Canada’s best writers who speak into Canadian culture with a Christian worldview will be honoured and celebrated on the evening of Friday, June 15, 2018
Novelists, columnists, apologists, theologians, and songwriters are among those who will be recognized in the annual Word Guild Awards Gala.
The 30th annual black-tie awards celebration will be held at Roma’s Hospitality Centre, 5980 Shawson Dr, Mississauga.
This year, awards will be given out in 47 categories of books, articles, poetry, blogs, and screenplays for work that was published in 2017 reaching both Christian and Mainstream audiences.
“Through their commitment and ability to speak words of hope and truth, these writers are bringing many thousands of Canadians closer to the mystery of God in Christ, that is The Word incarnate. It’s a remarkable accomplishment to celebrate,” said former TWG President, Thomas Froese
Carolyn Arends of Surrey BC; Christian Recording Artist, Songwriter and author, leads the way with four shortlisted entries in several article and lyrics categories. Second only to Terrie Todd of Portage la Prairie, MB with three shortlist rankings.
Two of Canada’s best-known newspaper columnists — Michael Coren; who writes for the Toronto Star, and Father Raymond J. De Souza; who writes for the National Post, are both short-listed. Many like Coren have doubled up their chances at taking home one of the beautiful glass awards by receiving two shortlist placements. People like Paul Boge of Winnipeg MB, Iaian Provain of Vancouver BC, Angela Bick of Newcastle ON, Sally Meadows of Saskatoon SK, Tina Michele Weidelich of London ON, Karen Stiller of Ottawa ON, Eleanor Shepherd of Pointe-Claire QC, Mary-Elise Wolfe of St. Catharines ON, N.J. Lindquist of Makham, ON and Rose McCormick Brandon of Caledonia, ON.
This year sees entries from the Mother-Daughter writing duo: Sheila Wray Gregoire and Rebecca Gregoire Lindenach. Both Gregoire women are shortlisted but, the younger ‘one-upped’ her momma this year; garnering not one, but two shortlist rankings.
We even have a former political heavyweight turned author, Preston Manning on our short list!
Books range from self-published to co-publishing arrangements, while others are traditionally published. You will see names like Zondervan, Word Alive, Thomas Nelson, Castle Quay and Baylor University Press amongst the shortlisted entries. Articles were written in the smallest of local publications to national papers like the Toronto Star and the National Post. Students and unpublished authors too have entered their work.
SPECIALTY AWARDS
The evening will celebrate the 8th annual presentation of the $5,000 Grace Irwin Prize. Canada’s largest literary prize for Christian authors is awarded in honour of the most outstanding book published in 2017. Writing will again be awarded for excellence in social justice issues with The Debra Fieguth Award. A winner will also be announced for the Harvey / Mackey Award; named after veteran journalists Bob Harvey and Lloyd Mackey. The 2nd Annual Castle Quay Best New Canadian Manuscript will be awarded for an unpublished work. The honoured author will receive a prize package including publishing of their manuscript from Castle Quay Books.
“It’s a credit to each of the nominees, already, whether they win an award or not, to have their work brought forward for this sort of memorable evening,” said Froese.
The shortlist
ARTICLE / SHORT PIECES (ASP) – CHRISTIAN
BLOG
· Eleanor Shepherd; Lent-Finding Balance
· Sheila Wray-Gregoire; The awful legacy of Hugh Hefner
· N.J. Lindquist; Am I Weird? A Children’s book made me feel better about being me.
COLUMN SERIES
· Bruce Clemenger; The Gathering Place
· Carolyn Arends; “Response-ability” and “A Persistent Problem”
COLUNM SINGLE
· Steve Bell; Success: The Art of Staying Closely Behind
· Emily Cramer; Image Crafter or Image Bearer?
· Derek Schuurman; Weapons of Math Destruction
INSPIRATIONAL/DEVOTIONAL
· Tina Michele Weidelich; Christmas Behind Barbed-Wire Fences
· Carolyn Arends; Happy Birthday, Dear Church
· Angela Bick; Joy to the World, the Lord is Come!
LONG FEATURE
· Paul Spilsbury; Jewish Theocracy and the Zealots
· John H. Redekop; A Professors Pilgrimage
· Karen Stiller; Welcoming Refugees in Uganda
NEWS
· Janice Keats; Lucasville Woman Brings Hope to Hurricane Harvey Survivors
· Craig Macartney; Rev. Lim and the Church That Prayed Him Out
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
· Carolyn Arends; I Was an Ash Wednesday Rookie
· Marguerite Cummings; Baby in The Manger
· Rose McCormick Brandon; Oh!
POETRY
· Naomi Peters; You Will Not Remember Me
· Sandy Ayer; Resurrection Breakfast
SHORT STORY
· Rose Scott; Light of The World 2.0
· Sally Meadows; A Blessed Christmas
· Robert White; No Room?
ARTICLE / SHORT PIECES (ASP) – GENERAL MARKET PUBLICATIONS
COLUMN SERIES
· Terrie Todd; Practically a Spa Day / A Bone to Pick (The Herald Leader)
· Hendrik van der Breggen; Apologia Column
· Glynis Belec; Sugar and Spice – 2 Columns – August 2017 – The Canadian Way & September 2017 – Vanity Unleashed (The Rural Route)
COLUMN SINGLE
· Father Raymond de Sousa; From sea to shining sea. A chance to celebrate Canada with faux guilt or self-congratulatory fluff (National Post)
· Michael Coren; The man I will worship this Easter (The Star)
· Michael Coren; Why I Pray (The Walrus)
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
· Karen Stiller; The Lonely Social Life of a Minister’s Wife
· Valentina Gal; Seven Silver Dollars
· Eleanor Shepherd; I Knew You Would Come
FRESH INK {Student Awards}
1st 3 CHAPTERS (UNPUBLISHED NOVEL)
· Leah Beldman; Cat & Maus (Home Education)
· Anica Best; Withered (Royal West Campus)
SHORT STORY
· Conor Sweetman; Banquet (York University)
· Kristen Wood; Half Empty (Tyndale University College)
· Gloria Elekwa; My First Christmas (University of Calgary)
POETRY
· Natasha Daley; The Dash (Tyndale University)
· Carly Ververs; Train Thoughts (Redeemer University College)
· Kristen Wood; My Brother Oxymandias (Tyndale University College)
IN THE BEGINNING {Unpublished Work Awards}
1st 3 CHAPTERS (UNPUBLISHED NOVEL)
· Karen Barnstable; Hindsight
· Brenda Tindall; Hanging Onto Life
· Melanie Kilsby; Whiteshire Castle
POETRY
· Vicki Whittemore; SOS
· Karma Pratt; Patchwork Soul
TERRENCE L. BINGLEY AWARD {BEST SONG LYRICS}
· Tina Michele Weidelich; You’re Never Alone
· Carolyn Arends; This is The Place
SCRIPTS
CHRISTIAN—FULL LENGTH STAGE OR SCREEN PLAY
· Barb Draper; Family Ties Through Thick and Thin
· Ray Wiseman; Christmas 1940
CHRISTIAN – FICTION
CHILDREN
· Wanda Vincent; Grumpy-bumpy Bob’s Great Day (Word Alive Press)
· Donna Simard; Shhh! It’s a Surprise! Off to Nunavut (Word Alive Press)
· Peter Serger; MIPD Episode 1: Robots for the Glory (Kurios Kingdom Publishing)
HISTORICAL
· Terrie Todd; Maggie’s War (Waterfall Press)
· Terrie Todd; Bleak landing (Waterfall Press)
CHRISTIAN – NON-FICTION
ACADEMIC
· Iaian Provan; The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture (Baylor University Press)
· W. Ross Hastings; Echoes of Coinherence: Trinitarian Theology and Science Together (Cascade Books)
APOLOGETICS/EVANGELISM
· Mark Clark; The Problem of God (Zondervan)
· Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach; Why I Didn’t Rebel (Thomas Nelson)
BIBLICAL STUDIES
· Gary Milley; Seven Shades of Sin: Unmasking Temptation (London Elite Images)
· Mary-Elise Wolfe; Becoming His Story: Inspiring Women to Leadership (Castle Quay)
· Iaian Provan; The Reformation and the Right Reading of Scripture (Baylor University Press)
CULTURE
· Mary-Elise Wolfe; Becoming His Story: Inspiring Women to Leadership (Castle Quay)
· Preston Manning; Faith, Leadership and Public Life (Castle Quay)
· Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach; Why I Didn’t Rebel (Thomas Nelson)
CHRISTIAN LIVING
· Jared Brock & Aaron Alford; Bearded Gospel men (Thomas Nelson)
· Mary-Elise Wolfe; Becoming His Story: Inspiring Women to Leadership (Castle Quay)
INSPIRATIONAL/DEVOTIONAL
· Rachel McPherson; Eyes to See: Reflecting God’s love to a world in need (Compassion Canada)
· Belma Vardy; Because God Was There A Journey of Loss, Healing and Overcoming (Castle Quay)
· Paul Boge; Hanah’s Hope A Mully Children’s Rescue Story (Castle Quay)
LIFE STORIES
· Shelaine Strom; But Pain Crept In (In the Midst Publishing)
· Paul Boge; Hannah’s Hope. A Mully Children’s Rescue Story (Castle Quay)
· Earnest Nullmeyer; How I Triumphed Over Multiple Traumas With a Smile on My Face, Sparkle in My Eyes (Castle Quay)
GENERAL MARKET – NON-FICTION
LIFE STORIES
· Mark Petersen; Love Giving Well (Cascade Books)
· Shireen Jeejeebhoy; Concussion Is Brain Injury
· Beverley Boissery; The Temerity of Hope (Wesbrook Bay Books)
SPECIALTY BOOK
· Glynis Belec; Good Grief People (Angel Hope Publishing)
· Faye Hall & Malcolm Guite; Seven Whole Days (Castle Quay)
· Editor N.J. Lindquist; Christmas with Hot Apple Cider (That’s Life! Communications)
MISCELANEOUS SHORT LIST ENTRANTS
Daniel Coleman; Yardwork: Biography of an Urban Place (Wolsak & Wynn)
Robert Bruinsma; Chasing
Butterflies
Glynis Belec; The Search
Stacey Weeks; In Too Deep
Kevin Miller; Moody Bee (Millstone Press)
Marcia Laycock; A Pattern In Blue
Reg Quist; The Church at Third and Main (Christian Kindle News)
Linda Stauth; Stormy Lake (Word Alive Press)
Angela Bick; God’s Infinite Love: Speaking Up After a Son’s Suicide
Preston Pouteaux; The Bees of Rainbow Falls: Finding Faith, Imagination, and Delight in Your
Rose McCormick Brandon; When a Nation Prays
Neighbourhood (Urban Loft Publishers)
Sarah Brownlee; My Side Of The Mountain (Langley Christian School)
Carly Ververs; When The Snow Comes (Redeemer University College)
ADDITIONAL CATEGORY WINNERS
Winners will be announced at The 2018 Word Awards Gala for the following categories:
ASP / CHRISTIAN PROFILE/HUMAN INTEREST & SHORT FEATURE
ASP / GENERAL MARKET SHORT STORIES
SCRIPTS / CHRISTIAN SHORT SCRIPT
SCRIPTS / GENERAL MARKET SHORT SCRIPT
CHRISTIAN / FICTION CONTEMPORARY, ROMANCE & SUSPENCE
CHRISTIAN / NON-FICTION INSTRUCTIONAL
GENERAL MARKET / FICTION CHILDREN
GENERAL MARKET / NON-FICTION CULTURE
FRESH INK SHORT STORY & NON-FICTION PIECE
The Short list Announcement for the Castle Quay Best New Canadian Manuscript is being rescheduled to Friday, May 25th at 12pm Noon EST, due to a large number of entries. Careful consideration is being taken by the management of Castle Quay to decipher which entry best deserves the title of Best New Canadian Manuscript in 2018!
