Trying to decide whether to attend the Live Catholic Writers Conference this summer? Maybe you’re like me and you’ve made plans to go, but you really aren’t sure what to expect. I’ve been spying the lay of the land, and put together this virtual tour — call it Live Conference 101.
Start with Lisa Hendey’s photo album from last year’s conference — the best on the web. Go take a look, right now. See you back in three minutes.
Did you look? Good.
All that gorgeous art and cool merchandise you see is because the writer’s conference is held every year in conjunction with The Catholic Marketing Network, the trade association for Catholic bookstores. This year at the online conference, CMN president Alan Napleton urged us: Catholic bookstores want to stock good Catholic books — whether traditionally-published or high-quality self-published works. The CMN works in partnership with the Catholic Writers Guild to connect writers to the small local bookstores it can be hard to reach.
When you register for the Catholic Writer’s Conference, you receive free admission to the Catholic Marketing Network trade show, and vice versa. So register for one, attend both. 
With your registration you’ll also receive a coupon code for reduced-price entry to the Catholic New Media Conference. You can’t go wrong with speakers like these.
So You’ve Got Books to Sell? Scrolling through Lisa’s Album you probably noticed the author’s booths — a chance to introduce book buyers (remember all those book stores getting free admission to the CWG conference) to your work. Don’t forget about the chance to market your books at the Catholic Writer’s Guild table. Click here to read about how it works and what you need to do to get your book on the table.
If your book doesn’t have an imprimatur, here’s the information about the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval process. The next submission period opens July 1st.
The True 101: Writing Conferences for the Complete Beginner
What if you’re an ordinary writer — maybe even a brand new, aspiring writer — just hoping to make the most of a writer’s conference? Karina Fabian is veteran of the conference world, and she wrote up her top ten tips for attending a writing conference here.
Watch this space for more details on the many excellent speakers and workshops we’ll be offering at this year’s conference. There will be pitch sessions (where you propose your book idea to a real live publisher), critique sessions for honest feedback on how your work is coming, and classes on writing — and how to sell that book once it’s written.
Meanwhile I leave with you a little taste of the kind of fun that keeps writers coming back every year.
See you in Texas!
Jennifer Fitz
Jennifer Fitz is the author of The How-to Book of Evangelization: Everything You Need to Know But No One Ever Taught You from Our Sunday Visitor and Classroom Management for Catechists from Liguori Publications. She writes about all things evangelization and discipleship at jenniferfitz.substack.com. For updates on where else to find her, visit JenniferFitz.com.
Looks like quite the to-do.
Yes, I think that sums it up. Historically it’s been the annual buying spree for our local Catholic bookstore (whether they’ll make the drive all the way to Texas, I don’t know). With the three groups meeting at once, there will be way more to do than time to do it.