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A World of Ideas
Explore a world of ideas through insightful articles, engaging interviews, and thought-provoking reflections. We dive into the power of story, the impact of faith on creativity, and the many ways literature shapes our understanding of the world. Join the conversation!
What is a Heffalump?
How do stories shape the way we communicate at work? Drawing on the whimsical “heffalump” from Winnie-the-Pooh, CCFW Faculty Fellow Craig Mattson explores how emotional responses influence workplace communication. With humor and practical insight, he shows how storytelling can help leaders build trust, navigate change, and connect with the people they serve.
The Dark is Not Evil—A Review of Learning to Walk in the Dark
CCFW Student Fellow Natasha Jayaputra reflects on Barbara Brown Taylor’s Learning to Walk in the Dark, inviting readers to reconsider fear and rediscover darkness as sacred space. Her meditation explores how darkness fosters spiritual growth, deeper awareness, and balance between light and shadow.
Festival Preparations
Director Jennifer Holberg reflects on the devotion, collaboration, and community that have sustained the Festival of Faith & Writing for more than thirty-five years, celebrating the many hands behind its legacy while looking ahead to this year’s gathering and future generations of faithful storytelling.
Manderley Angel Cake from Rebecca
CCFW Student Fellow Chantale Van Tassel, a lifelong lover of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, chases one of the novel’s most tantalizing details: Manderley’s angel cake. Blending Gothic atmosphere, readerly devotion, and practical baking tips, Van Tassel goes in search of the perfect “melt-in-the-mouth” angel cake—light, dreamy, and worthy of the de Winter tea table.
Hamnet: Quiet Grief, Sentimental Speculation
CCFW Faculty Fellow Debra Rienstra explores Chloé Zhao’s film adaptation, Hamnet, weighing its beauty and emotional power against the myths we continue to tell about Shakespeare and creative genius.
Book Review: Sarah Carey’s The Grief Committee Minutes
In her thoughtful review of The Grief Committee Minutes, CCFW Student Fellow Chantale Van Tassel reflects on Sarah Carey’s poetry as a guide through loss, memory, and the fragile space between earth and sky.
A Feast of Reading
As “best of” lists and reading goals pile up, CCFW Director Jennifer Holberg shares this reflection that invites readers to pause. What if we worried less about how many books we read and more about why—and how—we read them? Holberg invites us to savor stories, release “should,” and approach reading as a feast, not a quota.
For the New Year
This week on the blog, CCFW Director Jennifer Holberg shares a poem of hope for the new year.
A Gift of Words
This week on the blog, CCFW Director Jennifer Holberg shares a gift from us to you—a gift that we believe is one of the most powerful. We hope this Christmas season is one of joy and love.
A Little Bit of Liturgy
This week on the blog, CCFW Faculty Fellow Jane Zwart invites readers into “the work of the people” through a series of beautifully crafted prayers. Rooted in shared life and ordinary time, these prayers are offered as a gift and serve as an invitation to recalibrate the heart as we wait, together, for joy.
Review: Tell Me the Dream Again by Tasha Jun
This week on the blog, CCFW Student Fellow Chantale Van Tassel reviews Tasha Jun’s 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘔𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, a tender exploration of mixed-race identity, belonging, and faith. Van Tassel highlights Jun’s honest reflections on heritage, loss, and “shalomsickness,” inviting readers to consider the beauty within their own complex stories.
From the Director’s Desk
This week on the blog, CCFW Director Jennifer Holberg reflects on the joy of gifting stories—especially from upcoming FFW 2026 authors—and on the deeper gifts that don’t need wrapping: shared meals, weekly conversations, and time truly spent together.
An Homage to Delight
In this reflection on Ross Gay’s 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, CCFW Student Fellow Erin Hasler explores how Gay’s playful, generous attention to everyday beauty invites us to see our own awkwardness, fears, and small mistakes as moments of genuine delight. Inspired by his practice of noticing one delight every day, Erin discovers how small, ordinary wonders linger far longer than daily worries and she encourages readers to look again at the world to find a quiet, sustaining joy.
Guided by Starlight: Finding Hope in Vocational Change
This week on the blog, CCFW faculty fellow Craig Mattson reflects on a conversation with Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, whose new book You Have a Calling explores how to live with purpose amid constant change. In his post, Mattson considers the tension between staying curious and creative in our work—and holding fast to the “starlight” of enduring values like truth, goodness, and beauty when everything feels uncertain.
From the Director’s Desk
What does it take to sustain something good for decades? This week’s blog post from CCFW Director Jennifer Holberg considers the “many hands” behind the Festival of Faith & Writing—the committees, colleagues, and friends whose quiet work has kept the conversation between faith and words alive since 1990. A reflection on legacy, gratitude, and the beauty of building together.
A Love Letter to Goodreads
This week on the blog, CCFW Student Fellow Eleanor Engel shares how Goodreads helped her rediscover her love of reading—not as a competition, but as a practice of joy and reflection. From performative reader to passionate reviewer, she explores how writing reviews deepened her connection to books in a whole new way.
New and Noteworthy Books from Festival Voices
Today, we're delighted to share a list of new and noteworthy books written by our upcoming Festival speakers. These words continue to shape the conversation about what it means to live and create with faith, imagination, and courage.
The Black Church Food Security Network
Today, we're delighted to feature an episode of the Refugia Podcast, hosted by CCFW Faculty Fellow, Debra Rienstra. This conversation highlight's Debra’s ongoing work with Refugia—her project exploring how people of faith can create and sustain life-giving spaces amid crisis. We encourage you to listen to the episode and explore her broader work here.
Miss Trunchbull’s Chocolate Cake
Inspired by the unforgettable chocolate cake scene from Matilda, CCFW Student Fellow Natasha Jayaputra revisits childhood nostalgia through baking. What begins as a memory of Bruce’s infamous punishment turns into a celebration of homemade joy, as she shares a decadent triple chocolate cake recipe—complete with a rich whipped ganache worthy of Miss Trunchbull’s approval.
From the Director’s Desk
In our latest blog post, CCFW director Jennifer Holberg shares a peek at hers—from Jane Austen (in her 250th year!) to new works by Jen Hatmaker, Katherine Rundell, R.F. Kuang, and more. Plus, a few mysteries, cookbooks, and shows waiting in the wings once baseball season winds down.