Christy Award Winners Announced!

(Information provided by www.christyawards.com)

Catherine Marshall and the History of the Awards

Catherine Marshall, writer of more than two dozen books and the subject of at least one biography, is one of America's most notable and bestselling Christian writers.

Her readers around the world know Catherine as "America's most inspirational author," as described inThe New York Times. More than 25 million copies of her books are in print. Nine years in the making and perhaps Catherines's best-known work, the novel Christy has more than 10 million copies in print and is estimated to have been read by more than 30 million people.

The Christy Awards is proud to honor both the novelist and her novel through this annual award recognizing Christian novels of excellence.

The Christy Awards were started In the spring of 1999 when nearly a dozen Christian publishers confirmed the need for establishing a Christian fiction award to recognize novelists and novels of excellence in several genres of Christian fiction.

By late summer, ideas and planning had come together to launch The Christy Award, named in honor of Catherine Marshall’s novel and of her contribution to growth of the fiction Christians love to read.

The Christy Award is designed to:

• Nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview.
• Bring a new awareness of the breadth and depth of fiction choices available, helping to broaden the readership.
• Provide opportunity to recognize novelists whose work may not have reached bestseller status.

How the Awards Work

Every year publishers are invited to submit novels written from a Christian worldview and copyrighted in the year preceding the awards.

Each novel is entered in one of several genre categories and/or the first novel category.

Each category of novels is then read and evaluated against a ten-point criteria by a panel of seven judges composed of librarians, reviewers, academicians, literary critics, and other qualified readers, none of whom have a direct affiliation with a publishing company.

This Year's Finalists. (Winners highlighted): 

Contemporary Romance/

Blood Ransom

by Lisa Harris (Zondervan)

Indivisible

by Kristen Heitzmann (WaterBrook Press)

Sworn to Protect

by DiAnn Mills (Tyndale House Publishers)

Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas/

The Reluctant Prophet

by Nancy Rue (David C. Cook)

The Thorn

by Beverly Lewis (Bethany House Publishers,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

The Waiting

by Suzanne Woods Fisher (Revell Books,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Contemporary Standalone/

Almost Heaven

by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)

Lady in Waiting

by Susan Meissner (WaterBrook Press)

A Season of Miracles

by Rusty Whitener (Kregel Publications)

First Novel/

Crossing Oceans

by Gina Holmes (Tyndale House Publishers)

Heartless

by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

A Season of Miracles

by Rusty Whitener (Kregel Publications)

Historical/

Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther

by Ginger Garrett (David C. Cook)

For Time & Eternity

by Allison Pitman (Tyndale House Publishers)

While We’re Far Apart

by Lynn Austin (Bethany House Publishers,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Historical Romance/

The Girl in the Gatehouse

by Julie Klassen (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

She Walks in Beauty

by Siri Mitchell (Bethany House Publishers,
a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Within My Heart

by Tamera Alexander (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Suspense/

The Bishop

by Steven James (Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

The Bride Collector

by Ted Dekker (Center Street)

Predator

by Terri Blackstock (Zondervan)

Visionary/

To Darkness Fled

by Jill Williamson (Marcher Lord Press)

Konig’s Fire

by Marc Schooley (Marcher Lord Press)

The Last Christian

by David Gregory (WaterBrook Press)

Young Adult/

The Charlatan’s Boy

by Jonathan Rogers (WaterBrook Press)

The Healer’s Apprentice

by Melanie Dickerson (Zondervan)

Motorcycles, Sushi, and One
Strange Book

by Nancy Rue (Zondervan)