LittWorld
Every three years, MAI hosts LittWorld, a five-day conference that provides intensive training on strategic, publishing-related topics. It is the only international conference of its kind; each conference serves more than 150 publishers, editors and writers from over 30 countries. The next Littworld will be held in 2012; location to be determined.
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Check the list of Littworld 2009 conferences sessions you can order on DVD.
What participants are saying about LittWorld 2009.
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Read the LittWorld e-newsletter. Check out the last issue.
Praises for LittWorld.
Read more about LittWorld 2009 below.
We Ate Words: First LittWorld conference in Africa hailed a plus for the continent and beyond
(Carol Stream, Illinois) Nearly 150 men and women from 36 countries “ate words” at MAI’s recent LittWorld 2009 conference November 1-6 on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. The phrase for meaningful conversation or discussion means literally “eating words” in the native Nandi dialect of keynote speaker Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat, a Kenyan career diplomat known for his crisis mediation efforts in African hotspots such as Sudan and Mozambique. He encouraged Christian publishers to give readers words worth “eating”--words that nourish, build up and benefit the Church and society. MAI’s first LittWorld in Africa was enriched by Kiplagat and numerous publishing leaders from Africa and around the globe.
“MAI moved the triennial LittWorld conference to Africa to make the training more accessible to our African publishing colleagues,” said President John Maust, “and with the ultimate goal of seeing more Christian books and articles written and published by Africans for Africans. We believe LittWorld has contributed to the strengthening of Christian publishing on the continent.” More than half of the 150 participants were Africans, and many came away with new skills and fresh vision for publishing and writing.
“At LittWorld I realized that God has called me to write, though I had resisted this calling,” said Rwandan Pastor Nicodeme Basebya. “I decided that when I got back home, I would begin writing my first booklet in my Kinyarwanda mother tongue.” For the last nine years, Pastor Basebya has yearned to learn how to create material to help strengthen the Church in Rwanda.
“The success of the conference is a big plus for Africa,” said Nigerian journalist Lekan Otufodunrin. The Sunday editor of The Nation newspaper in Lagos, Otufodunrin also leads “Journalists for Christ,” a peer group to exhort Christians to apply their faith to their field. He took home tips and lessons he plans to share with dozens of other journalists.
“LittWorld was like a baptism for me,” said Benin-based editor Zina Ando Ratovona of the InterVarsity-related publishing house for French-speaking Africa, Editions Presses Bibliques Africaines. “I have gained confidence and the assurance that I am not wasting my time by investing myself in publishing.”
Basha Wolde of Globe Publishing Services in Ethiopia gained insights in networking and marketing. “I realized that all Ethiopian publishers are weak in these areas,” he said. “My assignment is to create a network among publishers. Also, I have good news: After the conference, I opened a new bookshop about 330 kilometers from our office in the Awassa region.”
Speakers and workshop leaders represented the most talented among global Christian publishers, providing unique opportunities for cross-fertilizing the world’s best ideas and strategies. They included Alexandr Flek, publisher of the new contemporary-language Czech Bible21; Mark Taylor, president of Tyndale Publishing House; Yna Reyes, editorial director of OMF Literature, the Philippines’ largest Christian publisher; Anna Shirochenskaya, director of Triad Publishing in Moscow, Russia; Greg Thornton, head of Moody Publishers in Chicago, and many others.
MAI awarded Peter Cunliffe its first Lifetime Training Award at the conference. Throughout his 50-year Christian publishing career, Peter made training a constant priority, equipping publishers in Venezuela, Russia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Peru, among dozens of other places.
Award-winning author Robin Gunn presented the new book, A Novel Idea (Tyndale House Publishers), at the conference. Best-selling authors like Jerry Jenkins, Karen Kingsbury, Francine Rivers, Angela Hunt and many others donated chapters on the craft of writing fiction. Royalties will further MAI efforts to train Christian writers around the globe. A Novel Idea is available for purchase on the MAI website.