Festival Speaker & Safer Spaces Policies
Festival Speaker Policy
At the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing, we celebrate excellent writing that takes faith seriously. For people passionate about the often solitary pleasures of great literature, we strive to be a friendly community of diverse perspectives on religion and creative expression bound together by a shared, celebratory event.
Each Festival of Faith & Writing features scores of writers and storytellers working in mediums including books, podcasts, films, stage, and more. We receive hundreds of speaker nominations for each Festival from those who understand our unique event: attendees, publishers, agents, campus faculty and students, teachers, and readers from around the globe.
The Festival Planning Committee—comprised of CCFW staff and rotating Faculty Fellows—actively researches these contemporary writers whose work exists in the intersection of faith and writing. Based on this research, the committee builds a roster of featured speakers for each Festival that aims to reflect the diversity of the literary arts—across genre, age, culture, and creed—when exploring faith with creativity and insight.
We believe that we all have much to learn from other people’s stories, both those that align with our own experiences and those that do not. Any voice speaking in love deserves a hearing. We believe charitable disagreement is a hallmark of truth-seeking and that respectful critique can be a form of generosity.
Our primary criteria for inviting speakers is not whether we agree with them but rather that their work is compelling, the product of careful thought, goodwill, and moral courage. Moreover, the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing embodies Calvin University’s mission “to think deeply, act justly, and live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.” Indeed, Reformed Christianity urges us to welcome challenging questions in the hope of learning more about God and God’s creation. And, of course, Reformed Christianity has a long history of wrestling with complex texts.
To give ample time and attention to the many writers doing compelling work at the intersection of faith and literature, speakers are not often featured more than once across Festivals. When we do repeat an invitation, we usually allow a minimum of two Festivals to pass between appearances.
We discourage interested participants from self-nominating and contacting the Festival Planning Committee directly to recommend themselves as speakers. Instead, prospective participants should ask a publisher, agent, or supporter to nominate them to express interest in our event.
Safer Spaces Policy
Hospitality is a foundational value for the CCFW and all its initiatives, including the Festival of Faith & Writing.
Our mission statement states: In all its activities, we endeavor to create spaces wherein people from many faith traditions are welcomed warmly, listened to with respect and generosity, and inspired to deeper engagement with the common good.
For this reason, we’re enthusiastic supporters of Calvin University’s Safer Spaces policy. Safer Spaces, in keeping with Title IX, aims to eliminate discrimination and violence based on sex. Still, the university’s policy also goes beyond Title IX to include all instances of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, ability, or another marker of identity. We are committed to providing a gracious welcome and just treatment for all protected groups on Calvin’s campus and in the wider community.
Students, staff, and faculty associated with the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing are trained to spot, report, and, when possible, disrupt harassment. We also expect our broader community to join our efforts to create a safe space for all fellow readers by approaching others with respect and generosity.
We will support you—or someone you know—if any of the following occur at one of our events:
Discrimination
Harassment
Retaliation
You can report incidents or concerns directly to any staff or faculty associated with the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing. You can also report concerns to the Calvin University Safer Spaces team via their online incident report form. We aim to investigate concerns objectively and support those involved in Safer Spaces cases. We also work with other university offices and departments to help Calvin become a safer, more diverse, inclusive, and welcoming community.