The INSPY Awards – 2016 Shortlist

Congratulations to all these authors whose titles made the 2016 INSPY Awards shortlist!! That in itself is an honor to be cherished. Personally, I keep a list of INSPY and Christy nominees over the years and read from them in categories that I enjoy. What gems can be found there!

The INSPYs are special to me because they were created by bloggers and nominations come from both the Christian booksellers’ domain and the general marketplace. Here is what they’re about, as posted on their website. I encourage you to visit inspys.com, where you can also see awards from previous years.

        Recognizing the need for a new kind of book award, the INSPYs were created by bloggers to discover and highlight the very best in literature that grapples with expressions of the Christian faith ... The INSPYs are not about conforming to expectations, they are about faith and literary excellence. Additionally, this program is organized and judged by book bloggers who have considerable experience and knowledge of books published for both the CBA markets and the general market. It is our sincere hope that the INSPYs will serve readers in their search for the very best of faith inspired literature being published today.

So … what are your thoughts? Have you read many of these books? In the categories that I enjoy, I’ve read eight so far, with several others being in my TBR pile.

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE/ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

London Tides (David C. Cook) by Carla Laureano

The Dandelion Field (Zondervan) by Kathryn Springer

Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Howard) by Beth K. Vogt

A Love Like Ours (Bethany House) by Becky Wade

The Wonder of You (Tyndale House) by Susan May Warren

DEBUT FICTION

The Thorn Bearer (Vinspire Publishing) by Pepper D. Basham

Jaded (David C. Cook) by Varina Denman

A Noble Masquerade (Bethany House) by Kristi Ann Hunter

Love’s Rescue (Revell) by Christine Johnson

Irish Meadows (Bethany House) by Susan Anne Mason

GENERAL FICTION

A Cup of Dust (Kregel) by Susie Finkbeiner

The Art of Losing Yourself (Waterbrook Press) by Katie Ganshert

Secrets She Kept (Tyndale House) by Cathy Gohlke

Water From My Heart (Center Street) by Charles Martin

The Brontë Plot (Thomas Nelson) by Katherine Reay

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

The Wood’s Edge (WaterBrook) by Lori Benton

Not by Sight (Bethany House) by Kate Breslin

The Mistress of Tall Acre (Revell) by Laura Frantz

Luther and Katharina (Waterbrook Press) by Jody Hedlund

Through Waters Deep (Revell) by Sarah Sundin

MYSTERY AND THRILLER

The Last Con (Thomas Nelson) by Zachary Bartels

A.D. 33 (Center Street) by Ted Dekker

Vendetta (Revell) by Lisa Harris

Falcon (Shiloh Run Press) by Ronie Kendig

The Bones Will Speak (Thomas Nelson) by Carrie Stuart Parks

LITERATURE FOR YOUNG ADULTS

Season of Fire (Blink) by Lisa T. Bergren

Shades of Doon (Blink) by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon

The Choosing (Tyndale House) by Rachelle Dekker

An Uncertain Choice (Zondervan) by Jody Hedlund

Siren’s Fury (Thomas Nelson) by Mary Weber

SPECULATIVE FICTION

The Methuselah Project (Kregel) by Rick Barry

Heir of Hope (Enclave Publishing) by Morgan L. Busse

The Shock of Night (Bethany House) by Patrick W. Carr

The Curse of Crow Hollow (Thomas Nelson) by Billy Coffey

Embers (Enclave Publishing) by Ronie Kendig

2013 Christy Awards

The Christy Awards were started in the spring of 1999 when nearly a dozen Christian publishers confirmed the need for establishing a Christian fiction award to recognize novelists and novels of excellence in several genres of Christian fiction. By late summer, ideas and planning had come together to launch The Christy Award, named in honor of Catherine Marshall’s novel, Christy, and of her contribution to growth of the fiction Christians love to read.
 
The Christy Award is designed to:
 
·         Nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview.
 
·         Bring a new awareness of the breadth and depth of fiction choices available, helping to broaden the readership.
 
·         Provide opportunity to recognize novelists whose work may not have reached bestseller status.
 
The 2013 Christy Awards were presented tonight in St. Louis. Literary agent, Chip MacGregor, said in his talk that novelists are people who reflect God by speaking new worlds into existence, and these novels represent excellence in Christian fiction.
 
The Christy Hall of Fame award, honoring authors who have won four or more Christy's, was debuted by inducting authors Lynn Austin, winner of eight awards, and Karen Hancock, winner of four awards.
 
The event also premiered the Christy Book of the Year Award, showcasing the novel that had the greatest impact when placed against a set of criteria that includes literary quality, sales, and life impact. A jury of three people read the year’s nine Christy Award winners and identified Into the Free by Julie Cantrell as best exemplifying those factors.
 
Try some of this year's nominees and winners for a great reading experience:

FIRST NOVEL

Into the Free by Julie Cantrell
Also won of Book of the Year award

Nominated:

Tangled Ashes by Michèle Phoenix

Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green

CONTEMPORARY STANDALONE

Not in the Heart by Chris Fabry

Nominated:

The Air We Breathe by Christa Parrish

Borders of the Heart by Chris Fabry

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann

 

Nominated:

Lethal Legacy by Irene Hannon

Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert

CONTEMPORARY SERIES, SEQUELS, AND NOVELLAS

You Don't Know Me by Susan May Warren

 

Nominated:

Two Destinies by Elizabeth Musser

Waiting for Sunrise by Eva Marie Everson

HISTORICAL

 Flame of Resistance by Tracy Groot

 

Nominated:

Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green

A Wreath of Snow by Liz Curtis Higgs

HISTORICAL ROMANCE

Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden

 

Nominated:

Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof

Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

SUSPENSE

Rare Earth by Davis Bunn

 

Nominated:

Downfall by Terri Blackstock

The Last Plea Bargain by Randy Singer

Submerged by Dani Pettrey

 

VISIONARY

 

Soul's Gate by James L. Rubart

 

Nominated:

Daughter of Light by Morgan L. Busse

Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

 

 

YOUNG ADULT 

Child of the Mountains by Marilyn Sue Shank

 

Nominated:

Failstate by John W. Otte

Interrupted: A Life Beyond Words by Rachel Coker

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

If you've read any of these books, please share your thoughts. The only two I've read are The Air We Breathe by Christa Parrish and Be Still My Soul by Joanne Bischof. Both were excellent and well deserving of award. Michele Phoenix's second book, In Broken Places, was one of the best Christian fiction books I've ever read, so I'll be reading the book she was nominated for soon.