Write! Canada 2012 is over, but we're already planning Write! Canada 2013.
We had an amazing time this year.
More to come, but thanks to everyone who served as staff, came as faculty, or volunteered; who came in fear and trembling for the first time; and who came back becasue they just can't stay away. Together, you converged to make an amazing, life-changing community of creative people.
NJ
Monica Leis has worked in Christian media for over 20 years. She is co-founder of Maranatha News, a Canadian Christian newspaper established in 1996. In April 2012, Maranatha News transitioned from a print version to an online daily Christian news source.
Monica, what was your main goal when you co-founded Maranatha News in 1996?
Our goal was to have a newspaper that would inspire and inform our readers with positive articles that would be of interest to diverse cultures and denominations. We aimed to show forth ethnic diversity in a positive way and I’m glad to say we have.
It was difficult at the beginning; our approach wasn’t always accepted, but the journey has been rewarding. We saw a need and attempted to make a difference.
As a business owner, it’s refreshing to hear feedback from your readers, especially the positive feedback we’ve received over the years saying people felt a part of the Christian community because they saw their culture being represented in Maranatha News.
Has that goal changed over the years?
We have become more refined. In the beginning, Maranatha News had a lot of “preachy” articles. We gradually developed more news content and informative articles.
We eventually produced a newspaper that was well accepted in secular stores in the Greater Toronto Area. Both church and non-church goers had the opportunity to read the various articles, featured stories, and in-depth interviews.
And that is still a part of who we are online. Now Maranatha News can be read from anywhere in the world by anyone with Internet access.
How has the response been since Maranatha News transitioned to an online publication?
The response has been a positive one. Publishing online is still very new to us; the transition began in April, so we are still in the first phase and learning as we go.
Making this move was a step of faith. A business consultant told us three years ago to stop publishing the print edition of the newspaper and transition to a more frequent online news source. At the time, I couldn’t see it. I would be the first to say, “No!” I knew it would be a huge undertaking.
Looking back now, I can see how God has been directing us to enable us to make the transition. December 2011 was our final print edition.
Having an online edition seems like a natural progression in the evolution of Maranatha News. A person knows when it’s time to move.
I enjoy the online Maranatha News format with the opportunity to change text or add to a published article instantly. There are so many other features that weren’t available through our print version that I wonder what took us so long to make the change.
Publishing daily is a challenge at times, but a refreshing one. News happens every day, every hour of the day. We don’t claim to be CNN, but when breaking news happens within the Christian community, like the passing of Chuck Colson or Canadian Bible prophecy teacher Grant Jeffrey, we were able to publish the news immediately. And it is fulfilling to know you can provide your readers with up-to-the-minute news.
Do you find people’s approach to news is different with the advent of “instant communication”? In what ways?
Facebook and other social media sites now play a major part in communicating news. Years ago, you would wait for the six o’clock news to find out what was happening in the world or in your community. Now there’s no need to wait. Just go online or to any social media site and the news is most likely there. When Whitney Houston died, Twitter and Facebook were abuzz with the news of her passing.
Things are moving extremely fast and it’s a challenge to keep up with all that is happening in the world. However, it’s exciting to see the various ways media are reporting the news.
How do reporters and journalists need to approach these changes?
We have to learn to accept changes as they come. Especially changes in technology. It’s difficult to stay abreast of all the new gadgets coming out on the market. Reporters have to be fast with their reporting. For instance, secular media reports the news as it breaks and reporters know there is no time to sit on the story, but they need to report it as the story unfolds. Every day there is another piece to the story of Luka Rocco Magnotta, the Quebec man accused of murdering and dismembering Lin Jun, a 33-year-old Chinese international student. The story is updated frequently during the day. Editors want the story right away.
As a Christian publication, we look for angles on stories more than just reporting the day-to-day facts.
What steps would you advise people take if they are interested in journalism?
I would suggest you pray about it. God instills desires in us, and we need to ask him to fulfill them. If your desire is to write, then take all the classes you possibly can, whether online or night classes, learn all you can, speak with other journalists on how they got started, attend writing conferences, sign up for workshops that are specific to your genre of writing and watch what God will do. Pursue your dreams! Only you can make them a reality!
Can you tell us a little about “Read for Life”?
"Read for Life" began as the result of Johanne Robertson (my business partner and co-founder of Maranatha News) having a stroke. I noticed reading would trigger her normal speech to return for a period of time. Reading definitely helped with her recovery.
It was a few years after the stroke that we began to work with youth within Toronto to promote reading. Johanne felt she wanted to embark on connecting people with the books by award-winning Canadian authors she was reading. To date, we have held events at the Air Canada Centre, The Rogers Centre, Missionfest Toronto, and other conferences, as well as through local churches. Our goal is to promote Canadian authors and their books.
Why would you recommend involvement with The Word Guild?
If you have an interest in writing, then I would recommend you attend a Write! Canada conference. The conference is a place to connect with fellow writers, authors, or people who just love to write. The conference offers a number of classes/workshops that will assist in developing your writing style, whether you are a beginner or more advanced.
The Word Guild also allows you to keep those relationships you’ve established at the conference all year round through their membership listserv group and regular Constant Contact mailings, etc.
How do you feel writers and editors benefit from attending conferences such as Write! Canada?
Writers benefit by meeting other writers with similar interests and by speaking with faculty. By listening to others who have been published, they will walk away with tips that will encourage and strengthen their writing skills.
Editors benefit by meeting new prospective writers who come to pitch their fresh new story ideas. For example, Maranatha News is looking for writers to write on various areas such as: news, reviews, interviews focusing on the arts and social issues for our online publication.
What is your favourite part of being involved in the Write! Canada conference?
My favourite part of being involved in the Write! Canada conference is meeting new people, as well as renewing acquaintances with attendees from former years. It’s a joy to catch up with them to hear how they have progressed in their writing profession, whether it be writing articles or finding a book publisher, it feels like a family reunion.
Each person is at a different level in their writing career. They may be a housewife, pastor, youth leader, teenager, or senior, but whatever their age, Write! Canada is the place to be if they have a passion to write.
Johanne Robertson is co-founder, co-owner and editor of Maranatha News, a Christian online newspaper based in Toronto. Her resilience, whether it be in her professional life (she recently changed the format of her newspaper) or her personal life (she is a stroke survivor) is always evident.
At Write! Canada 2012, Johanne will be part of the panel for the workshop “Faith and Fact: How Modern Technology Is Remaking Journalism.”
When did you first attend Write! Canada and what keeps you coming back?
I first attended Write! Canada in 2003. I felt lost and I wasn’t sure if the event was for me or for the writers that wrote for Maranatha News. But it didn’t take a full day before I realized it was a special gathering; a unique occasion when people got together and cared for one another. They took time to encourage one another and spur each other on.
I met quite a few faculty members, spoke with new writers and discovered a lot of talent at the conference. Such great experiences have certainly had me returning each year.
You are on the panel of a workshop called “Faith and Fact: How Modern Technology Is Remaking Journalism.” What have journalists gained from technology?
Journalists have the opportunity to use the latest technology to connect with sources, search for information, and to disseminate news stories out to potential readers faster than through traditional means. While some monthly avenues remain reliable, social media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn allow writers to get news to readers in real time. For Maranatha News, journalists have gained the opportunity to reach the world with their words through the click of a mouse.
What have they lost because of technology?
There are literally hundreds of thousands of citizen journalists out there. Not having to go through a traditional editor and publisher has reduced the high quality, reliability, and credibility of the news sources. In the past, journalists cared for their sources and were very sure to report the story accurately. Now, in the race to be first to report the news, accuracy is often compromised.
You are the co-founder of Maranatha News. How did God inspire you to start a newspaper?
It was 16 years ago that God called my business partner, Monica Leis, and me with the thought of bringing the Canadian Christian community together across geographic boundaries, denominations and races. Through our efforts—and God’s grace—we’ve seen that become a reality. With the recent changes to our format we are well on our way to furthering that dream.
What has been your all-time favourite article in Maranatha News?
After 16 years, I have many favorite articles written by amazingly gifted writers. In 2006 Maranatha News had a special Bill Gaither, 16-page, feature with a two-page interview with Bill Gaither by Wendy Nelles. That 16-page feature—12,000 copies—was distributed at the Air Canada Centre to Bill Gaither Homecoming Concert fans. That was amazing. In that special edition Maranatha News featured Canadian recording artists and Canadian authors.
We’ve had many memorable articles by Patricia Paddey: “Save the Mothers” (2005), “Billy Graham Library” (June 2007), “Painter of Lights” (2004), and an interview with Artist John Tesh (2004). Just recently (May 2012) we ran an interview with David Mainse, founder of Crossroads Christian Communications Inc.
D
eborah Gyapong has always brought important information on national and political news: “World Vision Requests Prayer for Tsunami Victims,” “Same Sex Issue: Tip of the Iceburg Warns Theology Professor” (April 2005), “Abortionist Morgentaler Invested with Order of Canada”—and the list goes on with great writing in Maranatha News.
We have been very fortunate to host some of Canada’s best Christian writers through the years.
When I met you last year at the conference and I presented you with my children’s book idea, you suggested that I get some experience writing articles first. Why do journalists make good authors (e.g. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Sons; former crime reporter Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ)?
I think all authors should have an array of outlets they write for, to let readers know the kind of author they are and the kinds of writing they do: whether it be fiction, non-fiction, children’s or adult novels, etc. To have a waiting market is a lot better than starting from zero or from only friends and family members, unless that was the original target market for the book.
You are the co-founder of “Read for Life,” an organization that helps raise the level of reading and education among Canadians. Tell us about it.
Read for Life is an organization of people who care about books, in which we strive to promote award-winning, life-changing books to readers all across Canada. Our goal is to showcase award-winning authors—and through our promotional venues, make them bestsellers.
How does a journalist get the big scoop?
If writers are passionate about their work, they will always be talking to people and reading. Finding the scoop is not the most important thing. I find that my best writers are resilient. They watch and read the news, and they know how to uncover more about stories. Research, reading, a good memory (and a good notepad) are essentials.
What advice do you give to an editor trying to start his or her own Christian newspaper?
I think any editor or publisher wanting to start his or her own Christian newspaper needs to be called into it. It isn’t a very lucrative industry or a place for anyone thinking they want to become famous. The newspaper business takes a certain kind of person—not only to publish a paper but to keep it afloat and effective for many years. Knowing that you are called to serve this area of the community is what matters. The rest (credibility, connections, advertisers) will certainly come with time.
You wrote about your stroke in the Hot Apple Cider 2 anthology. During your recovery, how did you see God’s faithfulness?
I certainly saw God’s faithfulness to me and to Maranatha News when I had the stroke 10 years ago. Shortly afterwards, God led me to call The Word Guild and inquire about writers to help tell those all important stories for Maranatha News readers.
I felt the newspaper, my readers and I as an editor/publisher grew when Maranatha News took on more writers. Many of those same writers have gone on to become award-winning writers, which I thank God for and attribute to His faithfulness and leading.
We’ve taken many chances through the years. We are proud to still be taking chances, and God is proving Himself faithful to us every step of the way.
You’ve recently changed the format of Maranatha News. Please explain.
Maranatha News has transitioned from a monthly Christian newspaper to an online Canadian news source. We are aiming to publish the news on a daily rotation. News happens everyday. Why not report it in real time?
Contact Johanne Robertson at johanne.robertson77@gmail.com
Connect on Facebook: Maranatha News, or Twitter: @MaranathaNews
Johanne was interviewed by Linda Jonasson of the Write! Canada PR team.
Fazal Karim, Jr. is the publisher and editor of The Christian Herald, a monthly newspaper founded in 1994 and distributed free of charge through approximately 650 churches, Christian bookstores, colleges and businesses in the Greater Toronto Area. The newspaper's present circulation is 30,000 copies per issue. (Feb. 2012).
The paper is focused mainly on the Evangelical community which encompasses over fifty denominations such as Baptists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Lutherans and many, many others.
Fazal, you are the publisher and editor of The Christian Herald, a print newspaper that you founded in 1994, that includes news, music, columns, reviews, events listings, and more. How did this magazine come into existence? What was you vision for the magazine and what were some of the challenges you faced?
I had published my high school magazine back when my family lived in the Caribbean. Upon returning to Canada in the early 90's (we had previously lived in Montreal), I got a job with a subsidiary of Telemedia, where I learned the mechanics of distributing a publication.
After that subsidiary closed, I was laid off. Realizing (in those pre-Internet days) there wasn't an existing publication linking the broader Christian community and focusing on Christian entertainment and culture (books, music, concerts etc.), I figured I'd start the Herald. At least until I found 'a real job'.
What experience did you have in publishing and editing before you helped launch The Christian Herald?
Not a whole lot. I've been a voracious reader all my life and, as I mentioned, I published my high school student magazine. It had been dormant for a few years before a friend and I restarted it, so I knew (or thought I knew) what a publishing start-up was all about.
At the Write! Canada conference you will be looking for writers who can provide stories of interest to Christians in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Can you elaborate on the kinds of stories your publication is interested in?
We're essentially a Christian culture newsmagazine. We tell people what's going on in the GTA from a Christian perspective, with a focus on our culture, including books, music, movies and the arts. We cover concerts, conferences and other major Christian gatherings. We're looking for stories primarily in these areas, crossing denominational and ethnic/cultural lines. Covering the GTA's Christian community is challenging because of all the different kinds of Christians that live here.
To what extent does your publication utilize the talents of members of The Word Guild? Do you accept submissions from new writers?
We subscribe to a few different news services, and get a ton of press releases from churches and ministries each day. But when we have feature assignments, most of those go to writers who are members of The Guild.
We do accept submissions, but to be honest I don't get a lot of interesting queries from Christian writers. Not recently anyway.
Since The Christian Herald is distributed free of charge, how does it sustain itself financially?
Our only significant revenue source is advertising. Ads come mainly from Christian event promoters, Christian ministries and Christian-owned businesses. When you open an American Christian publication you see lots of ads for Christian books, CDs and DVDs. In Canada, Christian publishers do essentially no advertising, and then love to complain that business is lousy. I've never understood that.
At the Write! Canada conference you will be part of a panel discussing the topic “Faith and Fact: How Modern Technology Is Remaking Journalism.” What changes have you observed in the role of journalists over the years?
Well I suggested the title, so one would hope that I'll have something interesting to say about it. 
We've become a society that doesn't read as much as the previous generation, so that's impacted journalists. Especially when you're paid by the word! Of course, technology has opened up the profession, which has everybody playing journalist, but it's also broken the stranglehold that the major media had in suppressing Christian voices and viewpoints.
Tablets and eBooks offer new opportunities for newspapers and magazines to sell supplementary content. Facebook and Twitter have remade all news outfits into real-time, 24-hour operations. It's a somewhat crazy time for the profession, but it's not all bad news.
For Christians wanting a career in journalism, where should they start, and where do they go after that, in terms of further training and experience?
I started college, but left to start the Herald. I do wish I'd completed my degrees in Business and Journalism prior to working at the paper full-time; I suggest that Christians be sure to get the training they need before diving in headfirst.
But it's also important to start small, perhaps even with just your weekly church bulletin, and work towards finding that place where the Lord wants you. A lot of ministries know nothing about communications, and it's becoming a critical area. So you may find yourself working in a ministry capacity instead of for a newspaper, web portal or magazine. Naturally, a good place to learn from other Christian writers about career options is Write! Canada.
Tell me about your Christian faith journey. How did you become a Christian, and how is God working out His will in your life?
My parents converted from Islam a long time ago, so my siblings and I were raised in a Christian home. I accepted the Lord at age 11, and I've been having fun serving the Lord ever since. (Okay, maybe it doesn't always feel like fun…)
Publishing the Herald keeps me busy, but I also spend a lot of time working with different Christian ministries in the city. One of the blessings with the Herald is that we get to see a wide angle view of what the Lord is doing in Greater Toronto—a much wider angle than most individual churches and ministries get to see.
It's always fun introducing Christians to other believers who have been tackling the exact same problem or issue in different ways. And working hand in hand with churches and ministries to promote life-changing events is just amazing. It's a privilege to get to spend your life watching the Lord move through His Church time and time again; a real privilege.
Tell me about your prior associations with Write! Canada. How have these benefitted you?
I got involved in the early days when the conference was called God Uses Ink and it was run by a different group. The early days were brutal, having to tell writers that we had no budget to pay them, but it would be great it they wrote for free. We still get some who just want to write or donate their services to cover something they love, but we now pay for features. My annual trek to Write! Canada helps me to stay in touch with the writing community, as well as keep in touch with some of our publishing peers.
What advice do you have for those planning to attend the Write! Canada conference?
Just come with an open heart and a willingness to learn, and don't be afraid to ask questions. The Lord generally takes care of the rest.
Fazal was interviewed by Fred Ash of the Write! Canada PR team.
N. J., you grew up in rural Manitoba and now reside in urban Ontario. How have both settings shaped you as a writer?
I was raised in a town of 2,000 people and attended university in Brandon and Winnipeg. I’ve also lived in Saskatchewan and Alberta, too, so I’m really from western Canada. However, since the age of 32, I’ve lived all but one year in the Greater Toronto Area. I have a lot of different milieus to draw on in my writing.
My Circle of Friends series is set in a small town similar to the Manitoba town I grew up in. In Time of Trouble is set in a small city in the prairies. My mysteries are set in Toronto. The short story I have in A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider is set in Winnipeg….
I believe that settings are far more important than many writers realize. Whether the story is true of fiction, I have to feel comfortable in it before the stories come to life. Settings impact the characters, the plot, even the themes.
You're a former New York Yankees fan and current Toronto Blue Jays fan. You followed the age-old advice to writers: “Write what you know” by writing a book about baseball called Glitter of Diamonds. Why does our writing improve when we focus on our area(s) of expertise?
When you try to fake something, readers know. It just doesn't resonate with them. So you either have to invest lots of time to do massive research (which is fine if you love doing research) or write what you already know. I’m not a huge fan of doing research, so for me it’s more fun to use things I already know.
The other part of it is that when you write about things you enjoy or care about, readers will be more likely to care, too.
You won the Teacher of the Year Award in only your second year of teaching high school. In recent years, you have taught at Redeemer College. As a teacher, how do you “listen with your mind and your heart” (one of your award-winning blog post titles)?
That blog was written after I had several experiences where individuals I was trying to help simply didn’t appear to want to hear what I was saying. It was as if their minds were closed to anything other than what they already believed. It was frustrating, and I realized a waste of my time. We couldn't have a dialogue.
So I wrote about the fact that we all have a choice: we can appear to listen while really just waiting for a chance to offer our own opinions, or we can actually listen and interact and grow.
Listening to other people doesn’t mean you have to follow their suggestions, but you do have to open your mind to what they’re saying and consider whether they might have a point.
I’ve actually seen this negative attitude fairly often with new writers. They know what they're trying to write, and they're sure it's good. But the truth is, very few people are able to judge their own work objectively.
That’s not a bad thing. We should be passionate and invested in what we write. But we ALL need good editors who can look at our work with fresh eyes and help us see the flaws.
If I had a motto, it would be “Never stop learning; always be open to seeing things in a different way.”
Your anthology A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider just received the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award for 2012 and has 27 nominations for The Word Guild Awards. How did you get the idea for the series?
Several years ago, I was thinking about the fact that most Canadians aren't aware of most Canadian writers who are Christian. I was at Missionfest, where I saw a compilation CD, where you have maybe 15 or 20 songs, all by different singers or bands. I thought it woud be great to have a book with stories by different writers.
World Vision was looking for a new book for the gift bags for their Girls Night Out program and after pitching my idea, I was told that if I could create such a book, they would give it out. I dropped everything else and asked Wendy Nelles to be co-editopr. We looked for 20 members of The Word Guild to join in the project, and got 30! We titled the book Hot Apple Cider and got a top-notch cover designer. And in addition to the 30,000 books given out though the World Vision programs, we’ve sold over 15,000 copies.
A Second Cup of Hot Apple Cider features 37 Canadian writers. Another 30,000 books are being given out through World Vision programs, and we’ve already sold over 5,000 books, makiing it a Canadian bestseller, too.
How has God helped you overcome your roadblocks in writing and in life in general?
We’re still working on that. Essentially, my own writing stopped 11 years ago this June when we started the process that led to my directing Write! Canada, and the formation of The Word Guild. While I don’t regret any of it, and have certainly benefited in other ways, I feel the time has come for me to focus on myself and my writing, and let others take over guiding the Word Guild into its next phase. This is the 11th conference I've directed, The Word Guild is now 10 years old, and I need to focus on some other, related, things God is calling me to do.
www.njlindquist.com
www.thatslifecommunications.com
https://www.facebook.com/NJLindquist.author
https://www.facebook.com/hotappleciderbooks
NJ was interviewed by Linda Jonasson of the Write! Canada PR team.