2009 Christian Book Awards Finalists Announced
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has announced the finalists of this year's Christian Book Awards as well as a new change to how the awards will be presented.
This year, for the first time, winners of the Christian Book Awards will be announced during a multi-media event open to the general public, according to the 35-year-old trade organization.
"2009 marks a new program and a new day for the Christian Book Awards," reported ECPA President Mark Kuyper on Tuesday.
He said the public announcement of the award winners will create a reader-to-author connection that "brings a new level of excitement and anticipation to the awards program."
Since 1978, ECPA has honored and recognized the absolute highest quality in Christian books through the Christian Book Awards. This year, ECPA member publishers submitted for award consideration 218 books, all published in 2008 and each of which was evaluated against category-specific criteria for editorial excellence by 72 expert judges.
From the submissions, five finalists were selected within each of the six categories (six where there was a tie) and will now be vying to become the winner of their category and, even better, ECPA's top honor – Christian Book of the Year.
Winners of the Christian Book Awards will be presented at the 2009 Christian Book Awards Dinner on Mar. 19 at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas. The awards dinner will kick off the first-ever Christian Book Expo, which opens Mar. 20 at the Dallas Convention Center.
The following is the list of finalists:
BIBLES
• ESV Study Bible, Crossway Books & Bibles
• NKJV Study Bible: Second Edition, Thomas Nelson
• NLT Study Bible, Tyndale House Publishers
• The Grandmother's Bible, Doris Rikkers, Jeannette Taylor, Editors, Zondervan
• Zondervan NIV Study Bible Updated, Kenneth Barker, John Stek, Ronald Youngblood, Editors, Zondervan
BIBLE REFERENCE & STUDY
• A Visual History of the English Bible, Donald L. Brake, Baker Books/ Baker Publishing Group
• Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings, Tremper Longman III, Peter Enns, Eds., InterVarsity Press
• New International Biblical Commentary: Jeremiah, Lamentations, Tremper Longman II, Hendrickson Publishers
• New Testament Theology, Thomas R. Schreiner, Baker Academic/ Baker Publishing Group
• Rose Guide to the Tabernacle, Rose Publishing, Inc.
CHILDREN & YOUTH (six finalists listed due to tie)
• For Young Men Only, Jeff Feldhahn and Eric Rice with Shaunti Feldhahn, WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group
• Guys Like Girls Who…, Chad Eastham, Thomas Nelson
• Lies Young Women Believe, Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh, Moody Publishers
• Mean, Hayley DiMarco, Revell/ Baker Publishing Group
• Secrets Young Women Keep, Dr. Jill Hubbard, Thomas Nelson
• Starlight Animal Rescue #1: Runaway, Dandi Mackall, Tyndale House Publishers
CHRISTIAN LIFE (six finalists listed due to tie)
• Following God with All Your Heart, Elizabeth George, Harvest House Publishers
• Living Water, Brother Yun, Zondervan
• Love as a Way of Life, Gary Chapman, WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group
• Multiple Blessings, Jon and Kate Gosselin, Zondervan
• Spectacular Sins, John Piper, Crossway Books & Bibles
FICTION
• Home Another Way, Christa Parrish, Bethany House/ Baker Publishing Group
• Less Than Dead, Tim Downs, Thomas Nelson
• Riven, Jerry B. Jenkins, Tyndale House Publishers
• The Outsider, Ann H. Gabhart, Revell/ Baker Publishing Group
• The Shape of Mercy, Susan Meissner, WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group
INSPIRATION & GIFT (six finalists listed due to tie)
• Holiness Day by Day, Jerry Bridges, NavPress
• Hope...the Best of Things, Joni Eareckson Tada, Crossway Books & Bibles
• My All in All, Robert J. Morgan, B&H Publishing
• Reflections of God's Holy Land: A Personal Journey Through Israel, Eva Marie Everson and Miriam Fienberg Vamosh, Thomas Nelson
• The Daily Bible ® Devotional, F. LaGard Smith, Harvest House Publishers
• The Quotable Oswald Chambers, David McCasland, Editor, Discovery House Publishers