Summer’s almost over! Crazy, right? And crazy is the word for this summer. A month or so ago I posted a blog telling you about all the projects the editorial team was handling: Mysterious Ways magazine, The Joys of Christmas, The Best of Guideposts, etc. And that was in addition to putting out Guideposts magazine and Angels on Earth plus all our web work. We didn’t need all this blistering weather to break a sweat.
The thing that most interested you, though, was our biannual Guideposts Writers Workshop contest, which we have been running since 1967 and has launched the careers of such inspirational writers as Marion Bond West, Sue Monk Kidd and Karen Barber, just to name a few. And like every Guideposts editor who’s hired on, I went through the workshop too, way back in 19… well, never mind.
We’ve had a lot of inquiries asking if we’ve picked our invitees yet. The answer is yes, and I will post their names below. But before we get to that, I want to thank all of you who entered for your stories.
Notice that I hesitate to use the word “winners” above. I prefer “invitees.” That’s because every single one of you who put yourself down on paper, who opened up your hearts to us, is a winner. It takes great courage to write honestly about your life, your struggles, your joy, your weakness and your strength, your dreams and your fears. We read every one of the several thousand entries we received, and we are richer and deeper for it. And maybe that’s the best thing about our work this summer: your stories.
This year the workshop is being held in Port Orchard, Washington, and generously hosted by my great friend Debbie Macomber. Without her we might not have a writers workshop. But she loves supporting struggling writers, and if you want to know why, read her amazing story from the November 2005 issue of Guideposts.
With no further ado, here’s who’s coming to Port Orchard in October: Paula Dyer, Joanna Featherstone, Carla Adair Hendricks, Sandi Olson, Molly Brown Pennington, Tammy Pfaff, Tracey R. Simmons, Janet Paige Smith, Caroline Updyke, Denise Valuk, Pauline Weaver and Sheri Zeck.
Teaching at this year’s workshop will be Jim Hinch, Amy Wong, Rick Hamlin and Colleen Hughes. And I think I can speak for Debbie when I say that we are really looking forward to meeting and greeting this exciting new class of workshoppers. Our next workshop contest will be in 2014, so get your story ready. Start now!
Again, thank you all for making our summer richer and more blessed.
