Over the past six or seven years, the publishing industry as a whole has been in a state of flux. I believe God is using this, and Canadian writers who are Christian are going to thrive in coming years. What’s needed is a team effort—with Canadian and American Christians working together to develop a new publishing model that will foster the development of not only Canadian Christian publishing, but indigenous publishing in other countries around the world. The best way to strengthen the worldwide church is to help each nation develop its own Christian culture and work together as equal members of the body of Christ.
I see four key needs in Canada:
1.) Canadian writers who are Christian need to work with other Canadians to create awareness in Canada. The danger is that if your only focus is on getting an American publisher, it’s easy to forget you are Canadian. Canadians involved in the Christian publishing industry (writing, publishing, marketing, etc.) need to work together to initiate change in Canada. There is a great deal of strength in numbers. Keep reading →
We’ve been having a challenging discussion on our listserv by members of The Word Guild (a national association with more than 350 members) about the current situation in the Canadian Christian writing, editing, publishing and retailing community. The timing comes shortly after our annual Write! Canada conference, in which a number of classes focused on the current flux in the publishing industry.
Our discussions might be of interest to wider members of the community, so watch for a series of commentaries on this blog from N. J. Lindquist and Wendy Elaine Nelles, the founders of The Word Guild.
This first post from N. J. Lindquist sets the stage for further commentary.
The Realities of Being a Canadian Christian Author
N. J. Lindquist
I have a few things to say about being Canadian in a publishing industry that doesn’t really appreciate books set in Canada or recognize the differences in our culture.
I used to assume there simply weren’t many Canadian writers who were Christian. But early in May 1992, just after my first novel was released by Moody Press, my paradigm changed. It began when the manager of my local Christian bookstore told me they’d carry my book only “if it becomes a best seller or goes on sale.” And here I was expecting a huge display with a sign that read CANADIAN AUTHOR.
I investigated the Christian publishing industry and discovered that 98 to 99.9 percent of the books sold in Canadian Christian bookstores were brought in by Canadian distributors whose sole purpose is to import books from the United States. One distributor told me that the hardest thing for a Canadian Christian publisher is getting its titles distributed in Canada. I also learned that few Christians—including those working in bookstores—could name more than a couple of Canadian authors who were Christian (and those they knew were all published in the U.S.)…. Keep reading →
THE WORD GUILD GIVES PARTNERSHIP, CAREER, BEST NEW AUTHOR AWARDS
The Word Guild surprised Brian Stiller of Toronto with this year’s Partnership Award and also gave awards to Frances Hudson of Calgary (best new author) and to Ray and Anna Wiseman (Tarr career award and special recognition award, respectively).
Guelph, Ontario – A retiring university president, an Ontario writing couple, and a new Alberta author received top honours recently from The Word Guild, a national association of Canadian writers and editors who are Christians.
The Partnership Award is presented periodically by The Word Guild to acknowledge exceptional support and encouragement of Canadian writers and editors who are Christian. Brian C. Stiller was surprised with the award June 19, as he delivered a keynote address at the association’s annual national conference, Write! Canada, in Guelph, Ontario. Keep reading →
Write! Canada 2009 reflects on the past, looks to the future of writing and publishing by Canadian writers who are Christian.
TORONTO—It is a great time to be a writer, even in the midst of on-going turmoil and dramatic change in the multi-faceted publishing industry. That was the message delivered to 224 writers, editors and publishing industry insiders from across Canada and the United States who gathered in Guelph, Ontario, last week for Write! Canada 2009.
The three-day conference, designed to train and equip Canadian writers and editors who are Christian, was held June 18 to 20 at the Guelph Bible Conference Centre. Organized by The Word Guild, an association of Canadian writers and editors who are Christian, the annual event is the largest of its kind in Canada, and features plenary sessions, workshops and continuing classes that cover virtually every aspect of the writing, marketing and publishing process. This year’s conference included special celebrations with cake, ice cream and a festive atmosphere to mark the 25th anniversary of the event. Seven current and previous conference directors attended, along with six winners of the Leslie K. Tarr award, which honours lifetime career achievement in writing. Keep reading →
National writing awards highlight talents of Canadian authors, including poverty activists and a rugby-playing romance novelist
Toronto – A novel set during the Roman Empire and a series of articles from the anthology Hot Apple Cider were the most awarded publications at The Word Guild Canadian Christian Writing Awards this year. Awards were given in 30 independently judged categories, including non-fiction books, novels, articles, columns and poems published during 2008.
The novel Christianus Sum (Latin for “I am a Christian”) won awards in three categories – best suspense, romance and historical novel – for first-time author Shawn J. Pollett of Golden Valley, Ontario (near Parry Sound). He had already won free publishing in last year’s Word Alive Press manuscript competition.
As Pollett received the awards, the burly, bearded former rugby player admitted his special surprise at the win in the “romance” category – he had not been aware his book had been entered in that category.
“But I believe that a good love story, one that is pure and true, reflects the truth of God’s love for us,” Pollett explained. He also pointed out that the religious persecution experienced by the fictional characters in his story is still experienced today by Christians in many countries around the world.
Two Toronto poverty activists were also multiple award winners. Tim Huff won for Bent Hope: A Street Journal (Castle Quay Books) and Greg Paul for The Twenty Piece Shuffle: Why the Poor and Rich Need Each Other (David C. Cook). Huff, a social activist who has worked for 20 years with homeless and marginalized youth and adults, won the general readership category and shared first place in the culture book category with Greg Paul. Paul, who founded the inner-city ministry Sanctuary, also won the Christian living book category. Keep reading →
Did you miss the Symposium on the Future of Publishing at Write! Canada on June 19?
Did you hear American literary agent Chip MacGregor’s predictions of where the writing and publishing industry will be in five years? Or, if you were there in person, could you not write fast enough to record his rapid-fire delivery, to get all the info he fit into his four-minute time slot?
Chip just blogged about the 10 points he told us at Write! Canada. Where will we be in five years? Check out Chip’s predictions, and see the comments from his readers.
Great info, great conference, great 25th anniversary celebration.
Yesterday, at Write! Canada 2009, the annual conference sponsored by The Word Guild I gave a workshop on the way the new social media are changing the publishing world, and how writers might adapt. I made some notes and said I would put them up here at Future Tense.)
One caution: I am not an expert. I am in the process of working it out myself, and hope to share what I have learned so far.
1. Understand the difference new media make. Keep reading →
On Wednesday, June 17 , The Word Guild is going to present its fourth annual Writing Awards Gala. This is a black-tie event, a once-a-year celebration meant to bring a sense of affirmation and honour to writers who are Christian, whom all of us know are not in the business for the money they make… because that’s pretty minimal to non-existent. It’s one night to get dressed up, feel special, maybe have a date night with your spouse or significant other, see your friends, meet colleagues, hear some thank you remarks (some of them emotional), and applaud vigorously. You’re welcome to join us. Herbie Kuhn, the voice of the Raptors, will again be our fantastic emcee.
Each year, we present the Leslie K. Tarr Award for career achievement, which recognizes a person’s outstanding contribution to Christian writing and publishing in Canada. The award was first presented in 1988, to Les Tarr, a journalist, author and writing instructor, who made a tremendous impact despite debilitating health problems.
This year, the 21st annual award is going to Ray Wiseman of Fergus, Ontario. Here’s an excerpt from his column “Life-wise” that regularly appears in The Wellington Advertiser.
How do I feel? Excited? Ebullient? Exuberant? All of those enthusiastic emotions and a lot more. In my lifetime I have experienced some of the best of times and some of the worst of times. Right now as I bubble with excitement, I find myself experiencing one of the best of times. Keep reading →
If you’d like to get a glimpse of what a writers’ conference is like — specifically the Write! Canada conference, Canada’s largest conference for writers who are Christian — watch this video. The conference is just a few days away. It runs from June 18 to 20 in Guelph, Ontario. We’ve still got room for you, but register soon if you want to get meals, because they have to be reserved in advance. The Write! Canada web site has information that is updated daily.
I’ve heard good things about La Bonne Novelle bookstore in Moncton, New Brunswick, and in the past several years they had welcomed a number of Canadian writers who are members of The Word Guild to do author events there. Alas, I just heard today that the store will close on June 20 — the same year it is celebrating its 75th anniversary.
According to this June 10th article in The Times & Transcript, “The entire operation is a non-profit registered charity, operated by a board of directors. In recent years, the store hadn’t made any profits it could put back into its mission.”
“The board of directors of Mission La Bonne Nouvelle announced the closure this week, citing various reasons for the closure of the St. George Street staple, including high transportation costs, closure of a major Canadian distributor leading to increased U.S. purchasing, the lower value of the Canadian dollar, increased competition via the Internet and other stores and the current economic situation.”
News, ideas and thoughts about the rapidly-changing writing, publishing and retailing industry... and about Christian publishing in Canada in particular.
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