Our best conference ever! 2008 Oregon Christian Writers’ Summer Coaching Conference***July 28-31, 2008***Canby Grove Conference and Retreat Center, Canby, OregonFeaturing: Over 40 editors, agents, publishers and professional writers A new and improved manuscript submission program 13 intensive morning coaching classes and more than 40 afternoon workshops Great entertainment, including comedy, poetry readings, music and readings by Northwest authors. A time of fellowship and worship, including pastoral care, worship times and music
Keynoters: Stephen Bly and Melody Carlson  Stephen Bly, Keynote Speaker Stephen Bly has authored over 95 books and hundreds of articles. His book, The Long Trail Home, (Broadman & Holman), won the prestigious 2002 Christy Award for excellence in Christian fiction in the category western novel. Three other books, Picture Rock (Crossway Books), The Outlaw's Twin Sister (Crossway Books), and Last Of The Texas Camp (Broadman & Holman), were Christy Award finalists. He speaks at colleges, churches, camps and conferences across the U.S. and Canada. He is the pastor of Winchester Community Church, and serves as mayor of Winchester, Idaho. He has spoken on numerous television and radio programs, including Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family. He is an Active Member of the Western Writers of America.  Melody Carlson Over the years, Melody Carlson has worn many hats, from pre-school teacher to youth counselor to political activist to senior editor. But most of all, she loves to write! Currently she freelances from her home. In the past eleven years, she has written around 200 books for children, teens, and adults—with sales close to three million, and many titles appearing on the ECPA Bestsellers List. Several of her books have been finalists and winners of various writing awards including The Gold Medallion, The Christy, and The Rita Award. And most recently she is in the process of optioning some of her books for film rights, with one book (Finding Alice) in the works for a Lifetime TV movie. Lately, Carlson’s passion for writing has been greatly focused on teens. Informed and aware of the challenges and struggles facing teens today, she writes young adult novels that she hopes will change lives. Her popular series, Diary of a Teenage Girl (Multnomah), has sold more than 500,000 copies. Her TrueColors series (Nav Press) focuses on hard-hitting issues like suicide, addiction, and cutting. And her latest series, The Secret Life of Samantha McGregor, explores the paranormal from a Godly perspective. She has two grown sons and lives in Central Oregon with her husband and chocolate lab retriever. They enjoy skiing, hiking, gardening, camping and biking in the beautiful Cascade Mountains. |