January 2023 Have the Plan in Place for Your Christian Writer’s Year?

Happy New Year from the Buoyancy PR shop, where we are still working on getting a plan in place for our year. How about you?

If you are a Christian author or working on that first book, I hope your year plan includes attending some industry events. From where I sit, the majority of events are in person, but there are also some that remain virtual.

Book event organizers worldwide appear to anticipate most folks will be willing to show up in person at many events. Take a look at this list: London, Frankfurt, San Diego, Beijing, Chicago, Bologna, New York City, Brussels, Guadalajara, and San Francisco. One could also add Nantucket, Savannah, Tulsa, Nashville, Boise and Bowling Green, Kentucky, and many more.

These are among the many cities around the world, large and small, that will be hosting book fairs and author events in the first half of 2023, according to a list from Publishers Weekly (full article here).  While the list includes some notable events that are still virtual, most of them are in person.

Those are mostly on the secular side, but then there are numerous Christian writers events scheduled for the year and some that have already started, according to emails I’m getting from authors.

If you aren’t aware of a Christian writer’s conference in your area, do some digging, because there are many of them from coast to coast, small to large. Plus there are a couple of virtual ones that you can attend from anywhere. Those have the advantage also of being an easier way to get started if participating in author conferences is new for you, and you are a bit unsure about jumping in.

Whether in person or virtual, these are welcoming events for writers and authors at all stages of their writing career, so check them out. Although I’ve yet to attend a conference myself, authors tell me the conferences aim to provide encouragement and a supportive community in addition to training and writing critiques. They also provide great opportunities for networking, including meeting publishing reps and even some agents. Here are a few of the conferences I found ranging from the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Convention in Ridgecrest, N.C., from May 28-June 1; the Write to Publish Christian Writers Conference in Wheaton, IL, from June 13-16; and the Florida Christian Writers Conference, Leesburg, FL,  October 18 – 22.

And then there are the virtual or hybrid events. This spring, April 13-15, an online conference for women authors and speakers called  She Writes for Him, will be sponsored by Redemption Press, a Christian publisher based in  Enumclaw, Washington.

In addition, August 9-12, the Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference will again combine with the Colorado Christian Writers Conference for one large online event where authors, writers and publishers will gather, sponsored by Write His Answer.

And then there’s the West Coast Christian Writers Conference, Roseville, CA, October 18-20, that will offer some virtual options while being held in person.

These are just a few of the choices available to you to hone your skills and advance your writing career.

For Buoyancy, our goals are a bit different as we focus on events to help Christian authors promote their books by meeting industry and retail professionals, as well as by connecting with Christian media. Here are three dates that are on our calendar:

• Christian Product Expo Winter Show, Columbus, GA, February 5-7

• NRB – National Religious Broadcasters convention, Orlando, Florida, May 22-25,

• Christian Product Expo Summer Show, Lexington, KY, August 6-8

NRB is the major one for us, as we have our own booth and represent a small group of authors at the show. If you have an interest in having your book represented at NRB, doing a book signing and getting media interviews, Buoyancy will be there and we still have a few slots open for authors. If this is of possible interest, please don’t register for NRB until you’ve spoken to us. Our clients get registration to the convention as part of their services.

Want to get involved with us at NRB or CPE for media interviews? Write me (jbaker@buoyancypr.com) soon.

A fourth date not yet on our calendar is another one we want to mention in closing. For some authors, home school conferences are ideal for promoting their books that serve home schooling families. We’ll return to this topic, spoken about here previously, in a future weekly note. But for now we wanted to mention we learned from author and client Dave Richardson of Assumptions Institute that the Florida Parent-Educators Association will have its annual convention in Orlando May 25 – 27, which is immediately after NRB.

We look forward to hearing from you about other events you know about to share info with others, as well as about how you might find a partner in Buoyancy PR to help you promote your books.