8th Annual “Promising Beginnings” Writing Contest
Because I believe in the power, impact, and influence of Christian writers’ conferences, I hold an annual contest in which two prizes are awarded: a full scholarship to the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference(including meals and economy lodging) and a full scholarship to the SoCal Christian Writers’ Conference(including meals and dorm lodging plus reimbursement of travel expenses up to $300).
I received almost a hundred entries this year, and it’s never easy to pick just one winner! But I always pray that the Holy Spirit will lead to me to whoever He wants to attend the conference, who wouldn’t be able to go without this scholarship.
Last year, Tom
This year, the nonfiction winner is … (Drum roll, please!)

Carol Bond Wagner with her Bible study God Is Out to Get Us: From the Very Beginning. She will be going to the Mount Hermon conference. Carol is an author and Bible teacher whose work can be found on Amazon and other outlets.
In fiction, the finalist judges had such a hard time choosing between two entries I decided to award a scholarship to the SoCal conference to both of them:

Megan Besing with Moore than a

Alison Treat with Come Along Home. Alison writes about freedom, her own and that of others. She is the author of
Congratulations, Carol, Megan, and Alison! I am confident that God has great plans for blessing you abundantly at these conferences. I look forward to hearing your stories!
For those who didn’t win, I hope you will consider attending one or both of these conferences. If you can’t afford the full price, I encourage you to apply for a partial scholarship. (Go to http://writers.mounthermon.org/registrationfor information on how to apply for a “campership.” Go to www.socalcwc.com/volunteerfor a list of ways you can earn a full or partial working scholarship.)
If the Lord provides, I hope to run this contest again next year. So keep developing your writing skills and check my blog, newsletter, and social media next fall for announcements of the 9th annual Promising Beginnings Contest!
January 7, 2019 @ 5:38 pm
Thank you so much for this contest!
January 8, 2019 @ 3:17 am
Thank you for your generosity, Kathy! I’m very excited to be going to the conference.
January 8, 2019 @ 10:47 am
Congratulations, Megan and Alison. How exciting! Looking forward to hearing what God does with your manuscripts. 🙂
January 8, 2019 @ 11:39 am
Thank you so much for this opportunity, Kathy! I cannot express how much this means to me. Looking forward to April. 🙂
January 11, 2019 @ 7:54 am
Congratulations Megan, Alison, and Carol! Kudos for submitting. I’ll be at Mount Hermon as the rep for the Guideposts family of magazines. I hope to say hello to you there Carol. What a wonderful year you are going to have!
February 12, 2019 @ 2:38 pm
Congratulations! I know that you’ll love the Writers’ Conferences, I went to the Mount Hermon Writers’ Conference and connected with IVPRess editor there, and that’s how I was able to learn about the publishing process and become a published author.