Event Spotlight: The Christy Award 2024 Finalists Gala

Welcome to the Takeover Blitz for The Christy Award Finalists 2024, organized by ECPA and hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! We extend our sincere and enthusiastic congratulations to the 2024 Finalists!

About the Gala

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

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 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.

Learn more about The Christy Award Gala 2024

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The Christy Award Finalists 2024

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - tie

Her Only Wish, Shelley Shepard Gray (Revell/ Baker Publishing Group) Indigo Isle, T.I. Lowe (Tyndale House Publishers) The Rhythm of Fractured Grace, Amanda Wen (Kregel Publications) The Thing About Home, Rhonda McKnight (Thomas Nelson)

FIRST NOVEL

   

A Fifth of the Story, Dr. Katherine Hutchinson Hayes (End Game Press) An American Immigrant, Johanna Rojas Vann (WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House) On Moonberry Lake, Holly Varni (Revell/ Baker Publishing Group)

GENERAL FICTION - tie

He Should Have Told the Bees, Amanda Cox (Revell/ Baker Publishing Group) The Last Exchange, Charles Martin (Thomas Nelson) The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass, Katie Powner (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) The Year of Jubilee, Cindy Morgan (Tyndale House Publishers)

HISTORICAL

Appalachian Song, Michelle Shocklee (Tyndale House Publishers) The Foxhole Victory Tour, Amy Lynn Green (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) The Warsaw Sisters, Amanda Barratt (Revell/ Baker Publishing Group)

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

   

A Winter by the Sea, Julie Klassen (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) Of Love and Treason, Jamie Ogle (Tyndale House Publishers) The Seamstress of Acadie, Laura Frantz (Revell/ Baker Publishing Group)

MYSTERY/SUSPENSE/THRILLER

   

8 Down, Kimberley Woodhouse (Kregel Publications) The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater, Jaime Jo Wright (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) The Vanishing at Castle Moreau, Jaime Jo Wright (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group)

SHORT FORM - tie

 

Beauty Bright (within We Three Kings), Cara Putman (Kregel Publications) The Poppy (within Dancing in the Rain), Sara Davison (Sara Davison) The Shifting Current, Dani Pettrey (Dani Pettrey) Star of Wonder (within We Three Kings), Crystal Caudill (Kregel Publications) You Make It Feel Like Christmas, Toni Shiloh (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group)

SPECULATIVE - tie

    

Estuary, Lisa T. Bergren (Enclave, a division of Oasis Family Media) In This Moment, Gabrielle Meyer (Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group) Lumen, J.J. Fischer (Enclave, a division of Oasis Family Media) Shadowcast, Crystal D. Grant (Quill & Flame Publishing House)

YOUNG ADULT - tie

  

The Looking-Glass Illusion, Sara Ella (Enclave Escape, a division of Oasis Family Media) Offsides, Lori Z. Scott (End Game Press) Once a Queen, Sarah Arthur (WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House) Sky of Seven Colors, Rachelle Nelson (Enclave Escape, a division of Oasis Family Media)

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive their choice of The Art of Writing registration OR print copies of The Christy Award finalist titles for one category!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight September 20, 2024 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on September 27, 2024. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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Register for The Christy Award 2024 Events

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 Martin (Tyndale House); agents Danielle Egan-Miller and Cynthia Ruchti; and authors Amanda Cox, Kelly Flanagan, Chris Fabry, Robin W. Pearson, Dani Pettrey, and others.

REGISTER

The Christy Award® is a program of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) and is the foremost award honoring and promoting excellence in Christian fiction since 1999. For more information about ECPA, visit ECPA.org. For more information about the Christy Awards and Art of Writing conferences, visit ChristyAwards.com or email TheChristyAward@ecpa.org

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Author and Reader Event

Join fellow readers and forty authors (and counting!) at the JustRead Rendezvous to celebrate Christian fiction and sweet reads. This event will be held on the day after The Christy Award events at the same location. Rendezvous, modeled after the Christian Fiction Readers Retreat, aims to sweeten reading and storytelling experiences with fellowship and encouragement. Activities will include corporate worship, speaker sessions, author panels, small group discussions, games, giveaways, a pop-up book shop, and author signings.

Learn more about the 2024 JustRead Rendezvous

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!