Orange County, CA – The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has selected FrontGate Media, one of the world’s leading Faith and Family marketing agencies, as PR agency of record. FrontGate will be working with ECPA to provide brand strategy and communications services including Publicity, Social Media, and Grassroots Outreach for the annual THE CHRISTY AWARDS™ GALA and the launch of THE ART OF WRITING CONFERENCE.
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. Registration and information for both events can be found here.
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).
The Christy Award™ Gala will also take place on November 8, exactly 50 years after the novel Christy debuted at #1 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 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.
“FrontGate has been a valued, long-term partner of ECPA. We have been consistently impressed with FrontGate’s track record in achieving results that really impact faith-based publishers and authors, as well as their creative approach to influencing the key audiences we want to reach for these events. FrontGate understands the big picture story of our authors’ and publishers’ stories,” said Stan Jantz, Executive Director of ECPA.
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 forCatherine 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.
About FrontGate Media:
Award-winning FrontGate Media (http://FrontGateMedia.com) is the leading marketing agency and media group specializing in the faith and family audience. With a 16-year track record of success, the firm serves as “Your Gateway to the Christian Audience.” FrontGate’s full service agency and media group has been trusted with over 5,000 campaigns, providing Faith-based market Strategy Development, Public Relations, Media Buying, and Social Media & Marketing. FrontGate’s own Web & Events Network also provides reach to millions and millions of people each month via their sites, events and email subscribers. Founded in 2001, FrontGate has repeatedly been honored in the Internet Advertising Competition and the WebAwards. The company plays a key role in the success of for-profit and non-profit organizations seeking the faith-based and family-friendly audiences.
