Join us for the 2021 Asheville Christian Writers Conference

February 26, 27 and 28, 2021

The Asheville Christian Writers Conference is not a level of writing – it’s a battle cry. God calls us to step up and answer with the best work possible using the talents He has given. We are called together to focus our hearts on the task Christ assigned us . . . to strengthen our ties with one another and hone our craft of writing so we might effectively spread the Word of God through fiction and non-fiction books, screenplays, scripts, articles, and blogs.

ACWC is not a level of writing – it’s a battle cry.

NEW THIS YEAR! Join us for 2 1/2 days of intense work for as little as $135 as we stream LIVE! ACWC is both an in-person and virtual conference in 2021. If you wish to attend in person, we would love to see you! All the necessary safety precautions concerning COVID have been put in place with the Cove. If you are concerned about COVID and exposure, we will be streaming our classes. Conferees will also gain access to our class download page after the conference concludes.

On-campus housing at The Cove is extra. See the registration page for details and to register.

Benefits
of Attending

One-on-One
Mentoring

Financial
Scholarships

We are gearing up in faith!

SOOO, a special thank you to all those who replied to my last email about your commitment level to physically attend our 2021 conference. All but one pre-registered from the 2020 conference will be there.

I can tell you how much that meant to us - first, that you trust that God has this whole Covid thing in His hands, and second, that you are not afraid to step out. We will of course be taking every precaution to protect ourselves and you, not to mention all the Cove is doing. You can attend the conference with confidence.

What WILL happen: The State of North Carolina is still under a mandatory mask rule. Though as I write this, the NC governor will address the possibility of taking NC from phase 2 down to phase 3 today. This is a great thing for us. Everything we do hinges on the State mandates so if changes happen with covid, they may very well affect us.

We understand the controversy over masks, but in compliance with this rule, you will be required to wear a mask during our meeting time. If you do not feel you can manage this, then you may want to reconsider attendance and join us for live streaming. Our first priority is to protect those who attend.

Social distancing is mandatory as well. This is hard since writers tend to be huggers. So we ask that instead of a hug, you elbow bump.

Housing is limited to single rooms or double rooms. Double rooms are only available IF YOU HAVE A ROOMMATE. If you do not have a roommate you know and are comfortable with, then you will need to choose a single room. We will not be making room assignments this year simply because of the safety factor. ALL HOUSING REQUESTS COME TO ME. Please do not call the Cove and try to book a room. If you do not have a roommate that you've already talked to about attending, please choose a single room accommodation.

Room Payment - Invoices for the first half of your housing will go out next week. You will be provided with a link to Pay Pal where you can pay either in full or 1/2. Remember, your $25 you paid at the conference will be subtracted from the total amount.

Scholarships are iffy this year. Like every conference across the nation, finances are extremely tight due to covid. We cannot guarantee scholarships this year.

Moving from two tracks to one. Since we are working to have live streaming of the conference, logistics will require us to pare down our tracks from two to one. Our learning track this year will be solid and will meet your needs with flying colors. We meet with the tech dept. at the end of Sept. We will also being working with faculty to have them video record a class for us so that we are able to offer those recorded classes in our conference package. There is a lot of logistics. Bear with us. We're treading on new ground.

Right now, we need you to encourage your peers to attend. We will be presenting the live-streaming information in early October but don't let that deter you from attending in person. We want you there.

After our meeting with the Cove today, they're reporting folks are attending conferences, feeling very safe, and truly enjoying the fellowship - so the Cove is up and running. Just so you know, I attended a conference in PA in July. I flew there. Everything was great. Folks wore masks, social distanced, and things went beautifully. The flight was safe. This can be done with cooperation and care.

Finally, we are praying for you. Praying for your health and well-being, praying for your decision to attend. Praying for safety and that God will do amazing things in the midst of what seems to be crisis.

Please pray with us for this to be successful and wonderful.

Cindy Sproles, Director
Asheville Christian Writers Conference

MP3's Available Sunday, March 29

3/27/2020 10:25:00 AM BY Cindy

MP3’s AVAILABLE.

A big thank you to our Christian Devotions Speak Up Host Emeritis, Scott McCausey for preparing our MP3s and adding them to the site. You will be able to access these, Sunday, March 29. A blanket email to all who purchased the mp3s will go out at 7 p.m. Sunday evening and it will contain the passcode for the page and instructions on how to download. All the mp3s are listed on the page.

These are available until April 30, 2020 and after that date the page will come down. Please download your MP3s immediately. Otherwise the page will vanish after April 30. You will then have to contact me.

One other thing, we were unable to record Edie Melson’s early bird class due to technical difficulties with the equipment at Ridgecrest. SOOOO, Edie has told us to use the 2019 mp3. This should give you everything.

Remember, SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 7:00 p.m. the email will go out.

Cindy

DEBRIEF - AFTER THE 2020 CONFERENCE

3/10/2020 6:43:00 PM BY Cindy Sproles

What can I say? Except WOW!

What a wonderful conference. Despite the attempts to have us derailed, everything went well. So, I felt it best to do a little debrief.

Now that you've had time to get home, rest, and absorb I hope you are finding what you learned and the friends you made are amazing.

What do we want you to walk away with?
1) The importance of the call from God upon your life to be a writer for Him
2) The importance of making it about Him and not about you
3) The importance of learning to wait on His timing
4) The vital skill of learning the craft of writing so that you produce the best work you can
5) Practice, practice, practice. Enter contests. Submit. JUST DO IT.
6) Fall deeper in love with this wonderful journey God has placed you on.

If we've helped you see those things, then we have been successful.

What do we hope is next?
Well, February 26-28, 2021 at the Cove, Asheville, NC is our next conference. In the meantime, we hope you'll stretch your wings and test the waters at some larger conferences. Linda Gilden has the Carolina Christian Writers Conference, Eva Marie Everson has the Florida and the North GA Christian Writers Conferences. Edie Melson has Mountainside Marketing, the fall retreat, and also Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Just to name a few.

For those who paid the $25 to hold your room at the Cove, please don't jump the gun and pay in full until I send you an invoice. Folks forget they paid that $25 and it will come off your total. I have your names and your email addresses and I will notify you around August. I will ask if you still plan to attend and verify the room choice. PLEASE NOTE: If I do not hear from you in the specified time, your spot is placed back into the available rooms for new conferees and the $25 goes into our scholarship fund. So when I email you, please respond. If you cannot attend, it is your responsibility to let me know.

CHECK THE WEBSITE - Continue to check the website newsletter page for updates on the 2021 conference. You will always be informed if you keep checking the site.

A FEW HOUSEKEEPING RULES - Just so you know. Our conference, Ridgecrest Conference Center, and the Billy Graham Training Center are both SMOKE FREE and ALCOHOL FREE (Vaping and drug free) conferences and campuses. Please remember when you attend a Christian Conference to check the site of the conference and also of the venue and verify their policies. Never assume. Always check the policies. It is not my business what you choose to do at home, but we are bound by liability insurance, venue policies, and our ministry policies. Please help us by leaving these items at home.

BOOKING FOR 2021 - We were able to book additional rooms at Ridgecrest because of their size and availability. And I was happy to do that, however, we do not have this privilege at the Cove. We have 60 rooms reserved for CONFEREES ONLY. If your spouse wishes to attend with you there are two options. 1) They register as a conferee and pay for the conference or 2) you register as off campus and secure your own hotel room at one of the 3 hotels at the foot of the Cove. The Cove charges us per person and with an all inclusive price. Your housing and meals, also your conference fees are included in the price you register under. Our ministry cannot book rooms on campus for additional family members. The Cove is a 501c3 and their non-profit status requires that for you to stay ON CAMPUS, you must be registered for a conference or event. This is not our policies, these are the polices set in place by the Cove to protect their non-profit status. We cannot book rooms for NON-conferees. . .so heads up in your planning.

I know conferences are an investment. We manage to make funds for the things we really want to do. So start saving your quarters. Pray for provision and for guidance in how and which conferences to attend and then listen.

Our website will open in Early May for registration for the 2021 conference. But if you'd like a hint of faculty...Well...
Returning alumni - Bob Hostetler, Eva Marie Everson, and Edie Melson.
Sarah Thomas, Nancy Lohr, and a cool surprise in this field.
New Faculty - The amazing best selling author, Lynette Eason (and a couple of surprises yet to be announced)
Mentors - Linda Gilden, Yvonne Lehman, Larry Leech, and Eddie Jones

This is only a fraction of our faculty and invitations have already been extended to the remaining faculty. Hang on. We'll announce the full faculty in May. We look forward to what God has in store.

ONTO THE NEWS

MP3s are in production! Don't fret. It takes about a month or just over for all these mp3s to be completed. I have sent them to Scott this past week. It took me a week or so to get them in order and uploaded so Scott could step in. He will edit, add the intros and smooth them out, then send them back.

Here's how the MP3 delivery will work:
*When they are on the password protected page, I will send you an email. You will then receive the passcode for the page. The mp3s will be on the page for just over a month when the page is then taken down. I encourage you to make a file on your desk top and down load them as soon as we make the available. It's an easy process. If you are not good on the computer, grab a local teenager from your church - or better yet, a 5-year-old. They tend to do better at technology than the pros. In the mean time, be patient. It takes a few weeks to get this ready. We will let you know via email when they are available.

Also, since we missed Edie Melson's early bird class due to technical difficulty, we are pulling her early bird session from 2019. Edie teaches this class for us yearly. So don't fret, you'll get her class. There may be a couple of differences but overall, it's the same class.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU

I cannot thank you enough for your kindness, letters, notes, and calls as Tim and I walked this cancer path. I was thrilled for him to attend the conference with me, and yes...I am a helicopter wife over him since surgery. He wasn't ready to be left alone at home and though we did experience a few issues with him at the conference, I was grateful I had him with me so we could walk through the post-surgical crazies together. He is doing beautifully. And if you do not follow me on Facebook then you need to know that we did get the final pathology report and my prince is CANCER FREE. So thank you so much for your prayers. We felt them and we saw them in action. Thank you a million times over. We still have some tests and things to do over the next year or two, but trust me...with the prayers that have gone up in his behalf, the gates of heaven shook!

Finally, continue to practice your writing. Don't grow discouraged. Re-read your marching orders. Pray. Write.

Until MAY...I wish you good writing. You are loved. You are prayed for. May God bless your efforts.

ONE LAST THOUGHT TO CHEW ON . . .

The Church – The Bride
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. – Revelation 21:2 NIV

I've never experienced the church like this until Tim grew ill. There has always been love, and welcoming arms, but to truly "experience" the Church Christ envisioned – wow. It is the most amazingly simple, yet complex, thing ever. I liken it to a beehive or an ant colony, where every need is seen, and nothing goes undone.

A month out from surgery and the worker bees still make their way to our door. Even when we said, we're good, the bees said, “Nope, you still need.” And their work continues.

I know that Christ is looking down with a huge smile. He must nod in approval as His children do His bidding. Listen to His call. It is truly and abiding kindness.

When John penned his vision of heaven, he spoke of the church as a bride beautifully dressed and waiting for her husband. What an amazing picture to paint. The church clad in the joyful beauty of a bride and Christ as her husband. It was the best way he could gather his descriptive thoughts of all the church really is. After centuries of preparing for the most exciting day of her life, this bride stood in all her glory waiting to be taken in arms.

We are daily experiencing THE CHURCH at our house as the stream of workers who care and nurture to the glory of the King keep coming. It is an extremely simple, yet utterly complex plan God has put in place. It’s perfect. And what we heard after the conference was that you felt blessed and loved. You felt prayed for. Cared for. Thought of. And you were and still are. The Church comes in a variety of forms but when we see her in action - when we feel her work, then we are blessed and God is pleased.

I spoke to our minister on the phone recently and said to him, “We’ve seen the true church at work. We've seen it in the results of this conference. We've seen in the generosity of God's people to provide an awesome donation for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and in the results of being cared for through Tim's illness. It's something to behold.”

He sighed into the phone and replied, “And she’s a beautiful bride, isn’t she?”

“Indeed, she is.” I said. "Indeed, she is."

If I were to ever wonder what it means to be fully loved in Christ it would be through the actions of His bride as she prepares for her wedding day. Everything has been lovingly cared for. It’s all in place. Her preparations were set in play by her obedience, her willingness to do as He bided, as He taught, as He loved. And it was all “good.” She is ready.

Work on your writing. Make it the best it can be. We can't wait for the results. In the meantime, prepare your heart. Be ready for the day the groom comes for His bride. It’s a celebration you don’t want to miss.

Blessings to you all.

Cindy Sproles
Director, Asheville Christian Writers Conference

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