Hot trends in Christian fiction

If you want to brush up on current trends in Christian fiction before attending Write! Canada, you might find this blog post interesting. It’s on the blog Novel Matters, and features comments by industry veteran Sally Stuart, who for the last couple of decades has compiled annual editions of The Christian Writers’ Market Guide, an invaluable resource that we will be selling at the conference bookstore.

According to Sally’s observations of the Christian publishing industry, one of the hottest trends is the teen/young adult genre — so if you’re not signed up for award-winning author Valerie Sherrard’s six-hour continuing class on writing for children and the young adult market, it’s not too late. Valerie is very knowledgeable about the mainstream publishing market, and Violet Nesdoly will teach an accompanying workshop (A3) that will focus on writing for the Christian market.

If you’re an aspiring or beginning writer, and you’d like to learn more about the techniques of writing fiction, then English Lit instructor and magazine editor Bill Fledderus has a great continuing class for you, called Basics of Fiction.

If you’ve got a fiction manuscript in the works and you’d like to find out how the publishing industry works, or if you’re thinking of self-publishing your book, then sign up for Everything You Need to Know About Publishing a Book in Canada. It’s being facilitated by conference director N. J. Lindquist, and you’ll learn from five different faculty members during this class.

If you have a novel written, you’ve had a professional tell you it’s good, and you’re looking for a career as a writer, check out Chip MacGregor’s continuing class Hitting a Home Run.

And don’t forget one of Sally Stuart’s most important pieces of advice — "The best thing a novelist can do is work on polishing his/her craft. Strive to be exceptional — to stand out in the crowd. Be sure the book is not only well-written, but well-edited. Publishers these days are short-handed, and they want books that will require little or no editing."

– Wendy Nelles