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By Lloyd Mackey
 | | Dr. Kevin Dautremont (right), winner of the Best New Canadian Christian Author Award, with award sponsor Larry Willard (left), Publisher, Castle Quay Books Canada. Photos by Bridget Bates |
"THE MOST serious challenge in Canada today is [to] intellectual freedom," according to Denyse O'Leary, a science author who was one of the keynote speakers at a Christian writers' conference in Guelph, Ontario last week.
O'Leary, speaking at a June 13 plenary session at Write! Canada, suggested that "increasingly, under our 14 human rights commissions and tribunals, governments and their appointed minders restrict what we can say, think or do, supposedly in our own interests, but certainly in theirs."
Further, she suggested, "they attract, in the Christian community, individuals who are glad to help do the minding.
"So far as I can see, the current government supports this situation, and will do its best to keep it in place."
O'Leary, along with Mario Beauregard, is co-author of The Spiritual Brain: A Neuroscientist's Case for the Existence of the Soul (Harper-Collins). In addressing the issue of intellectual freedom, she was lining up behind a current pushback on the seemingly formidable power of human rights commissions to limit free speech.
O'Leary referenced a recent Mark Steyn-authored article in Maclean's about growing Muslim influence, which was subject to a complaint argued earlier this month before the BC Human Rights Commission.
"I have read the Maclean's article in question and, while some might wish to contest various matters in it, the notion that it constitutes hate is a wakeup call to every one of us," she said.
Noting that Canada's 26-year-old Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees "freedom of thought, conscience and belief," O'Leary suggested that concept is "slowly being eroded by the 'human rights' system -- which I call the 'human' face of fascism."
While "those who seek to undermine intellectual freedom in Canada aim very frequently (but not only) at Christians," she maintained the aim of such people is to consolidate "their own power over society."
Tackling some of the recent practical challenges to Christian book writing and publishing, O'Leary pointed out that the market "is increasingly restricted to people who approach a publisher with a guaranteed existing audience . . . Securing an audience in advance has become a key task for the writer."
Her comments reflected an underlying current of concern at the conference, attended by some 200 writers, journalists and authors from across Canada.
The concern was predicated by the shutdown of the Canadian arm of the Christian Booksellers' Association one year ago, as well as the closure of close to 20 bookstores nationwide in the Blessings and Christian Publications chains earlier this year.
But, despite the concerns and cautions, the conference mood was upbeat, from the moment the gala awards night got underway the evening prior to the event's commencement on June 12.
The recipient of this year's Leslie K. Tarr Award for career achievement was Connie Brummel Crook of Peterborough.
Crook is the author of nine young adult novels and three children's picture books. All her titles portray Canadian history and are widely used in public school classrooms and libraries.
An English teacher in the public system for 30 years, Crook took up writing after retirement, having been encouraged by attending a God Uses Ink conference in 1989. (GUI was Write! Canada's predecessor.)
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Two of her book subjects were suffragette leader Nellie McClung and War of 1812 heroine Laura Secord. Both, Crook points out, were clearly-committed Christians.
One of the awards involved BC Christian News. In the Book Review category, the winner was political scientist John Redekop, for his assessment of Lloyd Mackey's Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press, 2006). It was the second win for a review of Mackey's Harper book. The previous was in 2006, for the writing of Deborah Gyapong in the Catholic Register.
The conference program addressed several practical aspects of the author and writer acceptance issue through workshops, critiquing sessions, worship, book sales and one-on-ones with agents, publishers' representatives and editors.
 | | John Franklin, Executive Director of Imago receiving the Partnership Award from Les Lindquist, The Word Guild Board Chair and N. J. Lindquist, Co-Founder of The Word Guild. |
One veteran agent is Abbotsford-bred Les Stobbe, who, now in his mid-70s, works with authors in both the United States and Canada from his home in North Carolina. He noted that there "are always good writers and authors to be encouraged" at this event and others. His task, he said, is to evaluate manuscripts or chapter outlines and try linking potential authors with the appropriate publisher.
Another workshop favourite was Teresa Evenson of Oregon, with a five hour session on 'Making Yourself Marketable: Insights from a National Publicist.'
This year's Write! Canada marked a new sense of autonomy for The Word Guild (TWG), the 300-plus member group of Christian writers that sponsors the conference, through its tying in with a nationally-incorporated charity, Christian Info Canada. By electing the board for CIC, the group would now have the ability to build capacity in the development funding area, said Les Lindquist, president of CIC and husband of TWG co-founder N. J. Lindquist.
Attenders at the conference also learned about Hot Apple Cider, an anthology initiated by TWG and featuring short stories and essays by 31 published authors who are members of the guild.
Through a shared support arrangement involving World Vision Canada, 30,000 copies of the book will be made available to Girls' Night Out (GNO) events across Canada. The authors will earn royalties for sales in addition to the GNO distribution.
CIC was formerly chaired by book publisher John Irwin and was used in recent years for Christian newspaper development in Ontario. It continues to be the accountability group for OttawaWatch, a weekly Parliament Hill analysis by Lloyd Mackey.
Noted TWG executive director Sandra Reimer: "Many writers commented on meeting just the right people at the right time. There were many of what they called 'divine appointments.'"
And some attenders, as well, were receiving "doses of reality, that they will have to process when they get home. They realize that long term results in writing require a lot of hard work and patience."
For co-founder Lindquist, "it seemed many left the conference with a glint in their eye. They knew they were going home knowing what the next step would be, no matter what level they were at with their writing."
And her co-founder compatriot, Wendy Elaine Nelles, said: "I and others appreciated (Wilfrid Laurier University prof) David Haskell's class on writing from a Christian worldview in the post-modern era. He spoke of the concept of humbly winning peoples hearts incrementally."
Speaking overall of the conference, Nelles noted: "When people say that the event was a life changing experience, it is moving and affirming in terms of the thousands of hours of work that the dozens of volunteers have put in."
June 19/2008
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