Ashley Menelaws, Kingaroy
The 2018 young writer program with Press Service International in conjunction with Christian Today is well under way and into the second Cycle.
This young writer program initiated in 2009 has developed in these past nine years, into separate identities for the sole purpose of clarity. In other words there are 5 weeks per Cycle. There are 10 Cycles in the year.
Week 1 - International young writers
Week 2-5 - Australian young writers
Kiwi young writers run their own separate schedules run similarly to the Australian model.
All in all, there are 85 young people writing 10 articles a year, one per Cycle. It is a mammoth effort to see all this undertaken with an army of volunteer young people ensuring articles get to the publishing stage.
Janna Mills, Rockhampton, new young writer
Those behind the scenes
Each of those 5 weeks has a Week Coordinator whose connects to each of those young writers with their due date.
Moreover, each of those 5 weeks has a Week Editor who checks the articles and once compiled, sends them to the PSI office for a final check.
The PSI office then sends the articles with publishing dates for the following week into Christian Today who also checks them, and proceeds to publish them the following week as per the schedule.
Back room
There many people in the back room (as it were) to make all this happen. There is a “new young writer” coordinator who sends the new prospective young writer the “info pack” and until the new prospective young writers replies they are on the same page, they do not start in the program.
Then there are panellists for each of the groups and statisticians – the panellists give a mark for the articles which are collated by the statistician. This is such a mammoth undertaking, there are people who collate the panellists sheets and who then send them on to the statistician in group form.
And many other helper tasks to ensure the entire project runs smoothly throughout the year, and not least the annual young writer conference, last year held on the Sunshine Coast and this year 2018 in Christchurch.
Amy Manners, Adelaide
Week 1 - Internationals
England
West Indies
China
ambique
South Africa
Canada
USA
Philippines
4 Australian Weeks
Sunshine Coast
Brisbane
Ipswich
Gold Coast
Ocean Shores
Sydney
Melbourne
Hobart
Adelaide
Perth
New Zealand
Christchurch
Wellington
Auckland
2018 looks to be another fantastic year for the young writer program -
Young people in the ages 18-30 are welcome to make enquiry as there are spots available - timeout@bushorchestra.com or 0419 917 713
Jia Pan Xiao, Sydney
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. Dr Tronson writes a daily article for Christian Today Australia (since 2008) and in November 2016 established Christian Today New Zealand.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at