by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

One of the things we (me and Edwina) love to do here at BRMCWC is to encourage writers. And one FUN way we get to do that is through the Directors’ Choice awards. It’s grown from awarding the prize to a single group, to multiple categories. Because the entrants are limited to only previous attendees, we never know in advance what exactly those categories will be.

This year we have 4 categories and we have to tell you that the books get better and better every year. If Edwina would have let me, I’d have put every book in as a finalist! But we do have to chose, so without further explanation, here are the finalist—the winners will be announced on Awards Night at the Conference, June 1.

Fiction
(In no particular order)

Lethal Cover-Up

Darlene L. Turner

Fresh Scars

Donna Mumma

Deadly Pretense

Kim Teague

Midnight, Christmas Eve

Andy Clapp

For the Good of All

M.B. Dahl

The Endling

Deborah Maxey

Children/YA
(In no particular order)

I Want a Water Buffalo for Christmas

Author, Judy Ducharme

Illustrated by Julie L. House

Trapped in a Hot Air Balloon

Mark Wainwright

The Next Fithian

An Ordinary Teen on a Strange, New World

Rick Barry

Victor Survives Being a Kid

Heidi Vertrees

Eat God’s Food

A Kid’s Guide to Healthy Eating

Author, Susan U. Neal

Illustrated by Courtney Smith

Dachshund through the Snow

Author, Michelle Medlock Adams

Illustrated by Ana Sebastian

Nonfiction
(In no particular order)

Shattered, Stirred and Shaken

Living the Book of Acts: My Journey from Here to There

Michele McCarthy

Rooms of a Mother’s Heart

A Sacred Call and an Eternal Purpose

Carol McLeod

Linked for Couples

Maximizing HEART Connections One Link at a Time

Linda Gilden and Linda Goldfarb

Hope for Healing From Domestic Abuse

Reaching for God’s Promise of Real Freedom

Karen DeArmond Gardner

God’s Secret Place

Finding and Maintaining Intimacy with God

Nate Stevens

Worth No Less

Discover Your Value in Christ and His Church

Jason Thompson

Hardback/Gift
(In no particular order)

God of Wonders

40 Days of Awe in the Presence of God

Faith Blatchford

Guard Your Heart & Home

Pursuing Peace in Your Living Space

Victoria Duerstock

The Growing Season

A Year of Down-on-the-Farm Devotions

Sarah Philpott

Navigating Minefields

A Young Man’s Blueprint for Success on Life’s Battlefield

Victoria Duerstock and Bethany Jett

Revived & Renovated

Real Life Conversations on the Intersection of Home, Faith, and Everything in Between

Victoria Duerstock and Paige Rien