The winners of the 10th annual Christian Retailing Retailers Choice Awards were announced yesterday.

Thirty-three prize winners were named at The Gathering 2010 at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky.

Awards were presented in more than 30 categories, honoring the best new releases last year in everything from books and Bibles to gifts and music.

Since they were launched in 2001, the Retailers Choice Awards have been increasingly acknowledged as an important way of recognizing some of the most significant new life-changing products in the Christian retail industry.

Christian retailers from across the country judged the 277 nominated products on the impact they have had on staff and customers. Owners, managers, staff and volunteers at Christian retail stores voted on the items' ability to speak to hearts and evoke emotion, open minds to new ways of thinking and encourage and affirm Christlike living.

Leading the winning suppliers was Zondervan with six trophies--four of them for Bibles. The publisher's new faith-based "Berenstain Bears" series took Best Children's Fiction with Jan and Mike Berenstain's The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks.

Thomas Nelson won five awards, including Best Catholic/Liturgical for Joan Chittister's The Liturgical Year and Best Backlist for Emerson Eggerich's 2004 Love & Respect. Tyndale House Publishers earned four trophies, while Baker Publishing Group and Harvest House Publishers joined David C. Cook with two each.

Filmmaker brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick were the big personal winners, sharing three awards for Best DVD/Video: Movie with Fireproof (Provident Films/Provident-Integrity Distribution); Best Book: Audio, The Love Dare (Brilliance Audio); and Best Book: Relationships, The Love Dare Day by Day (B&H Books/B&H Publishing Group).

California pastor Francis Chan was also recognized, taking Best DVD/Video: Book/Bible Study for Crazy Love (David C. Cook), based on his 2008 title of the same name, while his 2009 follow-up, Forgotten God (Cook), took one of two prizes for Best Book: Christian Living.

The largest of 32 categories in this year's awards, Christian Living saw two winners this year, the other David Jeremiah's Living With Confidence in a Chaotic World (Thomas Nelson).

To help generate sales, retailers can download a printable list of all the prize winners, to pass on to customers. The PDF is available at the Retailers Choice Awards Web site, where the complete list of winners can be found.

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