AFCW Carol Awards

ACFW has just announced the finalists for the 2010 ACFW Carol Awards (formerly Book of the Year). These awards recognize excellence in Christian fiction in a variety of categories, and represent fiction titles released in 2009.


Debut Author

Bonnie Grove - Talking to the Dead (David C. Cook Publishing)

Liz Johnson - The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn (Steeple Hill)

Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press)

Jill Eileen Smith - Michal (Revell)

Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell)



Contemporary Novella

6 Finalists due to a tie

Barbara Cameron – One Child (Thomas Nelson)

Barbara Cameron – When Winter Comes (Thomas Nelson)

Debra Clopton – A Mule Hollow Match (Steeple Hill)

Susan May Warren – The Great Christmas Bowl (Tyndale House)

Beth Wiseman – A Change of Heart (Thomas Nelson)

Beth Wiseman – A Choice to Forgive (Thomas Nelson)



Historical Novella

Victoria Bylin – Home Again (Steeple Hill)

Vickie McDonough – A Breed Apart (Barbour Publishing)

Vickie McDonough – Beloved Enemy (Barbour Publishing)

Janet Tronstad - Christmas Bells for Dry Creek (Steeple Hill)

Carrie Turansky - A Shelter in the Storm (Barbour Publishing)



Long Contemporary

6 Finalists due to a tie

Christina Berry - The Familiar Stranger (Moody Publishers)

Mary Ellis - A Widow's Hope (Harvest House Publishers)

Joyce Magnin - The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow (Abingdon Press)

Susan Meissner - White Picket Fences (Waterbrook Press)

Marlo Schalesky- If Tomorrow Never Comes (Multnomah)

Susan May Warren - Nothing But Trouble (Tyndale House)



Long Contemporary Romance

Candace Calvert - Critical Care (Tyndale House)

Denise Hunter - Seaside Letters (Thomas Nelson)

Jenny B. Jones - Just Between You and Me (Thomas Nelson)

Beth Wiseman - Plain Promise (Thomas Nelson)

Cindy Woodmsall - The Hope of Refuge (Waterbrook Press)



Mystery

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

Mindy Starns Clark - Under the Cajun Moon (Harvest House Publishers)

Darlene Franklin - A String of Murders (Heartsong Mysteries)

S. Dionne Moore - Polly Dent Loses Grip (Heartsong Mysteries)

Janice Thompson writing as Janice Hanna - Pushing up Daisies (Heartsong Mysteries)



Long Historical

Deeanne Gist - A Bride in the Bargain (Bethany House)

Robin Lee Hatcher - Fit To Be Tied (Zondervan)

Maureen Lang - Look to the East (Tyndale House)

Siri Mitchell - Love's Pursuit (Bethany House)

Allison Pittman - Stealing Home (Multnomah)



Long Historical Romance

8 Finalists due to a tie

Amanda Cabot - Paper Roses (Revell)

Mary Connealy - Cowboy Christmas (Barbour Publishing)

Mary Connealy - Montana Rose (Barbour Publishing)

Laura Frantz - The Frontiersman's Daughter (Revell)

Ann Gabhart - The Believer (Revell)

Julie Lessman - A Passion Denied (Revell)

Janice Thompson writing as Janice Hanna - Love Finds You in Poetry, Texas (Summerside Press)

Kathleen Y’Barbo - The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper (Waterbrook Press)



Short Contemporary

Debra Clopton - His Cowgirl Bride (Steeple Hill)

Myra Johnson - Autumn Rains (Heartsong Presents)

Vickie McDonough - A Wagonload of Trouble (Heartsong Presents)

Mae Nunn - A Texas Ranger's Family (Steeple Hill)

Glynna Sirpless writing as Glynna Kaye - Dreaming of Home (Steeple Hill)



Short Contemporary Suspense

6 Finalists due to a tie

Jill Elizabeth Nelson - Evidence of Murder (Steeple Hill)

Sandra Robbins - Final Warning (Steeple Hill)

Virginia Smith - Murder at Eagle Summit (Steeple Hill)

Virginia Smith - Scent of Murder (Steeple Hill)

Jenness Walker - Double Take (Steeple Hill)

Lenora Worth - Code of Honor (Steeple Hill)



Short Historical

Lyn Cote - Her Patchwork Family (Steeple Hill)

Laurie Alice Eakes - The Glassblower (Heartsong Presents)

Laurie Kingery - The Outlaw's Lady (Steeple Hill)

Lynette Sowell - All That Glitters (Heartsong Presents)

Dan Walsh - The Unfinished Gift (Revell)



Speculative (includes Science Fiction, Fantasy, Allegory)

6 Finalists due to a tie

Kirk Outerbridge - Eternity Falls (Marcher Lord Press)

Donita K. Paul - The Vanishing Sculptor (Waterbrook Press)

Steve Rzasa - The Word Reclaimed (Marcher Lord Press)

Stuart Vaughn Stockton – Starfire (Marcher Lord Press)

Fred Warren - The Muse (Splashdown Books)

Jill Williamson - By Darkness Hid (Marcher Lord Press)



Suspense/Thriller

Terri Blackstock – Intervention (Zondervan)

Colleen Coble - Lonestar Secrets (Thomas Nelson)

Brandilyn Collins – Exposure (Zondervan)

Harry Kraus - Salty Like Blood (Howard/Simon & Schuster)

DiAnn Mills - Breach of Trust (Tyndale House)





Women’s Fiction

7 Finalists due to a tie

Julie Carobini - Sweet Waters (B&H Publishing)

Kathryn Cushman – Leaving Yesterday (Bethany House)

Sara Evans & Rachel Hauck - Sweet By and By (Thomas Nelson)

Rene Gutteridge & Cheryl McKay - Never the Bride (Waterbrook Press)

Deborah Raney - Yesterday's Embers (Howard/Simon & Schuster)

Deborah Raney - Above All Things (Steeple Hill)

Lisa Wingate - The Summer Kitchen (New American Library/Penguin)



Young Adult

Shelley Adina - Who Made You a Princess? (Hachette FaithWords)

Brandilyn & Amberly Collins - Always Watching (Zondervan)

Jenny B. Jones - I'm So Sure (Thomas Nelson)

Jenny B. Jones - So Not Happening (Thomas Nelson)

Booker T. Mattison - Unsigned Hype (Revell)



The Carol Awards will be presented at ACFW's Conference in Indianapolis, September 17-20. There's still time to register at www.acfw.com/conference.



CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE FINALISTS!!!!