Last time I saw Chicago, it was 2003 and my mind was on the Cornerstone Festival, several hours west of the city.

On Thursday evening, I’ll arrive in Chicago again… (more…)

On Thursday, I’m flying to Pittsburgh for this event: (more…)

Have you checked the schedule for IAM Encounter 11? (more…)

In preparation for my first real trip to New York, I had a conversation with Christy Tennant, host of IAM Conversations for the International Arts Movement.

Christy started off by going right for the sore spot: What do I think of the Oscar nominations? So… (more…)

I gave a Through a Screen Darkly presentation in Spokane yesterday, and I’m still grinning from the fun I had there.

Many thanks to the College Women’s Association of Spokane for giving me a warm welcome, and proving to be gracious hosts during my stay on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Special thanks to Karen Murray and Harla Jean Biever for inviting me to speak about “dangerous moviegoing”, and to everyone who enriched the conversation afterward. (more…)

Chances are I’ll make my way to your neighborhood one of these days, if I haven’t already. And I’d love to meet LookingCloser.org readers, and anybody who has ventured into the world of Auralia’s Colors, Cyndere’s Midnight, and Raven’s Ladder.

These days, I’ve been delivering presentations on:

• “Following The Auralia Thread”: Writing Fantasy as a Practice of Discovery
• “Beyond Blockbusters”: Entering the Mind of Contemplative Cinema
• “Through a Screen Darkly”: Faith, Discernment, and a Memoir of “Dangerous Moviegoing”
• “How to Chew Your Movies”: Lessons from my Decade as a Film Reviewer
• “Beauty and the Beast”: A Tradition of Monsters in Storytelling
• “The Eagles are Coming!”: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, and Faith

Keep in mind: I go where I’m invited. So send me a detailed invitation, and we’ll see what we can do.

Here is my current calendar of speaking engagements.

If you need more details, let me know. If you’re interested in having me share thoughts on faith and art (whether that be movies, fantasy, writing or something else), email me at joverstreet@gmail.com. The calendar’s getting pretty crowded between now and next fall, but we can start penciling things in for late 2010 and 2011…

UPCOMING

2011

March 4-6, 2011
IAM Encounter 11
At this conference on the theme “Be Generative,” I’ll be presenting a talk called “I Am Also Five”: sharing a life story about the generative power of play.

March 24, 2011, 7 p.m.
Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park (Seattle)
You’re invited to the Seattle launch party for The Ale Boy’s Feast! Jeffrey will read from the new book and reflect on the sixteen years of writing that brought The Auralia Thread to completion.

April 1, 2011
Imago Film Festival
Judson University, Chicago, IL

April 2, 2011
Reel Spirituality Conference 2011
Fuller Seminary, Los Angeles, CA
I’ll join Elvis Mitchell, Ralph Winter, Robert K. Johnston, Gareth Higgins, Mark Pinsky, Claudia Puig, Justin Chang, and Carolyn Gordon to discuss “The Death of the Critic.”

April 8, 2011
Valley Christian High School, San Jose, CA

April 14, 2011
The Seattle Chesterton Society, Seattle, WA

June 23-26, 2011
Laity Lodge Retreat with Rodney Reeves and Jeffrey Overstreet
I’ll be discussing the ways in which contemporary cinema can nourish our lives through encounters with the sacred, with beauty, and with mystery.

July 31-August 7, 2011
The Glen Workshop, St. John’s College, Santa Fe, NM
I’ll lead a week-long seminar on cinema that exemplifies great art even as it investigates questions about the nature, purpose, and power of art.

Recent Appearances

2010

January 27, 2010
Spokane College Women’s Association luncheon, Spokane, WA
I’ll be speaking about faith, movies, and discernment.

February 8, 2010
The Kindlings Muse, Hale’s Ale’s Pub and Brewery, Seattle, WA
Come enjoy dinner while author and host Dick Staub and film reviewers Greg Wright and Jennifer Spohr talk with me about this year’s Oscar-nominated films in a program called “Theology of Oscar’s Best Pictures.” This is an annual event, and the last few have been a blast. I hope to see you there.

March 4-6, 2010
IAM Encounter, New York, NY
The question that the IAM folks have given me is this: “How shall we then tell stories?”
I plan to talk about storytelling on the page and on the big screen.

Encounter 10: Jeffrey Overstreet on the how of storytelling from International Arts Movement on Vimeo.

March 11, 2010
St. Leo University, St. Leo, FL
I’ll be speaking on movies, page-to-screen adaptations, hero stories, and more.

March 2010
Food for Thought presentation, Seattle Pacific University
I’ll read from Raven’s Ladderand talk about where the series is headed in its upcoming final volume.

March 18, 2010
Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Seattle, WA
I’ll read from Raven’s Ladder, talk about The Auralia Thread, and sign books.

April 15, 16, 17, 2010
Okay… I’m not on the program at the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing this year. But you should attend it anyway. Be sure to check in with my dear friend Warren Farha at Eighth Day Books. He’ll probably have a copy of Raven’s Ladderfor you. I’ll miss all of my friends who will be there.

August 1-8, 2010
The Glen Workshop, St. John’s College, Santa Fe, NM
I’ll lead a week-long seminar on contemplative cinema. We’ll look at how the world’s most poetic filmmakers do what they do, and explore different avenues of discussion and personal interpretation.

October 1-3, 2010
Laity Lodge Writer’s Retreat

February 18-20, 2011
Jubilee Conference
I spoke to an audience of about 2,000 (college students, faculty, and guests) in my first visit to this conference. What a rush! I gave three presentations: A short talk about the power of art; a lecture on the revelatory power of “pagan” fairy tales; and a lecture about “dangerous moviegoing.”

Spokane, I’m coming to visit!

I’ll be speaking about faith, film, and fantasy… and signing books… at the luncheon for the Spokane College Women’s Association on January 26.

A couple of Whitworth students got word of this and asked if I would be speaking at the school as well. There’s been no invitation from Whitworth – maybe that’ll happen someday – but here’s the good news: (more…)

I’m in Orange City, Iowa.

It’s like… 20 degrees here, and there’s snow on the ground.

I’m preparing for my third presentation of the day at Northwestern College. It’ll be a public lecture about Christian discernment in the arts. So I’m busy, I’m tired (jet lag and stress), and I’m having a fantastic time with gracious hosts.

Normal blogging will resume when I get back and catch up on my sleep.

Stay tuned…