Franciscan Way Winter 2003 - Franciscan University of Steubenville

Put a playwright and a poet together
and you’re bound to come up with
something very creative. That’s just what
happened when Drama Professor Shawn
Dougherty and English Professor Dr.
David Craig teamed up to organize and
host Franciscan University of Steubenville’s
first Catholic Writers Festival,
September 13-15, 2002.
Dougherty originally conceived of
the idea as a theater event. “I wanted to
bring Dr. Kazimierz Braun to the
University to speak,” said Dougherty.
“David Craig wanted to do a writers’
festival, and so the two ideas became one
sometime during the spring of 2002.”
Through funding from individual
University departments, a grant from the
AMDG Foundation, and the generosity
of many of the speakers who presented at
no cost, the two organized the festival.
In the end 50 presenters, including such
renowned Catholic writers as Ron
Hansen, Dr. Ralph McInerny, Joseph
Pearce, Bud Macfarlane, Jr., and Barbara
Nicolosi, 150 non-student participants,
and 100 University students attended.
Representatives from major Catholic
publishing houses—Ascension Press,
Emmaus Road, FrancisIsidore Electronic
Press, Loyola Press, Our Sunday Visitor,
Servant, and Sophia Institute Press—
were on hand to help would-be authors
learn how to fine-tune their book
proposals, as were editors from publications
such as Faith Magazine, National
Catholic Register, Lay Witness, This Rock,
and Saint Austin Review.
Naturally, Franciscan University
alumni presenters and participants
populated the festival.
John Mallon MA ’93, former editor
Catholic Writers Gather for a
Fellowship of the Pens
of Oklahoma City’s The Sooner Catholic
and contributing editor of Inside the
Vatican, led a workshop on “Crashing
the Secular Media: Keeping Alive the
Lewis/Chesterton Tradition.” Describing
himself as an accidental journalist,
Mallon explained how a letter to the
editor of a Boston daily launched his
writing career.
“Following the priest scandal, we
face an unusual opportunity,” said
Mallon. “The Church is in the news.
Good editors at leading newspapers want
to hear from those who support the
Church. Their own columnists and
reporters are writing about the bad news,
and they want to hear from the other
side.”
Mallon shared methods for submitting
opinion pieces to the editors of
secular magazines, newspapers, and Web
sites. He encouraged writers to do their
research, keep the emotion to a minimum,
and to use logic and humor.
Franciscan University professor and
National Catholic Register columnist Dr.
Benjamin Wiker presented a session on
“Writing and Marketing of Op/Ed
Pieces for Both Catholic and Secular
Presses.” Wiker described the three types
of opinion pieces, shared tricks of the
trade, and spoke of the importance of
timing. He encouraged writers to “start
small and write big” and to “illuminate
the ephemeral with the eternal.”
Emily Snyder ’99 gave a presentation
on fantasy writing titled “Tolkien on
the Roof.” She received many laughs
when she announced, “Tolkien is dead.
Get over it,” wearing elf ears. “He’s not
writing anything new.”
The founder of The Christian Guide
By Tim Drake
University Professor Dr. Regis Martin presides
over mock trial proceedings of Director Peter
Jackson for the “desecration” of The Lord of
the Rings.
to Fantasy (www.christianfantasy.net),
Snyder explained that many Catholics
think they can “rest on Tolkien’s laurels.”
Instead, she challenged attendees,
telling them that it was their responsibility
as Catholic writers to take up where
he left off. Snyder also spoke of the
special needs of fantasy writing, such as
creating valid worlds with rules and laws.
Catholics United for the Faith
president and Lay Witness publisher
Leon Suprenant, Jr., MA ’95 co-hosted a
session on “Publishing and Editing for
Dummies: Starting and Running a
Successful Small Publishing House”
based upon his experience with
Steubenville-based Emmaus Road
Publishing.
Regina (Doman ’92) Schmiedicke,
author of Snow White and Rose Red: A
16 Franciscan Way
M. Skees