TORONTO—We are still savouring the excellent evening shared by a large crowd of authors, publishers and supporters of the Canadian Christian Writing community at the 24th annual Awards Gala held on the eve of Write! Canada as we look forward to the fall launch of the 2012 Awards Program. Writers and publishers alike are encouraged to submit writing published during the 2012 calendar year. More than 360 competing entries from across Canada and beyond entered in 2011 and this year promises to be even more exciting!

 

The Awards, launched mid-September, are open to any Canadian citizen or permanent resident who faith is consistent with a Christian worldview and the historic Christian tradition reflected in the Apostles’ Creed. Entrants range from journalists and academics, to writers who have self-published their first book or who publish exclusively on the Internet.

 

The awards, sponsored by The Word Guild, a national association of Canadian writers and editors who are Christian, is designed to raise the profile of Canadian writers who are Christian, and to encourage them in the pursuit of excellence in the art, craft, practice and ministry of writing.

 

These awards honour the best writing published in more than thirty categories, including blogs, novels, nonfiction books, news articles, devotionals, columns, poems, short stories, song lyrics, and scripts or screenplays. Both writers and publishers may submit work for the contest.

 

Books entered into the writing contest have the exciting prospect of being shortlisted for the Grace Irwin Award, Canada’s largest literary prize for writers who are Christian. The $5000 prize, in honour of the late author, classics scholar, and ordained minister Grace Irwin, will celebrate the best book published in 2012 by a Canadian author who writes from a Christian worldview.

Those interested in entering The Word Guild's 2012 Canadian Christian Writing Awards should watch this space for future announcements to any changes in the award categories.

 

For more information about The Word Guild, go to www.thewordguild.com