Exploring the ACFW Merry-Go-Round

Raise your hand if you've logged in to the ACFW website lately. Daily? Once a week? Once a month? Until I became president of the Indiana chapter, I have to admit I rarely used acfw.com. Even now, I still don't avail myself of all its treasures.

 

 

Note to self: check what's new at ACFW on a regular basis. 

Meanwhile, I'll explore several options with you, kind of hopping on and off this merry-go-round called ACFW.

First, let's visit the CONFERENCE tab since it's just around the corner. Click on that and you'll find everything you need to know from registration instructions to the schedule, to hotel info, even who to contact if you want an author photo taken. My photo is now six or seven years old, so I signed up!

The CONTEST tab is one you'll want to study. Submissions open for First Impressions next month. Guidelines and rules for submission are available there. Some of you love entering contests; others find them discouraging--they're so subjective. Genesis and First Impressions are no different, but the feedback received from the wiser judges is priceless.

Moving? The CHAPTERS tab can show you the chapter nearest to your new home.

STORYFEST is a new tab. Geared more for readers than writers, anyone can register for this mini-conference side by side with the annual conference in St. Louis. ACFW has lined up several authors who will give readings from their books, then meet with their audience for some Q&A, and I assume book signing.

 

 All of the above is available for web browsing for the whole world, but wait until you log in as a member!

 

 

If you're published, you can ask for an interview or apply to have your novel accepted into the ACFW Book Club under AUTHOR OPPORTUNITIES. Any of us can join the book club and see the latest releases from ACFW authors, or we can join  a small group to read and discuss a selection.

CONNECTIONS means what it says. You can connect with email loops (plural) and critique groups. You can take online courses for free. Attend a webinar, also free. Do want to be held accountable for your writing progress? Join "Novel Tracks." You can listen to podcasts. The last time I checked, Brandilyn Collins was offering a booklet on personalizing your characters.Check it out near the bottom of the connections page.

Under MY MEMBERSHIP you can connect with anyone in the membership directory. (That's how I find some of your email addresses. 💁) This is where you'll also find opportunities to volunteer.

If you click on MEMBER RESOURCES, you'll find all kinds of help from research to marketing. Now that my web designer has retired, I'll be using the link on the right side of the page to interview other web design companies within ACFW.

Do you want to know who's operating this merry-go-round? Click on BOARD, STAFF, AND VOLUNTEERS, or check out the BY-LAWS.

As you get comfortable with ACFW, consider judging one of the contests.  First round is open for member volunteers, and information is available on the CONTEST JUDGES DASHBOARD. (If you haven't been a judge, I'm not sure that button shows up, but the email loop always puts out a general call for judges, which will get you started.)  Before you judge a contest though, enter one of them yourself. It will give you a much better idea of what it's like on the receiving side of comments. You'll know which criticisms to take to heart as well as which praises hold the most merit.

 

 

So, join me on the merry-go-round called ACFW.

You can take things slow, hopping on and off at will, or you can hang on for a wild ride of activity. If you're planning to be in St. Louis for the conference, please contact me, through this blog or ACFW Indiana's Facebook page, via my website or my email, and we can figure out a place to meet other than the Zone Breakfast. So far, I know five of us plan to attend. Are there more? Hop on and enjoy the ride!

 

Linda Sammaritan writes realistic fiction, mostly for kids ages ten to fourteen. She has completed a  middle grade trilogy, World Without Sound, based on her own experiences growing up with a deaf sister and is currently working on a women’s fiction series.

Linda had always figured she’d teach middle-graders until school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair at the overripe age of eighty-five. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing passion for writing fiction. In May of 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her students and dedicated her work hours to learning the craft.

A wife, mother of three, and grandmother to eight, Linda regales the youngest grandchildren with “Nona Stories,” tales of her childhood. Maybe one day those stories will be in picture books!

Where Linda can be found on the web:

www.lindasammaritan.com

www.facebook.com/lindasammaritan

www.twitter.com/LindaSammaritan

 

Here Come De Judge

by Rachael Phillips

I know, I know. The Genesis judges aren't perfect. I, too, upon receiving my critiques and scores back, have said something like this:

• "I can't believe I paid money to have you read my stuff!"
• "Aha! [leafing through ten dictionaries, the Chicago Manual of Style, Strunk's, and the Bible] "I knew you were wrong about that apostrophe!"
• "You made exactly one comment about my manuscript. Did you even read it?"
• "Can you read?"

The most saintly of us competitors fall back on praying for our judges--if not for their salvation, certainly for their walk with God. Obviously, they don't know Him very well, or they would recognize the superior talents with which He gifted us.

I never quite reached that plateau of generosity. Usually, upon scanning scores, I threw my manuscript into a drawer until I had undergone my official detox process. It consisted of swearing off writing forever; throwing a few books; pounding a few pillows; and eating a few bags of chocolate while crying more than a few tears.

Eventually, I did look on the bright side. Checking out the judge's publishing credentials, I told myself, "Well, if she/he can get published, anyone can."

One year, however, properly prepared with books to throw, pillows to pound, and bags of chocolate to snarf, I stared at my scores and received a phone call: I had finaled. Instead of detoxing, I celebrated--and even more when at conference I won my category.

The following year, however, I discovered that past Genesis winners were strongly encouraged to serve as judges.

Me? A judge?

I thought of the scripture, "In the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

I heard God laughing.

Since then, I have judged the Genesis several times, and I know other authors who have wedged critiquing manuscripts between sorting socks, working a day job, baking birthday cakes, visiting in-laws, surviving root canals, soothing angry spouses, attending kids' plays (three times), shopping for prom dresses, spending time with amorous spouses, starting potty training, attending traffic court classes--and somewhere in there, too, she/he probably is trying to write a book or two or three. Or edit a few dozen.

No, Genesis judges aren't perfect. A few sadistic egomaniacs no doubt have sneaked into our ranks, as they do in every profession, organization, or ministry. Sometimes, when called upon to judge, we say "yes" mostly because we're really bad at saying "no." Still, many of us judge the Genesis because although we, too, cringe at receiving critiques, we know we would not have progressed this far without them. In other words: we care.

Are we perfect? No. (God's laughing even harder.)

Please feel free to pray for our walk with Him. And pray that with His help, we'll do the best job possible.

Thanks!

The Moral Premise by Stanley Williams

The Moral Premise addresses only one small niche of writing, but it covers that niche well.

At some point in our writing journey we each learn that every good story has a psychological subtext--which reveals what the story is really about. Usually, this is the main character's psychological journey and is characterized approximately midway through the story where the main character has his or her "moment of grace", or "ah ha" moment. For example, the moral premise for Bruce Almighty is;
Expecting a miracle leads to frustration,
but being a miracle leads to peace.

The premise is restated throughout the story, and this is what the story is "really" about.

The moral premise sentence sums up what the main character had to learn through the course of the story. The first half of the story showed in numerous ways how his frustration was derived from expecting a miracle. In the second half of the movie, the main character learned through trial and error and at a slow arc that life was great once he chose to be the miracle himself.

The book clears up the difference between Premise and Theme and explains why it is important to know the moral premise when you begin writing. Of course, we don’t live in a perfect world, and at times the writer doesn’t know the moral premise until a later draft.

This book is on my keeper shelf along with what I consider the top ten MVPs of book writing. If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend it as part of your top ten "how to" books. Better yet, buy the book—study it, and attend this year’s ACFW early- bird session where Doctor Williams will be giving his seminar. I'll see you there.

Wrestling Alligators (Or, What to Do with Genesis Feedback)

Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators.

- Olin Miller

(I'm no relation to Olin.)

Crystal, out wrestling alligators, my easy job

I am an introvert. In fact on the scale of introversion to extroversion, I am negative 5 to the introversion side. (Well, almost. I scored no extroversion points at all.) Lately I've been interacting a lot with people, whom I love, and I do LOVE to be with them, but then I have to recharge. Today I'm exhausted. Forgive me if I'm mumbling.

On top of that, I seem to be in the public eyeball in the last few days, which makes me nervous.I feel totally unworthy and like a nutcase whenever this happens and get gibberishly insecure with thoughts like, "People will really hate me now," to what I think others' are saying behind my back, "What makes her so special? I know her, and she's a drip!" But I'm finally getting enough years on me that my tune is finally changing to,"I've lived long enough to say what I want and suffer the consequences." (I shudder to think of how I will be if I reach the age of my mother-in-law, age 93.)

But I still tend to want to withdraw after being highlighted somewhere, whether a positive or negative experience. Whatever your personality, it does take guts and boldness to put yourself out there. I reveal my weaknesses to make a point. Writers have to do this to be read, but that doesn't mean that sometimes they wonder why they don't do something else--like wrestling alligators or underwater ice fishing. Anything but getting feedback for writing, exposing that writing. (And if you have a reader, you have feedback.)

On Saturday in addition to being with great people who write, and listening to a stellar presentation about navigating in tandem with your writing career the social and internet media by Amanda Luedeke, literary agent with MacGregor Literary Group, we got news that several in our chapter are semi-finalists in the ACFW Genesis contest. Of the Hoosier Genesis Semi-Finalists 3 were at our state meeting, so we were able to congratulate them, and take their photo.

2011 Indiana Chapter Genesis Semi-Finalists: Carole Brown, Melanie Brasher (Joy N. Malik,) Sarah Ladd

ACFW Genesis Semi-Finalists from the Indiana Chapter
CONTEMPORARY FICTION:
(total entries: 48)

Melanie Brasher/ Joy N. Malik (Pen Name)

HISTORICAL ROMANCE:
(total entries: 73)

Sarah Ladd

WOMEN'S FICTION:
(total entries: 90)

Carole Brown (Ohio Associate member)
Michelle Weidenbenner

MYSTERY/SUSPENSE/THRILLER:
(total entries: 47)
Bob Lyzenga

We're proud of them. No question. However, of these few who made it to the final round, there are some of you awaiting your scores and comment sheets because you didn't final. You're trying to brace yourself, your expectations had been high, but you're sure you can't prepare yourself for what is coming. It's like standing on the beach, waiting for the tsunami. (Or so you think.) Some are going to have scores that just missed, and now you will be able to take those comments and polish off your manuscript. I've seen those who didn't final taking their manuscript to sold a short time later. But others of you will feel as if someone hit you with a Mack truck.

It will hurt. You might feel anger, wanting to argue with the judges. They didn't get it! Stupid judge.

And you harbor a grudge against this person who must hate writers and doesn't recognize genius. Some mealy-mouthed nit-has been, who is bitter and possibly a derelict dared to criticize your prose. (I've heard the ugly names....) I know judges who quit judging because they couldn't take the whining after the scores came back. And while some of it might be valid, it's still whining.

Here are a few things for you as your scores come back to keep you on track and to turn a seeming setback in your writing into a triumph and positive thing. See if any of this helps.

1. Rage against the judge, the contest, your 10th grade English teacher.
Yeah, go ahead. Boo-hoo!Scream into your pillow.

Just don't do it ON ANY PUBLIC social media, blog or loop. Don't Twitter it, don't Facebook it, don't write it on comments on boards or blogs. You can cry, take a minute to hurt, eat some chocolate and tell your best friend, your family, or if it gets serious, your therapist or pastor. But please, please refrain from calling these judges names, (I've heard some bad names on a nonChristian writers' loop,) question their humanity and worse, their judgment. Do they make mistakes? Well, duh, yeah. They are humans. (We suspect.) And they are your fellow Christians. Most of them agonized, prayed over you, and spent way too much time for no pay or any praise to give you feedback on your writing. They cared enough to sacrifice their own writing time, time with family and friends, sleep. They were your readers. They reacted and prayed about it.

2. After your day of chocolate overload, and you sleep off the DeBrand's buzz, look to see if there are any patterns or things you could fix quickly.
Go ahead and deal with the easy stuff first. Oh, brother, you left out a word, you misspelled flagrant, you used seventy -ly words or you used their instead of there twenty-seven times in the first paragraph (that covered two pages). Believe me, even the published authors have their pet trip-ups. Maybe you had a rough opening paragraph. Maybe you even knew something was wrong, but you couldn't put your finger on it and some judge caught it. The light bulb came on. That's why you entered this contest, right? Start with the baby food. Let it process. Absorb the good. The bad will take a natural course!

3. Put the burrs in your saddle into a separate folder to process or to investigate.
It's possible that the judge did make a mistake. Maybe only one of the three focused on something that blew your entry out of the running. One bad score can ruin your chances. Maybe that judge didn't get it. Maybe your entry is a gem. Good writing has often been criticized and rejected by editors, too. Or maybe you do have many problems. Educate yourself on what the judge or judges pointed out to you. Time to go to school.

Here, make yourself feel better by seeing other writers who had bad days:
1. Carrie by Stephen King – 30 rejections
2. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – 38 rejections
3. M*A*S*H by Richard Hooker – 21 rejections
4. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig – 121 rejections
5. Lorna Doone by Richard Doddridge Blackmore – 18 rejections
6. Dubliners by James Joyce – 22 rejections
7. The Peter Principle by Laurence Peter – 16 rejections
8. Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen – 33 rejections
9. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach – 18 rejections
10. Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis – 15 rejections

4. Write a thank you note to your judges, even it's short and sweet, and you just thank them for their time. Let them know you will seriously consider their comments.
(Hey, this may be your best fiction writing.) But do try to mean it. Humble yourself and love the person for being a fellow Christian and for sacrificing to help you on you on your writing journey. For whatever reason, this is where you are at this time. It might be easy to be discouraged and no one blames you for feeling as if someone punched you in the guts. But don't hate the judges' guts and do give each one the benefit of the doubt. That person could end up seeing your manuscript again--only this time it could be while working for a publisher or an agent. How you react and process your scores/comments could affect how they react when seeing it again. Or consider this: if that person has the ear of the editor or an agent and your name comes up--will it be positive?

5. Do not think you cannot write, do not give up. Never give up. Don't let this be where you quit.
"Chesty" Puller, the most decorated U.S. Marine in history, and the only Marine to receive five Navy Crosses said this:
"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time."



Have that kind of attitude. I had a writer friend who asked me to pray about her writing. She was going to quit. Discouraged. Really, she had already decided to quit. She just wanted some confirmation, so she could walk away guilt free. I said I would pray. And I did. I prayed God would send her a little encouragement to continue because she is a good writer. She didn't even realize it. But I knew. God knew. (She's getting published this year. Lots will know now.)

We can pray that you receive encouragement soon. You might need it. God hasn't deserted you. Your dream is not dead because of one contest.

Remember this in the big scheme of things: "You whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." ~ Isaiah 46:3-4

That's a promise for your life as a Christian. God knows what your desires are and He knows His will and timing for you. There are people here in this chapter and this zone and this ACFW organization who can help you to keep going, keep the education going. We believe in you.

Write on. They can't get away now.

Crystal Laine Miller

Ten Top Reasons to Enter GENESIS and FRASIER Contests

Is your goal to publish a novel, but you can’t land an agent or spark a publisher’s interest?

You’d really like to attend a writer’s conference to get feedback on your wip, but you can’t afford the time or the cash. There’s an easier and less-costly solution. Get your manuscript evaluated by entering the GENESIS contest for $35 per entry or the FRASIER contest for $30 per entry.

Below are ten top reasons to enter:

• To get a pro to read your story—You want readers, don’t you? Isn’t that your ultimate goal?
• To learn—How do you format a manuscript? What’s a page break?
• To improve—What do you need to do better? Did your readers care? Why/ why not?
• To compete—How do you compare with other writers? Are you in the top 25%?
• To show off—Frasier judges pick a favorite sentence from your ms. Find out which one rocks and why. It might not be the one you loved.
• To get feedback—Published judges typically know what sells.
• To work toward a deadline—Force yourself to enter before the deadline to improve your ability to make a goal and keep it. Once you’re working with a publisher, deadlines will be constant.
• To win—scholarships and prizes, but most of all, bragging rights that look good to an agent or publisher, and visibility in the market place.
• To identify your strengths and weaknesses—Find out if you nailed your dialogue or if your hook grabbed the reader. Was your story goal believable?
• To practice how to take criticism—Once you’re working with an agent you need to learn how to stay professional—even if it means killing parts of your baby. Can you take criticism without getting your panties in a ruffle or your undies in a wad? If you can’t, who’s going to want to work with you?

Deadline for the GENESIS is March 4^th and the FRASIER is March 31^st. There’s time to enter both.

Click below for contest guidelines:

http://www.acfw.com/genesis

http://www.mybooktherapy.com/index2.php/the-frasier-contest/

How many of you have entered in the past or will enter this year? What were your experiences?

Movie Biology

Want to improve your writing? Watch a movie.

Analyze it. Dissect it. Identify its parts.

Why? For one, it’ll give you a break from your usual writing, but it might also help feed your creativity and teach you how to plot your novel.

For the past few weeks, I’ve attended My Book Therapy’s Monday night online chat session with Susan May Warren and other voices. During these sessions, Susan has shown us how to dissect movies into acts and relate them to our writing. That’s when I discovered I was movie illiterate. What I mean is: I’d never watched movies to dissect them and identify their parts. Sure, I knew they had a beginning, middle, and end, but I’d never scrutinized what happened in each act.

Until now.

So, last week, I allowed myself to watch movies—lots of them—just to analyze the acts. What a blast! Have you done this? If not, you might want to try this creative approach.

I’ll show you what I mean. Have you seen the movie, Home Alone? (I think I’ve watched it a hundred times with my granddaughter.) Hopefully you have, but if you haven’t you still might be able to follow this illustration. I will separate the events that belong in each act.

Here we go. (Remember, I’m new at this.)

Act One: We see Kevin in his ordinary world with his siblings, in his home (setting), and we feel the dynamics of the family. Then everything changes. This is the inciting incident. Kevin wakes to find his family gone. Every one of them. He’s totally alone. He’s in his usual home environment, but it’s all changed. He’s never been on his own before. Something has happened TO him to change his ordinary world.

When Kevin realizes what’s at stake, he’s ecstatic. This is his dream! He can do anything he wants and no one is there to tell him he can’t. Total freedom. Since his inciting incident is a positive experience, Kevin wants to increase his enjoyment. He jumps on the beds, plays with his older brother’s toys, eats whatever he wants, stays up late watching movies, and basically does anything he wants to do.

(Note: if the inciting incident had been a negative experience the quest would be to return to the ordinary world.)

In this act, we also get a glimpse of how Kevin fears the basement and the old man living across the street. This is a foreshadowing of the fear he’ll face in Act Two.


Act Two: This is where Kevin will encounter obstacles and conflicts. For example, he has to do the laundry—which means he has to go to the basement and face his greatest fear. And he has to face it alone.

In this movie, the biggest conflict comes from outside forces—the robbers. When Kevin realizes the robbers are going to come to the house he knows he only has himself to rely on. Yes, it’s great getting to do anything he wants, but it also means he has to face everything alone. But he has a choice. He could fight or hide. He chooses to fight and lures the robbers into the house. Once he does this Kevin has reached the point of no return. There is no turning back. His choice has consequences. What’s at stake? The worse case scenario: Kevin could get captured and die.

But Kevin learns something new about himself—he’s good at playing games and tricking people. He uses this skill to keep the robbers at bay and it works—until Act Three.


Act Three: This is the final challenge, the climax, or the Black Moment as Warren calls it. It’s when everything that can go wrong does. In Home Alone this is when the robbers capture Kevin and hang him on the hook. Nothing could get worse. There’s no hope. Or, is there? Just when we think this is the end, the old man, whom Kevin used to fear, rescues him.

In this act, after the robbers are caught, we see the change in Kevin. He no longer wants what he wanted in act one—freedom to do whatever he wants. Now he wants his family. He wants to return to his ordinary world because he’s lonesome. It’s Christmas morning and the only important thing to him is having his family back.

He’s redefined as a result of his journey.

In the end, all the loose ends are tied up in a bow. The perfect ending. His family returns. They see the change in Kevin in how he did the laundry, decorated the Christmas tree, and shopped for his groceries while they were gone.


Now you try. Watch a movie. Get out pen and paper. Take notes. You might have to skip the popcorn, but it’ll be worth it. If you watch (visual), listen (auditory), and take notes (kinesthetic) you might be more apt to remember—which in turn will help you apply it to your novel. Also, as you’re writing that short one page synopsis for GENESIS or FRASIER keep these acts in mind. It’ll help you tighten your manuscript and focus on good story mechanics.

And, if you’d like to delve deeper into these mechanics, please become a voice with us at Susan May Warren’s My Book Therapy. You won’t be sorry you did.

ACFW Genesis Contest

The Genesis Contest is the ACFW contest for unpublished Christian writers. The contest has a multitude of categories/genres to enter, the opportunity for unbiased feedback on writers' work by published authors and experienced judges, and the chance for the Category Finalists to have their work read by Christian publishing house editors and literary agents. ACFW has been pleased to see previous Category Winners and Finalists move further on in their writing careers to become published authors.


Prizes – Each category will have a first place Category Winner and a runner up. The first place entry in each category--the Category Winner--will receive a winner's plaque and first choice for editor/agent appointments at the 2011 ACFW National Conference. The runner up in each category will receive a certificate. The Category Winners and runner ups will be announced at the 2010 ACFW Conference.

ACFW and the Genesis Contest do NOT guarantee that a winning or runner-up entry will receive a publishing contract.


Fees – $35 per entry for current ACFW members. Multiple entries will require multiple entry fees. If an entry has co-authors, both must be current ACFW members. Writers who want to join ACFW and enter the Genesis may do both online at the ACFW website. Make checks or money orders payable to American Christian Fiction Writers. Do not use pseudonyms on the entry form.


The entrant must submit the first 15 pages of their manuscript, double-spaced, and may include an optional one-page single-spaced synopsis. The manuscript and the synopsis must be in the same file, not in two different files.

The Genesis coordinators highly recommend that entrants submit their entries by MARCH 15TH, 2010, so that if the entry is lost in cyberspace or if any aspect of the entry is unacceptable, the entrant can mail a replacement entry before the deadline.

Categories –
• Contemporary Fiction
• Contemporary Romance (includes romantic comedy)
• Historical Fiction (not romance)
• Historical Romance
• Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
• Romantic Suspense
• Speculative Fiction
• Women’s Fiction
• Young Adult

Judging – During the First Round, three judges (published authors or experienced writers trained in judging the Genesis) will score each entry, up to a maximum of 100 points per entry. All three scores will be averaged. Discrepancy judges will NOT be used due to the logistics of the contest. See the GUIDELINES AND FAQ page for a more information.

The top five entries in each category--Category Finalists--will continue to the Final Round. In the event of a tie for fifth place, all tied fifth place entries will advance to the Final Round. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Finalists will be notified between May 1st and May 15th, 2010. Finalists will be allowed TWO DAYS ONLY to polish and resubmit their entries before the entries are sent to the Final Round judges.

Final Round judges:
• Contemporary Fiction: Beth Adams (editor, Guideposts), Stephanie Broene (editor, Tyndale), Barbara Scott (editor, Abingdon Press)
• Contemporary Romance: Melissa Endlich (editor, Steeple Hill), Ami McConnell (editor, Thomas Nelson), JoAnne Simmons (editor, Barbour)
• Historical Fiction: Janet Grant (agent, Books and Such Literary), Sarah Long (editor, Bethany House), Tamela Hancock Murray (agent, Hartline Literary)
• Historical Romance: Natalie Hanemann (editor, Thomas Nelson), Charlene Patterson (editor, Bethany House), Emily Rodmell (editor, Steeple Hill)
• Mystery/Suspense/Thriller: Sandra Bishop (agent, MacGregor Literary), Susan Brower (editor, Zondervan), Jan Stob (editor, Tyndale)
• Romantic Suspense: Susan Downs (editor, Summerside Press), Tina James (editor, Steeple Hill), David Long (editor, Bethany House)
• Speculative Fiction: Jeff Gerke (publisher, Marcher Lord Press), Julie Gwinn (Fiction Marketing Manager, B&H), Annie Tipton (editor, Barbour)
• Women's Fiction: Rachelle Gardner (agent, Wordserve Literary), Natasha Kern (agent, Natasha Kern Literary), Raela Schoenherr (editor, Bethany House)
• Young Adult: Jacque Alberta (editor, Zonderkidz), Terry Burns (agent, Hartline Literary), Rachel Zurakowski (agent, Books and Such Literary)

The Category Winners will be announced at the 2010 ACFW National Conference. See "Prizes" for the awards designated.

For more information, see the GUIDELINES AND FAQ page on the ACFW website.