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The nominees for the 12th Annual Christy Awards for excellence in Christian Fiction were recently announced.

Up for this year’s coveted First Novel award are Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes, who was named a finalist in ECPA’s Christian Book Award in the Fiction category; the fantasy novel Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl; and A Season of Miracles by Rusty Whitener, currently on a movie pre-production with Elevating Entertainment. The awards for excellence in Christian fiction will go to winners in nine categories: Contemporary Romance, Contemporary Series, Sequels and Novellas, Contemporary Stand-alone, First Novel, Historical, Historical Romance, Suspense, Visionary, and Young Adult.
Before the nominees are announced, novels are read and evaluated against a 10-point criteria by a panel of seven judges composed of librarians, reviewers, academicians, literary critics, and other qualified readers, none of whom have a direct affiliation with a publishing company.

Some of the nominees in the Contemporary Romance category include Blood Ransom by Lisa Harris, Invisible by Kristin Heitzmann and Sworn to Protect by DiAnn Mills. The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther by Ginger Garrett, For Time & Eternity by Allison Pittman and While We’re Far Apart by Lynn Austin are the contenders in the popular category for Historical novels and The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen, She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell and Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander are nominated for the Historical Romance category.
Very oddly enough there were no minorities listed in the nominations this year. Bottom line, we have to find some way to bridge cultural gaps in Christian fiction. God’s desire is for us to be one, to walk in unity where there is neither Greek nor Jew and where cultural lines no longer separate us.

The awards will be given on July 11 in Atlanta, Ga.

Below is the complete list of 2011 Christy Award nominees:

Contemporary Romance

Blood Ransom by Lisa Harris (Zondervan)

Indivisible by Kristin Heitzmann (WaterBrook Press)

Sworn to Protect by DiAnn Mills (Tyndale House Publishers)

Contemporary Series, Sequels, and Novellas

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

The Thorn by Beverly Lewis (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

The Waiting by Suzanne Woods Fisher (Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group)

Contemporary Standalone

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

Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes (Tyndale House Publishers)

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

A Season of Miracles by Rusty Whitener (Kregel Publications)

Historical

Chosen: The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther by Ginger Garrett (David C. Cook)

For Time & Eternity by Allison Pitman (Tyndale House Publishers)

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

Historical Romance

The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen (Bethany House, 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

The Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathan Rogers (WaterBrook Press)

The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson (Zondervan)

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