When a Fish Marries a Bird

By Pusonnam Yiri, Nigeria The following excerpts are from the author’s chapter in our new book, African Writers: A Journey in Writing. Imagine a leaf dropping from a tree’s branch with no hope of surviving, then suddenly getting another chance to be reattached to the tree and live even better than before. For me, becoming
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What Are the Biggest Challenges in Training Writers?

By Miriam Adeney Great literary skills aren’t required, but writers do need: A passion to communicate to their people A mature Christian worldview Teachability Perseverance An honorable reputation in their community Here are four challenges that I’ve encountered, and what I’ve learned from them: (1)Don’t teach too much. Instead, include plenty of time to write.
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A Prayer for Writers & Publishers

Join us in this prayer for creating words of hope and healing in 2019: “Lord of all things, whose wondrous gifts to us Include the shining symbols known as words, Grant that we may use their mighty power Only for God. Help us pass on Small fragments of Your wisdom, truth and love, Teach us
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Healing Words for the Wounded

By Robert M. Solomon While preaching a Sunday sermon in a church, I used the story of Stephen the martyr in Acts 6-7 as an illustration. Why was Jesus mentioned as standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56)? His standard posture elsewhere in Scripture was to be seated. Was it because in these
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One Woman’s Quest

Goading local writers is a task Joanna Ilboudo takes seriously. “I always start with this shocking phrase: ‘Please don’t die without sharing your God-given idea for future generations!'” Not surprisingly, writers in her August workshop have started penning articles. Joanna has doggedly pursued a vision to multiply Christian writers in Burkina Faso for nearly three
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Lebanese Novelist Inspired by Prisoners’ Lives

Author Samy Maarouf of Lebanon often gets inspired by his frequent talks with inmates. “I hear a lot of tragedies and true stories,” he said. In the last five years, five of his novels have been published, including an e-book that was posted online chapter by chapter. His second novel, The Lost Dances, (Dar Al
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How transparent should we be for our readers?

“Mom, are you writing about me again?” My daughter sounded offended. “Again everyone will look at me, ‘Are you the girl who doesn’t like to apologize?’” I hugged her and showed her the letter I was writing was not about her. But her question made me think—she had a right to be disappointed. I had
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Exploring good vs. evil in Christian fantasy

Interview with award-winning author Joan Campbell Learn how author Joan Campbell of South Africa got started writing fantasy novels for young adults. Her first novel, Chains of Gwyndorr, won a gold medal for young adult fiction in the 2017 Illumination Book Awards. Recently the MAI trainer was interviewed about how her family and faith journey
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God can have a voice

Last month eight men and women gathered in a secluded hotel for their first-ever clandestine Christian writer workshop. Christianity is not recognized in this Asian nation, and the consequences of following Jesus are daunting. Faith can land believers in prison, exclude them from family and community, and deprive them of employment. Although sharing the Gospel
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The Challenge for American Christian Authors

By Dan Balow The majority of Christian books published every year are written in English by authors in the United States. U.S. Christian publishers in a billion dollar industry publish many thousands of new titles every year. Still, I am not sure all American authors who desire to have their books spread across the globe
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