further information available upon request.

Click here to download the media release as Word document.

Seal of Approval Now Accepting Submissions

March 31, 2012/0 Comments/in Catholic Writers Guild, CWG member benefits, CWG Member News, CWG News and Announcements, Marketing Your Work/by Sarah Reinhard

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

February 20, 2012/0 Comments/in Catholic Writers Guild, CWG member benefits, CWG Member News, CWG News and Announcements/by Sarah Reinhard

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.

Committees: Introduction by Karina Fabian

January 13, 2012/0 Comments/in Catholic Writers Guild, CWG Needs Volunteers, CWG News and Announcements/by Karina Fabian

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.