The Catholic Writers Guild

February was awe-inspiring! Committees are working well and having a blast! If you’d like to join in on the fun way to network, we could use you in big ways like taking on the Volunteer Committee. Or how about the Public Relations Committee, if you enjoy social media? Our monthly Newsletter also needs an author. You can help in smaller ways by guest blogging on the CWG Blog or helping Dennis select blogs for Zenit.com.

Don’t forget about our private Facebook page for ongoing opportunities and FUN! You can join a critique group for fiction or non-fiction. Our next big event is our Catholic Writers Conference LIVE! Here’s the reports from our dedicated committee chairs:

Blog: Kathryn Cunningham and Dennis McGeehan – We welcome a “new” blogger, Cathy Gilmore. Cathy has posted a couple of guest blogs. Readers and editors have enjoyed her style and she has been promoted to a regular blogger, posting on the third Wednesday of every month. Her favorite writing is the use of creative imagining. Don’t miss her blog on the Lenten Spa Experience or her presentation at our on-line conference.

CALA (Catholic Arts and Letters Award): Carol Ann Chybowski  – We are still in a quiet place here in CALA. We have confirmed all six judges. Entries have closed, and the reading period has begun. Good luck to all our entrants, and God bless you all for the beautiful work you do!

Catholic Book News – Dawn Witzke – The biography Victorious Exile: The Unexpected Destiny of Katya Kolyschkine, Catherine de Hueck Doherty’s amazing journey through loss, love, death, and resurrection by Echo Lewis is featured in the February Issue, along with children’s fiction The Confession of Grace by Pamela Patnode.

CWCO: Ann Lewis, Karina Fabian and Laura Lowder – Laura Lowder reports that the Catholic Writers Conference Online is revving up. We’ve got a full schedule. We’re holding practices now so presenters and moderators feel completely at home in the webinar program by the Big Weekend (March 4-6) — AND we have more than 125 people registered to attend! This number does include presenters, but this means roughly 110 people are signed up and paid to attend.
Karina has done a phenomenal job of lining up people — including eight publishers signed up to hear pitches in the days immediately following the Conference! Lisa Mladninch has also been a huge help contacting people on our behalf. I am in utter awe of their energy level.
So . . . we begin with Morning Prayer on Friday, March 4, at 8:30 a.m. — And we are getting really, really excited! That’s it from my perspective.

Facebook: Karina Fabian – Michael Fraley set up this month’s Book Blast, Guildie Stephanie Landsem’s book, The Thief, A Novel. It is a SOA winner.

Membership: Maureen Smith – We’ve started off the new year with a lot of new members:
January: 14 new members
February: 7 new members by mid-February

Newsletter:  We will need a chairperson to author and distribute the Newsletter.

Public Relations: We need a chairperson to use their social media skills to promote the Blog, CALA, SoA, conferences, elections, BookNews and membership.

Retreat: Ann Lewis and Margaret Rose Realy – Our next retreat is in 2017.

SOA: Erin Cupp – The SOA training seems to be going well, but we do need more evaluators to complete their training. Please contact the committee at soa@catholicwritersguild.com for more information.

Volunteer Committee: We need a chairperson to coordinate little temporary assignments and assist in the big events.

Zenit: Dennis McGeehan – Dennis added a couple of names as requested. If you are a speaker, contact Dennis to get your name on the list of speakers. Contact him if you would enjoy helping the Zenit committee select CWG Blog posts to submit to Zenit.com.

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.