By Nicole Ricks

Breathe Conference Returns

The annual Breathe conference is returning to Western Michigan.

“Breathe is a Christian writer’s workshop intended to equip and encourage,” said Cornerstone professor, Cynthia Beach, who is part of the planning committee.

The Breathe conference is for beginners as well as advanced writers, and all levels are invited to come. To encourage young writers in college to attend, Breathe is offering three scholarships to students at Cornerstone, as well as other Christian colleges such as Calvin, Aquinas, Kuyper, Hope and Cedarville. Students who receive these scholarships can attend the conference for $25, instead of the normal price of $125. 

 The conference started three years ago by the Writers’ Guild, a group of West Michigan writers serious about spirituality, including Beach and Ann Byle, another Cornerstone professor. Beach said it began as an “outgrowth of love for writing.”

 Beach said Breathe offers a “warm and tender atmosphere” where writers can improve their skills, but -just as important- connect with other writers. Unlike most writing conferences, Breathe is quite small, with around 50 attendees, on average. This gives it the added benefit of being much more personable.

 People attending this conference will have the chance to meet with the planning committee, workshop instructors and even the keynote speaker, Cecil Murphey, a bestselling author. The leaders at this conference have “no delusions of grandeur,” Byle said, and they “aren’t any different from other writers -just farther along the path.”

The goal of the conference is for writers to find renewal and encouragement. Beach said that it is hard for many beginning writers to believe that they have talent and skill. She hopes this conference will “add value to their writing” and allow them “to say yes.”

The Breathe conference offers 20 different workshops to choose from. These workshops include “Jump Start Your Writing Career,” taught by Byle, “Book Proposals: The Long and Short of It”, “Agenting 101”, “Clean Up Time: Taking a Second Look at Your Manuscript”, “Marketing Your Book: What Publishers and Booksellers Want to See”, and “The New World of Making Books: The Benefits of Self-Publishing.”

Breathe also offers very specialized workshops such as, “Devotionals and Bible Studies: Mining the Bible for Nuggets of Truth” and “I Think I Can, I Think I Can: Writing for Children, Ages 0-8.”

 The planning committee for Breathe has made sure to keep up with new trends in writing and has included workshops like “Taking Your Book One Step Further with Discussion Questions” and “Lights, Cameras, Action! Preparing Yourself for Media Interviews.” Each conference attendee can select up to five workshops to attend.

In addition to the workshops offered, there will also be two keynote addresses from Murphey. Murphey has published more than 100 books and is best known as the author of “90 Minutes in Heaven.” Murphey will be speaking about spirituality and writing.

His first address will take place Friday, Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public for $10. His second lecture is only for registered conference attendees and will be given at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17.  

The Breathe conference will take place Oct. 16-17 at Harvest Bible Chapel of West Olive. The church is located at 15020 Stanton, West Olive, Mich. The cost to attend both days is $125, but students with an ID can attend for only $75. To attend only one day, it is $75.  For more information and to register, visit their website at www.breatheconference.com.