Hello,

My name is Evelyn, and I am a Christian children's author, currently attending an MFA program for Creative Writing, while also working on my debut novel The Singing String.

My reason for creating a GoFundMe is that, throughout the rest of 2025 and into 2026, I am planning to go to three different conferences.

As you may imagine, being in graduate school student who is living primarily on her student stipend does not leave a lot of left over money throughout the year. I'm hoping that by providing my reasoning, and cost analysis, some of you may be willing to fund me for these three professional development conferences.

The three conferences are as follows:

AWP (Association of Writers and Writer Programs) conference for secular writing, editing, and publishing.

The second is the Greater Homeschooling Convention (I will explain why, below)

The third is the Calvin Center Conference for Faith and Writing

Professional reasons for attending:

AWP:

Through my graduate program, I am the managing editor of a literary magazine, and because of this I am planning to go to AWP as a representative. I will be responsible for making important literary connections for the magazine through tabling and meeting new potential readers and contributors. I am also planning to attend AWP in order to converse with potential agents for my book, discover available writing residencies, speak with publishing houses that might have open positions for after graduation, and also attend informatory lectures.

GHC (Greater Homeschooling Convention):

Some of you may be wondering why I'm choosing to go to a homeschooling conference, and before you ask, yes it is for completely professional reasons. I have no children, so therefore am not attending for the sake of my own home life. However, as an author I believe it is extremely important to know the business side of the publishing realm. Not only do I have to write an amazing book, but I also have to know how and who to market it too. Throughout my research into these questions, I realized that a potential market for my book is homeschooling parents. I figured that if I can get my book into the curriculums of homeschooling platforms, that would be a large market of people that would have interest in buying my book for their children. Apart from this, there are also several other writers and book sellers who attend this conference, and I would like to make personal connections with them for when my book does come out.

Calvin Center Conference for Faith and Writing:

As I mentioned in my greeting, I am a Christian. I do not always write books and stories with explicit Christian content, nor do I wish for my writing to be accessible only to Christian communities. However, I believe this conference will be a great source for inspiration and networking with both agents, writers, and readers who might be interested in my book.

Aside from my personal/professional interests in going, I was also selected to lead a group discussion circle called "Allegory, Magic, and Archetypes: Writing Christian Faith into Children’s Books." I believe this opportunity will help me to make connections and also be invited back to the conference in future years as a speaker or panelist.

If you've made it this far, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to even consider funding me. Below I have listed out some of my predicted costs as well as how I would be spending the funds I receive. I want anyone who spends money on me to know that their money is being used wisely, and with an intentional plan.

Costs:

These three conferences are spread out all over the country, (South Carolina, Baltimore, and Michigan) and while I do have some funding available from my program, it is not enough to cover costs for all of the conferences.

I have managed to get registration costs covered for all three conferences, either through volunteering, presenting, or through my program, but that still leaves travel costs as well as food and lodging.

For the GHC conference, I was able to get an Air B and B at an extremely reasonable cost but I will still be asked to pay out of pocket. For AWP I was able to get most of my lodging costs covered by my program, but for the final conference I will still need funding for the hotel.

For travel costs, my main concern is the Faith and Writing Conference. I will need to buy a plane ticket for that, and for AWP I had to purchase an Amtrak ticket. For the GHC convention, I will be able to drive, so my only concern for that is gas.

For Food Costs, I am completely uncovered financially. It would be amazing to know that I have food costs covered throughout these three events, but first I need to make sure that my other costs are taken care of.

Total, my funding goal is $1600. This will allow me to be fully covered for all conferences including food, travel, and lodging, and it will also provide a little extra for unforeseen expenses (such as if my train trip were cancelled, or if I had to buy a new plane ticket due to weather and it costed more...).

Before I finish, I'd just like to thank everyone who read this far, anyone who's even considering giving me funding, and especially anyone who feels inclined to provide for me in this. I really appreciate your time and support!