2014 Christy Awards

Congratulations to the winners of the 2014 Christy Awards, announced yesterday at the awards dinner held at the International Christian Retail Show.

* Book of the Year: Burning Sky by Lori Benton (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

* Contemporary: Stones for Bread by Christa Parrish (Thomas Nelson, a division of Harper Collins Christian
Publishing)

* Contemporary Romance/Suspense: Dangerous Passage by Lisa Harris (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing
Group)

* Contemporary Series: Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren (Tyndale House Publishers)

* First Novel: Burning Sky by Lori Benton (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

* Historical: Burning Sky by Lori Benton (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group)

* Historical Romance: Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar (River North, an imprint of Moody Publishing)

* Suspense: Outlaw by Ted Dekker (FaithWords, a division of Hachette Book Group)

* Visionary: Dragonwitch by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing
Group)

* Christy Award Hall of Fame Inductee: Davis Bunn (4 Christys)

My Thoughts
Before I heard about Lori Benton’s struggle with cancer, I thought her novel Burning Sky had to be strong to win the first novel award, the historical award, and book of the year. What an amazing trifecta. Add in the poignant element of her personal struggle, and I so want to read this book!

The finalists in the visionary category received some awesome comments from the judges.

Numb by John Otte:

“Otte seriously launched himself onto my list of favorite authors. His stories are deep, thought provoking, fast paced and fun.”

A Cast of Stones by Patrick Carr:

“With complex, authentic characters, a fascinating plot, a moving redemption story, Cast of Stones was the standout of the year.”

Dragonwitch by Anne Elisabeth Stengl, this year’s winner:

“Very few books compel me to stop midway through and track down and buy the author’s backlist. Dragonwitch did.”

I found it ironic that the keynote speaker, Marcia Nelson associate religion editor at Publishers Weekly, said, as part of her alphabetical rundown of the industry, “C…..children…YA fiction is VERY hot.” Why ironic? Because there was no YA category at the Christys this year.

When will the Christian publishing industry go all in and really try to sell children’s books? Or at least YA?

And here’s another thought: is it good policy for ACFW to announce their finalists on the day that the Christys announce their winners? It seems like one or the other will get watered down.

Finally, I really get a kick out of “attending” the awards dinner via live blog. It’s done very professionally, complete with pictures. Highly recommend!