C L A S S E S & E V E N T S
Events
2024 Catholic Literary Arts Events
The Second Annual Dinner Party
The Dinner Party will take place on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at Cathedral High School's Banquet Hall, located at 7726 Westview Drive, Houston, TX 77055.
We will gather to revel in the words of Louis Markos, Ph.D., the Scholar in Residence and Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities at Houston Christian University.
For more information follow this link.
Spring 2024 Virtual Happy Hours
February 23 and April 26, 2024, seven p.m. CST
Do you wish you were more involved with a community of Writers of Faith?
Join us for a social hour of introductions and camaraderie at one of CLA’s Spring Happy Hours. Conducted via Zoom and moderated by Maura Harrison, the sessions will invite participants to report on recent publications, upcoming calls for entries, and opportunities for collaboration and/or critique. To get everyone talking, each Happy Hour will have a general topic for discussion. Then we’ll see where the topics lead us.
Maura H. Harrison is a writer and artist from Fredericksburg, VA. Her written and visual works have appeared or are forthcoming in Dappled Things, Ekstasis Magazine, The St. Austin Review, Solum Journal, Windhover, Trampoline: A Journal of Poetry, Amethyst Magazine, Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, and others. She has received recognition in poetry competitions sponsored by Catholic Literary Arts (CLA) and the Society of Classical Poets, most recently receiving first place recognition for her poem, "Mary, Please Come and Intervene," in CLA's 2023 Marian Advent Prayer Contest.
Meet-the-Editor Panel: Children’s Edition
Wednesday, March 6, 2024, seven p.m. CST
Join moderator, Lindsay Schlegel, in visiting with three editors in Catholic children’s literature.
Catholic Literary Arts presents an evening with editors representing three of the leading publishers of Catholic children’s books. Each editor will speak about her philosophy of writing for kids, as well as what she’s looking for in a submission. Our hope in connecting writers with editors is that over time, publishers can find new talent for their lists and our faithful writers will find a home for their work. There will be a Q&A portion of the event, so bring your questions!
The Editors
Kate Camden is the acquisitions editor for OSV Kids books and an editor for the OSV Kids magazine. She is a graduate of the Columbia Publishing Course at Oxford and has worked in Catholic publishing and media since 2011.
Haley Stewart is an award-winning writer and the Editor of Word on Fire Spark, a new imprint for young readers. She is the author of The Grace of Enough, Jane Austen's Genius Guide to Life, and The Sister Seraphina Mysteries and the host of Word on Fire's Spark the Imagination Podcast.
Sister Maria Grace Dateno, a Daughter of St. Paul, is a children’s book editor and author for Pauline Books & Media. She has an MA in theology from The Catholic University of America and has served in several of the Pauline Books & Media Centers around the country. She is the author of the six-book Gospel Time Trekkers series (easy-reader Biblical time travel stories), as well as several catechetical and devotional works for kids and adults, including The Mass Explained for Kids.
The Moderator
Lindsay Schlegel has worked in children’s book publishing for nearly twenty years, serving in various roles at Borders Books and Music, Candlewick Press, the Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency, Abrams Books for Young Readers/Amulet Books, and the Children's Department at Simon and Schuster, before moving to freelance work. Her editorial clients have included HarperCollins, and Our Sunday Visitor, among others. She has written for Word on Fire, America, CatholicMom.com, Verily, The Windhover Journal, and more. She is the co-author of two books for adults. Her first picture book, with a working title God's Glorious Garden, is forthcoming in Spring 2025.
2023 Catholic Literary Arts Events
Fall 2023 CLA Virtual Happy Hours
August 4, September 1, October 6, 2023
Join the CLA community of writers, artists, editors, and composers in a virtual gathering moderated by Maura Harrison.
Hello to our community of fellow Catholic writers and many friends of goodwill,
Do you wish you were more involved with a community of Writers of Faith? If so, join us for a social hour of introductions and camaraderie at one of CLA’s Fall Happy Hours. Conducted via Zoom and moderated by Maura Harrison, the sessions will invite participants to report on recent publications, upcoming calls for entries, and opportunities for collaboration and/or critique. To get everyone talking, each Happy Hour will have a general topic for discussion. Then we’ll see where the topics lead us.
These events will be in the personal room of cathla.org@gmail.com Zoom account.
Fridays, August 4, September 1, and October 6, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. CST.
Biography
Maura Harrison is a poet, photographer, and fiber artist from Fredericksburg, VA. She is currently an MFA candidate in Creative Writing at the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas.
To register for the August 4th event, follow this link.
Joseph Pearce: The Lord of the Rings
September 23, 2023
Catholic Literary Arts welcomes Joseph Pearce to guide us through a deep dive into The Lord of the Rings.
Families with children and teens are welcome to register to join us from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Banquet Hall at Cathedral High School, which is located at 7726 Westview Dr, Houston, TX 77055.
The First Annual Dinner Party
February 11, 2023
A Sold-out Success!
Thank you to all the people who created the astounding success of our recent Dinner Party. Through the hard work and commitment of the Board, the Host Committee, and the Houston Advisory Council, the event was sold-out three weeks early.
Many thanks also to those generous donors and underwriters who ensured that the evening’s proceeds would serve the many young writers in our programs. Donors also ensured that many clergy, religious sisters, and seminarians could attend the evening.
Dr. James Matthew Wilson held the crowd in rapt attention with a brilliant keynote presentation focused on God’s eternal Truths revealed through Beauty.
Thank you, CLA Family.
God bless you!
Gallery from The Dinner Party
