So...My Little Book Is Up For A Whitney!

I got into the writing game kind of late. Some of the writers I've met have been writing literally before they could bike or swim or divide fractions. And because I'm late to the party, many of the author friend's I've made over the last half decade are used to having their published works be recognized by their peers.

There are a lot of literary awards out there--some major ones, and some local ones. There's awards everyone's heard of, and some I'll never hear about. But ever since I began writing and getting to know the local authors there's one award that has always intrigued me, the Whitney Awards.

A little history from their website: 

What are the Whitneys?

The Whitneys are an awards program for novels written by authors who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Orson F. Whitney, an early apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, prophesied:

"We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. Above all things, we must be original. Our mission is diverse from all others; our literature must also be."

It is our hope to be a part of that journey toward excellence by honoring writers who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and showcasing, through their work, the standards that make us a unique people.

You can access their website by clicking: HERE. You can also see all the other books nominated so far by clicking the INFO button, then go to Nominees.

I was notified just before Christmas that my little book, Chaser, received enough nominations to be considered for a Whitney award. It's quite an honor.

As with anything where there can only be one winner and several "almost winners," I have no idea how my story will do. I know from reading several books that have won in the past that the competition is always stiff--there's a lot of good authors nominated every year. We won't know until May of this year how we all did. I'll keep you posted. For now, though, I'm a happy camper.