For Immediate Release — September 12, 2024

ECPA NAMES 33 FINALISTS FOR THE CHRISTY AWARD® IN NINE FICTION CATEGORIES

Winners to be revealed at The Christy Award Gala held in Chicago on November 14, preceded by Art of Writing conference

September 12, 2024, Tempe, Ariz. – Today, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) announced the 2024 finalists for THE CHRISTY AWARD program in an online webcast hosted by Christy Hall of Fame author Chris Fabry and ECPA president Jeff Crosby. The Christy Award exists to celebrate excellence in the art of Christian fiction and to honor the power of faith in story.

Thirty-three finalists were named in nine categories, with six ties in five categories. The named finalists represent the work of eleven publishers.

Winners from each category, plus the Christy Book of the Year and Amplify Award, will be announced at The Christy Award Gala held on Thursday, November 14 at 7 pm central in Downers Grove, Illinois at the DoubleTree Conference Center, just outside Chicago.

Hosted by award winning novelist and radio host CHRIS FABRY, the Gala will feature the induction of award-winning speculative author SHARON HINCK into the Christy Hall of Fame with remarks from inaugural Hall of Fame novelist LYNN AUSTIN. The evening will also include a keynote from AMANDA BARRATT, author of 2023 Christy Book of the Year® Within These Walls of Sorrow (Kregel Publications) and the presentation of this year’s awards by last year’s winning authors: Sharon Hinck, Amanda Barratt, Sara Brunsvold, Laura Frantz, Elizabeth Goddard, Kristi Ann Hunter, Anna Rose Johnson, Linda MacKillop, Katie Powner, and Sara Watterson.

In addition, the literary imagination of J.R.R. TOLKIEN will be honored throughout the evening by poet, scholar, and Anglican priest MALCOLM GUITE; accomplished agent of many of the industry’s award-winning speculative titles STEVE LAUBE; and WaterBrook editor, who is the founder of the International Inklings Day Substack, JAMIE LAPEYROLERIE.

Leading up to the Gala, an afternoon of seminars will be presented as the Art of Writing conference, which will bring together writers, creatives, and publishing curators for training and connection around Christian fiction writing. Sessions will be led by publishers Karen Watson and Andrea Garcia (Tyndale House); agents Danielle Egan-Miller and Cynthia Ruchti; and authors Amanda Cox, Kelly Flanagan, Chris Fabry, Robin W. Pearson, Dani Pettrey, and others.

The Art of Writing sessions follow the publisher training event, ECPA PubU, held November 13-14, at the same location.

Registration is open for the Winners Gala and Art of Writing at TheChristyAward.com. A special bundle rate is available and early bird extends until September 13. (ECPA members attending PubU can register for these events on their PubU registration form.)

“Next year, the Christy Award events will be online so it will be wonderful to gather in-person this year as we honor excellence in Christian fiction through the 2024 Christy Awards,” stated ECPA president Jeff Crosby. “This is a unique opportunity to gather novelists, their publishers, and readers of Christian fiction all in one place to celebrate life-changing literary content.”

The FINALISTS in nine fiction categories are:

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE – tie

Her Only Wish, Shelley Shepard Gray
Revell/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780800741686

Indigo Isle, T.I. Lowe
Tyndale House Publishers, 9781496465603

The Rhythm of Fractured Grace, Amanda Wen
Kregel Publications, 9780825448492

The Thing About Home, Rhonda McKnight
Thomas Nelson, 9780840706324

FIRST NOVEL

A Fifth of the Story, Dr. Katherine Hutchinson Hayes
End Game Press, 9781637971284

An American Immigrant, Johanna Rojas Vann
WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 9780593445556

On Moonberry Lake, Holly Varni
Revell/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780800744977

GENERAL FICTION – tie

He Should Have Told the Bees, Amanda Cox
Revell/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780800742737

The Last Exchange, Charles Martin
Thomas Nelson, 9780785255970

The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass, Katie Powner
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764242007

The Year of Jubilee, Cindy Morgan
Tyndale House Publishers, 9781496475985

HISTORICAL

Appalachian Song, Michelle Shocklee
Tyndale House Publishers, 9781496472441

The Foxhole Victory Tour, Amy Lynn Green
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764239571

The Warsaw Sisters, Amanda Barratt
Revell/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780800741716

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

A Winter by the Sea, Julie Klassen
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764234286

Of Love and Treason, Jamie Ogle
Tyndale House Publishers, 9781496479679

The Seamstress of Acadie, Laura Frantz
Revell/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780800740689

MYSTERY/ SUSPENSE/ THRILLER

8 Down, Kimberley Woodhouse
Kregel Publications, 9780825447730

The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater, Jaime Jo Wright
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764241444

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau, Jaime Jo Wright
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764238345

SHORT FORM – tie

Beauty Bright (within We Three Kings), Cara Putman
Kregel Publications, 9780825447914

The Poppy (within Dancing in the Rain), Sara Davison
Sara Davison, 9781736178065

The Shifting Current, Dani Pettrey
Dani Pettrey, 9798218021306

Star of Wonder (within We Three Kings), Crystal Caudill
Kregel Publications, 9780825447914

You Make It Feel like Christmas, Toni Shiloh
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764242069

SPECULATIVE – tie

Estuary, Lisa T. Bergren
Enclave, a division of Oasis Family Media, 9798886050462

In This Moment, Gabrielle Meyer
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764239755

Lumen, J.J. Fischer
Enclave, a division of Oasis Family Media, 9798886050820

Shadowcast, Crystal D. Grant
Quill & Flame Publishing House, 9781957899251

YOUNG ADULT – tie

The Looking-Glass Illusion, Sara Ella
Enclave Escape, a division of Oasis Family Media, 9798886050509

Offsides, Lori Z. Scott
End Game Press, 9781637971062

Once a Queen, Sarah Arthur
WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 9780593194454

Sky of Seven Colors, Rachelle Nelson
Enclave Escape, a division of Oasis Family Media, 9798886050585

Finalists are listed with their covers at TheChristyAward.com.

The Christy Award receives widespread support and promotion from these promotional partners, retailers, and sponsors: JustRead Publicity Tours, Crazy4Fiction, Family Fiction, Christian Editors Association, Chris Fabry Live, Reading is My Superpower, Life is Story, Faithfully Bookish, JustRead Rendezvous, ACFW, Christian Retailers Association, Baker Book House, Christianbook.com, The Parable Group, Logos, Mardel, More to Life, NetGalley, Ingram/Spring Arbor, Christianity Today, and Bethany Press.

On November 15, attendees are invited to extend their love of Christian fiction by staying over for the author and reader fiction conference event, JustRead Rendezvous, held at the same hotel. (Those who register for The Christy Award events can receive a discount on JustRead Rendezvous registration.)

Learn more about The Christy Award and register for the Gala and Art of Writing at TheChristyAward.com.

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.
TheChristyAward.com FB: ChristyAward X: @ChristyAward IG: @thechristyaward

Media contacts:
Jeff Crosby, ECPA President, jcrosby@ecpa.org, 630-989-0222
Cindy Carter, ECPA Awards & Recognition Manager, ccarter@ecpa.org, 480-966-3998 ext. 103

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