Conference and Awards program will celebrate the importance of faith in storytelling for creatives, writers, authors, and publishing curators
Tempe, AZ – The Evangelical Christian Publishers
The conference and awards program will attract aspiring and published writers, creatives and storytellers, along with publishing professionals. Writers will find encouragement, information and inspiration while Christian fiction fans and publishers will celebrate the best faith-affirming stories of the year and find new ways to elevate the genre.
The Art of Writing Conference, held on November 8 from 1-5 pm, will be a half-day event dedicated to writers, storytellers and publishing curators. Designed to bring together creators and curators, the conference will feature intensive seminars that celebrate the creative life, and provide practical tips for the challenges in this rapidly changing industry. Speakers and Panelists excel in a variety of roles and will be discussing issues including diversity in storytelling, handling discouragement, and various perspectives on living a creative life. Speakers include Andrew Peterson (musician, author and founder of The Rabbit Room), Theon Hill Ph.D.(Wheaton College), Carrie Schmidt (blogger), Cynthia Ruchti (author and agent), Beth Adams (Howard Books), Karen Watson (Tyndale House), Dan Balow (Gilead Publishing), Amy Green (Bethany House) and Chris Fabry (author and radio personality).
“Storytellers of faith and their stories have historical significance as an essential way to touch the human heart and contribute goodness, truth, and beauty to art and culture,” said Stan Jantz, ECPA’s Executive Director. “Through The Christy Award™ we are excited to recognize and support the publishers and the authors who write quality fiction.”
The Christy Award™ Gala will also take place on November 8, exactly 50 years after the novel Christy debuted on the New York Times Best Seller List for Fiction in 1967. The dinner event will be hosted by Best-Selling Christian Authors Karen Kingsbury, Andrew Peterson, and Chris Fabry and announce the winners of the 2017 Christy Awards in nine categories: General, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Visionary, First Novel, Young Adult and Short Form.
The Gala will also celebrate the 50th anniversary and re-release by Gilead Publishers of the groundbreaking novel Christy by Catherine Marshall and the awards’ namesake. Set in 1912, the novel shares the story of a young woman who leaves home to teach school in an impoverished community in the Smokey Mountains. Selling over 10 million copies, Christy opened doors for the genre, showcasing a need in the fiction market for stories of faith.
The Christy Award™ was established in 1999 to acknowledge the value and impact of faith-inspired storytelling in contemporary culture. Since the demand for great stories of faith have been exceptionally on the rise over the past few years, both the quality and quantity of offerings released in 2017 have exceeded expectations. As film producers in Hollywood continue to actively pursue good stories with strong faith undertones, Christian Fiction projects will only continue to grow in exposure.
On Wednesday, November 8, The Art of Writing Conference will be held from 1-5pm. The Christy Awards Gala will be held at 7:00 pm at Lipscomb University, located at 1 University Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37204. Both events are offered at a special bundle price of $99. For more information and tickets, please see http://www.christyawards.
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade organization comprised of member companies that are involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian content worldwide. Since 1974, ECPA has strengthened Christian publishing by building networking, information, and advocacy opportunities within the industry and throughout multiple channels so that our members can more effectively produce and deliver transformational Christian content. ECPA.org
The Christy Award™ is the foremost award honoring and promoting excellence in Christian fiction since 1999, and is named for Catherine Marshall’s novel, “Christy,” which has sold over 10 million copies since its publication in 1967. ECPA assumed ownership and administration of the award in 2017 to focus and grow the unique opportunity of fiction in Christian publishing. ChristyAwards.com
Lori Heiselman FrontGate Media, lori@frontgatemedia.com, 714-553-5181
Stan Jantz, ECPA Executive Director, sjantz@ecpa.org, 480
Cindy Carter, ECPA Awards & Recognition Manager, ccarter@ecpa.org, 480
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