It’s Award Time!
Last week I introduced the six awards I look to in the Christian publishing industry. Today I’m bringing you the finalists for two of these awards: The Grace Awards, and the RITA Awards. Next week I’ll be back with the INSPY Award and Christy Award finalists.
The Grace Awards
The finalists for the 2016 Grace Awards are:
Womens Fiction/General Fiction:
(Serious women’s/men’s issues, can have humor and suspense elements)
Freed To Forgive by Julie B. Cosgrove (Prism Book Group)
Waters Of Separation by Carol Mcclain (Desert Breeze Publishing)
Annabelle’s Ruth by Betty Thomason Owens
Romance/Historical Romance
(Primary element is love/courtship/marriage, be it set now or then)
The Thornbearer by Pepper Basham (Vinspire Publishing)
Plum Upside Down by Valerie Comer (Greenwords Media)
Bridge Of Faith by Catherine West (Amazon Digital Services)
Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller/Historic Suspense
(Crime fiction, probably a body)
No Place To Hide by Lynette Eason (Amazon Digital Services)
Trial By Twelve by Heather Day Gilbert (Woodhaven Press)
Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey (Bethany House)
Speculative Fiction
(Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Etc.)
Storming by K. M. Weiland (PenForaAword Publishing)
Angelhood by A.J. Cattapan (Vinspire Publishing)
A New Threat by Aaron Demott (Altwit Press)
Action-Adventure/Western/Epic Fiction
(Exploits, quest, daring, expansive)
Saving Eric by Joan Deneve (Write Integrity Press)
Two Days In Caracas by Luana Ehrlich (Potter’s Word Press)
A Lady For The Lawman by Jewell Tweedt (Prism Book Group)
Young Adult
(Including Middle Grade And New Adult)
To Get To You by Joanne Bischof (Mason Jar Books)
Roped by Diane Gates (Prism Book Group)
Stone And Snow by Sibella Giorello (Running Girl Productions)
Winners Will Be Announced On 31 May 2016.
The RITA® Awards
The RITA® Awards are run by Romance Writers of America, and are named after the organisation’s first president, Rita Clay Estrada. The Awards are specifically for romance novels, in a range of sub-genres (including Inspirational) and lengths (including long, short and novella).
The 2016 RITA finalists in Inspirational Romance are:
A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade (Bethany House)
Mistletoe Justice by Carol J. Post (Love Inspired Suspense)
The Mountain Midwife by Laurie Alice Eakes (Zondervan)
A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter (Bethany House)
The Rescued by Marta Perry (Berkley)
Note that while the RITA® rules say that Inspirational can include any religious or spiritual belief system, it’s rare to see a finalist that isn’t Christian fiction.
Some Christian novels have also been named as finalists in other categories:
Best First Book
A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter (Bethany House)
Historical Romance – Long
Tiffany Girl by Deeanne Gist (Howard Books)
(I reviewed Tiffany Girl, and was disappointed at the lack of Christian content. I guess this nomination confirms that Gist is now focused squarely on the general market. Readers checking out her earlier books will find them a little different.)
Romance Novella
Toward the Sunrise by Elizabeth Camden (Bethany House)
Winners will be announced on 16 July.
