Omega Writers Conference 2026 - It's a Wrap!

 

What do you get when you add 125 Christian authors, tons of helpful input from Australian and overseas presenters, a beautiful location, lots of prayer, unity in the Spirit, and all underpinned by God's leading and care? Our biennial Omega Christian Writers conference of course. This year's event was held at the Nunyara Conference Centre, situated on a hill overlooking Adelaide. The theme was 'Building Blocks and Pathways', and there was something for everyone, no matter where they were in their writing journey.

Australian Presenters

Publisher and author Rochelle Stephens led a pre-conference workshop on children's writing, which was greatly appreciated. Our two friendly lecturers from Tabor College's Creative Writing Department, Dr James Cooper and Dr Pete Court, ran beginner's workshops on fiction and nonfiction respectively. Other workshops focused on writing for children and young adults (Rochelle Stephens), bringing history to life (Katrina Roe), editing (Nola Passmore), and sci-fi/fantasy (Adam Collings). One of our past presidents, Penny Reeve, gave an inspiring talk on unexpected turns in the writing journey and the goodness of God. Quite a variety!

Overseas Presenters

We were also blessed with two overseas speakers. Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith is an American physician, speaker and writer with a passion for helping people to live out their God-given destiny. She gave keynotes on rhythms of grace and the importance of seven different types of rest in the writer's life. She also gave a couple of talks on marketing based on Biblical principles. We really appreciated her warmth, expertise and quirky humour. If you would like to hear a sample of Dr Saundra's teaching, click here for a short YouTube clip. You can access many more videos, including interviews, on YouTube.

British comedian, preacher and evangelist Mark Ritchie gave an inspiring talk on how God led him to pursue humour as a way of presenting the gospel in surprising places. Many have become Christians through his comedy gigs. He also gave a workshop on how to use humour in your writing. If you'd like to hear more of his heart for sharing the gospel through comedy, click here for a short YouTube interview.

Prayer and Worship

We had some beautiful times of worship, led by Steph Penny and Jenni Mills. Our Sunday morning service was particularly moving, as Chaplain Raewyn Elsegood shared from the heart about following God even when the music of your life changes. Chaplaincy was a key part of the weekend, with several chaplains helping out at the conference, including Tamika Spaulding and Karen Roper. A prayer room was available for people to talk to someone or to pray or meditate alone.

Genre Groups, Chapter Groups and the Hub

Times were also set aside for genre groups to get together to chat about their writing and build connections. While everyone benefitted from these, they were especially useful for the many new people who were attending their first Omega conference. We can never underestimate the value of the connections formed at events like this. Thank you to all of the genre group facilitators.

I think all of the Omega chapters were also represented, including a huge contingent from Melbourne shown in this photo.

As part of the HUB, delegates could also make appointments with industry experts, including publishers, editors, agents and other mentors. Thank you to the coordinators, those who gave appointments and those who were willing to 'put themselves out there' and talk to someone about their writing projects.

CALEB Awards

This year's CALEB Awards for published books was also incorporated into the program. CALEB is an acronym that stands for 'Christian Authors Lifting Each Other's Books', and there were certainly a lot of great books nominated. And the winners are:

• Adult fiction - 'El Roi' by Jo Wanmer
• Memoir and biography - 'Encounter: A Journey into Chaos, Culture and Compassion' by Ian Reilly
• Non-fiction - 'Epiphany and the Shopping Trolley' by Catherine Bradshaw
• Young adult fiction - 'Last Chance Joey' by Meredith Resce
• Children's fiction - 'Renegade Time Officer' by Bethany Loveridge
• Picture book - 'Moxie vs Cat Memes' by Andrew Dittmer
• The Mary Hawkins Award for Christian Writing - 'Wow God! Thank You, Sorry, Please: A Kid's Guide to Prayer' by Simon Camilleri

Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees. Those who were able to attend the conference are shown in the photo below. Also a big shoutout to Tamara Wenham and her team for the huge job of coordinating the awards and to all of the judges in the various categories. It was a stellar effort.

Also, thank you to:

• Our brilliant conference coordinator and past president Meredith Resce.
• Our Omega president Carolyn Tonkin, Secretary Karen Roper, Treasurer Amanda Deed and all of the committee members.
• Our volunteer book fairies.
• The folk at the Nunyara Conference Centre, including the caterers.
• Everyone who came along and made it such a great event. 

One of the dangers in writing a blog like this is that I may have inadvertently left someone out who should have been thanked. So please let me know and I can include them, or please add a note in the comments.  

Apart from the scheduled conference activities, there was also some great camaraderie, networking, inspiration, firing of creative juices and a general feeling that we are all part of something bigger. I look forward to seeing the fruit of what God has birthed in each person during the conference.

And of course the biggest thanks goes to our precious Father from whom all creativity flows. May we use our creative gifts for His glory.

Where Next?

In 2027, we will have an online retreat. These have been  extremely valuable in the past, so it's well worth attending.

It was also announced that the 2028 face-to-face conference will be held in Queensland.

More details about both of these events will be announced on the Omega website in due course, so stay tuned!

If you attended the conference, what is something that God showed you over the weekend and what were the highlights for you? We'd love to hear your comments.

Author Bio

Nola Lorraine (aka Nola Passmore) loves weaving words of faith, courage and hope. She has had more than 150 short pieces published, including fiction, memoir, devotions, and poetry. Her inspirational novel Scattered was a finalist in the 2021 CALEB Awards. Her devotional book Comfort Zone was published in 2025, with No Standing Zone published in 2026. She also loves helping other authors through The Write Flourish—a freelance writing and editing business she and her husband Tim have run since 2013.

Photo Credits

Thank you to the following people for your photos: Anusha Atukorala (group inside chapel, the Nunyara grounds, and prayer pebbles); Carolyn Tonkin (Penny Reeves speaking); Barbara McKay (Nola Passmore speaking; and James Cooper, Pete Court and Barbara); Tamika Spaulding (Mark Ritchie speaking); Louise Tonna (Melbourne chapter group); Alison Lloyd (CALEB winners and nominees); and Nola Passmore (photo of Dr Shauna and Nola).