CRT25 - a retreat to remember!

        

         I am astounded that there seem to be no blogs about this year’s Christian Resources Together Conference (CRT25) on 3rd-4th September -  so here is my very personal feedback.

It is difficult for me to get away to anything writerly nowadays because of my husband’s health. So I signed up absolutely at the last minute when my eldest daughter had decided she’d like to spend a day with her Dad. I wanted to go to the retreat because I had always found it boosted my writing to meet booksellers and publishers as well as Christian writers. There is a huge buzz around CRT that is difficult to put into words - a frenzy of friendships, a merging of ideas, a cluster of colleagues, a wide range of new people to meet, all concerned with the writing trade.

I’m no stranger to CRT, having first attended at about a week’s notice when I took over as acting Chair of ACW, so with several retreats in between, I knew what I was expecting for CRT25. However, it was the first time I’d travelled from West Norfolk to Swanwick on my own having previously been offered lifts or shared the driving. I was tantalisingly close before I became lost in Swanwick, so arrived feeling rushed and very tired.

My motivation, together with a strong cup of coffee, pulled me into the main exhibition hall, before I had even found my room. To get the best from the conference, I aimed to talk to publishers about two of my nearly-ready books and mention another one I was thinking about to see if there was any interest. My mission was successfully accomplished on the first day, before mid-afternoon.

This was despite attending all the events I could. 

The main speakers this year were exemplary with all of them keeping their talks very God-centred. Gavin Calver and Phil Knox did a wonderful double act about the Evangelical Alliance and the quiet revival. The speakers, together with the sheer joy of worshipping with a huge hall of Christians from many denominations, made it the holiest CRT conference I had attended. The music was led by Bryn Haworth.

We writers were provided with an update on ACW as an organisation about to rebrand, a presentation from Broad Place Publishers and a panel discussion. These, in turn, helped our feeling of belonging, gave us a new option and way of thinking about publication and an opportunity to ask questions about anything to do with writing.

The Awards Evening began with Bryn again, not only leading us in some worship but also playing his own set while sharing his life story and how God had impacted on his life. Nick Page was our entertaining and encouraging speaker before the award giving began. The awards are not dull by any means, with recipients and presenters being interesting and often comical. A quiet moment came when a touching short video paid homage to those in the book trade who had died during the year.

When the awards resumed, there were great cheers when ACW members were mentioned, with one of Ruth Leigh’s Issy Smugge books being chosen for the ACW award. There was a strong sense of family through the evening as our brothers and sisters in Christ were honoured and cheered.

On the Thursday there were morning devotions led by Lindisfarne Scriptorium. I didn’t make it this year, but I know from previous years what a special, holy time this can be. After breakfast our speaker was Patrick Reagan, who presented his latest publication which is an accessible book on overcoming mental health problems. A most encouraging talk by a successful author and mental health campaigner.

This is becoming a little long for an ACW blog, but I imagine you know by now that I loved the conference. It was beautifully put together by Alex McDonald and Jon Adams. Alex was the able compère throughout. All their hard work reaped a wonderful blessing on those who attended.

I can’t wait for CRT26. I might even have two freshly minted books to add to the ACW bookstall, which I forgot to mention earlier! 

And did I tell you about the free books?

Annie Try writes contemporary fiction for adults and young adults. She is published by Instant Apostle and Kevin Mayhew. She is now venturing into new territory with a dystopian novel to be published next year.