And the Winner is…
Last weekend the annual ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) conference was held in St. Louis. If you write Christian fiction, you’re probably a member. If you read Christian fiction chances are some of your favorite authors were in attendance. It’s become the premier conference for Christian fiction. I’ve been several times (didn’t go this year) and the gala (which I keep calling the awards banquet because really that’s what it is) is an incredible celebration of Christian fiction.
ACFW Award Categories
The Genesis: Recognizing great unpublished fiction in various categories. (For a list of winners go here.)
Lifetime Achievement Award: This year awarded to novelist Robin Lee Hatcher.
Agent of the Year: This year my very own agent won, Chip MacGregor!
Editor of the Year: Vicki Crumpton, Revell
Mentor of the Year: Martha Rogers
Volunteer of the Year: Julie Klassen
The Carol Awards: Awarded to outstanding novels in various categories.
For the list of winners, go here.
If I Won
I’ve never been nominated. By the time I joined ACFW I was already published so not eligible for the Genesis. My novels have not been nominated or even entered. But that hasn’t stopped me from thinking about what I might say should one of my books ever be considered for an honor like this. There is usually not time for an Academy Awards-type speech, so this might not even be possible. But…, just for grins, here’s my acceptance speech. (I would probably change it a million times, so consider this a first draft!)
Being Thankful for Words
Like most people who stand up here, I never expected to win. Well, “I” really didn’t win anything. The award is for the book you saw blown up larger than life on the video screen. It’s the words inside the cover that somehow managed to speak to readers, sometimes in ways I never expected. It’s the characters who speak words that readers experienced as either something they would also say or something they need to hear. It’s the fictional dream that I first dreamt and then shared with my fellow authors and early readers. Their feedback turned my fictional dream into something I could then present to my agent and my editors, who dreamt it too, but not exactly in the form I presented to them. They added, changed, and developed it–keeping my original but making it better. What won today is the dream that each reader who opens the book grasps based on his or her own perceptions and experiences. That is not something I could create and make happen. It’s a book miracle that could only come from the hand of God. Not scripture, but story. Everyone has one, everyone can relate to one. I’m thankful for the words that came. Thank you for celebrating the power of story!
