WHITNEY AWARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

SALT LAKE CITY, UT: The Whitney Awards committee today announced the finalists for the 2008 Whitney Awards, a program which honors the best novels by Latter-day Saint writers. Sponsored and endorsed by LDStorymakers, an LDS authors’ guild, the Whitney Awards offer national recognition to authors whose books win in one of eight categories.

To be eligible for consideration, a book must have received at least five nominations from its fans. More than one hundred works by new and established authors in both the LDS and national markets met the preliminary criteria. Once a book is nominated, juries of authors and critics narrow the nominees down to five per category.

This year’s nominees are listed below in alphabetical order by genre:

ROMANCE: Seeking Persephone by Sarah Eden, Servant to a King by Sariah Wilson, The Sound of Rain by Anita Stansfield, Spare Change by Aubrey Mace, Taking Chances by Shannon Guymon

MYSTERY/SUSPENSE: Above and Beyond by Betsy Brannon Green, Do No Harm by Gregg Luke, Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black, Freefall by Traci Hunter Abramson, Royal Target by Traci Hunter Abramson

YOUTH FICTION: The 13th Reality by James Dashner, Alcatraz vs. The Scrivner’s Bones by Brandon Sanderson, Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague (Book 3) by Brandon Mull, Far World: Water Keep by J. Scott Savage, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

SPECULATIVE: Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card, The Great and Terrible: From the End of Heaven by Chris Stewart, The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book 3) by Brandon Sanderson, The Host by Stephanie Meyer, The Wyrmling Horde: The Seventh Book of the Runelords by David Farland

HISTORICAL: Abinadi by H.B. Moore, Isabelle Webb, Legend of the Jewel by N.C. Allen, Master by Toni Sorenson, The Ruby by Jennie Hansen, Traitor by Sandra Grey

GENERAL FICTION: Bound on Earth, by Angela Hallstrom, Fields of Home, by Rachel Ann Nunes, Keeping Keller, by Tracy Winegar, The Reckoning, by Tanya Parker Mills, Waiting For the Light to Change, by Annette Hawes.

BEST BOOK BY A NEW AUTHOR: Bound on Earth by Angela Hallstrom, Spare Change by Aubrey Mace, The Reckoning by Tanya Parker Mills, Traitor by Sandra Grey, Waiting For the Light to Change by Annette Hawes

NOVEL OF THE YEAR: Bound on Earth by Angela Hallstrom, Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black, The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, Book 3) by Brandon Sanderson, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, Traitor by Sandra Grey

This ballot now goes out to members of the voting academy: a select group of LDS publishers; bookstore owners, managers, and employees; LDS authors; print and online magazine publishers; reviewers; and others working in the field of LDS literature.

Winners will be announced at a gala banquet on Saturday, April 25 at the Marriott Hotel in Provo, Utah. Tickets are now on sale at www.WhitneyAwards.com.

Special Lifetime Achievement Awards will also be presented that night to two persons whose bodies of works and tireless efforts have made a significant impact on the field of LDS popular fiction. This year’s honorees are Kerry Blair and Orson Scott Card.

For more information on the Whitney Awards, visit www.whitneyawards.com.