Faith Wins in Pandemic Parable

Guatemalan professor wins first prize in Spanish writing contest We challenged writers around the world to enter a series of five writing contests in English or Spanish starting in July. Katherine Alvarado de Estrada of Guatemala penned this parable on the theme of hope, winning our July Spanish-language contest, organized by MAI and Letra Viva.
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Undeserved

By John Maust “I have a dollar bill that I’m going to give to one of you,” Mr. Sechrist told us kids, suddenly alert, at summer vacation Bible School. This was nearly 60 years ago, a time when five cents could get you a soft drink at the local soda fountain, a pack of baseball
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When Hope Deflates

This parable by Stephanie Rische won first place  in our July writing contest. Contest judge Mary Horner Collins, a freelance editor with more than 20 years’ editorial experience at major Christian publishing houses, called her parable a “lovely, engaging story….good flow, tension and build-up with nice resolution at end.  It delivers a warm emotional impact and
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The Dawning of Hope

This parable by Roland Cubahiro of Burundi garnered runner-up honors in our first of five writing contests. Contest judge Mary Horner Collins, a freelance editor with more than 20 years’ editorial experience at major Christian publishing houses, called it “a fantasy-like parable with beautiful imagery and imaginative use of language. The story is complete and satisfying,
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New dates announced for LittWorld conference in Hungary: April 24-29, 2022

MAI announces new dates for the LittWorld global publishing conference in Hungary. The conference will be held April 24-29, 2022—six months later than previously announced. “Holding the conference in April 2022 offers many advantages,” MAI President John Maust said. “It will allow more time for participants to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, to regain their confidence
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A Prayer of Lament for Racism

By Christine Kindberg, U.S. My heart is broken over the callousness that killed George Floyd on May 25, and even more so because it is rooted in decades and centuries of valuing the lives of white people more than the lives of black people. This injustice and oppression run deep in U.S. culture; you can trace
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“What about Covid-19?” Publisher offers free book created in one week

By Yna Reyes I’m excited about this 80-page-book that OMF Literature produced in response to the crisis: WHAT ABOUT COVID-19: WHY? WHAT NOW? WHAT’S NEXT? It took our publications team only one week to put it together. It’s a compilation of 18 tough questions that many people have been asking in relation to COVID-19. We asked
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Are we building bridges or polarizing?

By Mark Carpenter, Brazil “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” -1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT) I was thinking of this verse
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Parabible: Bestseller in Central Europe’s most atheistic nation

Interview with Czech Author Sasha Flek Most Czechs don’t believe in God, says Biblion publisher and theologian Alexandr “Sasha” Flek. But his latest title, Parabible, has reached its sixth printing and 20,000 copies sold in just over a year. So, why are readers excited? We interviewed Sasha, an MAI-Europe Trustee. Tell us about Parabible. I
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Mexico: 23 year-old blogger offers hope to young women

“You are not alone.” Clouds of self-doubt nearly kept Pamela Trujillo Fernández from joining our writer workshop in Puebla, Mexico, this June. “I was forgetting my call and no matter how hard I tried, I could not get unstuck,” wrote the 23-year-old university student with a blog for young women. “But in the end I
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