Hey there.
It’s Sunday and I’m writing this from the Atlanta airport hoping to beat the storms out of here and get back to New York. But even if I get stuck the trip will have been worth it. I’ve spent the weekend at Stone Mountain helping with a GUIDEPOSTS writers workshop. Do you know about the GUIDEPOSTS workshoppers? They are the editorial eyes and ears of the magazine. Without the workshoppers we would have a hard time finding all the material for GUIDEPOSTS, ANGELS ON EARTH, DAILY GUIDEPOSTS and Guideposts.com. So how do you get to be a workshopper?
Every two years we hold a contest for people who’d like to learn how to write for GUIDEPOSTS. From the five thousand or so entries we get we chose 15 to join us in Rye, New York, for a week-long workshop where we share inspirational first-person stories. Now you are officially a workshopper and that entitles you to attend our mini-workshops, which we hold two of around the country every year. You bring a story and we work on it for publication in the magazine.
Workshoppers are quintessentially GUIDEPOSTS. They write their own personal stories and scour their communities for stories that will inspire readers. They account for nearly a third of the material in every issue of the magazine. Marion Bond West started out as a workshopper. So did Sue Monk Kidd. But most remain semi-anonymous…so I’d like to say thanks to this workshop’s attendees: Karen Barber, Mary Lou Carney, Ricki Distin, Shawnelle Eliasen, Julie Garmon, Jennifer Gentlesk, Jennie Ivey, Sharon Mangas, Monica Morris, Joyce Nutta, Ginger Rue and Stephanie Thompson. You all worked hard and we had a great time. Also I promised Marion Bond West I’d correct something we got wrong in her story in the May issue: She uses Medicare and NOT Medicaid. Sorry, Marion.
All right. It looks like we are going to take off. I guess I’ll make it home after all. But as I said, I wouldn’t have missed this weekend for the world.
Edward Grinnan is Editor-in-Chief and Vice President of GUIDEPOSTS Publications.
