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Christy Award

christymedallion

The Christy Awards for the best in Christian Fiction

In 1999, nearly a dozen publishers of Christian fiction, in an effort to recognize the writers and readers of this increasingly large genre of publishing, established The Christy Award. The award is named after the well-known novel by Catherine Marshall, and in honor of Marshall’s long-term contribution to the growth of the field of Christian fiction.

The awards have been presented every year from 2000 onwards, in a variety of categories. Those categories have seen some tweaking as the years have progressed — please note that some categories have been folded into other categories in more recent years. You can read more about this award, its history and background, at the Official Christy Awards Web site.

NOTE: All books owned by Lincoln City Libraries are hotlinked to their entries in our library catalog, so that you may check on their current availability. If you see a title on this list that is not hotlinked to our collection, please consider ordering it through our Interlibrary Loan department. 

Category descriptions below come directly from the official 2006 nomination guidelines. 

Current Categories (2007- )

Book of the Year

Best overall Christian Fiction title for a given year.

2022 – Amanda Cox – The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery
2021 – Amanda Cox – The Edge of Belonging
2020 – Amanda Dykes – Whose Waves These Are
2019 – Patti Callahan – Becoming Mrs. Lewis
2018 – Becky Wade – True to You
2017 – Charles Martin – Long Way Gone
2016 – James L. Rubart – The Five Times I Met Myself
2015 – Sigmund Brouwer – Thief of Glory
2014 – Lori Benton – Burning Sky

Best Contemporary Romance Fiction (a.k.a. Best Contemporary Romance/Suspense)

Fiction whose characters and controlling theme focuses on a romantic drama in a contemporary setting.

2022 – Nicole Deese – All That Really Matters
2021 – Becky Wade – Stay With Me
2020 – Melissa Tagg – Now and Then and Always
2019 – Becky Wade – Falling For You
2018 – Becky Wade – True to You
2017 – Becky Wade – Her One and Only
2016 – Rachel Hauck – The Wedding Chapel
2015 – Katie Ganshert – A Broken Kind of Beautiful
2014 – Lisa Harris – Dangerous Passage
2013 – Kristen Heitzmann – The Breath of Dawn
2012 – Ronie Kendig – Wolfsbane
2011 – DiAnn Mills – Sworn to Protect
2010 – Julie Klassen – The Silent Governess

Best General Fiction

This category was introduced in 2017, apparently replacing both Best Contemporary (Series, Sequels and Novellas) and Best Contemporary (Standalones)

2022 – Amanda Cox – The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery
2021 – Christina Suzann Nelson – The Way It Should Be
2020 – Amanda Dykes – Whose Waves These Are
2019 – Katie Ganshert – No One Ever Asked
2018 – Katie Ganshert – Life After
2017 – Chris Fabry – The Promise of Jesse Woods

Best Historical Fiction

Fiction that weaves stories about characters in historical epochs or settings. Includes Biblical, Biographical and Western fiction. [Note: This categories incorporates the previous categories of International Historical, North American Historical and Western.]

2021 – Jocelyn Green – Drawn by the Current
2021 – Amanda Barratt – The White Rose Resists: A Novel of the German Students Who Defied Hitler
2020 – Cathy Gohlke – The Medallion
2019 – Connilyn Cossette – Shelter of the Most High
2018 – Mesu Andrews – Isiah’s Daughter
2017 – Jocelyn Green – The Mark of the King
2016 – Cathy Gohlke – The Secrets She Kept
2015 – Tracy Groot – The Sentinels of Andersonville
2014 – Lori Benton – Burning Sky
2013 – Tracy Groot – Flame of Resistance
2012 – Lynn Austin – Wonderland Creek
2011 – Lynn Austin – While We’re Far Apart
2010 – Lynn Austin – Though Waters Roar
2008 – Lynn Austin – Until We Reach Home
2008 – Lynn Austin – A Proper Pursuit
2007 – Tracy Groot – Madman
2006 – Liz Curtis Higgs – Whence Came a Prince
2005 – Jan Beazely and Thom Lemmons – King’s Ransom
2004 – Lynn Austin – Fire By Night

Best Historical Romance Fiction

Fiction whose characters and controlling theme focuses on a romantic drama in a historical setting.

2021 – Sarah Sundin – Until Leaves Fall in Paris
2021 – Roseanna M. White – A Portrait of Loyalty
2020 – Kristy Cambron – The Painted Castle
2019 [tie] – Patti Callahan – Becoming Mrs. Lewis
2019 [tie] – Tamera Alexander – With This Pledge
2018 – Laura Frantz – The Lacemaker
2017 – Tamara Alexander – A Note Yet Unsung
2016 – Jodi Hedlund – Luther and Katharina
2015 – Sigmund Brouwer – Thief of Glory
2014 – Tessa Afshar – Harvest of Gold
2013 – Elizabeth Camden – Against the Tide
2012 – Julie Klassen – The Maid of Fairbourne Hall
2011 – Julie Klassen – The Girl in the Gatehouse
2010 – Julie Klassen – The Silent Governess

Best Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Fiction

Fiction that often focuses on a strange, frightening or thrilling set of events. Includes Mystery (fiction where the element of mystery of terror plays a controlling part, often a tale of crime). Referred to as merely Best Suspense Fiction until 2017 when changed to Mystery/Suspense/Thriller.

2022 – Terri Blackstock – Aftermath
2021 – Carrie Stuart Parks – Relative Silence
2020 – Ted Dekker and Rachelle Dekker – The Girl Behind the Red Rope
2019 – Steven James – Every Wicked Man
2018 – Jamie Jo Wright – The House on Foster Hill
2017 – Carrie Stuart Parks – When Death Draws Near
2016 – Terri Blackstock – Twisted Innocence
2015 – Ace Collins – The Color of Justice
2014 – Ted Dekker – Outlaw
2013 – T. Davis Bunn – Rare Earth
2012 – Steven James – The Queen
2011 – Steven James – The Bishop
2010 – Athol Dickson – The Lost Mission
2009 – Steven James – The Rook
2008 – Athol Dickson – The Cure
2007 – Tim Downs – Plague Maker
2006 – Athol Dickson – River Rising
2005 – Debbie Wilson – Tiger in the Shadows
2004 – Ted Dekker – Thr3e
2003 – Randy Singer – Directed Verdict
2002 – T. Davis Bunn – Drummer in the Dark
2001 – T. Davis Bunn – The Great Divide
2000 – James Scott Bell – Final Witness

Best Speculative Fiction

Imaginative fiction including Allegory (fiction in the form of extended metaphor in which objects, person and actions are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself), Fantasy (fiction that contains a conscious breaking free from reality in which the work takes place in a nonexistent and unreal world or concerns incredible or unreal characters), Futuristic (fiction whose action, plot, and characters occur in a future period of time), and Science Fiction (fiction in which scientific facts or hypotheses form the basis of adventures, often in the future, on other planets, or in other dimensions of time). [Note: Incorporates several previous categories. Named changed from Best Visionary Fiction in 2021.]

2022 – Sharon Hinck – Windward Shore
2021 – Sharon Hinck – Forsaken Island
2020 – Sharon Hinck – Hidden Current
2019 – Kathy Tyers – Shivering World
2018 – James L. Rubart – The Man He Never Was
2017 – James L. Rubart – The Long Journey to Jake Palmer
2016 – James L. Rubart – The Five Times I Met Myself
2015 – Ann Tatlock – Once Beyond a Time
2014
– Anne Elizabeth Stengl – Dragonwitch
2013 – James L. Rubart – Soul’s Gate
2011 – Anne Elizabeth Stengl – Veiled Rose
2011 – Jill Williamson – To Darkness Fled
2010 – Jill Williamson – By Darkness Hid
2009 – Tom Pawlik – Vanish
2008 – Stephen R. Lawhead – Scarlet
2006 – Karen Hancock – Shadow Over Kiriath
2005 – Karen Hancock – The Shadow Within

Best Short Form

This category was introduced in 2017.

2022 – Karen Witemeyer – A Texas Christmas Carol
2021 – Amanda Barratt – Joy to the World: Far as the Curse is Found
2020 – Cindy Woodsmall and Erin Woodsmall – A Christmas Haven
2019 – Terri Blackstock – Catching Christmas
2018 – Michelle Griep – 12 Days at Bleakly Manor
2017 – Chris Fabry – Looking Into You

Best First Novel

This novel may represent any genre above written by a first-time novelist who has not published commercially any book-length work of fiction. Author may have published fiction in magazines, journals, or other periodicals. NOTE: A book that qualifies for this category may also be entered in the genre category which it represents.

2022 – Patricia Raybon – All That is Secret
2021 – Amanda Cox – The Edge of Belonging
2020 – Robin W. Pearson – A Long Time Comin’
2019 – David Rawlings – The Baggage Handler
2018 – Valerie Fraser Luesse – Missing Isaac
2017 – Ann Marie Stewart – Stars in the Grass
2016 – [no winner announced (from among 3 finalists) on The Christy Awards website] 2015 – Marcus Brotherton – Feast for Thieves
2014 – Lori Benton – Burning Sky
2013 – Julie Cantrell – Into the Free
2012 – Ginny Yttrup – Words
2011 – Anne Elizabeth Stengl – Heartless
2010 – Jennifer Erin Valent – Fireflies in December
2009 – Joy Jordan-Lake – Blue Holme Back Home
2008 – Sibella Giorello – The Stones Cry Out
2007 – Karen Harter – Where Mercy Flows
2006 – Nicole Mazzarella – This Heavy Silence
2005 – Cliff Coon – The Mending String
2004 – Brad Whittington – Welcome to Fred
2003 – Michael Morris – A Place Called Wiregrass
2002 – David Ryan Long – Ezekiel’s Shadow
2001 – Sharon Ewell Foster – Passing By Samaria

Best Young Adult

This category first appeared in 2007, focusing of books for teens and/or young adults.

2022 – Kara Swanson – Shadow
2021 – Sandra Fernandez – Mortal Sight
2020 – Christine Kindberg – The Means That Make Us Strangers
2019 – Melanie Dickerson – The Warrior Maiden
2018 – Laura Gallier – The Delusion
2017 – Melanie Dickerson – Silent Songbird
2016 – Rachelle Dekker – The Choosing
2015 – Mary Weber – Storm Siren
2014 – [no winner announced] 2013 – Marilyn Sue Shank – Child of the Mountains
2012 – Lisa T. Bergren – Waterfall
2011 – Nancy Rue – Motorcycles, Sushi and One Strange Book
2010 – Andrew Petersen – North, or Be Eaten!
2009 – Cathy Gohlke – I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires
2008 – Lisa Samson – Hollywood Nobody
2007 – Cathy Gohlke – William Henry is a Fine Name

PAST CATEGORIES [2000-2016]

Best Contemporary (Series, Sequels and Novellas)

In 2007, this category first appeared, as a spin-off from the Best Contemporary. [Note: Splits off from the traditional Contemporary category.]

2016 – Beth K. Vogt – Crazy Little Thing Called Love
2015 – Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner – The Amish Blacksmith
2014 – Susan May Warren – Take a Chance on Me
2013 – Susan May Warren – You Don’t Know Me
2012 – Mindie Starnes Clark and Leslie Gould – The Amish Wife
2011 – Nancy Rue – The Reluctant Prophet
2010 – Neta Jackson – Who Do I Talk To?
2009 – Tracy V. Bateman – You Had Me at Good-Bye
2008 – Jan Karon – Home to Holly Springs
2007 – Beverly Lewis – The Brethren

Best Contemporary (Standalones)

In 2009, this category first appeared, separate from Best Contemporary (Series, Sequels and Novellas)

2015 – Lisa Wingate – The Seakeeper’s Daughters
2015 – Lisa Wingate – The Story Keeper
2014 – Christa Parrish – Stones for Bread
2013 – Chris Fabry – Not in the Heart
2012 – Ann Tatlock – Promises to Keep
2011 – Chris Fabry – Almost Heaven
2010 – Lisa Samson – The Passion of Mary-Margaret
2009 – Chris Fabry – Dogwood

Best General/Contemporary Fiction

Stand-alone, full-length novels whose characters, settings and issues are within the context of the present time period (1950- ). (Became Best Contemporary (Standalone) in 2007)

2009 – Marlo Shalesky – Beyond the Night
2008 – Charles Martin – Chasing Fireflies
2007 – Jamie Langston Turner – Winter Birds
2006 (tie) – W. Dale Cramer – Levi’s Will
2006 (tie) – Vanessa Del Fabbro – The Road to Home
2005 – W. Dale Cramer – Bad Ground
2004 – Lisa Samson – Songbird
2003 – Ann Tatlock – All the Way Home
2002 – Jamie Langston Turner – A Garden to Keep
2001 (tie) – Philip Gulley – Home to Harmony
2001 (tie) – Robert Whitlow – The Trial
2000 – Jan Karon – A New Song

Best Lits

This category first appeared in 2007, focusing on popular “chick lit” and/or general fiction.

2008 – Shelly Beach – Hallie’s Heart
2007 – Robin Jones Gunn – Sisterchicks in Gondolas

Best Romance Fiction

Fiction whose characters and controlling theme focuses on a romantic drama in a historical or current setting. This category was split into Best Contemporary Romance and Best Historical Romance in 2010.

2009 – Tamera Alexander – From a Distance
2008 – Tamera Alexander – Remembered
2007 – Deeanne Gist – Measure of a Lady
2006 – Deeanne Gist – A Bride Most Begrudging
2005 – Kristen Heitzmann – Secrets
2004 – Hannah Alexander – Hideaway
2003 – Dee Henderson – True Honor (Uncommon Heroes Series, Book 3)
2002 – Dee Henderson – The Guardian
2001 – Catherine Palmer – A Touch of Betrayal
2000 – Robin Lee Hatcher – Whispers From Yesterday

Best Futuristic Fiction

2004 – Jerry Jenkins – Soon: The Beginning of the End
2003 – Nancy Moser – Time Lottery
2002 – Randall Ingermanson and John Olson – Oxygen
2001 – Randall Ingermanson – Transgression
2000 – Grant R. Jeffrey and Angela Hunt – By Dawn’s Early Light

Best International Historical Fiction

2003 – Jack Cavanaugh – His Watchful Eye
2002 – Jack Cavanaugh – While Mortals Sleep
2001 – Francine Rivers – Unashamed
2000 – Anne de Graaf – Out of the Red Shadow

Best North American Historical Fiction

2003 – Lynn Austin – Candle in the Darkness
2002 – Lynn Austin – Hidden Places
2001 – Gilbert Morris – Edge of Honor
2001 – Rosey Dow – Reaping the Whirlwind
2000 – Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn – The Meeting Place

Best Western Fiction

2003 – R. William Rogers – Toward a New Beginning
2002 – Stephen Bly – The Long Trail Home

Best Fantasy Fiction

2004 – Karen Hancock – The Light of Eidon

Best Allegory Fiction

2003 – Karen Hancock – Arena

Last updated May 2023 sdc