by Nancy Ward, Coordinator of Committees
As we approach the season of gratitude and giving, I have a word for our committee chairs: THANKS!
- Thanks for your dedication to CWG this past year.
- Thanks for letting the CWG members know what you are doing and when you need help.
- Thanks for committing to continue as committee chairs next year.
- Thanks that all CWG members benefit from your devotion and perseverance.
Here’s the latest committee news:
Blog: Kathryn Cunningham and Dennis McGeehan – The blog is humming along and the editor/blogger setup is working out very well. We have a couple of slots that are reserved for “guests” but would like to fill them with committed bloggers. I am surprised that more of our members are not willing to try their hand at guest blogging at least once. People loved the guest blog that was posted on Dystopian Fiction and Catholic Writers.
BookNews: Dawn Witzke – The November issue of Catholic Book News will feature The Well by Stephanie Landsem and Saint Magnus, The Last Viking by Susan Peek.
CALA (Catholic Arts and Letters Award): Carol Ann Chybowski – The judges and authors have all received their CALA invitations. Four judges have said yes. I’m waiting to hear from the other two. Elaine Lyons Bach and Cheryl Wills are a great help. Ann Lewis has started getting books in the four categories of 2014/2015 books.
CWCO: Ann Lewis, Karina Fabian and Laura Lowder – Due to a miscommunication, the conference website was completely erased. We have a new one in WordPress set up. The Online Conference will be launched in Jan and Feb. Right now we are looking for our presenters and getting them to do some quick interviews with us to promote the conference in full come January.
Facebook: Karina Fabian is cutting down on the Facebook posts and taking Nov and Dec as a sabbatical. Many thanks to the watchdogs of our Facebook page to help keep it private for CWG members only.
Book Blast: Michael Fraley is taking over the Book Blast and did his part swimmingly this month.
Membership: Maureen Smith – Four new members have joined in the last month. And four the month before.
Newsletter: Barb Szyszkiewicz – Newsletters will be published following board meetings so that we can include committee reports in the newsletter.
Retreat: Ann Lewis and Margaret Rose Realy – The retreat was well attended and retreat attendees literally begged us to have the retreat yearly. The Board will consider providing more opportunities for national or regional retreats.
SOA: Erin Cupp – We will be taking off next quarter to train our evaluators. The next submissions period begins April 1, 2016.
Speakers Bureau: Dennis McGeehan – Names of CWG members who are speakers are being added as requested.
Zenit: Dennis McGeehan – Suggestions were submitted to Zenit News Service from blogs 10/1 to 10/31/15 on 11/3/2015. We could use one more person to review submissions for Zenit.
CWG Fiction Critique Group : Contact Don Mulcare.
CWG Non-Fiction Critique Group: Contact Nancy Ward or Connie Rossini.
For other concerns and suggestions about our fabulous committees, contact Nancy Ward, Coordinator of Committees.
Nancy Ward
Nancy Ward, convert, journalist, author, and speaker, writes from Texas about Catholicism, conversion and Christian community at NancyHCWard.com, JOYAlive.net, and other websites and magazines. Through her Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story workshops, retreats and DVD, she shares her conversion story in Catholic parishes and at conferences, equipping others to share their stories. She contributed to the award-winning The Catholic Mom's Prayer Companion, facilitates two Catholic Writers Guild critique groups, serves on the Guild’s Board, and speaks at national writers conferences.