Does your creativity need a jump start? Give this a try.

My family just returned from a short camping trip. Only 48 hours at a Pennsylvania state park campsite. Though I didn’t consider our destination to be too far off the beaten path, we did not have cell phone service. What a blessing!

If your creativity is waning, you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or discouraged, I recommend unplugging and soaking in the natural beauty of God’s creation. After two days without pinging notifications or time wasted staring at a screen, my gratitude, optimism, and creative well are replenished. (Mostly. It was, after all, only two days.)

Below is a photo one of the 19 waterfalls we hiked to in Ricketts Glen State Park. What a gift that the master Creator allow us to participate in a small way in His creativity through our writing.

I hope that you make time to unplug and refill your creative well this summer, and, if you’re able, I hope that includes next month’s live conference.

Carolyn Astfalk
President

Catholic Writers Conference Live:
Have you registered yet?

There is still time to register for our 2022 live conference held in conjunction with Catholic Marketing Network’s Momentum ’22. All the details are available at our website, including a schedule and Conference FAQ.If you’re on the fence, I sadly can’t solve problems related to inflation or the cost of fuel. However, I can assure you that your attendance will be worthwhile. Our team of volunteers has scheduled a wide array of informative sessions and panels, opportunities for networking, and pitch sessions with Catholic publishers. We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting like this since 2019, and I can sense the excitement of our attendees!

Questions? We’ve tried to anticipate those.

Registration is being handled through the Catholic Marketing Network. When you register, remember to click on “Catholic Writers Guild Track.” This is the only way for CMN to properly credit the Guild for its registrations, which help to cover our expenses.

Already registered? Here’s what you need to know.

This conference doesn’t happen without volunteer power. We need your help. No experience necessary.

Our remaining needs:

Presenter’s aide to introduce Tony Kolenc’s ever-popular session “Legal Issues for Writers.”
Pitch session assistants (2) to help move people through the process.
Trade Show Booth staff. This is a golden opportunity to meet those strolling the trade show floor: bookstore owners, publishers, creators, and more.

Current members who serve at least six hours will receive reimbursement for the conference fee after August 1. If you can’t serve for a full six hours but still want to help, your assistance is most welcome. Sign up today to volunteer.

Meals with Mentors, Pitch Sessions
Registrants should receive an email from Amy Cattapan to sign up for Meals with Mentors programs and pitch sessions.

Please be patient as it may take up to a week for assignments to be made.

Member Seal of Approval Book Display

Has a book of yours received the Seal of Approval since last year’s mini-conference? If your book received the Seal of Approval (or an Impirimatur) in the second half of 2021 or the first half of 2022, it is eligible to be displayed at the Guild’s trade show booth.

If you’d like your book to be displayed, please send a single copy to Amy Cattapan at PO Box 447, Prospect Heights, IL 60070.

Please be sure to note that the book is for the Guild’s display table.

Want to share a room or a ride?

Check your copy of the member newsletter for links to our Room Share and Ride Share interest forms and lists of members looking to share! If you didn’t receive a copy of this month’s newsletter, check your spam and updates folders of your email before contacting president@catholicwritersguild.com

If you are unable to attend, please share news about the conference with your Catholic writer friends via email, social media, or word of mouth. This conference is very reasonably priced and not only does it benefit members, but it also helps raise the Guild’s profile and increase its membership.

A final note. I will not be attending this year’s conference. Do I think the president should be there? Yes, I do.

However, I’m still in that season of mom life where I have young children that need supervision, work schedules to juggle, and a tight budget. My limited ability to travel played heavily in my hesitancy to accept the presidency.

I will sincerely miss being at the conference as I’ve found the three conferences I’ve attended to be an absolute delight, both in helping me to grow as a writer and in meeting so many truly wonderful members of the Guild. Please do not take my absence as an indication of the value of this event.

Our officers will be represented capably by Vice President Barb Szyszkiewicz and Treasurer Cesar Chacon.

Our Blog Has a Fresh Look

You may have noticed some changes to the Guild’s blog. For one, it’s a lot more active. If you’re subscribed, you’re seeing our members’ work in your inbox regularly. If you’re not subscribed, you can do that easily in the left margin of the page.

Second, the blog has a new look. It’s more contemporary, cleaner, comments are functioning properly, and it’s visually consistent with our website.

If you haven’t visited the blog, please do and share the articles that resonate with you.

Thank you to Katelin Cummins for all her work in revitalizing the blog and Barb Szyskiewicz for her expert assistance.

Volunteer Opportunity: Bigmarker Managers

Do you like tech and want to help the Guild? We need of a couple of volunteers to manage the Bigmarker system. (It’s as easy as Zoom.)

What you need to know:
To increase our webinar offerings, volunteers are needed for beyond the annual online conference.
Assistance is needed with setting up the online conference. (The next will be February 24-26, 2023.)
Webinar masters are paid (usually a percentage of paid registrations).
Training videos are available as well as assistance from our resident Bigmarker expert, Karina Fabian.
Interested? More questions? Ready to commit? Let us know.

Seal of Approval

The Seal of Approval application opens for the 3rd quarter on Friday, July 1, 2022 at Noon EDT. When open, you can access the Seal of Approval Application Form. Reminder: If your book has received an Imprimatur, it is ineligible for the Seal of Approval but receives all benefits associated with the Seal. More information on the Seal of Approval process.

Member Seal of Approval Book Display

Volunteer Opportunity: Bigmarker Managers

Seal of Approval

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Carolyn Astfalk