Mount Hermon Press Release

Mount Hermon’s 37^th annual Christian Writers Conference, April 7-11, 2006 attracted about 400 participants, including 70 faculty/staff from all over the country.

In a closing night ceremony, Carol Lee Hall of Fremont, CA, was awarded a $100 prize as the most promising new fiction writer by Janet Grant of the Books & Such Agency in Santa Rosa, CA. The WinePress Publishing Poetry Award of $200 was given to Marcy Weydemuller from Concord, CA.

Susan Meissner from Mountain Lake, MN, was named Writer of the Year. The award carried a $200 cash prize from Alive Communications in Colorado, who also sponsored a $150 prize for the “Pacesetter Award,” given to B.J. Taylor of Huntington Beach, CA.

Thirty states and three foreign countries were represented (Japan, San Salvador, Canada), with California attracting the largest contingency, and runners-up including Texas with 25, Washington with 17, Nevada with 12, and Oregon with 10. Over 20 ordained minister were part of the registration total, plus seven teenagers, who had a special track of classes just for them.

Faculty and staff came from most of the major Christian publishing houses and magazines, including a number of successful freelance authors. The intensive, four-night conference offered over 70 workshops and 12 tracks of concentrated study. A new career track this year gave specialized guidance to experienced authors with at least two published books each.

The conference is sponsored by and held at the Mount Hermon Christian Camps and Conference Center near Santa Cruz, CA, the oldest such facility west of the Mississippi, founded in 1906. Nearly $8,000 in scholarships, based on financial need, was awarded participants. Host and music leader was David Talbott, Mount Hermon’s director of adult ministries.