Calvin College was on the verge of cutting funding to its biannual Festival of Faith and Writing (FFW) this year, but a donation for an undisclosed amount from longtime Zondervan editor Bob Hudson and his wife Shelley put off the closing and will help underwrite in perpetuity both the FFW and its new parent organization, the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing.
The FFW will fall under the auspices of the Center for Faith & Writing, which will be co-directed by Calvin English professor Dr. Jennifer Holberg and assistant professor of English Dr. Jane Zwart. Lisa Cockrel will continue to serve as director of the FFW.
“I was concerned that the FFW keep going because it’s one of the premier festivals in the country,” said Hudson, poet and author of The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style, 4th Edition, releasing in July (Zondervan). “We’ll have the festival, summer writers workshops for those interested in publishing, and a small publishing arm, mostly to do Festival-related materials such as essays by festival authors.”
Hudson has been involved with the FFW since its beginning in 1990. “My goal is keeping the festival going and finding ways to educate college students in publishing and writing,” said Hudson. “I want to help train people in the book industry, which is changing so fast. I love teaching students the vocabulary of writing.”
