More than 500 people attended the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) conference last weekend, which featured an awards ceremony that recognized a variety of published and unpublished writers, editors, agents and industry leaders.

Held Sept. 17-20 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center in Denver, the annual event featured discussion and training in Christian fiction. Among the winners were: Donita K. Paul for Mentor of the Year; John B. Olson for Membership Service Award; Thomas Nelson's Ami McConnell for Editor of the Year; and Steve Laube for Agent of the Year.

Handed out in 14 categories, the Book of the Year award winners were: A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman (Revell/Baker Publishing Group) for Debut Author; Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck (Thomas Nelson) for Lits; Symphony of Secrets by Sharon Hinck (Bethany House Publishers/Baker Publishing Group) for Long Contemporary; Controlling Interest by Elizabeth White (Zondervan) for Long Contemporary Romance; My Heart Remembers by Kim Vogel Sawyer (Bethany House Publishers/Baker Publishing Group); and I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires by Cathy Gohlke (Moody Publishers) for Long Historical; For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls by Nancy Mehl (Barbour Publishing) for Mystery; Stuck on You, A Connecticut Christmas by Rhonda Gibson (Barbour Publishing) for Novellas; Family Treasures by Kathryn Springer (Steeple Hill) for Short Contemporary; Broken Lullaby by Pamela Tracy (Steeple Hill) for Short Contemporary Suspense; Family of the Heart by Dorothy Clark (Steeple Hill) for Short Historical; The Restorer's Journey by Sharon Hinck (NavPress) for Speculative; Fossil Hunter by John B. Olson (Tyndale House Publishers) for Suspense; The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner (WaterBrook Press) for Women's Fiction; and The Big Picture by Jenny B. Jones (NavPress) for Young Adult.

Unpublished fiction writers in the ACFW Genesis Awards included Jennifer Griffith, Christy LaShea Smith, Christine Schmidtke, Lacy Williams, Alan Schleimer, Jan Warren, David Fry, Cathleen Armstrong and Gretchen Hoffman.

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