Ada, MI (June 17, 2024)
On Wednesday, May 29, Eva Marie Everson presented the 2024 Selah Awards at a gala event held at the Ridgecrest Conference Center in Ridgecrest, North Carolina. This event took place on the final evening of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Revell author Cindy K. Sproles was selected as the first place winner in the Historical/Biblical category and also received the Selah Book of the Year award in the Fiction category for her book, This Is Where It Ends. Each year, Selah Book of the Year designations are awarded to the highest-scoring titles in each of the three categories, including Nonfiction, Fiction, and Children. The Selah Awards, which began in 1999, recognizes and celebrates excellence in Christian writing in a variety of categories and is organized by the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Baker Publishing Group offers their congratulations to all the Selah Award winners.
For a complete list of the 2024 Selah Award winners, please visit https://www.blueridgeconference.com/selah-award-winners-2024
Additional awards were presented to Baker Publishing Group (Bethany House and Revell) authors/books.
Contemporary Romance AND First Novel (First Place in both categories)
Julia Monroe Begins Again by Rebekah Millet
With her two boys off to college, forty-year-old Julia Monroe intends to expand her cleaning business in New Orleans, but God seems to have other plans. Samuel Reed, the ruggedly handsome Green Beret who broke her heart more than twenty years ago, has returned to town, and he’s determined to win her back.
General Fiction (First Place)
The Wind Blows in Sleeping Grass by Katie Powner
Pete is content in his simple life in a remote Montana town, but elderly widow Wilma is busy meddling in Pete’s life to make up for past wrongs. When the sister Pete was separated from as a child shows up, Pete must confront a difficult past, and Wilma discovers her long-awaited chance at redemption may come at too high a price.
Historical/Biblical (First Place)
This Is Where It Ends by Cindy K. Sproles
Widow Minerva Jenkins has lived alone in her small mountain home for 40 years where she has guarded her husband’s deathbed request. When a young reporter comes calling and inquires about a rumored box of gold on her property, an unlikely friendship forms. Will she go to her grave with her husband’s secret, or will the weight of it be the death of her?
Historical/Biblical (Third Place)
The All-American by Susie Finkbeiner
In this 1950s coming-of-age story, two sisters are left reeling when their father is accused of being a member of the Communist party. Bertha finds a haven with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Flossie finds herself in an unexpected friendship. Both are about to discover how much good there is in the world—even in the hardest of circumstances.
Historical Romance (First Place)
The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel
The only home Brianna Kelly has ever known is Ballymacool Boarding School, but when the son of local gentry arrives at the school to deal with his unruly niece, an unexpected discovery uncovers the truth about her past—and the key to her future.
Mystery/Suspense (First Place)
The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright
In 1870, orphaned Daisy Francois takes a housemaid position at a Wisconsin castle and finds that the eccentric Gothic authoress inside hides more than the harrowing tales in her novels. In the present day, Cleo Clemmons uncovers an age-old mystery, and the dust of the old castle’s curse threatens to rise again, this time to leave no one alive to tell its sordid tale.
Audio Books (First Place)
With Every Memory by Janine Rosche
After a tragic accident robs her of the last nine years of memories, Lori Mendenhall comes home to a family completely different than she remembers. As her memory returns and past secrets resurface, it will take all of them to repair what’s been broken and find a new future together.