It’s Official

Wow!! The winners of the Christy award have been announced and, yes, Jill Williamson won in the Visionary category! How exciting is that??

If you weren’t able to attend the awards ceremony in St. Louis, check out the live blog feed on the Christy Awards website.

Here’s the press release for the event with the official winners list:

2010 CHRISTY AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN ST. LOUIS

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The 2010 Christy Awards presentation was held Saturday evening, June 26, 2010, at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand in advance of the International Christian Retail Show. The dessert reception featured a keynote address entitled “Be That Well” by best-selling author and entrepreneur Lisa Samson and was emceed by editor Lonnie Hull DuPont, Baker Publishing Group. To involve Christian fiction fans not able to attend the event in person, a liveblog of the event was provided online, and an archive of the event can be accessed online at www.ChristyAwards.com.

The Christy Awards honor the best in Christian fiction in nine categories. The Christy Awards Advisory Board is pleased to announce the following winners of the 2010 Christy Awards.

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Breach of Trust by DiAnn Mills • Tyndale House Publishers

Paige Rogers survived every CIA operative’s worst nightmare—a covert mission gone terribly wrong…a betrayal by the one man she thought she could trust. Forced to disappear to protect the lives of her loved ones, Paige has spent years building a quiet life as a small-town librarian. But the day a stranger comes to town and starts asking questions, Paige knows her careful existence has been shattered. He is coming after her again, and this time, he intends to silence her for good.

CONTEMPORARY SERIES

Who Do I Talk To? by Neta Jackson • Thomas Nelson

Gabrielle Fairbanks knew her husband was upset with her, but she never expected him to change the locks on their Chicago penthouse, cancel her credit cards, and disappear with their two boys. Now she’s literally on the streets with her elderly mother, her mom’s dog…and $220 to her name. As her fragile plans fall apart, Gabby hits on a possibility so wild and wonderful it has to be one of those “God things,” something she’s only seen happen to other Christians until now.

CONTEMPORARY STANDALONE

The Passion of Mary-Margaret by Lisa Samson • Thomas Nelson

When Mary-Margaret Fischer met Jude Keller, the lightkeeper’s son, she was studying at convent school on a small island off Chesapeake Bay. Destined for a life as a religious sister, she nevertheless felt a pull toward Jude—rough and tumble, promiscuous Jude.

As Mary-Margaret returns to the island to prepare for her final vows, Jude, too, returns to the island, dissolute and hardened. Mary-Margaret receives a divine call that shakes her to the core, a call to give up her dreams for the troubled man who befriended her so long ago. For Jesus’ sake, can she forsake the only life she ever wanted for a love that could literally cost her life?

FIRST NOVEL

Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent • Tyndale House Publisher

Jessilyn Lassiter never knew hatred could lurk in the human heart until her best friend, Gemma, loses her parents in a tragic fire during the summer of 1932. Jessilyn’s father vows to care for Gemma as one of his own, despite the fact that she is black and prejudice is prevalent in their southern Virginia town. Violence springs up as a ragtag band of Ku Klux Klan members unite and decide to take matters into their own hands.

HISTORICAL

Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin • Bethany House Publishers

When Harriet Sherwood finds herself in jail, she spends the night contemplating the series of events that resulted in her imprisonment. Coming from a long line of women active in social justice, she weighs her values against her ancestors’, searching for where she belongs in that strong and thrilling heritage.

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen • Bethany House Publishers

Olivia Keene is fleeing her own secret; she never intended to overhear Lord Bradley’s. Now he has given her a job and confined her to his estate, for if his secret were to be revealed, he would lose his reputation, his inheritance, and his very home.

SUSPENSE

Lost Mission by Athol Dickson • Howard Books: a Division of Simon &
Schuster

Athol Dickson’s latest novel, Lost Mission, weaves a gripping story of suspense that spans centuries and cultures to explore the abiding possibility of miracles. As the ruins of a Spanish Mission are disturbed twelve generations after it collapsed atop the supernatural evidence of a shocking crime, one community’s understanding of morality, sin, and faith is challenged by that haunting secret.

VISIONARY

By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson • Marcher Lord Press

Young Achan Cham dreams of serving in the Kingsguard Knights, but he is a stray—worse than a slave—and such aspirations are out of his reach. Worse, Achan is beginning to hear strange voices in his head.

YOUNG ADULT

North! Or Be Eaten by Andrew Peterson • WaterBrook Multnomah
Publishing Group

In Book Two of the WINGFEATHER SAGA, escape with Janner, Tink, and Leeli Igiby as they flee north, to the Ice Prairies, where they will be safe from the cruel Fangs of Dang. But first they have to survive the dangers along the way—and the dangers within themselves. Andrew Peterson delivers more breathtaking adventure in this tale for all ages.

The Christy Awards are proud to honor both Catherine Marshall and her novel through the annual presentation of the Christy Awards, which recognize novels of excellence. The Christy Awards were established in 1999 to nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and
publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview; to bring a new awareness of the breadth and depth of fiction choices available, helping to broaden the readership; and, to provide an opportunity to recognize novelists whose work may not have reached bestseller status.

The Christy Awards are online at: www.ChristyAwards.com
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