I am very pleased to announce that the Christian Writers Institute (CWI) has taken over the operation and management of the venerable Write-to-Publish Conference (WTP) held every June in Wheaton, Illinois. This conference has been in operation for over 50 years, and we are very excited to add this event to the offerings of CWI. After owning and running the event for the last 28 years, Lin Johnson has stepped into an emeritus role and our agent Dan Balow (who lives in Wheaton) assumed directorship responsibility. He has already put together a stellar group of faculty members. This roster of teachers and speakers will continue to develop as new opportunities arise.
Registration for the June 13-16, 2023 event is open today at the link below. (Take advantage of the Early-Bird registration discount!) But keep reading.
The 2023 event will feature many faculty members familiar to WTP alumni, but also some new faces.
Keynoting will be bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins.
There will be a daily plenary session with talks by Dr. Leland Ryken, Professor Emeritus of English at Wheaton College and author of dozens of books over the last 50 years, including one I used in college.
We are also quite excited for our closing event, a private concert with singer, songwriter, and author Michael Card at 7:15 p.m., Friday, June 16. Maybe if we twist his arm, he’ll perform his song “So Many Books.”
In addition to thirty workshops over the three days, we will have five continuing Major Morning tracks, each a three-part exploration.
Lin Johnson – “How to Get Published” is her highly appreciated overview for anyone new to the publishing world.
Cynthia Ruchti – “Writing Great Fiction” taught by the 2022 ACFW Agent of the Year.
Twila Belk – “How to Be a Working Writer” is for anyone desiring lifelong work of a writer.
Blythe Daniel – “Platform Building.” As an agent, Blythe is known for her great advice on building a platform.
Athena Dean Holtz – Owner/publisher at Redemption Press, she has a great perspective on self-publishing, presented in her popular “Independent Writing Bootcamp.”
We already have commitments on faculty for editors from Tyndale, Moody, IVP, Crossway, Our Daily Bread, Focus on the Family, The Author Conservatory, and Kregel. Plus eight literary agents and other highly skilled industry experts.
Each evening, Tuesday through Thursday, conference attendees will have an extended time after the evening session to casually sit and talk (and eat snacks) with anyone they want. We will have a dedicated space for our conference attendees, a great place to hang out with one another and with faculty. I should have known this was in the works, as earlier this year, Dan blogged about writers groups and hinted at his desire to do a lot of sitting around, eating, and talking at a future writers conference. Registration opens today at this page on the Write-to-Publish website. If you have any questions, email Dan Balow at dan@christianwritersinstitute.com.
NOTE: Don’t let financial limitations prevent you from learning. Check out the information on available scholarships.
Robyn
Done! All signed up. Contacted Dan because the registration didn’t give me a prompt to sign up for housing. Thank you! This is going to be good. 🙋🏼♀️📚
Lori Layne
Is there a coupon code? Asking for a friend……..
Steve Laube
Lori,
The Early Bird discount is baked into the price upon checkout. No need for a coupon code.
Kristen Joy Wilks
Ah, this sounds so lovely! Sadly, airfare and all the $, blah. Someday, perhaps. I’m so glad you are keeping this going. What a great group of speakers and pros you have lined up!
Tina Radcliffe
This is awesome.
Airfare, however, is out of control, so a virtual option would be even…AWESOMER (?) LOL
Steve Laube
The cost to add a virtual component is prohibitive as would be the logistics to run it properly. We need to get this first conference under our belt before trying entirely new things! Maybe you can find a conference that is closer to your location.
Steve
Gordon Palmer
Very excited about this news and already signed up. Congratulations to CWI and to Dan for taking over as director. I also loved Dan’s idea of sitting around talking. Looking forward to it.
Steve Laube
So very glad to have you on board!
Megan Schaulis
I hear Wheaton has some great C.S. Lewis items on exhibit. What a great spot for Christian writers to gather. 🙂