rush-to-press
The Week's News in Christian Publishing
  • Industry News
  • Milestones
  • Media Announcements
  • Product News
  • Other News

For Immediate Release — November 17, 2023

ecpa logo

The Christy Award® is presented to 11 novels, named as the year’s best in Christian fiction

The 2023 Christy Book of the Year is “Within These Walls of Sorrow” by Amanda Barratt

The Amplify Award is presented to “The Star That Always Stays” by Anna Rose Johnson

The Christy Award®TEMPE, ARIZ., NOVEMBER 17, 2023 – Last night, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) announced the winners of The Christy Award in nine fiction categories, plus the Book of the Year and The Amplify Award.  The Christy Award exists to celebrate excellence in the art of Christian fiction and to honor the power of faith in story.

The online webcast was hosted by award-winning author and radio personality CHRIS FABRY and ECPA president JEFF CROSBY, and featured legendary novelists JANETTE OKE and DAVIS BUNN reflecting together on their enduring writing careers. The evening’s category winners were announced by last year’s winning authors: AMANDA COX, TONI SHILOH, NICOLE DEESE, PATRICIA RAYBON, JOCELYN GREEN, SARAH SUNDIN, TERRI BLACKSTOCK, KAREN WITEMEYER, SHARON HINCK, and KARA SWANSON.

The emotion, mutual encouragement and community among all the attendees – authors, fans and publishers –  was palpable among the comments and speakers.  At the event’s close, Janette Oke’s blessing was spoken over all:  May this evening be a reminder to all who take part that God has given us a wonderful privilege of sharing His message… that can go where we do not go and relate to people we will not meet.

Watch party in St. Louis at the Just Read Tours Rendezvous conference

In addition to the publishers, writers, and fans gathered online, the event was broadcast to watch parties in Grand Rapids at the Baker Book House, and in St. Louis at the inaugural Just Read Tours Rendezvous conference for Christian fiction enthusiasts.

The BOOK OF THE YEAR was presented to Within These Walls of Sorrow by AMANDA BARRATT (Kregel Publications).  The novel, set in Poland during World War II, also won this year in the Historical category.

The program’s second AMPLIFY AWARD was presented to ANNA ROSE JOHNSON for her novel The Star That Always Stays (Holiday House), inspired by her indigenous family history. Johnson is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The Amplify Award was created by publishers and agents to elevate and recognize under-represented ethnic stories of excellence, and their authors. Last year, In Search of a Prince by TONI SHILOH (Bethany House) received the first Amplify Award and this year, Shiloh won in the Contemporary Romance category for To Win A Prince (Bethany House).

SHARON HINCK won the Speculative category for the fourth year in a row for Dream of Kings (Enclave Publishing).  With this win, she will join the Christy Hall of Fame and be inducted next year.

“The Christy Award Gala is an important part of the ECPA events calendar each year, and it’s always a joy to recognize authors who have honed their craft to such a degree that our judges recognize their books with an award in one of the nine categories,” states Jeff Crosby, ECPA president and CEO. “I extend my sincere congratulations to each of the winning authors and their editors and publishers who helped make the book known.”

Presenting The Christy Award® winners for 2023:

BOOK OF THE YEAR
Within These Walls of Sorrow
, Amanda Barratt
Kregel Publications, 9780825447013

 


THE AMPLIFY AWARD FOR CHRISTIAN FICTION
The Star That Always Stays
, Anna Rose Johnson
Holiday House, 9780823450404

 


CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
To Win a Prince, Toni Shiloh
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764238963

 


FIRST NOVEL – TIE
The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip, Sara Brunsvold
Revell/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780800740276

The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon, Linda MacKillop
Kregel Publications, 9780825447327

 


GENERAL FICTION
Where the Blue Sky Begins
, Katie Powner
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764240393

 


HISTORICAL
Within These Walls of Sorrow
, Amanda Barratt
Kregel Publications, 9780825447013

 


HISTORICAL ROMANCE
The Rose and the Thistle, Laura Frantz
Revell/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780800740672

 


MYSTERY/SUSPENSE/THRILLER
Cold Light of Day
, Elizabeth Goddard
Revell/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780800742041

 


SHORT FORM
Always a Lady
(in A Return to Hawthorne House), Kristi Ann Hunter
Oholiab Creations, 9781959589013

 


SPECULATIVE
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
Enclave Publishing, a division of Oasis Family Media, 9798886050080

 


YOUNG ADULT
This Dreamer
, Sara Watterson
Sara Watterson, 979898574741

 


The winners are posted at christyawards.com/finalists-winners.html and will soon be featured in a Christianity Today e-blast.

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

The Christy Award events, including the annual Art of Writing conference and Winners Gala, will return in-person on November 14, 2024 in the Chicago area.  For more information about The Christy Award program and to sign up for award and event updates for the 2024 season, visit 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 and CEO, jcrosby@ecpa.org, 480-966-3998 ext. 101
Cindy Carter, ECPA Awards & Recognition Manager, 
ccarter@ecpa.org, 480-966-3998 ext. 103

Sign Up To Receive Industry News Each Week

Subscribe

This Month’s Bestsellers

VIEW BY GENRE
1 THE BIBLE RECAP STUDY GUIDE
TARA-LEIGH COBBLE
2 THE BIBLE RECAP, Hardcover
TARA-LEIGH COBBLE
3 THE BIBLIO DIET
JORDAN RUBIN AND JOSH AXE
4 THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES
GARY CHAPMAN
5 THE RUTHLESS ELIMINATION OF HURRY
JOHN MARK COMER
6 JESUS CALLING, Hardcover
SARAH YOUNG
7 ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES
ROSE PUBLISHING
8 STAND FIRM AND ACT LIKE MEN
JOBY MARTIN WITH CHARLES MARTIN
9 NEW MORNING MERCIES
PAUL DAVID TRIPP
10 ONE MINUTE WITH GOD FOR MEN
CHRISTIAN ART GIFTS
View All
1 NO MORE BORING BIBLE STUDY
FAITH WOMACK
2 THE PROMISE OF HEAVEN BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
DAVID JEREMIAH
3 RISE AND RENEW
CANDACE CAMERON BURE
4 SURVIVING AN UNWANTED DIVORCE
LYSA TERKEURST WITH JOEL MUDDAMALLE AND JIM CRESS
5 TRANSFORMED BY THE MESSIAH
RABBI JASON SOBEL
6 GRADUALLY THEN SUDDENLY
MARK BATTERSON
7 THE WAR FOR MIDDLE-EARTH
JOSEPH LOCONTE
8 WHY NOT YOU?
ED NEWTON
9 PROWL
COLLEEN COBLE
10 THE FIGHT TO FIND YOURSELF
JOEL TUDMAN
View All
1 REDEEMING LOVE
FRANCINE RIVERS
2 HINDS' FEET ON HIGH PLACES
HANNAH HURNARD
3 A LINEAGE OF GRACE
FRANCINE RIVERS
4 WHEN CRICKETS CRY
CHARLES MARTIN
5 HINDS' FEET ON HIGH PLACES: AN ENGAGING VISUAL JOURNEY
HANNAH HURNARD
6 THE SHACK
WILLIAM PAUL YOUNG
7 THE CHRISTMAS RING
KAREN KINGSBURY
8 THE BOOK OF MYSTERIES
JONATHAN CAHN
9 THE KEEPER
CHARLES MARTIN
10 TRACK OF COURAGE
SUSAN MAY WARREN
View All
1 THE BIBLE RECAP STUDY GUIDE
TARA-LEIGH COBBLE
2 THE BIBLE RECAP, Hardcover
TARA-LEIGH COBBLE
3 THE BIBLIO DIET
JORDAN RUBIN AND JOSH AXE
4 THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES
GARY CHAPMAN
5 THE RUTHLESS ELIMINATION OF HURRY
JOHN MARK COMER
6 JESUS CALLING, Hardcover
SARAH YOUNG
7 ROSE BOOK OF BIBLE CHARTS, MAPS AND TIME LINES
ROSE PUBLISHING
8 STAND FIRM AND ACT LIKE MEN
JOBY MARTIN WITH CHARLES MARTIN
9 NEW MORNING MERCIES
PAUL DAVID TRIPP
10 ONE MINUTE WITH GOD FOR MEN
CHRISTIAN ART GIFTS
View All
1 SINGLE, DATING, ENGAGED, MARRIED
BEN STUART
2 THE CASE FOR CHRIST STUDENT EDITION
LEE STROBEL WITH JANE VOGEL
3 LIVE ON PURPOSE
SADIE ROBERTSON HUFF WITH BETH CLARK AND TAMA FORTNER
4 IS GOD REAL? FOR TEENS
LEE STROBEL
5 THE 5-MINUTE BIBLE STUDY FOR TEEN GIRLS
CAREY SCOTT
6 OUTDATED
JONATHAN JP POKLUDA AND KEVIN MCCONAGHY
7 THE CASE FOR FAITH
LEE STROBEL
8 INTERCESSORY PRAYER
DUTCH SHEETS
9 GOD IS WITH YOU EVERY DAY
MAX LUCADO
10 DO HARD THINGS
ALEX HARRIS AND BRETT HARRIS
View All
1 SINGLE, DATING, ENGAGED, MARRIED
BEN STUART
2 THE CASE FOR CHRIST STUDENT EDITION
LEE STROBEL WITH JANE VOGEL
3 LIVE ON PURPOSE
SADIE ROBERTSON HUFF WITH BETH CLARK AND TAMA FORTNER
4 IS GOD REAL? FOR TEENS
LEE STROBEL
5 THE 5-MINUTE BIBLE STUDY FOR TEEN GIRLS
CAREY SCOTT
6 OUTDATED
JONATHAN JP POKLUDA AND KEVIN MCCONAGHY
7 THE CASE FOR FAITH
LEE STROBEL
8 INTERCESSORY PRAYER
DUTCH SHEETS
9 GOD IS WITH YOU EVERY DAY
MAX LUCADO
10 DO HARD THINGS
ALEX HARRIS AND BRETT HARRIS
View All
1 ONE-MINUTE INSPIRATIONS FOR WOMEN
ELIZABETH GEORGE
2 365 READ-ALOUD BEDTIME BIBLE STORIES
DANIEL PARTNER
3 WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?
RICK WARREN
4 KNOW YOUR BIBLE
PAUL KENT
5 BIBLE PROMISES FOR MOMS
HEIDI ST. JOHN
6 BIBLE PROMISE BOOK - KJV
BARBOUR PUBLISHING
7 ONE-MINUTE INSIGHTS FOR MEN
JIM GEORGE
8 THE CASE FOR EASTER
LEE STROBEL
9 199 PROMISES OF GOD
BARBOUR PUBLISHING
10 THE BERENSTAIN BEARS' VALENTINE BLESSINGS
MIKE BERENSTAIN
View All
1 ESV CHURCH BIBLE
ESV BIBLES
2 ESV STUDY BIBLE
PACKER, J. I.
3 NIV THE WOMAN'S STUDY BIBLE
THOMAS NELSON
4 NKJV PERSONAL SIZE LARGE PRINT REFERENCE BIBLE
THOMAS NELSON
5 NIV LARGE PRINT VALUE THINLINE BIBLE
ZONDERVAN
6 CSB SHE READS TRUTH BIBLE, Grey
MYERS, RAECHEL
7 ESV JOURNALING BIBLE
ESV BIBLES
8 NLT LARGE PRINT PREMIUM VALUE THINLINE BIBLE, Garden Pink
NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
9 KJV FULL SIZE GIANT PRINT BIBLE
CHRISTIAN ART PUBLISHERS
10 KJV GIANT PRINT DELUXE REFERENCE BIBLE
THOMAS NELSON
View All
1 NIV LARGER PRINT HOLY BIBLE ECONOMY EDITION
ZONDERVAN
2 NLT LARGE PRINT HOLY BIBLE ECONOMY OUTREACH EDITION
NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
3 NIV ECONOMY BIBLE
ZONDERVAN
4 KJV GIFT & AWARD BIBLE, Black
THOMAS NELSON
5 ESV ECONOMY BIBLE
ESV BIBLES
6 NIV GIFT & AWARD BIBLE, Pink
ZONDERVAN
7 NLT ECONOMY BIBLE
NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
8 ESV ECONOMY HOLY BIBLE FOR KIDS
ESV BIBLES
9 NKJV ECONOMY BIBLE
THOMAS NELSON
10 NIV HOLY BIBLE ECONOMY EDITION
ZONDERVAN
View All
1 New International Version
2 English Standard Version
3 King James Version
4 New Living Translation
5 New King James Version
6 Christian Standard Bible
7 Reina Valera
8 New International Reader's Version
9 New American Standard Bible
10 New Revised Standard Version
View All
1 UN ANO CON DIOS
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL
2 EL PODER DE LA MUJER QUE ORA
STORMIE OMARTIAN
3 LOS 5 LENGUAJES DEL AMOR EDICION REVISADA
GARY CHAPMAN
4 UNA VIDA CON PROPOSITO
RICK WARREN
5 LA MUJER EMOCIONALMENTE SANA
GERI SCAZZERO AND PETER SCAZZERO
6 UNA MUJER SABIA
WENDY BELLO
7 PERDONA LO QUE NO PUEDES OLVIDAR
LYSA TERKEURST
8 UNA MUJER CONFORME AL CORAZON DE DIOS
ELIZABETH GEORGE
9 MAPA DE ORACION PARA MUJERES
COMPILED BY BARBOUR STAFF
10 FUNDAMENTOS DE LA FE EDICION ESTUDIANTIL
GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH
View All
1 RVR1960 BIBLIA PARA REGALOS Y PREMIOS, IMITACION PIEL
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL,
2 RVR1960 BIBLIA LETRA GRANDE TAMANO MANUAL EDICION TIERRA SANTA
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL
3 RVR1960 BIBLIA PARA REGALOS Y PREMIOS, Negro
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL
4 BIBLIA CATOLICA EDICION ECONOMICA
CATOLICA, EDITORIAL
5 RVR1960 BIBLIA PARA REGALOS Y PREMIOS, Rosa
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL
6 RVR1960 BIBLIA DEL PESCADOR LETRA GRANDE
DIAZ-PABON, LUIS ANGEL
7 RVR1960 BIBLIA DE APUNTES
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL
8 RVR1960 BIBLIA DE ESTUDIO ARCO IRIS
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL
9 RVR1960 BIBLIA COMPACTA LETRA GRANDE
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL
10 NVI BIBLIA PARA REGALOS Y PREMIOS
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL
View All
1 LA GRAN HISTORIA DEL EVANGELIO
B&H ESPANOL EDITORIAL
2 PREOCUPATE MENOS Y ORA MAS
DONNA K. MALTESE
3 365 HISTORIAS BIBLICAS PARA LA HORA DE DORMIR
COMPILED BY BARBOUR STAFF
4 EL SECRETO DE LA PAZ PERSONAL
BILLY GRAHAM
5 JESUS SALVA AL MUNDO
VIDA
6 UN HOMBRE CONFORME AL CORAZON DE DIOS
JIM GEORGE
7 COMO ORAR EN EL ESPIRITU
JOHN BUNYAN
8 DEMASIADO BENDECIDA PARA ESTAR ESTRESADA
DEBORA M. COTY
9 DEVOCIONALES DE 3 MINUTOS PARA HOMBRES
COMPILED BY BARBOUR STAFF
10 ¿PARA QUE ESTOY AQUI EN LA TIERRA?
RICK WARREN
View All

Upcoming Events

European Christian Rights Fair
March 16-17, 2026 | Krakow, Poland
ECPA Leadership Summit 2026
April 28-29, 2026 | Chicago, IL
International Christian Rights & Export Fair
June 16-17, 2026 | Chicago, IL
ECPA C-Suite Symposium 2026
September 13-15, 2026 | Asheville, NC
ECPA PubU 2026
November 4-5, 2026 | Nashville, TN
ECPA LOGO
submit icon

Submit a News Item

Submit industry related news releases to rushtopress @ecpa .org for consideration. Rush to Press is sent every Monday and eligible releases must be received by end of day Friday prior to the Monday’s publication.

announce icon

Career Posts

To announce a job opening in Rush to Press, post it first at the ECPA Career Center and your announcement will appear in the next issue.

subscribe icon

Subscribe

To receive Rush to Press, along with other industry updates from ECPA, please follow the instructions here to create or modify your ECPA community profile. To subscribe to Rush to Press without using a profile, subscribe here.

unsubscribe icon

Unsubscribe

If you would like to be removed from the Rush to Press distribution list, please edit your ECPA profile preferences or email info @ecpa .org.

advertise icon

Advertise

If you would like to reach over 3,300 industry subscribers and media contacts each week, consider advertising in Rush to Press. Contact sponsorship @ecpa .org for more information.

More news at RushtoPress.org. #RushtoPress @ECPA
This is a publication of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. For more information about ECPA, contact info@ecpa.org or visit ECPA.org.
Copyright © 2026 · ECPA