I posted this on the Write! Canada website today. Even if you aren’t a writer, you might find it a fun read.

In the fall of 1995, when Audrey Dorsch resigned as the editor of Faith Today and director of the God Uses Ink Conference, I was part of the planning committee. Even though Faith Today was short-staffed and assistant editor Marianne Meed Ward knew she could not handle the workload of both putting out the magazine and organizing the conference, we decided to go ahead and hold the 1996 conference. Larry Matthews, who had been part of the committee, agreed to be the conference director that year. But things were a bit rushed.

Back then, the conference didn’t actually start until 5:00 pm on Thursday. A few years earlier, we’d started having an early bird workshop for those who wanted to come earlier. We would charter a bus for an off-site trip to an interesting location, and then give people an hour or so to write something based on what they’d seen and heard. Then the organizer would judge the stories and we’d give prizes. I remember going on field trips to a mission in downtown Hamilton, the Hamilton Spectator, an historic church, and a book distributor’s warehouse.

Anyway, we decided we didn’t have time to organize a field trip for this year, so I volunteered to do something on-site (which was then Redeemer College in Ancaster.)

Read about what I did, and why I had such fun doing it – not to mention meeting someone who became a very good friend.

God Uses ink conference · Linda Hall · what a new writer needs to know · Write! Canada

On Saturday, I attended the grand opening of a Christian bookstore about fifteen minutes from my house.

To say the store was crowded is an understatement. There were people everywhere – not a bad feat when you consider that Faith Family Books and Gifts is a 12,000 square foot store.

There was a ribbon-cutting, Jamaican patties and cake being given out, authors signing, musicians playing, people sitting talking at the small cafe and couches in one corner. But mostly there were people looking at and buying books.

The store had a soft-opening a month ago and according to Larry Willard, one of the three owners, has been very busy ever since.

The opening reminded me of an article I wrote for ChristianWeek last fall that I have been meaning to post here. I was asked to write it after posting a number of blogs here whether or not Christian bookstores are still needed. Ironically, I posted the blogs a week or so before R. G. Mitchell Family Books, the largest Christian book distributor in Canada and the owner of a chain of Christian bookstores in Ontario, declared bankruptcy. No, I didn't know that was going to happen. Mitchell's was distributing Hot Apple Cider, so we were never paid for the 1200 books they had sent out. 

You can find my blogs here, including one that talks about my experiences when my first book was published back in 1991. 

Read the article I wrote for Christian Week in the fall of 2008.

What's the Future of Canadian Christian Publishing?

Faith Family Gifts and Books · Larry Willard · new bookstore opens · new Christian bookstore