Realm Makers Scrapbook! (2025)
- Hannah Mae
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
My adventures at the Realm Maker Conference each year always offers something remarkably different. My very first experience thrilled me beyond belief. Then returning as a Realm Award Finalist put me on cloud nine. My next trip brought me the chance I only dreamed of: to pitch my designs to an actual videogame studio! Goes to show no matter how many times I attend, Realm Makers continues to immensely inspire Christian writers like myself, not just in our craft but in our faith.
Sometimes I wondered how much higher Realm Maker's ministry would fly. Well, this year, God launched them (and me) far over the mountains. Realm Makers wasn't just a conference for writers anymore. It opened its first multi-media expo, and this time, I wasn't just attending. The runners of Realm Makers asked then made me their official on-floor interviewer! (Yeeeee! Part of me STILL doesn't believe it!)
Now, though I had some prep and therefore some idea, neither my husband nor I truly knew how huge this conference and expo would be...
...yet even seeing the empty building for the first time blew my expectations!
I ran all over the place for a good couple hours the day before the event. (Can't conduct thirty interviews when you're lumbering lost. Am I right?) And everywhere I looked, everyone was pumped from the setup crews to Realm Maker's top leaders.
Of course, only once the masses came did the party truly begin. Thousands lined up for registration. Only this time, it wasn't just Christian writers who arrived. Christian Creatives of ALL kinds--from film, to animation, to comics, and videogames--came in droves with the same purpose in mind: to celebrate storytelling and it's place in God's kingdom in ALL its forms! My excitement from just seeing everyone was nearly enough to make me swoon!
You betcha I enjoyed many happy reunions, of course. Job or not, long distance besties simply must pal around when possible. Hanging with Julia N. White (top left) never fails to be a highlight on my RM adventures. My fellow author/gamer-girl, Lauren Thornhill (top right), and I absolutely geeked out over the latest videogame releases together. The head of Soma Games, Chris Skaggs (bottom left), and I also enjoyed more meaningful game dev conversations. Crystal and Emily Grant again impressed me with their ever blooming writing careers (bottom right). Even my friends and former bosses from my videogame reviewing days (top center) hosted their own booth for ChirstCenteredGamer.com! (Ah, the nostalgia!)
Of course, Realm Makers 2025 wasn't classes and pitches this time. I had a task. A BIG task! Interview as many of our esteemed Expo guests as I possibly could and only two-and-a-half days to do it! My feet zoomed. There was barely enough time to rest. Hardly any time to eat either, but to tell you the truth, I was too ridiculously happy to bother with things like...exhaustion. God granted me the chance to meet some big names--most of which influenced my childhood! Seriously, if you told me one day I'd get to talk with Mulan's co-director (Tony Bancroft), meet the voice of Connie Kendal (Katie Leigh), and eat dinner with Larry the Cucumber (Mike Nawrocki) I'd call you crazy! Yet there I was, not just speaking with them and many more talented creators but helping them openly share their love for Jesus for an online audience was the best thing I could've asked for!
Of course, every good adventure inevitably hits road bumps. There was that time it seemed some mysterious 'goblin' stole from my raffle basket donation. Then there was that time we forgot to get proper bluetooth mics for the interviews, but the Lord swiftly answered our prayers. The guys at the 'Men at the Movies' booth let me borrow an excellent pair of mics all weekend, and compassionate staffers and attendees helped me solve the raffle basket mystery. The interviews went off without a hitch, and the discovery of an innocent mistake restored the raffle basket. All ended very very well!
And with those weights off my mind, I continued covering the conference and expo fervently. Talk panels, classes, exclusive screenings, game demos, karate, a live sing-along, and even a live radio show skit. God's inspiring hand expressed in so many arts at the same time even started to make me dizzy!
And the outfits at the Realm Award Costume Gala did not disappoint! (Per usual.)
Even my husband joined the fun! (I mean, where'd Hinata be without her Naruto?)
But honestly, the best 'first' for Realm Maker's 2025 in my book was our very very first Sunday worship service. With hearts bared and hands raised high, every storyteller worshiped the our Lord God--the Author of Life--in sincerest harmony. And I admit. I cried. A lot.
The only real shame about being a Realm Maker interviewer though is that there were too many adventures share here in one scrapbook.
But all the friendly faces…
…and generous hearts…
….will stick to me always…
….including their impeccable fashion sense.
Because the fact is, we Realmies aren't ordinary storytellers. 'Ordinary' doesn't seek after God's own heart. 'Ordinary' believes reality is hopeless. 'Ordinary' can't see beyond the number of zeros on the check or the size of their fanbase. But the 'extraordinary' encountered the Creator and His heart. The 'extraordinary' were transformed in spirit and mind. The 'extraordinary' storyteller's reward is to embody their Savior and hear Him say 'well done'--the One who remade them to be extraordinary.
Because our Savior lives, we can face tomorrow and draw the Biblical truths that earthly art suppresses into public light. To God be the glory for what He'll do in the hearts of His Creatives next!
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