by Alycia W. Morales @AlyciaMorales

This year, change is coming to opening night at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, and we are super excited about it! (And that’s the only exclamation point I’ll use.)

For those of you who’ve attended BRMCWC in the past, you’ve come to expect a lovely booklet full of information about the faculty. This booklet has included their photographs, bios, and course listings with descriptions. Please make note that all of this information is available online here: https://www.blueridgeconference.com/faculty-class-info/

When I signed up for the conference six years ago, one of the first things I did was print off the faculty list and start memorizing each one’s face with their name. I read their bios. I figured out who was teaching what and started considering what classes I wanted to take. Then I hole-punched the entire pile of paper and put it into my conference binder, unaware that this would all be in that lovely booklet I’d receive at registration.

This year, we will NOT have a booklet. Instead, we will have a tri-fold card with the schedule printed on it. No faculty photos, no class descriptions. So, if you would like that information in print form, you could do what I did six years ago. Or, you could bring along your smartphone, tablet, or laptop and access it online at the link I provided above.

Another thing we’ve done in the past is faculty introductions on Sunday night. If you’ve ever sat through this, you know how long it can take. Three hours. After being on flights or in cars all day, three hours of sitting in one spot can be painful. Not to mention how we’re all itching to hug the friends-who-are-like-family we haven’t seen in a year.

Hello Lobby Time! (Okay, so I used two. Do as I say, not as I do.)

This year, we will not have faculty introduce themselves and their classes. And appointment sign-ups will not happen in the main meeting room as they usually do. Instead, we will have the appointment room set up, faculty will be released to the appointment room to find their tables, and then conferees will be released to go to said room and sign up for their two allotted appointments on opening night. (Your critique appointments don’t count as those two appointments you may sign up for.) While you are signing up for appointments, feel free to talk to any faculty members you’d like and ask them about their classes.

This change should make the night flow much more smoothly and take far less time. Which means … MORE LOBBY TIME. Can I get a “Whoot?” More time to hug friends. More time to play King of Tokyo. More time for Al to hold court.

The final change we’re making to Sunday evening is that we’re kicking things off with a keynote speaker. You won’t want to miss this one. He’s a fabulous story-teller with incredible messages. He’ll have you laughing. And he may even have you milking each others’ thumbs. (It’s a Wisconsin thing…) You never know what to expect from him, and that’s what makes him so incredibly awesome. Steven James will be our keynote Sunday night.

Again, change is good, and we are super excited about all we have to offer you this year at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. We’re only five-and-a-half weeks out and can’t wait to see you.

Alycia Morales is a freelance editor with several award-winning clients. Her writings have been published in Splickety Love and Thriving Family magazine, along with several compilation books and devotionals. She is the Conference Assistant for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.

Alycia is married with five children, two dogs, two rats, a hamster, and a parakeet. And she’s in training to be a foster parent. She and her small zoo live in Upstate South Carolina. When she isn’t busy with writing and editing, she enjoys family hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains or strolls along the SC beaches.