ACFW Conference and Book of the Year finalists

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.09.2006

Blog book giveaway:
My Thursday book giveaway is THE SIMPLE LIFE by Wanda Brunstetter.
My Monday book giveaway is MY SO-CALLED LOVE LIFE by Allie Pleiter.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for THE SIMPLE LIFE and post the title for another book I'm giving away.

Conference! The ACFW conference is one of the highlights of my year. I’m a bullet-points kind of gal, so here’s why:

* Meeting online friends face-to-face, both new and old. It’s thrilling to see people I’ve only e-mailed with, and to give and receive hugs from people I haven’t seen since conference last year. The comraderie is festive.

* Small conference. There’s only about 300-350 people who attend the conference, rather than 2000+ like RWA National, so it’s easy to find people, meet up with them, bump into them in the halls or in workshops, have meals together.

* Spiritual refreshing. Unlike a secular writing conference, I’ve always found the worship times and the spiritual atmosphere incredibly soothing, uplifting, and energizing at the same time. Prayer happens all the time in the Prayer Room, in hallways, in bathrooms, in hotel rooms.

* Hosted tables. Because the faculty hosts tables at lunch and dinner, there are tons of opportunities to talk to authors, editors, and agents. Also, because there are so many opportunities, I think that editors and agents feel less harassed in the hallways, elevators, and bathrooms, because attendees know they don’t have to grab their attention right then or forever lose a chance of a lifetime.

* Breakfast with other writers and Brandilyn! How much better can it get? A table with other sleepy writers talking pre-coffee nonsense, and Brandilyn Collins singing “The Author and the Editor Should Be Friends”!

* Nice editors and agents. Who’d a thunk? They’re actually real, normal people! There are a lot of agents and editors who attend ACFW who specialize in fiction, moreso than many other conferences. ACFW has an editor and an agent panel, and there are lots of opportunities to talk to them and get to know them.

* Lots of published authors. The ACFW faculty is chock-full of published authors—multi-published, best-selling, award-winning, and sometimes odd and weird (like someone named, hypothetically, Randy Ingermanson). There are tons of opportunities to talk to them, glean advice, be informed or entertained. And if you’re especially nice and polite, they might even like you back.

* Workshops for several levels. Not all Christian writers conferences offer workshops and continuing tracks for writers at different stages of their careers, so the fact that ACFW offers so many is a bonus.

* All fiction. I’ve gone to a few Christian writers conferences that are both fiction and non-fiction, but sometimes more workshops are geared toward non-fiction. Also, I’ve heard non-fiction writers sometimes insist that fiction writers should write articles first before starting on that novel, which I think is bull-honky. If a writer doesn’t want to write non-fiction articles, why should she? Clips are nice but only if they pertain directly to the novelist’s brand, genre, or the theme of their novel. There isn’t that type of bias at ACFW conference.

* Workshops on MP3. Last year, they had ALL the workshops that were recorded available on MP3 for only $99. GREAT deal. I downloaded them to my iPod and I listen to them in the car whenever I drive someplace.

* Chillin’. The conference always has night owls (like moi) hanging out in the lobby, in the hallways, or in various other public areas of the hotel, being loud and making a nuisance of ourselves. What fun! I get to enjoy great company, meet new people, and be a pest all at the same time!

* THE GENESIS CONTEST!!! And ACFW Book of the Year contest! The winners for both will be announced on Saturday night at an faboo awards ceremony!

And speaking of Book of the Year . . .

Coordinator Robin Cynclair announced the finalists in the 2006 ACFW Book of the Year contest! The winners will be announced at the conference in September, as well as the overall highest score which will win the coveted title of ACFW BOOK OF THE YEAR. So, without further ado.....the finalists (in alphabetical order):

(The author links on this list came from Tricia Goyer)

In Contemporary Novella Category, the finalists are:
Kristy Dykes with "Reunited" in with Wedded Bliss
Pamela Griffin with "Strawberry Angel" in One Christmas Angel
Robin Lee Hatcher with Veterans Way
Jane Orcutt with Dear Baby Girl
Lenora Worth with "'Twas the Week Before Christmas" in Once Upon a Christmas

In General Fiction, which includes Sci-Fi and Young Adult, the finalists are: (6 finalists due to a tie)
Bryan Davis with Circles of Seven
Bryan Davis with Tears of a Dragon
DiAnn Mills with When the Lion Roars
Miles Owens with Daughter of Prophecy
Sarah Anne Sumpolec with The Passage
Sarah Anne Sumpolec with The Reveal

In the Historical Novella category, the finalists are:
Pamela Griffin with "Moonlight Masquerade" from Masquerade
Pamela Griffin with "Legend of Mercy" from Brides o' the Emerald Isle
DiAnn Mills with "Missing Pages" in Golden Gate Gazette
Kathleen Y'Barbo with "Coffee Scoop" in Fresh-Brewed Love
Kathleen Y'Barbo with "The Marrying Kind" in Lone Star Christmas

In the Lits category, the finalists are:
Kristin Billerbeck with She's All That
Kristin Billerbeck with With This Ring, I'm Confused
Diann Hunt with Hot Flashes and Cold Cream
Siri Mitchell with Kissing Adrian
Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt with Emily Ever After

In the Long Historical category, the finalists are:
Tracey Bateman with The Color of the Soul
Dorothy Clark with Joy For Mourning
Susan Downs and Susan May Warren with Oksana
Deeanne Gist with A Bride Most Begrudging
Tricia Goyer with Dawn of a Thousand Nights

In the Short Contemporary category, the finalists are:
Colleen Coble (writing as Colleen Rhoads) with Windigo Twilight
Colleen Coble (writing as Colleen Rhoads) with Shadow Bones
Mary Davis with The Island
Nancy Lavo with Miss Menace
Elizabeth White with Under Cover of Darkness

In the Short Historical category, the finalists are:
Janet Lee Barton with A Place Called Home
Tracey Bateman with Beside Still Waters
Vickie McDonough with Sooner or Later
DiAnn Mills with Renegade Husband
Kathleen Y'Barbo with Bayou Secrets

In the Suspense category, the finalists are:
Terri Blackstock with Breaker's Reef
Colleen Coble with Distant Echoes
Colleen Coble with Black Sands
Wanda Dyson with Intimidation
Creston Mapes with Dark Star

In the Women's Fiction category, the finalists are:
Nikki Arana with The Winds of Sonoma
Linda Evans Shepherd and Eva Marie Everson with The Potluck Club
Susan Meissner with The Remedy for Regret
Deborah Raney with Over the Waters
Linda Windsor with Fiesta Moon

Congratulations everyone!