2025 Fall Conference: The Power of Story
This year’s conference will be in West Chicago. We have a great line-up of presentations for librarians and book lovers alike. Check it out and register now, the date is October 11, 2025.
Event Information
Date: October 11, 2025
Location: Christ Fellowship Church, 28W240 North Ave, West Chicago, Illinois
Registration Fees: $75
What’s on the conference schedule?
7:45 – 8:30 Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 – 8:45 Welcome
9:00 – 9:45 Keynote
The Ministry of Story: How Stories Can Change Lives
by Jamie Jo Wright
Jaime Jo Wright is a three-time Christy Award finalist and the author of thirteen novels, including Christy Award–winner and ECPA bestseller The Vanishing at Castle Moreau, Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award–winner The House on Foster Hill, and Carol Award-winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. Jaime has also written two Publishers Weekly bestselling novellas. She lives in Wisconsin with her family and fabulous felines. Learn more at JaimeWrightBooks.com.
9:45 – 10:00 Break: Book Swap/ Book Store
10:00 – 11:00 Workshops
Telling the Story of the Mary We Forgot: Opportunities and Challenges
by Jennifer McNutt
Dr. Jennifer Powell McNutt is the Franklin S. Dyrness Chaired Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at Wheaton College’s Litfin Divinity School. She is an award-winning professor and award-winning author of many books including The Mary We Forgot: What the Apostle to the Apostles Teaches the Church Today (Brazos, 2024) on Mary Magdalene. That work was a finalist for the ECPA’s 2025 Christian Book of the Year Award (Christian Living) and the Midwest Book Awards Finalist (Religion/Philosophy). She lives in Winfield, IL with her husband and three children.
The Magnificent Story
The Magnificent Story, which is also the title of Julie’s newest book, combines both Julie and Joyce Ieron’s love of music and message.
by Julie Allyson Ieron & Joyce Ieron
Joyce and Julie-Allyson Ieron are a mother-daughter team to the max. You’ll recognize Julie as the author of 40 Christian living, Bible study and devotional books. And Joyce, you’ll remember from Julie’s book tables. But what you may not know is that the two divide their time between publishing and church music. Next year will mark 80 years for Joyce as a church keyboard player! Together, they have spent more than a decade working every week with the chaplain of a senior adult living facility to lead worship at chapel services. They play organ, piano and violin, sing duets, and lead a choir of residents.
11:00 – 11:15 Break
11:15 – 12:00 Workshops
New Christian Children’s Books
Book talks of the latest and greatest books for kids
by Jessica Lutz
Jessica started out hating reading, until her mother got her hooked on a series and refused to continue reading them to her. Now she lives and breathes books, working at Baker Book House for 3+ years, reading in every spare moment, and writing her own books.
Imagination & Vision
by Steve Smith
Steve Smith began his publishing career in 1984. He was active in licensing entertainment industry properties for publishing projects throughout the 1990s, working with Lucasfilm, Twentieth Century-Fox, and Sony Pictures. His book, Star Wars: The Art of Dave Dorman was a Random House bestseller in 1996. In the mid-2000s, Steve penned eight upper elementary novels. In 2013, Steve acquired the license for The Obscure Cities, a series of French graphic novels, from Casterman. In 2018, Steve was nominated for an audiobook of the year by the Audies (given by the Audio Publishers Association) and a Grammy (for best spoken word recording) for his production of The Good Neighbor—a biography of Mr. Fred Rogers, narrated by LeVar Burton. In 2022, Steve was awarded the prestigious Will Eisner Comics Industry Award for best translation of a foreign material for his The Obscure Cities book, The Shadow of a Man.
12:00 – 1:00 Box Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 Talk: New Adult Christian Fiction
Chris will be booktalking the hottest new Christian adult fiction.
By Chris Jager
Chris Jager has worked as Fiction Book Buyer for Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, MI over 25 years. She is a great supporter of all things reading and usually is found with book in hand. Unless she is chasing grandkids, spending time with her husband Mike, and their adult children.
2:30 – 3:30 Round Table Discussions for:
School Librarians
School librarians will enjoy sharing with other school librarians, challenges as well as wins.
Led by Jen Brown
Jen Brown is the Library Media Center Director at the Wheaton Christian Grammar School in Winfield, IL.
Book Lovers
Book lovers of all kinds will share their favorites for reading, book discussions and more.
Led by Cathy Askeland
Cathy Askeland is a retired middle school media director. She is also a member of the ECLA board. One of her specialties is hosting the monthly Zoom Librarian Roundtable.
Church Librarians
Church librarians will get together and discuss their responsibilities and ways to enhance their work in the church.
Led by Debbie Dehart
Debbie Dehart has been an avid reader (in two languages) all her life, even when she lived overseas and English books were hard to come by. She has been a librarian at Berean Baptist Church in Portage, MI since 2013, and because organization and the Dewey Decimal System are among her favorite things, she especially loves cataloging and making sure everything in the library is in order. She lives in Schoolcraft, MI with Terry, her husband of 40 years. Their four children, three children-in-law and eight granddaughters all live within a twenty-minute drive.
© New York Public Library
© New York Public Library
3:15 – 3:30 Break
3:30 – 4:00 Book Giveaway!
Besides all these wonderful presentations, all attendees will receive many new books to take home in the book giveaway and everyone is invited to the book swap whether you bring books or not. Lunch will be provided. The fellowship and networking with other librarians and book lovers is an invaluable part of this conference. Don’t miss it!
Pop-up Bookstore
There will be a pop-up bookstore with a limited amount of books available on-site to purchase. Please remember to bring your tax-exempt ID if you plan to purchase books for your church. To purchase books from Baker Books you will need a debit or credit card, they do not accept cash or checks. There will also be a Baker Books discount available to use for online purchasing from Baker.
