Whitney Awards Gala, May 5, 2018

On Saturday, May 5, 2018, I attended the 10th annual Whitney Awards Gala, an awards ceremony honoring outstanding achievement in LDS writing. There are 10 categories, Middle Grade, Young Adult General, Young Adult Speculative, Young Adult Fantasy, General Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery/Suspense, Romance, Historical Romance, and Speculative Fiction. There is also an Outstanding Achievement Award given, an award for Best Novel by a Debut Author, Novel of the Year in Youth Fiction, and Novel of the Year in Adult Fiction.

Author Robison Wells

This year, I was very glad to learn that Robison Wells, the guy who came up with the idea initially, received the Outstanding Achievement Award (though he insists that the credit goes to others). I personally think he's very deserving of the award, and am glad it went to him.

The winner of Middle Grade went to Paper Chains by Elaine Vickers. I blogged about it and the other Whitney Finalists in Middle Grade on April 16th. You can read my blogpost about Paper Chains here.

The winner of Young Adult General went to By Your Side by Kasie West.

The winner of Young Adult Speculative went to Ones and Zeroes by Dan Wells.

The winner of Young Adult Fantasy went to Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves.

The winner of General Fiction went to The Fattest Mormon by Tyson Abaroa.

The winner of Historical Fiction was Condemn Me Not by Heather Moore. I read this book earlier in 2017, and really enjoyed it. I'm glad it won!

The winner of Mystery/Suspense was Safe House by Traci Hunter Abramson.

The winner of Romance was Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright. Julie Wright is a great friend of mine, and I am very pleased that her book won!

The winner of Historical Romance was Love Remains by Sarah M. Eden.

The winner of Speculative Fiction was The Fifth Doll by Charlie N. Holmberg.

The Best Novel By A Debut Author went to The Hundreth Queen by Emily R. King.
And the Novel of the Year in Youth Fiction also went to The Hundreth Queen by Emily R. King. I loved this, because Ms. King (just one table away from me) had just accepted her award for Best Novel by a Debut Author and had barely sat down, breathing a relieve sigh, when she was called back to the podium again! I haven't read The Hundreth Queen, but I would bet it's a fantastic book!

The Best Novel of the Year in Adult Fiction went to Safe House by Traci Hunter Abramson.

Congratulations to all the Whitney Award Winners for 2017!