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| Brittany Nelson Larsen, Melanie Bennett Jacobson, Debbie Frampton, Emily Shelton Poole, Jenny Shelton Proctor and Becca Wilhite. |
SO MANY AUTHORS all in one place!
WHAT A FUN EXPERIENCE!
Eligibility for Awards
a. Definition: “novel” in these rules refers to a work of fiction that is at least 50,000 words in length.
b. Publication date must be between January 1st and December 31st of the award year.
c. Novels must be written by a member or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
d. Novels are eligible whether or not the author is a member of LDStorymakers, Inc.
e. Novels are eligible whether or not they have been published by traditional LDS publishers.
f. Re-releases, second-editions, reprints or revisions of the same book are not eligible unless they are in the same calendar year.
g. Novels written or published by members of the Whitney Awards Committee are not eligible during any year that author has served on the committee.
h. Novels written or published by Whitney Awards Judges are not eligible during any year that author has served as a judge, in any category the judge has adjudicated.
i. For the award Best Novel by a New Author, the nominated novel must be the first novel published by the author in any format and be a finalist in their genre category. In the event that there are not at least five new authors in the genre finals, judges will be asked to recommend titles of debut authors they evaluated that they feel should be considered for the award. Depending on judge recommendations, there may be more than five titles in this category.
j. For the awards in the Best Youth Fiction categories, the work must be greater than 20,000 words.
k. If a Youth Fiction novel is a nominated for Best Novel by a New Author, then the novel must be the first work of fiction published by the author in any format, greater than 20,000 words.
I have read EVERY book in this category...LOVED them!
“You have to be here. I can’t be on the premises without an owner or tenant present. Wouldn’t want to be accused of walking off with anything.” He looks around the kitchen. “Not that there’s anything here to tempt me.”
“You’re a jerk.”
Bob glances down at the photo again. “Will your husband be back soon?”
“He died a year ago. So, no.”
I gain immense satisfaction in seeing his cheeks darken a bit.
Abish Miller is a mess. But you might be too if you were a twenty-one-year-old widow with a dysfunctional family, an overpowering boss, and a torturous return to the singles’ scene. Training for the marathon she and her husband never got to run is about the only time she can forget about her problems.
But life won’t leave her alone. It throws Bob Hartley, a recently divorced young father, into her living room and then her ward. And when her irritation turns into attraction, she’s sure that it must be some sort of cosmic joke, especially when it seems he loathes her! Feeling like she just keeps hitting the wall, Abish must learn to push past her fears or she’ll never achieve her personal best.
Defined by sharp wit and an authentic voice, Mile 21 shows the despair of giving up on hope—and the joy of choosing it again.
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BEST GENERAL FICTION 2013
went to Sarah Dunster for MILE 21
“You’re a jerk.”
Bob glances down at the photo again. “Will your husband be back soon?”
“He died a year ago. So, no.”
I gain immense satisfaction in seeing his cheeks darken a bit.
Abish Miller is a mess. But you might be too if you were a twenty-one-year-old widow with a dysfunctional family, an overpowering boss, and a torturous return to the singles’ scene. Training for the marathon she and her husband never got to run is about the only time she can forget about her problems.
But life won’t leave her alone. It throws Bob Hartley, a recently divorced young father, into her living room and then her ward. And when her irritation turns into attraction, she’s sure that it must be some sort of cosmic joke, especially when it seems he loathes her! Feeling like she just keeps hitting the wall, Abish must learn to push past her fears or she’ll never achieve her personal best.
Defined by sharp wit and an authentic voice, Mile 21 shows the despair of giving up on hope—and the joy of choosing it again.
Sarah Dunster is an award-winning poet and fiction writer. Her poems have been published in Dialogue: a Journal of Mormon Thought, Segullah Magazine, Sunstone Magazine and Victorian Violet Press. Her short fiction piece, Back North, is featured in Segullah’s Fall 2011 issue. She is a contributing author to Fire in the Pasture: 21st Century Mormon Poets, and her novel Lightning Tree was released April 10, 2012 by Cedar Fort. Sarah has seven children and loves writing almost as much as she loves being a mom.
Writing is what keeps her sane.
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THE OTHER FINALISTS WERE
A breathtaking literary debut, Love Letters of the Angels of Death begins as a young couple discover the remains of his mother in her mobile home. The rest of the family fall back, leaving them to reckon with the messy, unexpected death. By the time the burial is over, they understand this will always be their role: to liaise with death on behalf of people they love. They are living angels of death.
All the major events in their lives – births, medical emergencies, a move to a northern boomtown, the theft of a veteran’s headstone – are viewed from this ambivalent angle. In this shadowy place, their lives unfold: fleeting moments, ordinary occasions, yet on the brink of otherworldliness. In spare, heart-stopping prose, the transient joys, fears, hopes and heartbreaks of love, marriage, and parenthood are revealed through the lens of the eternal, unfolding within the course of natural life.
This is a novel for everyone who has ever been happily married -- and for everyone who would like to be.
Road to Bountiful by Donald Smurthwaite
A lousy grocery store box boy. How did business major Levi Crowne’s life culminate in a summer job so pathetic? Just when it seems impossible to utter “will that be paper or plastic?” one more time, his wealthy Aunt Barbara offers him a golden opportunity: she will pay him to drive her elderly father, Loyal, from North Dakota to the Utah retirement home that awaits him. Eager to make a quick buck, Levi accepts the job. How bad could it be? Escort the old man to Glad Tidings Assisted Living Facility as quickly as possible, collect his pay, and get on with life. But nothing ever goes as planned. As the unlikely duo cross the plains—navigating through everything from tornadoes to seedy motels to biker bars—he’s surprised at the feeling of kinship he develops with his passenger. In what becomes a life- changing adventure, Levi finds himself transformed by a gentle and wise old man who inspires him to slow down and enjoy the ride.
Ruby's Secret by Heather B. Moore
At age sixty-two, life is finally beginning for newly widowed Ruby Crenshaw. Her son is grown and gone, and after long years spent in the role of loyal wife to her charming but unfaithful husband, she’s ready to live the life she’s always dreamed of. Her resolve is firm: she’ll never make the mistake of giving her heart to another man. The first step in Ruby’s quest for a carefree lifestyle was to create the Newport Ladies Book Club, an unlikely gathering of women who have been her haven. Now she’s ready to take her newfound independence a step further—along with her friends from the local senior center, Ruby is jetting off on a much-needed Greece adventure. What she isn’t prepared for is Gabriel—the group’s tour guide—a native Greek and a true gentleman. His unquestionable charm is hard to resist. But resist she must—because no matter their growing attraction, Ruby is not about to fall for charming again!
The House at Rose Creek by Jenny Proctor
Deep in the rolling hills of North Carolina lay the idyllic town of Rose Creek. Home to the Walker clan for generations, the family farmhouse was the ideal place to grow up. And for Kate, orphaned at age six, the home her mother grew up in was a haven of healing and love. But as the future beckoned, Kate slowly pulled away from her family and her home, never to return. Until now. Beautiful career woman Kate Sinclair has built a successful life for herself, even as she’s haunted by the decisions that led to her estrangement from those once so dear to her. When tragedy strikes her family, Kate realizes the time has come to return home. Awaiting her is an animosity she expected, as well as a shock she never could have anticipated: her family’s home is in danger of being destroyed.
Despite her reservations, Kate makes the decision to stay in Rose Creek for a time to help her family. As she slowly begins to reestablish her roots in the close-knit community, she finds herself increasingly attached to Andrew, a man with charm, charisma—and a secret.
And when Kate discovers the diary of an early family member who has immigrated to the United States, she finds strength in his belief in God as she explores her new relationship with Andrew and works to rebuild ties within her family. But when the pressures of the house problems and the disdain from family members gets too tough, the lure of the city calls, and Kate is forced to make an impossible decision: will she return to the life she worked so hard to build in the city or risk everything for an unknown future in Rose Creek?
Check back tomorrow to see who won
BEST SPECULATIVE YOUTH FICTION 2013
Thanks for sharing these! I love to see the books that won!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are enjoying these lists.
DeleteIt is fun to get book ideas about books you know people LOVED!
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