(Denver) – The seventh annual Christy Awards dinner was held July 8, 2006 at the Denver Marriot City Center, in Denver, Colorado. The Awards are named after one of the most beloved Christian novels of the last century, Catherine Marshall’s Christy.

Established in 1999, the Christy Awards foster a three-part purpose. First, to nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview. Second, to bring new awareness of the breadth and depth of fiction choices available. And finally, to provide an opportunity to recognize novelists whose work may not have reached the bestseller lists.

“We do affirm that it is important to encourage… skill and art and craft [in writing],” said Donna Kehoe, Executive Director of the Christy Awards, in her address during the ceremony. “Our mandate as Christians is to do what we do to the best of our ability, whether we’re writers, agents, editors, marketers, or readers.”

This year, 26 publishers submitted 146 novels in seven categories, says Kehoe. A panel of 7 judges per category read and evaluated each novel against a ten-point criteria. The top three scores in each category were finalists. Publisher Bethany House took home four awards, the most of any publisher. The nominees are listed below with the winners atop each list, marked by an asterisk:

Contemporary (Stand-Alones) 25 entries

* Levi’s Will, by W. Dale Cramer (Bethany House Publishers)

Grace at Low Tide, by Beth Webb Hart (WestBow Press)