Realm Makers 2016
Year four is in the books. Realm Makers, a writers’ conference for those with a speculative bent, combined with a faith-based worldview, is the brainchild of Becky Minor. Each of the conferences to date has been bigger and better.
This video, a teaser for the 2016 conference, gives a good flavor of what Realm Makers is all about.
Any number of conferees tweeted about the conference and their experience. Others, such as Steve Laube and Mike Duran, wrote blog posts. We must not leave out Facebook which also had any number of conferees sharing their experience. And then there is Instagram, with all the pictures telling the story of another successful conference.
Besides fun and workshops, there were contest winners.
Nadine Brandes and Sara E. Morin won the first ever Excellence in Editing Awards.
Kirk DouPonce once again won the Parable Award for the best cover design.
Genre award winners included Kerry Nietz in the Supernatural/Horror/Other category and John Otte in the Sci-fi category.
The first ever Realm Award went to Carrie Noble.
Plans for next year are already in the works, and this time the conference will be moving west. As per Saturday’s Spec Faith news item, Ted Dekker will head up the lineup for the conference to be held in Reno, Nevada.
For many of us, Realm Makers serves as a beacon, a tangible piece of evidence that speculative fiction is alive and well among Christians. We love it, we watch it, we read it, and we write it. May our tribe increase!
I missed the first year because it was the same weekend as the Greater Philly conference and I was already on faculty. HOWEVER, I never want to miss it again. Ever. Becky and I talked about this before it came to be and I thought it was a great idea then, but it’s more than that. It’s professional. It honors God. It’s fun, informative, engaging and more. I’ve been for the last 3 years and I’ve never sensed a spirit of jealousy or competition. There’s a genuine feeling of support when a Realmie is successful in any way. I’ve learned, grown, laughed and cried. And I’ve found my Tribe.
I pray God will be gracious and allow me to never miss another Realm Makers conference!
Becky, you’re coming next year, right? You have no excuse. It’s almost in your back yard.
I certainly want to, Phyllis. We’ll see what God has planned.
Becky
Realm Makers was incredible this year! Very inspiring and challenging. Plus it was great seeing old friends and meeting new ones. And has left me with so much to reflect on, write on and anticipate for next year!
And this, folks, was a comment from our founding father, that is, of Speculative Faith. 🙂 Welcome back, Stuart!