I was so blessed to attend the Christy Awards this year. Dear Mr. Knightley was nominated and I’m not going to lie – that was super amazingly cool.
But what I found more wonderful, and yet not surprising, was the love every writer shared for both storytelling and Christ. The Christy Awards seek to honor the best in Christian fiction, “life changing” stories. And I contend that stories which honor Christ, seek him, unfold an aspect of God’s love, has those powerful seeds, those change agents, planted within it – and are indeed “life changing.”
There are a couple neat things they do at the Christy Awards. When the nominees walk across the stage to receive a medal, a judge’s description of the story is read. I’ve included those next to the winning books below. And they also read the first line –some of these are SO powerful. That caught me – especially Dragonwitch’s opener. Amazing.
Here are the categories, the winning titles and the judge’s comments:
Contemporary
Picture taken from Google Images.
Stones for Bread by Christa Parrish (Thomas Nelson, Harper Collins Christian Publishing)
“This was a brilliantly beautiful read! One of my top Christian fiction book reads ever!”
Contemporary Romance/Suspense
Dangerous Passage by Lisa Harris (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
Picture from Google Images.
“An excellent example of what readers expect from this genre. Great pace.”
Contemporary Series
Take A Chance on Me by Susan May Warren (Tyndale House Publishers)
“I stayed up way too late a couple of nights because I could not put down.”
Images take from Google Images.
Historical Romance
Image from Google Images.
Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar (River North, from Moody Publishing)
“This was an excellent story in every way.”
Suspense
Outlaw by Ted Dekker (Center Street, a division of Hachette Book Group USA)
“This novel has challenged me more than any other Christian novel I have read… phenomenal read.”
Image from Google Images.
Speculative
Dragonwitch by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
“Very few book compel me to stop midway through and track down and buy the author’s backlist. Dragonwitch did.”
Image from Google Images.
And the huge winner… First Novel, Historical and Book of the Year
Burning Sky by Lori Benton (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)
“What a stunning first novel.”
“Benton’s careful research is evident in this story. The social and emotional fall out of war and the price of forgiveness are beautifully interwoven”
Image from Google Images.
God’s truth and rich imaginative storytelling – sometimes encapsulated in one beautiful opening sentence. Check out these books and enjoy the love affair!
Katherine Reay is a wife, mother, runner, and avid chocolate consumer. She has enjoyed a life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries and, at the encouragement of her family, recently began an affair with food – cooking that is – and this new passion strongly influenced her next novel, Lizzy and Jane, which will release in October 2014. After living all across the country and a few stops in Europe, Katherine and her family live in Seattle, WA. You can also find Katherine at www.katherinereay.com and lurking somewhere within the pages of her first novel, Dear Mr. Knightley.
I was ‘at’ the Christy’s via the live blog. It was so exciting to see who won and read all the wonderful things that were said about all the nominees. So many good, edifying works of fiction. My TBR pile just tripled! Congrats on your Christy nomination and your ACFW Carol nomination – both are well-deserved. You had me up quite late last night finishing ‘Dear Mr. Knightly’. I just loved it. I identify with Sam in many ways – my parents divorced when I was young and I hid in books. But God used that defense mechanism and now I’m writing them. Hope you win in September. I’ll be rooting for you! :)
My TBR pile just grew by leaps and bounds! :)
Thank you so much, Jen. I’m thrilled you loved the story and that you found something in Sam’s journey that resonated… God uses everything doesn’t he? Thanks for the encouragement regarding the Carol’s… That was such a surprise and I’m still grinning about that. :) Take care and God bless you.
I know! Isn’t it fun? So many many books! And now the Inspy winners and the Carol nominees… There are so many good lists right now that bring new titles to that TBR pile. Now I need a nice cool drink, a cookie and a comfy chair.