If you follow my FaceBook author page, you heard this great news months ago, but I have yet to officially celebrate here on my blog. Here’s the scoop:
Time to
CELEBRATE!!!
At the end of May, I received the news that I had made the finals for the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Genesis Contest for unpublished writers. I am still stunned by this honor, since I know many of the entrants and have a huge amount of respect for their talents and gifts. The field has been narrowed from the original 690 entrants to a final three for each genre category. You can see the list on the ACFW Genesis page. The winners for each category will be announced at the ACFW Annual Conference held in Dallas on September 20-23rd.
I’m very excited (and SCARED) about the awards gala. I keep imagining myself tripping on the stairs and landing kersplat on the stage. (Funny, my spell-check doesn’t think kersplat is an actual word. What does it know?) Of course, that would mean that I’d been called to the stage, so I suppose that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
I’ve been distracted from my anxiety, though, because I’m preparing for three writing-related events coming up in the next three months. The Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) Summer Coaching Conference will be held in a few weeks, August 13-16, in Turner, Oregon. As I said, ACFW is in September. And then I’ll be heading to Monterey, CA to enjoy the Books & Such Literary Agency‘s retreat in October. Phew! It’s going to be a busy few months.
Thank you for celebrating with me! I hope you’ll join me on Facebook so we can continue to party through October and beyond. You can follow my author page by clicking here.
And, in a final bit of official celebration, I’ll paste the actual ACFW press release below. A press release–about me? That’s a weird feeling. Almost as weird as kersplat.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LOCAL WRITER KAREN BARNETT IS A FINALIST IN PRESTIGOUS INDUSTRY FICTION WRITING CONTEST
JULY 2012–Albany, OR writer, Karen Barnett, received the honor of finalist in the prestigious Genesis Contest, American Christian Fiction Writers’ respected contest for unpublished writers. Since its inception in 2002, the Genesis contest (originally named the Noble Theme) has been the leading fiction contest for unpublished Christian writers. “The Genesis is the premier contest in the Christian Booksellers Association for the unpublished. It’s THE place to get noticed by a publisher.” – Colleen Coble, CEO of ACFW.
With over 690 entries in this year’s contest, making the finalists list is a noteworthy accomplishment. Karen is a finalist in the Historical Romance category. Winners will be announced on September 22, 2012, during the awards gala at the ACFW Annual Conference in Dallas, Texas.
ACFW notes that over the life of the contest, over seventy Genesis finalists have gone on to publication. Among them are authors who are now multi-published, and whose books appear consistently on CBA and ECPA bestseller lists, whose published works receive recognition through readers’ choice and industry-awarded honors. Many editors and agents speak highly of the role of the Genesis Contest in helping launch author careers.
“Writers looking to break into publishing need every advantage they can gain in the pursuit of a contract. When an agent sees ‘Genesis finalist’ or ‘Genesis winner’ in a writer’s proposal, it means something: This is a manuscript that deserves a closer look.” – Rachelle Gardner, Books & Such Literary Agency
“ACFW’s Genesis contest is a springboard to a writing career in Christian fiction and winning the Genesis award against such an impressive pool of talented writer’ is, in my opinion, a great accomplishment. I can’t think of a better way to jumpstart a writing career than to be a finalist in the Genesis contest.” – Julie Gwinn, Fiction Manager, B&H Publishing Group
“We’ve watched the Genesis Contest grow from being a start-up operation to the well-respected event it is today. We think the Genesis contest is a good place for beginning authors to dive in and get started.” – Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Agency
For More Information Contact: Pam Meyers, ACFW Genesis Contest Coordinator Genesis@acfw.com www.acfw.com
You go Karen! An exciting summer/fall for you. I remember those Genesis finalist jitters. I have to admit part of me was thrilled that I was 3rd place in 2008 and runner up in 2010, and all I had to do was stand up at my table.
I’m looking forward with you to the Monterey jaunt. Meanwhile, next week I have a writing related thing. I will be flying to Colorado to visit my publisher, along with a few other writers, for a mini-retreat. Nervous, excited, and pinching myself because it’s all still so surreal.
Thanks for stopping by, Lori! I can’t wait for our writer-road-trip to Monterey! 🙂 I saw something on FB about your upcoming retreat–that sounds so cool!
Woohoo! I’m so excited for you, Karen! You are going to have so much fun at ACFW. I can’t wait to hear all about it and I will be sitting at my computer watching the live blog, CHEERING you on!!
Oooh, and your trip to Monterey sounds so fun. What a treat to get to meet with your agency friends. And I see Lori up there…hi Lori! Can’t wait to see you next week!
Hi Joanne! I just finished Be Still My Soul and I LOVED IT!!! Can’t wait to review it here on my blog. And I wish I could be a fly on the wall at your Waterbrook retreat. So much talent, all in one place!