The Whitney Awards are awards given annually for novels by LDS authors. The Whitney Awards are a semi-independent non-profit organization affiliated with the LDStorymakers, a guild for LDS authors.

Categories

There are currently seven genre categories:

• Romance
  Romance novel
  The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
  
  
• Mystery
  Mystery fiction
  Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
  
  /Suspense
• Speculative fiction
  Speculative fiction
  Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
  
  
• Young-adult fiction
  Young adult literature
  Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
  
  
• Young-adult speculative fiction
• Historical fiction
  Historical fiction
  Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
  
  
• General fiction
  Literary fiction
  Literary fiction is a term that came into common usage during the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish "serious fiction" which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction . In broad terms, literary fiction focuses more upon...
  
  

There are also two overall awards:

• Best Novel by a New Author
• Novel of the Year

Due to the limited number of titles released by LDS authors, several of the genre awards are combined (such as romance and women's fiction).

While the Whitney Committee has said that they hope to expand the number of genres in the future, they likely won't venture into other areas of LDS art, such as music, poetry, or non-fiction books.

To be eligible, a novel must be written by an LDS author during the award year, and be at least 50,000 words long.

Process

Any reader can nominate a book. Once a book has received five or more nominations, it becomes an official nominee.

The official nominees are presented to the Whitney Awards Committee. The Committee checks for eligibility, and acts as a preliminary judging panel; reducing the number of nominees to no more than five per category.

Finally, ballots are sent to the Whitney Awards Academy, an invitation-only group consisting of authors, bookstore owners/managers, distributors, critics, and other industry professionals. Through popular vote, they decide on final winners. The awards are presented at a dinner held at the conclusion of the annual LDStorymakers conference and writing "boot camp."

Until the 2010 awards (presented 2011), books were not allowed to win in more than one category.

Name

The awards are named after Orson F. Whitney

Orson F. Whitney

Orson Ferguson Whitney born in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from April 9, 1906 until his death.-Early life:...

, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy...

 in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as a poet and writer. In 1888, Elder Whitney delivered a speech entitled "Home Literature" in which he stated:

We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. God's ammunition is not exhausted. His brightest spirits are held in reserve for the latter times. In God's name and by his help we will build up a literature whose top shall touch heaven, though its foundations may now be low in earth.

The phrase "We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own" has been adopted as the slogan of the Whitney Awards, and is printed on the trophy.

Winners and finalists

2007 (presented March 22, 2008)
Best Novel of the Year

• On the Road to Heaven, by Coke Newell
  Coke Newell
  Clayton Corey "Coke" Newell is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose professional career outside of freelance is often defined by his decade-plus stint in public relations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints....
  
   — Zarahemla Books
  • Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George — Bloomsbury
  • Out of Jerusalem: Land of Inheritance, by H.B. Moore — Covenant Communications
  • The Operative, by Willard Boyd Gardner — Covenant Communications
  • Upon the Mountains, by Gale Sears — Covenant Communications

Best Novel by a New Author

• Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George — Bloomsbury
  • Wet Desert, by Gary Hansen — Holeshot Press
  • Counting Stars, by Michele Paige Holmes — Covenant Communications
  • Beyond the Horizon, by Judy C. Olsen — Covenant Communications
  • On the Road to Heaven, by Coke Newell — Zarahemla Books

Best Romance/Women's Fiction

• Counting Stars, by Michele Paige Holmes — Covenant Communications
  • Desire of our Hearts, by Sariah S. Wilson — Covenant Communications
  • Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer
    Stephenie Meyer
    Stephenie Meyer is an American author known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages...
    
     — Little, Brown
  • The Independence Club, by Rachel Ann Nunes
    Rachel Ann Nunes
    Rachel Ann Nunes is a United States best selling author born in Provo, Utah. She authored two award-winning picture books, Daughter of a King and The Secret of the King. The book Daughter of a King was voted best children’s book of the year in 2003 by the Association of Independent LDS Booksellers...
    
     — Deseret Book
    Deseret Book
    Deseret Book is the largest Latter-day Saint book publisher and also owns a chain of LDS bookstores in the western United States. Over 150 people work in its Salt Lake City headquarters...
    
    
  • Loyalty's Web, by Joyce DiPastena — iUniverse
    IUniverse
    iUniverse, founded in October 1999, is a self-publishing company, co-located with AuthorHouse in Bloomington, Indiana. Publishers Weekly notes iUniverse has partnerships with The Writers' Club and the Writer's Digest .-History:iUniverse initially focused on business-to-consumer print-on-demand...
    
    

Best Mystery/Suspense

• Sheep's Clothing, by Josi Kilpack — Deseret Book
  • The Deep End, by Traci Hunter Abramson — Covenant Communications
  • Grave Secrets, by Marlene Austin — Covenant Communications
  • The Operative, by Willard Boyd Gardner — Covenant Communications
  • Hazardous Duty, by Betsy Brannon Green
    Betsy Brannon Green
    Betsy Brannon Green is a Latter Day Saint mystery/suspense novelist. In 2010 she was nominated for a Whitney Award for her mystery–suspense novel, Murder by the Book.-External links:*...
    
     — Covenant Communications

Best YA/Children's

• Fablehaven 2: Rise of the Evening Star, by Brandon Mull
  Brandon Mull
  Brandon Mull is an American writer who is best known as the author of the Fablehaven fantasy series, which is a New York Times' bestseller. Mull has also written The Candy Shop War...
  
   — Shadow Mountain
  • Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
    Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians
    Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians is a juvenile fiction novel by Brandon Sanderson, published in October 2007 by Scholastic Press. The book is named after its main character, Alcatraz Smedry.-Plot summary:...
    
    , by Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in American Fork, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University, where he was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine...
    
     — Scholastic
  • Bullies in the Headlights, by Matthew Buckley — Covenant Communications
  • How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend, by Janette Rallison
    Janette Rallison
    Janette Rallison is an American writer. Rallison grew up in Pullman, Washington and lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband and five children, one of whom is named Luke...
    
     — Putnam
    G. P. Putnam's Sons
    G. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
    
    
  • First Day, by Allyson Condie — Deseret Book

Best Speculative

• Book of a Thousand Days
  Book of a Thousand Days
  Book of a Thousand Days is a fantasy novel by Shannon Hale. It is her second novel based on a fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, this time based on Maid Maleen.-Plot summary:...
  
  , by Shannon Hale
  Shannon Hale
  Shannon Hale is an American author of young adult fantasy and adult fiction.-Biography:Shannon Hale is the author of ten novels, including the best-selling Newbery Honor book Princess Academy, the "Books of Bayern" series, two adult novels, and two graphic novels that she and her husband co-wrote...
  
   — Bloomsbury
  • Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George — Bloomsbury
  • Hunting Gideon, by Jessica Draper — Zarahemla Books
  • The Lights of Mahonri Moriancumer, by Phyllis Gunderson — Cedar Fort, Inc.
  • The Well of Ascension
    Mistborn: The Well of Ascension
    Mistborn: The Well of Ascension is the second novel in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy.-Plot summary:The book begins with two armies laying siege to Luthadel - the army of Elend's father, Straff Venture and another one headed by Cett. Elend is now the King of Luthadel, with Vin as his...
    
    , by Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in American Fork, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University, where he was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine...
    
     — Tor

Best Historical

• Out of Jerusalem: Land of Inheritance, by H.B. Moore — Covenant Communications
  • Beyond the Horizon, by Judy C. Olsen — Covenant Communications
  • On the Road to Heaven, by Coke Newell — Zarahemla Books
  • Spires of Stone, by Annette Lyon — Covenant Communications
  • Upon the Mountains, by Gale Sears — Covenant Communications

Lifetime Achievement

• Jennie Hansen
  Jennie Hansen
  Jennie Hansen is a Latter Day Saint fiction author whose publications include newspaper and magazines articles, news stories, editorials, short stories, reviews of other LDS author's work, and twelve novels. She also is a frequent speaker at firesides, conferences, and literary groups.Hansen was...
  
  
• Dean Hughes
  Dean Hughes
  Dean Hughes is a prominent author of historical novels and children's books.-Biography:Dean Hughes was born in Ogden, Utah on August 24, 1943. He started telling people in junior high that he was going to be a writer, but he did not become serious until he took a creative writing class in high...
  
  
• Anita Stansfield
  Anita Stansfield
  Anita Stansfield is an American Latter-day Saint romance novelist. She is the LDS market's best-selling romance novelist, with sales of nearly half a million.Stansfield was born in Provo, Utah...
  
  

2008 (presented April, 2009)
Best Novel of the Year

• Traitor by Sandra Grey
  • Bound on Earth by Angela Hallstrom
  • Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black
  • The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in American Fork, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University, where he was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine...
    
    
  • Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Best Novel by a New Author

• Bound on Earth by Angela Hallstrom
  • The Reckoning by Tanya Parker Mills
  • Spare Change by Aubrey Mace
  • Traitor by Sandra Grey
  • Waiting For the Light to Change by Annette Hawes

Best Romance

• Spare Change by Aubrey Mace
  • Seeking Persephone by Sarah Eden
  • Servant to a King by Sariah Wilson
  • The Sound of Rain by Anita Stansfield
    Anita Stansfield
    Anita Stansfield is an American Latter-day Saint romance novelist. She is the LDS market's best-selling romance novelist, with sales of nearly half a million.Stansfield was born in Provo, Utah...
    
    
  • Taking Chances by Shannon Guymon

Best Mystery/Suspense

• Fool Me Twice by Stephanie Black
  • Above and Beyond by Betsy Brannon Green
    Betsy Brannon Green
    Betsy Brannon Green is a Latter Day Saint mystery/suspense novelist. In 2010 she was nominated for a Whitney Award for her mystery–suspense novel, Murder by the Book.-External links:*...
    
    
  • Do No Harm by Gregg Luke
  • Freefall by Traci Hunter Abramson
  • Royal Target by Traci Hunter Abramson

Best Youth Fiction

• The 13th Reality
  The 13th Reality
  The 13th Reality is a children's fantasy book series by James Dashner. The first book in the series was published in early 2008 by Shadow Mountain Publishing. The second book was released on May 1, 2009 and was titled The Hunt for Dark Infinity, and book three was released April 6, 2010. It was...
  
  by James Dashner
  James Dashner
  James Dashner is an American author of children's fantasy series and adult books, including The 13th Reality series and the Jimmy Fincher Saga. His novel The Journal of Curious Letters was chosen for a 2008 Borders Original Voices pick...
  
  
  • Alcatraz vs. The Scrivner's Bones by Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in American Fork, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University, where he was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine...
    
    
  • Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull
    Brandon Mull
    Brandon Mull is an American writer who is best known as the author of the Fablehaven fantasy series, which is a New York Times' bestseller. Mull has also written The Candy Shop War...
    
    
  • Farworld: Water Keep by J. Scott Savage
  • Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Best Speculative Fiction

• The Hero of Ages
  Mistborn: The Hero of Ages
  Mistborn: The Hero of Ages is the final novel of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy, released on October 14, 2008. It was preceded by Mistborn: The Final Empire and Mistborn: The Well of Ascension.-Plot summary:...
  
  by Brandon Sanderson
  Brandon Sanderson
  Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in American Fork, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University, where he was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine...
  
  
  • Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card
    Orson Scott Card
    Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
    
    
  • The Great and Terrible: From the End of Heaven by Chris Stewart
  • The Host
    The Host (novel)
    The Host is a science fiction/romance novel by Stephenie Meyer. The novel introduces an alien race, called Souls, which takes over the Earth and its inhabitants. The book describes one Soul's predicament when the mind of its human host refuses to cooperate with her takeover. The Host was released...
    
    by Stephenie Meyer
  • The Wyrmling Horde: The Seventh Book of the Runelords
    The Wyrmling Horde
    The Wyrmling Horde is the seventh installment in the Runelords series written by David Farland and was published September 16, 2008.-Plot introduction:...
    
    by David Farland

Best 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

Best General Fiction

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

Lifetime Achievement Awards

• Kerry Blair
  Kerry Blair
  -Background:Blair currently resides in Chino Valley, Arizona. She has had Multiple Sclerosis for many years and is a cancer survivor. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
  
  
• Orson Scott Card
  Orson Scott Card
  Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
  
  

2009 (presented April, 2010)
Best Novel of the Year

• In the Company of Angels by David Farland
  Dave Wolverton
  Dave Wolverton is a science fiction author who also goes under the pseudonym David Farland for his fantasy works. He currently lives in St. George, Utah with his wife and five children.-Career:...
  
  

Best Novel by a New Author (tie)

• Gravity vs. The Girl by Riley Noehren
• I Am Not a Serial Killer
  I Am Not a Serial Killer
  I Am Not A Serial Killer is a 2009 young adult thriller novel written by Dan Wells. It is the first installment in the John Wayne Cleaver trilogy. Its sequel, Mr. Monster, was released in 2010 in the UK. The third installment, I Don't Want To Kill You, was released in January 2011 in the UK...
  
  by Dan Wells
  Dan Wells (author)
  Dan Wells is an American horror fiction author. A Utah native, he currently resides in Orem, Utah.-Early life:Wells wrote his first novel, Choose Your Own Adventure, when he was in second grade. He followed up with several novellas, a serial and a series of comic books when he was in high school....
  
  

Best Romance

• Counting the Cost by Liz Adair
  • Illuminations of the Heart by Joyce DiPastena
  • All The Stars in Heaven by Michele Paige Holmes
  • Santa Maybe by Aubrey Mace
  • Previously Engaged by Elodia Strain

Best Mystery/Suspense

• Methods of Madness by Stephanie Black
  • Lockdown by Traci Hunter Abramson
  • Murder by the Book by Betsy Brannon Green
    Betsy Brannon Green
    Betsy Brannon Green is a Latter Day Saint mystery/suspense novelist. In 2010 she was nominated for a Whitney Award for her mystery–suspense novel, Murder by the Book.-External links:*...
    
    
  • Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpack
  • Altered State by Gregg Luke

Best Youth Fiction

• The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
  • Princess of the Midnight Ball
    Princess of the Midnight Ball
    Princess of the Midnight Ball is a 2009 young adult fantasy novel written by Jessica Day George. It is based on the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses.-Plot summary:...
    
    by Jessica Day George
  • Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
    Fablehaven
    Fablehaven is The New York Times best-selling children's literature fantasy series written by Brandon Mull. The book series, which includes Fablehaven, Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star, Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague, Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, and Fablehaven: Keys to...
    
    by Brandon Mull
    Brandon Mull
    Brandon Mull is an American writer who is best known as the author of the Fablehaven fantasy series, which is a New York Times' bestseller. Mull has also written The Candy Shop War...
    
    
  • My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison
    Janette Rallison
    Janette Rallison is an American writer. Rallison grew up in Pullman, Washington and lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband and five children, one of whom is named Luke...
    
    
  • Bright Blue Miracle by Becca Wilhite

Best Speculative Fiction

• Servant of a Dark God by John Brown
  John Brown (American author)
  John David Brown is an American author primarily known for his fantasy.- Early years :Brown was born in Cottonwood, Utah and raised primarily in Bountiful, Utah. He spent many years working in the family floral and nursery business...
  
  
  • The Maze Runner
    The Maze Runner
    The Maze Runner is the first book in a young-adult dystopian science fiction series by James Dashner. The novel was published October 2009 by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House. The book is currently being shopped as a possible film project....
    
    by James Dashner
    James Dashner
    James Dashner is an American author of children's fantasy series and adult books, including The 13th Reality series and the Jimmy Fincher Saga. His novel The Journal of Curious Letters was chosen for a 2008 Borders Original Voices pick...
    
    
  • Wings
    Wings (Aprilynne Pike)
    Wings is the debut, young-adult faerie novel by author Aprilynne Pike. It is the first of four books about a fifteen-year-old girl who discovers she is a faerie sent among humans to guard the gateway to Avalon....
    
    by Aprilynne Pike
    Aprilynne Pike
    Aprilynne Pike is an internationally best-selling American author best known for her debut novel Wings, which was released in English on May 5, 2009. Her first novel debuted as a New York Times best-seller, and reached the #1 spot on the Children's Best Seller list, making Pike the best-selling...
    
    
  • Warbreaker
    Warbreaker
    Warbreaker is a stand-alone fantasy novel by Brandon Sanderson, published in hardcover in June 2009 by Tor Books. Sanderson released several rewrites of this title under a Creative Commons license, one chapter at a time. Older drafts of the various chapters are also available. The entire novel is...
    
    by Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson
    Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in American Fork, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University, where he was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine...
    
    
  • I Am Not a Serial Killer
    I Am Not a Serial Killer
    I Am Not A Serial Killer is a 2009 young adult thriller novel written by Dan Wells. It is the first installment in the John Wayne Cleaver trilogy. Its sequel, Mr. Monster, was released in 2010 in the UK. The third installment, I Don't Want To Kill You, was released in January 2011 in the UK...
    
    by Dan Wells
    Dan Wells (author)
    Dan Wells is an American horror fiction author. A Utah native, he currently resides in Orem, Utah.-Early life:Wells wrote his first novel, Choose Your Own Adventure, when he was in second grade. He followed up with several novellas, a serial and a series of comic books when he was in high school....
    
    

Best Historical

• The Last Waltz by G.G. Vandagriff
  • Tribunal by Sandra Grey
  • The Undaunted by Gerald Lund
    Gerald Lund
    Gerald Niels Lund was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2002 to 2008. During his tenure, he lived in Solihull, England for 3 years. He currently lives in Bountiful, Utah and serves in Salt Lake City...
    
    
  • Alma by H.B. Moore
  • In the Company of Angels by David Farland
    Dave Wolverton
    Dave Wolverton is a science fiction author who also goes under the pseudonym David Farland for his fantasy works. He currently lives in St. George, Utah with his wife and five children.-Career:...
    
    

Best General Fiction

• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
  • No Going Back by Jonathan Langford
  • Gravity vs. The Girl by Riley Noehren
  • The Route by Gale Sears
  • Eyes Like Mine by Julie Wright

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Gerald Lund
  Gerald Lund
  Gerald Niels Lund was a general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 2002 to 2008. During his tenure, he lived in Solihull, England for 3 years. He currently lives in Bountiful, Utah and serves in Salt Lake City...
  
  

Outstanding Achievement Award

• Dave Wolverton
  Dave Wolverton
  Dave Wolverton is a science fiction author who also goes under the pseudonym David Farland for his fantasy works. He currently lives in St. George, Utah with his wife and five children.-Career:...
  
  

2010 (presented May 7, 2011)
Best Novel of the Year (tie)

• The Way of Kings
  The Way of Kings
  The Way of Kings is an epic fantasy novel by Brandon Sanderson. It was released by Tor Books on August 31, 2010. It is the first volume in a planned ten-novel series called The Stormlight Archive.-Synopsis:...
  
  by Brandon Sanderson
  Brandon Sanderson
  Brandon Sanderson is an American fantasy author. A Nebraska native, he currently resides in American Fork, Utah. He earned his Master's degree in Creative Writing in 2005 from Brigham Young University, where he was on the staff of Leading Edge, a semi-professional speculative fiction magazine...
  
  
• Mr. Monster by Dan Wells
  Dan Wells (author)
  Dan Wells is an American horror fiction author. A Utah native, he currently resides in Orem, Utah.-Early life:Wells wrote his first novel, Choose Your Own Adventure, when he was in second grade. He followed up with several novellas, a serial and a series of comic books when he was in high school....
  
  

Best Novel by a New Author

• Paranormalcy
  Paranormalcy
  Paranormalcy is a series of young-adult urban fantasy novels by American author Kiersten White, beginning with the inaugural entry of the same name. The story focuses on a girl named Evie, a member of a special international police force assigned to paranormal cases...
  
  by Kiersten White

Best Romance

• Cross My Heart by Julie Wright
  • Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden
  • The Legend of Shannonderry by Carol Warburton
  • Luck of the Draw by Rachael Renee Anderson
  • Meg's Melody by Kaylee Baldwin

Best Mystery/Suspense

• Cold As Ice by Stephanie Black
  • Crossfire by Traci Hunter Abramson
  • Murder by Design by Betsy Brannon Green
    Betsy Brannon Green
    Betsy Brannon Green is a Latter Day Saint mystery/suspense novelist. In 2010 she was nominated for a Whitney Award for her mystery–suspense novel, Murder by the Book.-External links:*...
    
    
  • A Time to Die by Jeffrey S. Savage
  • Wrong Number by Rachelle J. Christensen

Best Youth Fiction – General

• The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little
  • Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
  • Missing In Action by Dean Hughes
    Dean Hughes
    Dean Hughes is a prominent author of historical novels and children's books.-Biography:Dean Hughes was born in Ogden, Utah on August 24, 1943. He started telling people in junior high that he was going to be a writer, but he did not become serious until he took a creative writing class in high...
    
    
  • My Double Life by Janette Rallison
    Janette Rallison
    Janette Rallison is an American writer. Rallison grew up in Pullman, Washington and lives in Chandler, Arizona with her husband and five children, one of whom is named Luke...
    
    
  • Wolves, Boys, and Other Things That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler

Best Youth Fiction – Speculative

• Matched by Ally Condie
  Ally Condie
  Ally Condie is a female American novelist. She is the author of New York Times bestseller Matched which was published by Dutton in November 2010. It is planned to be the first of a series.-Matched:...
  
  
  • Fablehaven 5
    Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison
    Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison is the fifth and final installment in The New York Times bestselling Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull.-Plot:...
    
    by Brandon Mull
    Brandon Mull
    Brandon Mull is an American writer who is best known as the author of the Fablehaven fantasy series, which is a New York Times' bestseller. Mull has also written The Candy Shop War...
    
    
  • Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
  • The Forbidden Sea by Sheila Nielson
  • The Fourth Nephite by Jeffrey S. Savage

Best Speculative Fiction

• The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
  • Imprints by Rachel Ann Nunes
    Rachel Ann Nunes
    Rachel Ann Nunes is a United States best selling author born in Provo, Utah. She authored two award-winning picture books, Daughter of a King and The Secret of the King. The book Daughter of a King was voted best children’s book of the year in 2003 by the Association of Independent LDS Booksellers...
    
    
  • Mr. Monster by Dan Wells
  • Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card
    Orson Scott Card
    Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
    
    
  • The Scorch Trials
    The Scorch Trials
    The Scorch Trials is the second book—preceded by the 2009 novel, The Maze Runner—in a young-adult dystopian science fiction trilogy by James Dashner. The novel was published October 12, 2010 by Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House...
    
    by James Dashner
    James Dashner
    James Dashner is an American author of children's fantasy series and adult books, including The 13th Reality series and the Jimmy Fincher Saga. His novel The Journal of Curious Letters was chosen for a 2008 Borders Original Voices pick...
    
    

Best Historical

• Trespass by Sandra Grey
  • Alma The Younger by H.B. Moore
  • Oh Say Can You See? by L.C. Lewis
  • The Sheen on the Silk by Anne Perry
  • The Silence of God by Gale Sears

Best General Fiction

• Band of Sisters by Annette Lyon
  • Blink of an Eye by Gregg Luke
  • The Cross Gardener by Jason F. Wright
    Jason F. Wright
    Jason F. Wright is an American author and political blogger and pundit.-Biography:Jason Fletcher Wright was born on February 1 near St. Louis, Missouri to Willard Samuel Wright and Sandra Fletcher Wright. Within months of his birth, Jason's father was transferred to Germany and the family lived...
    
    
  • Finding Mercie by Blaine Yorgason
    Blaine Yorgason
    Blaine M. Yorgason is a Latter-day Saint novelist who has also written biographies.Yorgason was born in Sanpete County, Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young High School and then served an LDS mission primarily in Chicago. Yorgason has a bachelors and masters degrees from Brigham Young University...
    
    
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Committee

The Whitney Awards Committee acts as both the organizers and the preliminary judges of the Whitney Awards. Rules stipulate that the committee be made up of at least four members of LDStorymakers. Their positions are temporary, by invitation of the Whitney Awards Committee president (who is appointed by the LDStorymakers executive committee).

The current committee includes:

• Robison Wells
  Robison Wells
  Robison Wells is an American novelist. He currently lives in Provo, Utah, with his wife and three children. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his novels are directed to the LDS fiction market...
  
  , President
• Julie Coulter Bellon
• Danyelle Ferguson
• John Ferguson
• Crystal Leichty
• Sheila Staley
• Jaime Theler

Although Kerry Blair

Kerry Blair

-Background:Blair currently resides in Chino Valley, Arizona. She has had Multiple Sclerosis for many years and is a cancer survivor. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...

 had been a member of the Whitney Awards Committee for two years, the other members of the committee "went behind her back" to name her the winner of a Lifetime Achievement Award for 2008.

Criticism

One Mormon literature critic initially raised concerns with the heavy involvement of authors published by Covenant Communications in the awards process. However when the finalists for 2007 were announced, this same commenter noted both that there was a wide spectrum of publishers represented, and that "Covenant publishes the lion’s share of Mormon market fiction." This same critic later described the awards as "at best a reductive form of validation and criticism. Although let’s be honest: The Whitneys have way more credibility than the Grammys."

External links

• Official website of the Whitney Awards
• LDStorymakers.com, organizing body for the Whitney Awards