It was upon my heart to bring New Zealand young people into the Press Service International young writer program with Christian Today, that I had initiated in 2009.
I had been in contact with New Zealand Christian Leaders for many years, so I sought their wisdom as to suitable young people. Also, as a member of the Australasian Religious Press Association, I contacted New Zealand members explaining the Young Writers' program, and asked for their suggestions.
The first group of young Kiwi writers were published in Christian Today after the London Olympics in August 2012, and by the start of 2013 additional New Zealand young people came on board as the program began to take effect.
Today, 25 May 2016, the Press Service International young writer program includes 19 young people from New Zealand and most of them fit neatly into Week 4 of the 5 week Cycle. This is the first year a New Zealand based "Week-Coordinator" has been incorporated into the program, Irenie How from Christchurch.
The editing and publication process
Their commitment is to write 10 articles a year, once every 5 weeks. Some have stayed with the program while others write for 2-3 years and find that the consistent demand upon their time and pressures is such that it is a 'season' and they legitimately move on. What we try and avoid is for young people to write one or two articles and then move on. The Press Service International team makes a big play on commitment.
As the New Zealand young writers' co-ordinator, Irenie How sends reminders to the Kiwi young writers in time for "checking" before the Week 4 deadline. She ensures the articles are in the right format and checks spelling and content, and forwards them to Sophia Sinclair, the young writer program editor in Sydney, who may have further back-and-forth discussions with some of the writers in the spirit of mentoring and helping them to develop as professional "columnists" for Christian Today.
The emphasis is a proclivity for writing and having your 'Voice' heard around the world through a column in Christian Today. It would be a misconception that this program's focus is on English scholarship. The primary objective is the Voice!
Connections: electronic and face-to-face
Each Thursday I write a weekly memo to the writers and "panellists" (judges of the Basil Sellers prize, as described in a previous article) and these Kiwi young writers are invited to send in their newsy items for inclusion, and this section is well patronised. This is a positive way to build a fellowship team, even over a distance – we all connect and gradually get to know each other.
In 2013 and 2014, we had conferences where these young Kiwi writers could meet each other and discuss the joys of writing and the frustrations of doing it in isolation (2013 Auckland, Christchurch and in 2014 Wellington). The writers were enthusiastic about this opportunity, and in 2014 two of the panellists – Christina Tyson and Liz Hay – attended as observing "flies on the wall"
In 2015, all the conferences were merged and we only had the one, in Sydney, where all young writers (Australians, New Zealanders and Internationals) were invited, and some panellists also came and participated in the small group workshop/discussions. This combined conference, now co-ordinated by some "senior" young writers as previously described, will also occur in August 2016.
Wide readership
Social media has made these article distributions much more pronounced as a young writer may place their 'article link' on their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media – their friends then 'Share' the article, and their friends in turn, and before you know it, tens of thousands of people have read it.
This phenomenon is in addition to the huge readership from Christian Today itself which is part of the CMCI group of Christian News providers (Christian Media Corporation International).
These New Zealand young writers are having their 'Voice' heard around the world, which is a great joy of the Lord in our Press Service International ministry.
Current New Zealand young writers
Irenie How
Jeremy Suisted
Tash McGill
Sophia Sinclair
Tim Newman
Kara Greening
Brad Mills
Matt Browning
Tim Shallard
Harriet Knox
Matthew Joils
Scarlett Jones
Esther Koh
Jared Diprose
Claire Debrios
Michele Ong
Amos Sale
Sabrina Meyer
Rachel Bartlett
Andrew Sinclair
Emma McGeorge
They hail from a range of cities: Auckland, Cambridge, South Taranaki, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch
One of the New Zealanders Andrew Sinclair is reading theology in Sydney and listed in a separate international group. Andrew won the 2015 New Zealand Theological Award. Newest New Zealand young writer is Emma McGeorge NZ MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) based in Papua New Guinea.
New Zealand Awards
The New Zealand young writers who have won awards, presented at the annual conferences, are as follows:
2013
Daniel Jang - Basil Sellers Award
Sam Burrows - Theological Award
Sophia Sinclair - Consistency Award (Joint)
Casey Murray - Consistency Award (Joint)
2014
Casey Murray - Basil Sellers Award
Jeremy Suisted - Theological Award
Sophia Sinclair - Consistency Award
2015
Sophia Sinclair - Basil Sellers Award (Joint)
Jeremy Suisted - Basil Sellers Award (Joint)
Andrew Sinclair - Theological Award
Brad Mills - Consistency Award (Joint)
Tim Newman - Consistency Award (Joint)
Australian Religious Press Association (ARPA)
2015 - Best Article - Casey Murray
There are separate awards for the best New Zealand writers, but some of the other minor awards are up for grabs with everyone else.
We are always looking for fresh New Zealand young writers. The main focus is on young writers under 30. If you are interested, you are invited to enquire to Dr Mark Tronson timeout@bushorchestra.com
(61) 419 917 713
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html