Hear from Christian publishers, agents, authors, and thought leaders on the Art of Writing for today’s market.
Session One:
A panel of Christian fiction publishers and agents discuss market changes, current trends and address your most important questions.
Karen Watson is the publisher at Tyndale Fiction. With more than twenty years in the industry, she still loves the hunt for the next new voice as much as the long-term relationships with established Tyndale authors. She is the only person on the fiction team with a Southern accent and only rarely requires an interpreter.
Danielle Egan-Miller, literary agent and president of Browne & Miller Literary Associates, has sold hundreds of books during her career, with an emphasis on adult fiction for both the general and inspirational markets. Her roster includes a mix of promising debut authors and fresh new voices along with several New York Times and internationally bestselling authors and numerous prize- and award-winning writers including winners of the Canadian Governor General’s Award, the Edgar Award, the RITA Award, the Christy Award, the Colorado Book Award, the Minnesota Book Award, and more. Books by authors she represents are regularly selected for Indie Next, Library Reads, and other curated industry placements, receive starred and rave reviews, hit bestseller lists, and land on “Best of” lists year after year. Danielle considers herself an intrepid reader and she loves a great story well told.
Cynthia Ruchti is a senior literary agent with Books & Such Literary Management and represents Christy Award, Carol Award, and bestselling authors with the Christian publishing industry. She's also the author of more than 40 books--fiction and nonfiction--and served for 14 years as the professional relations liaison for ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), which brought her behind the scenes and into deepening relationships with many facets of the publishing industry. She often draws also upon her past experiences of 33 years writing and producing a 15-minute scripted radio broadcast. She and her husband live in the heart of Wisconsin, not far from their three children and seven grandchildren.
Session Two:
In a special live radio conversation, author and host, Chris Fabry leads a discussion of how pain helps writers process their lives and can help readers do the same.
Chris Fabry is an award-winning author of more than 80 books, including Saving Grayson and his latest, The Forge, based on the film by the Kendrick Brothers. He’s the winner of the Carol Award and five Christy Awards, and was inducted into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. Chris is also the host of Chris Fabry Live on Moody Radio.
Amanda Cox is a therapist-turned-novelist who pens stories about characters finding hope, healing, and a sense of belonging. She is the author of the 2021 Christy Book of the Year, The Edge of Belonging and the 2022 Christy Book of the Year, The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery, and a Carol Finalist for her 2023 ECPA bestselling novel, He Should Have Told the Bees. Her studies and her interactions with hurting families over a decade have allowed her to create multidimensional characters that connect emotionally with readers. She resides in Tennessee with her husband and three children.
Kelly Flanagan is a psychologist turned novelist and a few things in between, including a husband of 23 years, a dad to three amazing human beings between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one, a keynote speaker, and a coach to a handful of entrepreneurs who want more than mere success. His work has been featured on the TODAY Show, and his writing has appeared in The 5 Love Languages and Reader’s Digest. His two non-fiction books—Loveable and True Companions—were #1 New Releases in Interpersonal Relations on Amazon. His first novel, The Unhiding of Elijah Campbell, debuted as an ECPA bestseller and has won multiple literary awards. A while back, the Flanagans moved to a little town in rural Illinois where, on any snowy morning before dawn, the streetlight outside their house is reminiscent of the lamp post in Narnia where Lucy met Tumnus.
Session Three:
Do you, as an author, feel overwhelmed by marketing your next release? And what does marketing even mean anyway? Join Andrea Garcia, senior marketing manager at Tyndale House Publishers, as she helps you navigate how to be an author-marketer, explains how your author channels can work together, and assures you that you can have fun spreading the word about your books.
Andrea Garcia is a senior marketing manager for Tyndale Fiction. Andrea’s professional background is a mix of publishing and marketing experience that allows her to approach projects from a unique perspective. When she’s not buried in sticky notes, she’s working on getting the right book into the hands of the right readers at the right time. Andrea’s love of pop culture has led to a lengthy to-be-read pile, a robust streaming queue, and more library fines than she’d like to admit.
Session Four:
An author panel
As the retail landscape continues to evolve, has the audience for Christian fiction shrunk or broadened? Does that or should that change the way you write your novels? How much should you write with your audience in mind versus letting your creativity lead and find its own audience? Panelists will cover these questions and more!
Publishers Weekly and #1 Amazon bestselling author, Dani Pettrey has sold nearly one million copies of her novels to readers eagerly awaiting the next release. Dani combines the page-turning adrenaline of a thriller with the chemistry and happy-ever-after of a romance. Her novels stand out for their "wicked pace, snappy dialogue, and likable characters" (Publishers Weekly), "gripping storyline[s]," (RT Book Reviews), and "sizzling undercurrent of romance" (USA Today). She researches murder and mayhem from her home in Florida and mentors aspiring and published authors, recently winning ACFW's Mentor of the Year. For more information, visit danipettrey.com
Robin W. Pearson’s writing sprouts from her Southern upbringing, her belief in Jesus Christ, and the love of her husband, seven children, and their dog, Oscar. Her novels are “rooted in the soul of the story” and include her Christy Award–winning debut, A Long Time Comin’ and her latest, Dysfunction Junction. As an author, editor, and a homeschooling mama of many, she’s corrected grammar up and down the East Coast and presented at conferences such as Breathe, GetLit! and Vision Christian Writers. Robin loves sharing about her faith and her family because they’re the source and subject of her fiction and in the stories waiting to be told about the experiences at her own kitchen sink.
Cindy L. Morgan is a two-time Grammy nominee, a thirteen-time Dove winner, and a recipient of the prestigious Songwriter of the Year trophy. An East Tennessee native, her evocative melodies and lyrics have mined the depths of life and love both in her own recording and through songwriting for noteworthy artists around the globe, including Vince Gill, India.Arie, Rascal Flatts, Amy Grant, Sandra McCracken, and Glen Campbell. Cindy is the author of the novel The Year of Jubilee (Tyndale 2022) and two works of adult nonfiction—the memoir How Could I Ask for More: Stories of Blessings, Battles & Beauty (Worthy Inspire, 2015) and Barefoot on Barbed Wire: A Journey Out of Fear into Freedom (Harvest House Publishers, 2001)—and of the children's picture book Dance Me, Daddy (ZonderKidz, 2009). The Year of Jubilee is her debut novel and is a finalist in The Christy Award®.
New York Times bestselling author Travis Thrasher has written over 100 books, spanning genres in nonfiction, fiction and children’s literature. His inspirational stories have included collaborations with filmmakers, musicians, athletes, celebrities, pastors and social media influencers. With the childhood goal of pursuing a writing career starting in third grade, Thrasher worked for 13 years at Tyndale House Publishers after graduating college. His experience as Author Relations Manager allowed him to understand the writing life as well as training him to work with a variety of personalities. This experience has proven to be invaluable with varied writing projects as a full-time writer. His novels are as diverse as the people he’s worked with, ranging from love stories to supernatural thrillers and his readers have enjoyed the unpredictability of his novels, whether it’s due to a unique style such as second person or a twist they never saw coming. Thrasher’s storytelling ability has also allowed him to work with others on their books, from musicians like country musician Scotty McCreery and gospel singer Tasha Cobbs Leonard to athletes like basketball star Maya Moore and bowhunter Cameron Hanes. He has also penned novels based on songs and novelizations for films. He had a variety of collaborations published in 2024 including two devotionals and a YA novel.
Stephanie Broene is the Acquisitions Director for Fiction at Tyndale House Publishers. For more than fifteen years, she has loved working with authors to help them cultivate and bring their stories to the page, managing the publishing process from the idea phase to finished product. She has been an avid fan of fiction of all genres for as long as she can remember. She loves studying what makes a story work and is constantly amazed at the way good stories can entertain and communicate truth in a powerful way. Stephanie has a bachelor of arts degree in English with concentrations in writing and psychology from Calvin University; she is a two-time recipient of ACFW’s Editor of the Year Award. Outside of work, she loves to be active and enjoy life with her husband and their three young kids.
We thank the following publishers for their sponsoring support of The Christy Award® program:
We thank the following organizations for their promotional support:
We thank the following companies for their support of the industry and this program:
