2026 Festival of Faith and Writing: Full Schedule

2:30pm EDT

Thursday April 16, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT

What does it mean to take our pain and make something out of it? What is the process of turning our grief into a gift? Who is the one who emerges from the community to lead the ceremony? Mixing comedic narrative, honest storytelling, and image curation, artist and author Scott Erickson walks us through the inevitable invitation to become the wounded healer. 

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby 

Speakers

Scott Erickson

Scott Erickson is a touring painter, performance speaker, creative curate, and author. Scott's work has appeared on CNN, National Geographic, and in various magazines and newspaper outlets. He is the author of Say Yes: Discover the Surprising Life Beyond the Death of a Dream, Hon... Read More →

Thursday April 16, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

4:00pm EDT

How the Stories Find Us

Thursday April 16, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Ariel Lawhon never intended to write historical fiction. She was just lucky enough to be paying attention when a great idea found her. Twelve years and six novels later, she understands that the creative works we undertake are the ones meant specifically for us. Lawhon discusses how faith and observation and an insatiable curiosity are the keys to a fulfilling life in the arts.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Ariel Lawhon

Ariel Lawhon is the New York Times bestselling author of The Frozen River as well as several other works of historical fiction, including I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène. The Frozen River was an instant paperback bestseller, rapidly ascending the New York Times bestseller... Read More →

Thursday April 16, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

9:00am EDT

Scratching the Creative Itch: Art, Curiosity, and the Myth of the Renaissance Man

Friday April 17, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Andrew Peterson explores the joys and perils of a career as a multidisciplinary writer and artist.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby 
(Please note: This is the only book signing for Andrew Peterson.)

Speakers

Andrew Peterson

Recording artist, songwriter, producer, filmmaker, publisher and award-winning author of The Wingfeather Saga, and memoirs The God of the Garden and Adorning the Dark, Andrew Peterson is also founder and president of The Rabbit Room. He launched Shining Isle Productions to produc... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

10:30am EDT

A Language for Grief: Words for What the Heart Must Speak 

Friday April 17, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

From deathbeds to deliveries at a level 1 trauma center, J.S. Park noticed a common thread of frustration as he tended to thousands of patients over a decade as a hospital chaplain: Patients and families plagued by a lack of “grief literacy” due to a pervasive fear of discussing loss. With story, stats, metaphor, and poetry, Park discusses how we can use words to honor our losses, and why, especially now, we need the language to talk about our collective and communal grief.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

J. S. Park

J.S. Park is a hospital chaplain, published author, and online educator. He serves a 1000+ bed hospital and Level 1 Trauma Center, providing grief support and end-of-life care.

J.S. has been interviewed by CNN, CBS News, Good Morning America, and The Today Show for his work in dea... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

11:45am EDT

Holy Hurt

Friday April 17, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Spiritual trauma can leave lasting wounds—shaping how we trust ourselves, our bodies, and the sacred. Dr. Hillary McBride uses psychological theory, narrative, and empirical data to explore the impact of high-control belief systems, the process of deconstruction, and how agency can open a path toward wholeness, meaning, and spirituality wide enough to hold life's complexity.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Hillary McBride

Dr. Hillary McBride is a registered psychologist, a researcher, and podcaster, and mother, with expertise including trauma, embodiment, psychedelic psychotherapy, and the intersection of spirituality and mental health. Hillary makes her home in Victoria, Canada.

Friday April 17, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

2:30pm EDT

Listening for the Lyric

Friday April 17, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Join a panel of songwriters as they reflect on the creative and spiritual dimensions of their craft. Through conversation about inspiration, artistry, and the power of music to express faith and human experience, this session invites attendees into a deeper appreciation of how songs are made and what they can mean.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby
(Please note: Andrew Peterson will not be signing books after this session.) 

Speakers

Amanda Held Opelt

Amanda Held Opelt is a speaker, songwriter, and author of the books Holy Unhappiness and A Hole in the World, which was selected by Publisher's Weekly as one of the best books of 2022. Amanda spent 15 years serving in the non-profit and humanitarian aid sectors. She lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina with her husband and two young daughters... Read More →

Andrew Peterson

Jess Ray

Jess Ray is a singer-songwriter, producer, and creative supernova based in her beloved home state of North Carolina. Crafting a new wave of music for those seeking God, Jess blends fresh sonic style with timeless truths, delicately weaving it all together with the realities of the human experience... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Panel Session

4:00pm EDT

Reporting Across the Divide

Friday April 17, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

In this moderated conversation, these seasoned journalists explore the challenges of reporting at the intersection of politics and religion in a polarized era: covering culturewar issues, writing about people across political and theological divides, and staying faithful to the principles of their craft while reflecting on how personal worldview shapes their work.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Eliza Griswold

A celebrated author, poet, and New Yorker reporter covering religion, politics, and the environment, Griswold is the author of Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church, a finalist for the National Book Award, and Amity and Prosperity: One Fa... Read More →

Kathryn Post

Kathryn Post is an award-winning national reporter for Religion News Service (RNS). Based in Pittsburgh, Kathryn covers topics such as religious "nones," religious higher education and abuse in religious contexts. She joined RNS in 2021 after earning a Master of Arts in Religion from... Read More →

Astead Herndon

Journalist Astead W. Herndon is a host and editorial director at Vox, where he helps lead politics coverage across text, video, audio, and social media platforms. Previously at The New York Times, he distinguished himself as a sharp, accessible voice on American politics, hosti... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Panel Session

9:00am EDT

Forms of Joy and Witness: Poetry and Prose in Conversation

Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

In this conversation, Ross Gay and Patrick Rosal reflect on what they have learned from one another about play, collaboration, and attentiveness, both on and off the page.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby 
(Please note: Ross Gay requests no photos, videos, or audio recordings at any time throughout his participation in the Festival.This includes before, during, and after sessions, at book signings, and in between events. Thank you for honoring this request.) 

Speakers

Ross Gay

Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding, winner of the PEN America Literary Jean Stein Award; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of the 2015 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 2016 Kingsley Tufts Poetry A... Read More →

Patrick Rosal

Patrick Rosal is the author of The Last Thing and has been published in The New York Times, The Nation, Best American Poetry and elsewhere. A Guggenheim and NEA Fellow, he is a Distinguished Professor at Rutgers-Camden. His mother and father immigrated from the Philippines and met in the U.S., while his father was still a Catholic priest and theologian in the Thomist tradition... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 9:00am - 9:45am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Conversation

10:30am EDT

A Conversation with Barbara Brown Taylor

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

A conversation with Barbara Brown Taylor, interviewed by Calvin University Pastor Rev. Mary S. Hulst.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Barbara Brown Taylor

Barbara Brown Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World, Learning to Walk in the Dark, and Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others.

In 2024, she was elected to the Georgia Writer’s Hall of Fame at the University of Georgia, and her new bo... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 10:30am - 11:15am EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Interview

11:45am EDT

A Conversation with Neal Shusterman

Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

A Conversation with Neal Shusterman, interviewed by Dean Nelson.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Neal Shusterman

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times bestselling author of more than fifty award-winning books for children, teens, and adults, including Challenger Deep, which won the National Book Award, Courage to Dream, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book, Scythe, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, the... Read More →

Dean Nelson

Dean Nelson is the founder and director of the journalism program at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, and the founder and host of the annual Writer's Symposium By The Sea, where he has interviewed great writers for more than 30 years. His most recent books are Talking... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 11:45am - 12:30pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Interview

2:30pm EDT

Families We Know, Families We Imagine: Writing Identity for Young Readers

Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Karina Yan Glaser and Jonathan Todd explore how stories for children can honor the richness of family and identity. In this conversation, they'll discuss crafting characters kids can see themselves in, portraying complex home lives with honesty and warmth, and creating narratives that help young readers feel recognized, included, and deeply at home.

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Karina Yan Glaser

Karina Yan Glaser is the New York Times bestselling author of the Vanderbeeker series, the standalone middle grade novel A Duet for Home, the chapter book Poppy Song Bakes A Way (part of the multi-author series The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class), and the Newbery Honor-winning historical... Read More →

Jonathan Todd

Jonathan Todd is the author and illustrator of the semi-autobiographical graphic novel Timid (Scholastic/Graphix), which was inspired by his struggle to overcome shyness as a tween following his family's move from Miami to a Boston suburb in the 1980s. He is a recipient of a 2024 New England Book Award. For more information about Jonathan, including his author visits, visit... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2026 2:30pm - 3:15pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Conversation

4:00pm EDT

Rethinking Dystopia

Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

In this session, novelist Neal Shusterman explores how to use dystopian literature to break down, dissect, and rebuild the current world through the lens of writing. How can writers not only stir up the space, but give readers something to aspire to rather than fear? 

Book signing follows in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Lobby

Speakers

Neal Shusterman

Saturday April 18, 2026 4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT
Covenant Fine Arts Center, Auditorium

Concurrent Session, Solo Session

2:30pm EDT

4:00pm EDT

9:00am EDT

10:30am EDT

11:45am EDT

2:30pm EDT

4:00pm EDT

9:00am EDT

10:30am EDT

11:45am EDT

2:30pm EDT

4:00pm EDT

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