2010 ACFW Awards

American Christian Fiction Writers Announce 2010 Carol Awards

Editor, Agent and Genesis Awards also presented

(Palm Bay, Florida) The downtown Indianapolis Hyatt Regency ballroom was the setting for this year’s prestigious awards ceremony for the best in Christian fiction, presented by American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

With a record turnout of more than 600 attendees, marking it as the largest Christian writing conference, ACFW ended its conference Sunday evening with the awards presentations.

Well-known advocate for Christian fiction, Carol Johnson (long-time editor with Bethany House Publishers), was awarded ACFW’s first ever Lifetime Achievement Award for her dedication to acquiring, editing, and championing Christian fiction. Present to participate in honoring Carol Johnson was one of her most recognized acquisitions—prolific author of the Love Comes Softly series, Janette Oke.

Following that presentation, Mrs. Johnson helped honor the best Christian novels published in 2009 with the award named for her—the Carol Awards.

Winners of the Carol Awards for the best Christian fiction in the following categories were:

Contemporary Novella

Susan May Warren – The Great Christmas Bowl (Tyndale House, Karen Watson - Editor)

Historical Novella

Janet Tronstad - Christmas Bells for Dry Creek (Steeple Hill, Tina James - Editor)

Short Contemporary

Mae Nunn - A Texas Ranger's Family (Steeple Hill, Melissa Endlich - Editor)

Short Contemporary Suspense

Jill Elizabeth Nelson - Evidence of Murder (Steeple Hill, Emily Rodmell - Editor)

Short Historical

Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell, Andrea Doering)

Young Adult

Jenny B. Jones - I'm So Sure (Thomas Nelson, Natalie Hanemann/Jamie Chavez - Editors)

Long Contemporary

Christina Berry - The Familiar Stranger (Moody Publishers, Paul Santhouse - Editor)

Long Contemporary Romance

Jenny B. Jones - Just Between You and Me (Thomas Nelson, Natalie Hanemann/Jamie Chavez - Editors)

Mystery

A.K. Arenz - The Case of the Mystified M.D. (Sheaf House, Joan M. Shoup - Editor)

Suspense/Thriller

Terri Blackstock – Intervention (Zondervan, Sue Brower/Dave Lambert - Editors)

Long Historical

Allison Pittman - Stealing Home (Multnomah, Alice Crider - Editor)

Long Historical Romance

Mary Connealy - Cowboy Christmas (Barbour Publishing, Rebecca Germany - Editor)

Speculative (includes Science Fiction, Fantasy, Allegory)

Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press, Jeff Gerke - Editor)

Women’s Fiction

Cheryl McKay & Rene Gutteridge - Never the Bride (Waterbrook Press, Shannon Marchese - Editor)

Debut Author

Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell, Andrea Doering - Editor)

Zondervan editor Sue Brower was awarded ACFW’s Editor of the Year honor. Sandra Bishop from MacGregor Literary was named ACFW’s Agent of the Year.