Realm Makers 2016 Costume Gala
I spent this weekend in Villanova, PA, at Realm Makers 2016, and had a total blast! So much to process. And as I arrived home less than 24 hours (and multiple time zones) ago, I doubt that my thoughts here will have the needed distance to be able to accurately address the subject I’m about to. But here I go.
I began blogging in 2005, which is about the time I “officially” began pursuing writing. Signed with a CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) literary agent in 2007. Completed my first novel about then, it was shopped but couldn’t find any takers in the CBA and, being that my then-agent had few general market connections, we agreed to part ways. That same book was contracted in 2010, I signed with another agent, and subsequently published two novels in the Christian market. But the longer I ran in Christian circles, the more I felt my work was on a different trajectory, and have since indie published five books, all aimed mostly at the general market.
Anyway, I’ve been writing about the tenuous relationship between the Christian fiction industry and speculative fiction writers for a long time. Back in 2008 I actually sounded hopeful, asking Is “Christian Horror” Becoming a Trend? (which it wasn’t). In fact, spec fic was woefully under-represented in Christian bookstores. So I assembled a Christian Speculative Fiction Panel (2008) and queried about the potential future of speculative fiction in the Christian market. The answers were few. The subsequent years only saw Amish Fiction and Historical Romance continue to dominate the CBA landscape. Christian publishers scaled back, fiction lines dried up, and speculative fiction found its scant section of turf shrinking.
But life always finds a way. 🙂
Theology of Speculative Fiction class at Realm Makers 2016
In The Changing “Voice” of Christian Fiction (2014) I wrote about the inception of Realm Makers. At the time, it could have appeared more as a disgruntled break from the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), a reaction to the genre’s under-representation, than a genuine standalone movement. But now after four years of continued growth — last year the conference doubled, this year they pushed 200 attendees — and the landing of one of the biggest crossover celebrities in the Christian hemisphere, Ted Dekker, for next year’s conference (which also happens to be held in a four-star hotel in Reno), it appears that The Little Conference That Could, can.
So this weekend, I led a brief elective on “The Christian Crossover Novelist” and a four-hour workshop entitled “A Theology of Speculative Fiction.” I was nervous about the continuing session. Really nervous. Not because I didn’t have enough material, but because 1.) The subject is so huge, 2.) I’m no expert on a.) Theology, b.) Spec-fic, or c.) the Industry, and 3.) I’d never taught a class that long before. Well, I covered perhaps one-third of my prepared notes and received lots of enthusiastic reports from attendees. The class was very well-attended and, dare I say, seemed timely.
I was so totally impressed by the level of discussions we had.
- We talked about apologetics.
- We got into the muck and wrestled with the theological boundaries of speculation.
- We asked why a Mormon university has a popular Mormon spec-fic author (Brandon Sanderson) teaching courses on writing speculative fiction… while Christian universities barely have any courses on A Theology of Aesthetics, much less fiction!
- We talked about the Church’s need to take up the torch of the Arts again; that we believers must once again be culture makers and cultural influencers.
It was so much fun, I almost wanted to squee.
The question I found myself asking of people, over and over, was “What does this mean?” What does it mean that the CBA has under-represented spec authors for so long, and now a conference aimed at Christian speculative fans has grown steadily? What does it mean that speculative fiction lines — first Marcher Lord Press, then Enclave (Jeff Gerke, we all owe you a tremendous debt) — have continued to carry a torch and refused to die? What does it mean that Realm Makers has shown continued evidence of growth?
In the simplest sense, it’s a testament to its leadership. I doubt this conference would have come this far if Scott and Becky Minor hadn’t demonstrated their commitment to quality and exhibited the courage to take huge risks. They and their team have aimed high, haven’t settled for mediocrity, and deserve lots of credit. But I think there’s something else.
The promo video for Realm Makers 2017 (below) uses the phrase, “This is not your grandmother’s writers conference.” You know one reason why? Because these are not your grandmother’s Christian writers. They don’t want the Amish. They’re not big on Romance. They don’t even care so much about “safe,” “family friendly” fare. They’re junkies. Speculative junkies. They want their dimensional portals, blimps, zombies, elves, and ghosts. They prefer large portions, piping hot. All-you-can-eat.
The exact stuff that Christian publishers have been ignoring.
One of my big takeaways from the conference is that there’s genuine momentum here. Sure, I could be over-stating this, running on fumes from a long, sleep-deprived weekend. But I don’t think so. It’s not just that a bunch of geeks have another place to congregate. It’s not just that Christian nerds now have a conference where mentioning vampires won’t provoke a nervous side-eye. It’s something… bigger.
Many of the writers I spoke to had three things in common:
- They were dead serious about their faith
- They wanted to broaden their reach and get outside the Christian market
- And they LOVE speculative stuff!
Seems like I always have to qualify this. I had to do it a dozen times this weekend. You see, I am not in any way opposed to Christian fiction. Nor necessarily its conservative strictures. But my feeling is that Christian art has existed in a cul-de-sac for too long. It’s time we explore the whole neighborhood.
And maybe it’s us Christian spec authors who can spear-head a much-needed return to the mainstream marketplace.
Whatever the case, I am digging this iteration of Christian artist. This weekend, I flitted from conversations about postmodern apologetics to nerf guns, from discussions about the theological parameters for writing about space aliens to fairy genders. It was great fun!
So how much bigger can Realm Makers get? I don’t know. What I DO know is that there’s a lot more Christians who love the speculative genre than the CBA has ever accurately reflected. It’s one reason why Realm Makers has taken off. Perhaps it’s a reach, but after this weekend, I think we’ve turned a corner. Or maybe we’re turning it. Whatever the case, v. 1.0 of Christian speculative fiction is looking ever more obsolete.
Yes! I love the cul-de-sac analogy. As I understand it, “Christian Fiction” only became a thing when romance novels started getting so explicit that many Christian women didn’t want to read them. So the CBA and ACFW’s predecessor organization, American Christian Romance Writers, built this bubble to provide a safe place for readers who wanted romance novels that didn’t read like porn.
But spec fans aren’t like that. When we find a book or series that makes us feel icky, we just go looking for other stuff. For example, a writing buddy warned me off Song of Ice and Fire because it’s so explicit. But at the same time, he recommended Sanderson to me. I don’t need or want a bubble, and I think most Christians who read speculative fiction feel the same way.
I came into ACFW thinking it would be great to learn from writers who are like me (that is, Christian). But the model that works for producing and selling Christian Romance isn’t going to work for producing and selling Christian SpecFic because the readerships are completely different. The Christian romance readers like their cul-de-sac, but SpecFic readers are by nature explorers.
Sorry, I’m using a lot of words to sort this out, but what I think I’m getting at is that the difference between Realm Makers and ACFW is that our readers are more like Brandon Sanderson’s readers than they are like Francine Rivers’s readers.
Your evaluation gets more optimistic every year! You didn’t even rant about how it was all white women. I assume it was a bit more diverse this year? Or was anybody even counting?
It’s cool to see how much it’s grown, and is still growing. 🙂
It was a smidgen more diverse this year, with more guys and a few more people of color. Still mostly white, though. We’re moving in the right direction. 😉
@ Kessie
Realm Makers has consistently seen between 30-32% male authors/faculty. Though I couldn’t say how that compares to other conferences though.
Scott, ACFW is overwhelmingly women. The gender mix at Realm Makers is close to what we see at the Florida Writers Association, but FWA is way more ethnically diverse. That may have to do with FWA having been around longer (14 years), and it may have to do with Florida being a diverse state.
Kessie, Kristen, and Scott — I’ve made my peace with the women to men disparity and, as Kristen mentioned, am actually encouraged that RM represents a truer ratio than ACFW. That’s not a slam on ACFW, but an admission of how evangelicalism has tilted predominantly toward whites. Concerning the racial makeup, I am in the middle, both wanting to see a more diverse representation, but also acknowledging that you can’t force that to happen. It must occur at the grassroots. I was pleased to see some continued inching forward. My African American friend Donovan attended. (He was the only black there, I think, so HUGE kudos to him!) I ran into an Indian girl named Umber. And there were others. Frankly, I try not to keep track of people’s ethnicities. Nevertheless, I’m hopeful that RM can also be a place of inclusion.
Realm Makers has shown a more even balance between the genders all three years I’ve been there. When I attend the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, it’s predominantly women. I assume that ACFW is similar.
But at Realm Makers, there’s plenty of both genders.
As for ethnicity, RM is open to all. It’s just a matter of who decides they want to show up. I saw a lot of different colors of skin, hair, shapes of faces and bodies, tall and short, elves and dwarves, sci-fi and fantasy — all mixing in relative harmony. Well… there was a little spat between an elf and a dwarf in the bookstore, but I think they worked it out.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first Realm Makers! It was a bit overwhelming with the sheer number of people who were there, but I loved it anyway.
Mike, great article. I don’t write spec fic, but I have a couple of friends who do. (One of them attended RM this year). I identified with your article because I don’t seem to fit the mold of ACFW either. I think it’s a wonderful organization for those who want to be a part, but when I attended their conference one year, I had the distinct feeling I didn’t fit in. So, I’ve quit trying to fit in with everybody and just write. I’m doing some traditional publishing but also some self-pub too. I guess what I’m trying to say here is that though we might be Christian writers, it doesn’t mean we’re going to fit that mold all the time and maybe we shouldn’t try. After all, we don’t all belong to the same denominational church or worship the same way, but we have one goal in mind. I think it’s the same with writing and publishing. (Just my two cents.)
This is a great write-up, Mike. This was my first year at Realm Makers, and really my first full writer’s conference in seven years, and the change that has happened within the Christian Speculative Fiction community through this conference was awe-inspiring. The sense of excellence, fun and the freedom to follow the path that God has called you down was exhilarating!
Thanks for all of the hard work you put in to continue to push the conversations about the genre and writing in general forward and deeper. Ad for always being willing to challenge the status-quo.