The Earlham School of Religion is hosting their 19th Annual Ministry of Writing Colloquium on October 15th and 16th on their Richmond campus. Keynote speaker will be singer and songwriter Carrie Newcomer, who will speak to the topic “Spirituality and the Arts,” which will focus on the writing process and developing a unique voice and vision

Newcomer, a Quaker and Indiana native, says, “I have a real fascination with the mystery, with the questions that have no answers.” She writes and sings of the small joys and pains in life, of beauty discovered in the midst of the ordinary, of life experienced in the spaces between darkness and light—all with a measure of good humor and self awareness. For her, “songwriting is not about being clever, flashy or fancy; it is about telling a compelling story in language and music with elegance and clarity.”

In addition to the keynote address, the colloquium will offer workshops from published authors including ESR Alumnus Brent Bill and ESR professor Susan Yanos. Topics offered include Getting to "Yes" with a Publisher, Writing True: The Soul's Creative Work, and Enlarging the One Way Conversation: Ways of Connection with Your Reader. Lil Copan, Senior Editor with Paraclete Press, will be offering book proposal reviews for those who register for her session in advance.

The cost for the Colloquium is $65 per person, and includes breakfast, lunch and refreshments on the 16th. Undergrad and graduate college students can attend for a reduced cost of $25.

Participants are encouraged to attend a special evening reading with the workshop presenters on Friday, October 15th beginning at 6:30 pm, and an open mic night after the colloquium on the 16th, where participants can share readings from their own writing.

The Colloquium will be held in the ESR Center on the Earlham School of Religion campus, located at the corner of U.S. 40 West (Old National Road) and College Avenue in Richmond.

This ministry of writing event was created in honor of former ESR Dean Tom Mullen, who passed away on June 19, 2009. The Ministry of Writing Colloquium is one way ESR demonstrates its commitment to the written word as an important form of ministry.

For more information, visit http://esr.earlham.edu/?q=news-events/events/writers2010, call (800)432-1377 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (800)432-1377      end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or e-mail fordma@earlham.edu.

Earlham School of Religion is a Christian graduate theological school in the Quaker tradition, and prepares women and men for leadership that empowers and for ministry that serves.