For Immediate Release — November 7, 2025
The Christy Award® names 11 novels as the year’s best in Christian Fiction
The Christy Book of the Year® is presented to All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee
The Amplify Award is presented to Bitter and Sweet by Rhonda McKnight
CHANDLER, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 7, 2025 – Tonight, ECPA announced the winners of the 2025 Christy Awards, honoring the year’s best Christian fiction during the program’s Gala webcast. Winners were named among 35 finalists in nine fiction categories, plus The Christy 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 webcast was hosted by ECPA president Jeff Crosby and award-winning novelist and radio host Chris Fabry, and featured keynotes from Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson, Fletcher Jones Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University and author of Reading for the Love of God (Brazos Press), and T.I. Lowe, award-winning novelist and Christy Book of the Year 2024 author.
Last year’s winning authors presented this year’s awards: novelists Jaime Jo Wright, Johanna Rojas Vann, Lori Z. Scott, Katie Powner, Jamie Ogle, Rachelle Nelson, Vanessa Miller, Gabrielle Meyer, Crystal Caudill, and Amanda Barratt.
Additionally, two in-person “watch parties” enjoyed a live broadcast of the winning announcements – at JustRead Rendezvous in St. Louis and Baker Book House in Grand Rapids.
“What a remarkable set of award-winning books that publishers and novelists have given to readers this year,” ECPA president Jeff Crosby said. “It’s a joy to recognize excellence in Christian fiction across a diverse set of genres.”
The 2025 CHRISTY BOOK OF THE YEAR was presented to All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee (Tyndale House Publishers), a time-slip novel following a family caught between WWII and Vietnam and a story of family, faith and hidden secrets. The novel also tied for a win in the Historical category.
The program’s fourth AMPLIFY AWARD was presented to Bitter and Sweet by Rhonda McKnight (Thomas Nelson). The Amplify Award was created by publishers and agents to elevate and recognize under-represented stories and their authors. McNight’s novel is described by one of the judges as, “A tender, intergenerational work filled with warmth, wisdom, and grace… masterfully weaving together the taste, fragrance, and rich heritage of Gullah cuisine [and culture] with themes of faith, forgiveness, and belonging.”
Presenting The Christy Award® winners for 2025:
THE CHRISTY BOOK OF THE YEAR
All We Thought We Knew, Michelle Shocklee
Tyndale House Publishers, 9781496484178
THE AMPLIFY AWARD FOR CHRISTIAN FICTION
Bitter and Sweet, Rhonda McKnight
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 9780840706577
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
The Roads We Follow, Nicole Deese
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764241192
FIRST NOVEL
Darkfell, Amanda Wright
Quill & Flame Publishing House, 9781964726052
GENERAL FICTION
Between the Sound and Sea, Amanda Cox
Revell/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780800742744
HISTORICAL – tie
All We Thought We Knew, Michelle Shocklee
Tyndale House Publishers, 9781496484178
Born of Gilded Mountains, Amanda Dykes
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764239519
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
As Sure as the Sea, Jamie Ogle
Tyndale House Publishers, 9781496479716
MYSTERY/SUSPENSE/THRILLER
Night Falls on Predicament Avenue, Jaime Jo Wright
Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group, 9780764241451
SHORT FORM
A Daffodil in the Dress (within Something Borrowed), Susie Finkbeiner
Kregel Publications, 9780825448423
SPECULATIVE
Memoria, J. J. Fischer
Enclave, a division of Oasis Family Media, 9798886051667
YOUNG ADULT
The Chaos Grid, Lyndsey Lewellen
Enclave Escape, a division of Oasis Family Media, 9798886051063
View the full list of winners and their covers at ChristyAwards.com/finalists-winners.html.
The Christy Award is widely supported and promoted through a broad network of retailers and industry partners, including: Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com, The Parable Group, Baker Book House, Logos, Mardel, More to Life, JustRead Rendezvous, JustRead Tours, Family Fiction, Crazy4Fiction, Christian Editors Association, Chris Fabry Live, Reading Is My Superpower, Write to Publish, Life Is Story, West Coast Christian Writers, Publishing in Color, Christian Retailers Association, NetGalley, and Christianity Today.
The Christy Award Art of Writing program and Winners Gala will return to in-person events next November in the Nashville area. For more information about The Christy Award program and to sign up for award and event updates for the 2026 season, visit TheChristyAward.com. Submissions for 2026 will be accepted March 1-31.
ABOUT ECPA AND THE CHRISTY AWARD
Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade organization made up of member companies involved in the publishing and distribution of Christian content worldwide. Since 1974, ECPA has strengthened Christian publishing by building networking, information, and advocacy opportunities for members to more effectively deliver transformational content. Learn more at ECPA.org.
The Christy Award® has honored and promoted excellence in Christian fiction since 1999. Named after Christy by Catherine Marshall—which has sold over 10 million copies since its 1967 release—this prestigious program became part of ECPA in 2017 to further elevate the role of fiction in Christian publishing.
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Media Contacts:
Jeff Crosby, ECPA President — jcrosby@ecpa.org, 630-989-0222
Cindy Carter, Awards & Recognition Manager — ccarter@ecpa.org, 480-966-3998 x806
