[5]Faith & Culture Writers Conference
— Taking our writing to the streets, the coffee shops,
and yes, the church.
By Western Seminary,
Multnomah University & Corban University
PORTLAND, Oregon – A diverse group of 20 presenters, ranging from contemporary theologians, ministers, and publishers to literary agents and award–winning authors come together to share their passion for bringing faith to the streets through writing, Saturday, April 2nd at Western Seminary’s southeast Portland campus.
Aspiring or advanced writers may choose from 21 workshops covering everything from blogs and the publishing industry to impacting the culture through writing, by activists such as Richard Twiss, a Native American author and international speaker who looks to “rescuing theology from the cowboys.” Cost of the day-long conference: $55 by March 10th (lunch included); $65 after, and $25 for students.
Award-winning Keynote Speakers:
Gina Ochsner, Corban University & Seattle Pacific University professor
Author of The Necessary Grace to Fall, winner of the Flannery O’Conner Award for Short Fiction and the Oregon Book Award, and The Russian Dreambook of Colour and Flight, long-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction; her stories have appeared in The New Yorker and The Kenyon Review.
Paul Louis Metzger, Ph.D., Multnomah Biblical Seminary professor
Author of The Gospel of John: When Love Comes to Town and Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church; and Editor of Cultural Encounters: A Journal for the Theology of Culture. He has been interviewed for stories on faith by The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
Other Speakers are as diversified in their backgrounds as they are united in fusing faith with life. They include:
Screenwriter Dan Merchant, whose documentary “Lord, Save Us From Your Followers” received outstanding reviews from USA Today and other secular and Christian publications.
Melanie Dobson, award-winning author of eight fiction books being sold at Wal-Mart, Costco, Barnes & Noble and LifeWay Christian Stores, was the former corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family.
David Sanford, co-authored God Is Relevant (Doubleday) with Luis Palau and for twenty-eight years has been a literary agent working with top name publishers such as Zondervan, Tyndale, Random House, and Simon & Schuster.
Worship leader: Wilson Smith, South Lake Church
SouthLake Band plays at ‘The Bite of Oregon’ and other local festivals as well as their church. Smith has ministered cross-culturally through music in New Guinea, Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Kenya and Nicaragua. Wilson is a designer for Nike Inc., for whom he created the Air Jordan 16 & 17 shoes inspired by conversations with Michael.
‘Fun’ facts about speakers and artwork:
The conference logo “Words” was designed and donated by Martin French, winner of over 150 awards for his art. His commercial clients include United States Olympic Committee, Warner Brothers, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Atlantic Monthly, and Nike, Inc.
Cornelia Seigneur’s blog post “Where Does a Police Officer Go to Get a Cup of Coffee?” was featured on CNN and Fox News last year, and started a national dialogue. She is the author of two books, a freelance journalist for The Oregonian, and the Director for this Faith & Culture Writers Conference.
Imaginary Jesus author Matt Mikalatos has traveled and taught in Croatia, Spain and multiple Asian countries. He’s held bible studies for atheists and spoken with Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and agnostics about faith. He is regional director for Campus Crusade for Christ.
Mike Thaler, whose The Teacher From the Black Lagoon series has sold over 17 million copies, has published 200 children’s books, including a new faith series for children with Zondervan.
Complete event & registration info: https://www.westernseminary.edu/events/writers [6]