Best-selling author Michelle Medlock Adams and former Big Ten-football-champ-turned-children’s-pastor Cyle Young took home top honors at the 3rd annual Selah Awards and Unpublished Writers awards. The book awards were presented May 21 at the 2014 Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference.

Conference Director Alton Gansky also presented two Director’s Choice Awards for the best entry in fiction and nonfiction published in the last year. Marianne Jordan received the fiction award for The First Christmas Carol (Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas), and Jo Ann Fore picked up the win in nonfiction for When a Woman Finds Her Voice (Leafwood Press).

Adams, a veteran children’s and nonfiction author and Guideposts.com blogger, said she was hoping to win in the Children’s category but was shocked when her name was also called for the Book of the Year.

“Children’s books are often overlooked in award programs,” Adams said. “It’s so exciting to see God Knows You recognized in this way.”

Young, who played on the 1997 national championship University of Michigan football team, placed in eight of the Unpublished awards categories, including Poetry, Bible Studies, and Novels for Young Adult.

“The football wins were not as fun as this,” said Young, who also went home with six certificates at the 2013 Selah Awards. “I just started writing about two years ago, and I have worked really hard. I love this conference because all the faculty really try to guide new writers and help them get published.”

The 30th annual writers’ conference saw near-record attendance of more than 400 attendees—up more than 20% from last year. The five-day event included workshops and keynote speeches from best-selling authors and media personalities, including FOX radio and television commentator Todd Starnes, Steven James and Eva Marie Everson.

Gansky was pleased to see the growing number and quality of the entries in the awards.

“I love working with the people who come here to teach because they really do want to see new writers succeed,” he said. “I always say it’s our job to raise up our competition.”

For a complete list of the award winners, visit the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Facebook page.

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