Entertaiment

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Whitney Award nominating committee has announced the finalists in a much-anticipated new program to honor the best of 2007 fiction by Latter-day Saint writers. Sponsored and endorsed by LDStorymakers, an LDS authors’ guild, the Whitney Awards offer national recognition and significant cash prizes to authors whose books win in one of seven categories.

Cash prizes of $500 each have been donated by ExclusivelyLDS.com and will be awarded to one author in each of five genre categories. The online magazine also provided for two additional prizes of $1000 each for the winners of “Book of the Year” and “Best Book by a New Author.”

To be eligible for consideration, a book must have received at least five nominations from its fans. More than fifty works by new and established authors in both the LDS and national markets met the preliminary criteria.

This year’s nominees are listed below in alphabetical order by genre:

ROMANCE/WOMEN’S FICTION: Counting Stars by Michele Holmes, Desire of Our Hearts by Sariah Wilson, Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, The Independence Club by Rachel Nunes, Loyalty’s Web by Joyce DiPastena

MYSTERY/SUSPENSE: The Deep End by Traci Hunter Abramson, Grave Secrets by Marlene Austen, Hazardous Duty by Betsy Brannon Green, The Operative by Willard Boyd Gardner, Sheep’s Clothing by Josi S. Kilpack

YOUNG ADULT: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson, Bullies in the Headlights by Matthew Buckley, First Day by Allyson B. Condie, How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend by Janette Rallison, Rise of the Evening Star (Fablehaven, Book II) by Brandon Mull

SPECULATIVE FICTION: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George, Hunting Gideon by Jessica Draper, The Lights of Mahonri Moriancumer by Phyllis Gunderson, The Well of Ascension (Mistborn II) by Brandon Sanderson

HISTORICAL FICTION: Beyond the Horizon by Judy C. Olsen, Land of Inheritance (Out of Jerusalem, Vol 4) by Heather Moore, On the Road to Heaven by Coke Newell, Spires of Stone by Annette Lyon, Upon the Mountains by Gale Sears

BEST BOOK BY A NEW AUTHOR: Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George, Wet Desert by Gary Hansen, Counting Stars by Michele Holmes, Beyond the Horizon by Judy C. Olsen, On the Road to Heaven by Coke Newell.

NOVEL OF THE YEAR: Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George, Land of Inheritance by Heather Moore, On the Road to Heaven by Coke Newell, The Operative by Willard Boyd Gardner, Upon the Mountains by Gale Sears

This ballot now goes out to members of the voting academy, a select group of LDS publishers; bookstore owners, managers, and employees; members of the LDS writers guild; print and online magazine publishers; reviewers; and others working in the field of LDS literature.

Winners will be announced at a gala banquet on Saturday, March 22 at the Cottonwood Inn in Sandy, Utah. Tickets are now on sale at www.LDStorymakers.com or www.choosethewright.com/Whitneyregistration.html.

Special Lifetime Achievement Awards will also be presented that night to three persons whose bodies of works and tireless efforts have made a significant impact on the field of LDS popular fiction. This year’s honorees are Jennie Hansen, Dean Hughes and Anita Stansfield.

The Whitney’s inaugural year features a solid line-up of contenders, according to committee chair Robison Wells. “I’ve really been overwhelmed by the response we’ve had,” Wells said. “Hundreds of readers nominated their favorites. The amount of talent among LDS writers right now is really incredible.”

Other members of the nominating committee include Stephanie Black, Kerry Blair, James Dashner, Crystal Liechty, B.J. Rowley, and Julie Wright.