Today, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has announced the finalists for the 18th annual Christy Awards. Winners will be announced at the awards gala, taking place on Nov. 8 at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., which will be hosted by Best-Selling Christian Authors Karen Kingsbury, Andrew Peterson and Chris Fabry. The Christy Award exists to celebrate excellence in the art of Christian Fiction and honor the power of story.

"As the new caretakers and curators for The Christy Award, we are thrilled with the list of 27 finalists in the nine Christian fiction categories," said Stan Jantz, Executive Director of ECPA.

The Christy Awards will be presented in these categories: General, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Visionary, First Novel, Young Adult and Short Form.

The nominees are:

Contemporary Romance:

Her One and Only, Becky Wade (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

The Red Door Inn, Liz Johnson (Revell/Baker Publishing Group)

Rescue Me, Susan May Warren (Revell/Baker Publishing Group)

First Novel:

Counted with the Stars, Connilyn Cossette (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

Like a River from Its Course, Kelli Stuart (Kregel Publications)

Stars in the Grass, Ann Marie Stewart (Barbour Publishing)

General Fiction:

Long Way Gone, Charles Martin (Thomas Nelson)

The Promise of Jesse Woods, Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)

The Undoing of Saint Silvanus, Beth Moore (Tyndale House Publishers)

Historical:

Like a River from Its Course, Kelli Stuart (Kregel Publications)

The Mark of the King, Jocelyn Green (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

Miriam, Mesu Andrews (WaterBrook)

Historical Romance:

A Note Yet Unsung, Tamera Alexander (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

From This Moment, Elizabeth Camden (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

The Lady and the Lionheart, Joanne Bischof (Mason Jar Books)

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller:

If I Run, Terri Blackstock (Zondervan)

When Death Draws Near, Carrie Stuart Parks (Thomas Nelson)

Without Warning, Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House)

Short Form:

Looking into You, Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)

Mirror Image, Laura Scott (Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense)

Restoring Christmas: A Novella, Cynthia Ruchti (Worthy Inspired, an imprint of Worthy Publishing Group)

Visionary:

The Alliance, Jolina Petersheim (Tyndale House Publishers)

King's Folly, Jill Williamson, (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

The Long Journey to Jake Palmer, James Rubart (Thomas Nelson)

Young Adult:

If You're Gone, Brittany Goodwin (Edge of 22 Publishing)

The Silent Songbird, Melanie Dickerson (Thomas Nelson)

Unblemished, Sara Ella (Thomas Nelson)

Jantz continues, "These talented storytellers, representing the curation and investment of 12 different publishers, passed a rigorous process to get to this point. We congratulate them and look forward to the announcement of the winners in each category at The Christy Award gala on November 8."

This year, the awards have special meaning as they take place exactly 50 years after the groundbreaking novel Christy by Catherine Marshall (the awards' namesake) reached the #1 spot on the New York Times Best Seller List for Fiction in 1967. The novel sold over 10 million copies, and highlighted the demand for faith-affirming stories in the fiction market.

To celebrate, the novel is being re-released in November through Gilead Publishing.

Along with The Christy Award, ECPA will be hosting their first The Art of Writing Conference, held the same afternoon. This half-day event is designed to bring together creators and curators, and will feature intensive seminars that celebrate the creative life and provide practical tips for the challenges in this rapidly changing industry. A top list of speakers and panelists from a vast variety of roles and disciplines have been tapped to participate, and will be discussing issues including diversity in storytelling, handling discouragement and answer questions authors are asking.

The Art of Writing Conference will be held from 1-5 p.m. on Nov. 8, followed by The Christy Awards Gala at 7:00 p.m. at Lipscomb University, located at 1 University Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37204. Both events are offered at a special bundle price of $99. For more information and tickets, please see http://www.christyawards.com.