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The Catholic Writers Guild, in partnership with the Catholic Marketing Network, is excited to offer its fourth-annual Writers Conference Live, Aug. 29-31, at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas. The conference will be held in conjunction with the Catholic Marketing Network's international trade show.

The theme for this conference is "Writing and the New Evangelization." The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in writing about the New Evangelization, has said that all Catholics are called to first evangelize themselves and then "... go forth to evangelize. In a special way, the New Evangelization is focused on 're-proposing' the Gospel to those who have experienced a crisis of faith."

This theme goes hand in hand with the Catholic Writers Guild's call for all Catholic writers to faithfully reflect and support the Magisterium's teachings regardless of what genre they write. The motto for the guild is "Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam" ("All for the Glory of God"). Every piece of writing, they believe, can be done for that purpose. At this year's conference many of the offerings will help attendees learn how, as writers or illustrators, they can participate in the New Evangelization during the upcoming Year of Faith.

Speakers at this year's conference include EWTN's Teresa Tomeo and Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR, Catholic publishing representatives Claudia Volkman of Servant Books/St. Anthony Messenger Press and Mike Marshall of FAITH Catholic Publishing. Catholic authors Ellen Hrkach, Patti Armstrong, Ann Margaret Lewis, and author and blogger Sarah Reinhard will also offer seminars on writing, marketing, social networking and more.

Attendees will have the opportunity to obtain writing critiques, receive the sacraments and meet with publishers in one-on-one pitch sessions. A special Friday blogging program with the Catholic New Media Conference will also be available. The conference and trade show offer Catholic authors and artists an opportunity to share their faith and their work with editors, publishers, fellow writers and bookstore owners from across the globe. Guild members with books will also have an opportunity to be interviewed by EWTN's Doug Keck.

Registration is open and includes free admission to the trade show. Priests and religious are offered free admission but are required to register. The combined cost for the conference and trade show is $70 for Guild members, $75 for non-members and $40 for students. There's also a discounted combined membership. To register or get more information, go to the Catholic Writers Conference's website: www.catholicwritersconference.com.

The Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show is an international gathering of Catholic publishers, bookstores, retailers, media, speakers, musicians and other professionals dedicated to the distribution of authentic Catholic materials.

The Catholic Writers Guild is a non-profit organization of faithful Catholic writers, artists, editors and illustrators and is affiliated with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. The Guild sponsors both this live conference in August and an online conference in February to further its mission of promoting Catholic literature.

"Our conferences are totally focused on encouraging faithful Catholics to share genuine Catholic culture and faith in their writing no matter what genre," says Guild President Ann Margaret Lewis. "These events are integral to our mission of creating a rebirth of Catholic arts and letters."

— Annette Tenny, correspondent