Sometimes God Surprises Us

By John D. Maust, MAI President Sometimes God surprises us by doing something we did not imagine.  Has such a thing happened recently in MAI’s work? A friend wanted to know. One country came immediately to mind. Several years ago, we began doing some behind-the-scenes writer training in a closed nation of Southeast Asia.  Some
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Unique challenges of creating kids’ books

A lot of people think creating kids’ books is easy. After all, they’re short, right? Not according to Stephanie Rische, senior editor and team manager for children’s books and nonfiction at Tyndale House Publishers. Kids’ books come with unique challenges. Watch this 3-minute video to learn more. Consider the audience. For adult books, the same
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Three messages for nurturing local writers

Kara Lassen Oliver shares three key messages for nurturing local writers in the 2-minute video below. As a published author and a former missionary in Malawi, she is passionate about equipping and empowering writers in Africa to write and publish the materials they need to strengthen the Church. Developing local writers is about encouraging them
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Living the dream to educate underprivileged Indonesian children

A young author is on the fast track to fulfilling her dream of educating underprivileged children in Indonesia. A few months after our LittWorld 2015 conference, Tiur Faith Saj Purba, 25, launched her autobiographical book 0.1 Hectares School, published by Christian publisher Metanoia. She and co-author Ariska Amir tell describe Tiur’s childhood, attending a neighborhood
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We All Need An Editor

By Stephanie Rische When people hear I wrote a book after being an editor for over a dozen years, they often ask me: “So, since you’re an editor, you probably didn’t need much editing, right?” WRONG. Here’s the thing: I can be objective and incisive about other people’s stories, ruthlessly chopping out stories that need
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Producing Biblically-centered, Culturally-relevant Children’s Curriculum

Jeanette Windle is an award-winning novelist, author of 16 fiction titles, missions journalist, editor and collaborative writer. She grew up in South America, has lived in 6 countries and traveled in more than 30. Jeanette represents BCM International, whose core Genesis-to-Revelation children’s curriculum, Footsteps of Faith, and children’s ministry leadership training curriculum, In Step with
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Love Letters

By Joy Angela Valdez “Joy, girl, people don’t take time to write letters anymore. Snail mail is no longer in fashion!” My friend Marsha was lamenting once again the loss of yet another tradition. Although she is many years younger than me, like me, she has a heart for writing and mourns the death of
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Influence a Younger Generation

Do you want to be instrumental in changing a generation? Consider writing for youth. Pastor Ronald Molmisa of the Philippines authored the bestselling Lovestruck series by OMF Literature. His books about love, courtship and marriage influence teenagers and adolescents in particular. Consider these three W’s to be effective in writing for a younger generation: 1.
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Spirited Children’s Book Writing

What’s the secret of writing compelling children’s books? Learn tips from Emily Lim, an award-winning children’s author in Singapore. Watch the short video below for details. Be Less of a “Tell-Tale” Don’t narrate. Add dialogue, show action and create an emotional connection with your reader. Strong Beginning A compelling beginning will keep the reader turning
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Chile: Writers Gain Strong Foundation

Omar Cisneros had been a skeptic from an anti-Christian background.  But now he serves in his first pastorate, shepherding a small Baptist church. Pastor Omar  dreams of writing his own story to reach skeptics. (See front row in photo below.) In January he joined six other new writers for MAI’s creative writing workshop in Santiago,
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