Christy Awards 2011: The Best in Christian Fiction

CBN.com - At a banquet honoring the best in Christian fiction last week, New York Times best-selling author Liz Curtis Higgs emceed the event and announced this year's winners, with the help of a colleague who hinted at the winner by reading the first line of the winning novel. Authors, publishers, and media also heard from keynote speaker Randall Wallace, the screenwriter of the Oscar-winning film Braveheart and writer/director of Secretariat.

Each year, thousands of titles are submitted to be considered for this prestigious award for excellence in Christian fiction. In its 12th year, the Christy Awards ceremony honored nine works, two of which were written by novelist Nancy Rue (The Reluctant Prophet and Motorcycles, Sushi, and One Strange Book).

If you are looking for a great read this summer, take a look at these award-winning books, ones the experts say are the best of the best released last year.

Contemporary Romance

Sworn to Protect by DiAnn Mills
(Tyndale House Publishers)

• Blood Ransom by Lisa Harris
  (Zondervan)
• Indivisible by Kristin Heitzmann
  (WaterBrook Press)

Contemporary Series

The Reluctant Prophet by Nancy Rue
(David C. Cook)

• The Waiting by Suzanne Woods Fisher
  (Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
• The Thorn by Beverly Lewis
  (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Contemporary Stand Alone

Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry
(Tyndale House Publishers)

• Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner
  (WaterBrook Press)
• A Season of Miracles by Rusty Whitener
  (Kregel Publications)

First Novel

Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
(Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

• Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes
  (Tyndale House Publishers)
• A Season of Miracles by Rusty Whitener
  (Kregel Publications)

Historical

While We're Far Apart by Lynn Austin
(Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

• Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther by Ginger Garrett
  (David C. Cook)
• For Time & Eternity by Allison Pitman
  (Tyndale House Publishers)

Historical Romance

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen
(Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

• She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell
  (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
• Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander
  (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Suspense

The Bishop by Steven James
(Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

• The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker
  (Center Street)
• Predator by Terri Blackstock
  (Zondervan)

Visionary

To Darkness Fled by Jill Williamson
(Marcher Lord Press)

• Konig’s Fire by Marc Schooley
  (Marcher Lord Press)
• The Last Christian by David Gregory
  (WaterBrook Press)

Young Adult

Motorcycles, Sushi, and One Strange Book by Nancy Rue
(Zondervan)

• The Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathan Rogers
  (WaterBrook Press)
• The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
  (Zondervan)

*Bulleted titles are the other nominees.

Hannah Goodwyn serves as the Family and Entertainment producer for CBN.com. For more articles and information, visit Hannah's bio page.

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