INSPYs: 2011 Winners Announced!

What a neat experience to be a part of the INSPY judging process this year as a judge in the Romance category! We are blessed with so many wonderful authors and inspiring stories out there that share God's love and truth in creative and engaging ways.

The winners for the 2011 INSPY awards were recently announced, and you'll find the list of them (with Amazon.com links) below. If you're looking for a good read for you or a friend, perhaps this list of winners will help!

Creative Nonfiction: Passport Through Darkness

General Fiction: City of Tranquil Light

Literature for Young People: Saint Training

Mystery/Thriller: The Bishop

Romance: Yesterday's Tomorrow

(You can read my review of this powerful book HERE!)

Speculative Fiction: The Falling Away

Congratulations to all of the winners, and thank you to my fellow judges and the INSPY advisory board!

INSPYs: Romance Shortlist Announced

I am honored to have been selected as one of the Inspy Romance judges this year. The shortlist - just announced today! - is quite fabulous! I think it's going to be a tough pick for us this year, but that's all I can say on the matter. ;) Until December, my lips are sealed! (The winner for each category will be announced mid-December.)

Here are the five shortlist nominees for the "Romance" category:

A Heart Most Worthy

A Hope Undaunted

The Preacher's Bride

Within My Heart

Yesterday's Tomorrow

The other five categories this year for the INSPYs are: Creative Nonfiction, General, Mystery/Thriller, Speculative Fiction, and Young Adult. Click HERE to see the shortlists for those categories.

Don't know what the INSPYs are? Here's a description of the awards from the INSPY website:

We feel nothing compares to excellent faith driven fiction, but it can be difficult to weed through the multitude of books published each year in both the Christian marketplace and the general market to find the very best of them. We found ourselves longing for a way to really bring attention to the books that inspire and move us.

What makes the INSPYs unique among award programs is that we invite nominations from both the Christian booksellers’ domain and the general marketplace. The INSPYs are not about conforming to expectations, they are about faith. 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.

It is my great pleasure to be a part of the INSPY award program this year!