(Short Story and Poetry Categories)

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Poetry Category

ACM’s T.S. Eliot Award for 1st Place

Goes to Nancy Hance for The King’s Garden

ACM’s John Donne Award for 2nd Place

Goes to Sarah Andersen for My Name

ACM’s George Herbert Award for 3rd Place

Goes to Nancy Hance for Beneath the Robe of Righteousness

Honorable Mentions:

The Francis Thompson Award:  Kristina Benham for Purpose
The Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Award:   Stephen Kingsley for The Call to Worship

19 and up category

The Athanatos Christian Ministries C.S. Lewis Award (1st Prize)

Goes to Graham Kell for his story, Swimming Blind

Author of Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible, Joseph Keysor, is proud to sponsor the GK Chesterton Award (2nd Prize)

Which goes to Elizabeth Chance for her story, His Scars for Mine

Three Third Prizes- Presented in Alphabetical Order by Last Name

Athanatos Christian Ministries presents the Fyodor Dostoyevsky Award (3rd Prize)

To Derek Elkins for Theophany.

ChristianManuscriptSubmission presents the Leo Tolstoy Award (3rd Prize)

Which goes to Wallace Heller for Angel’s Mercy

An Anonymous Sponsor presents the George MacDonald Award (3rd prize)

Which goes to Katherine Thompson for They Left us the Moon.

Honorable Mentions

The Dante Award: Goes to Kathleen Moulton for Unfinished Bridges
The William Shakespeare Award: Goes to Sally Bishop for Shattered Neon

The John Wycliffe Award

Not given this year.

High School Category

The Athanatos Online Apologetics Academy JRR Tolkien Award (1st Prize)

Goes to Jennifer van den Bogerd for The Rain Sequence.

The Confident Christianity Dorothy Sayer’s Award (2nd Prize)

Goes to Caroline Carmichael for Belleau Wood.

Third Prizes- Presented in Alphabetical Order by Last Name

The John Milton Award (3rd Prize)

Goes to Rebecca Chance for The Dissenters.

The William Blake Award (3rd Prize)

Goes to Cody Milner for The Viking

The Sojourner Leatherwork Flannery O’Connor Award (3rd Prize)

Goes to Myra Stull for The  Cabin

Honorable Mentions

The Graham Greene Award: Goes to Meghan Gorecki – Thus Far .
The Charles Williams Award: Goes to Hannah Lowie - The Call .

To contact any of these authors for any reason you may request their contact information through the contest administrators at director@athanatosministries.org.  Most of them have indicated that they are available for interview.  Anthony Horvath, the executive director of Athanatos Christian Ministries, which is the host of the contest, is also available for interviews.

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Goes to Nancy Hance

Monroe, NC

3rd Place

(Category: Poetry)

Bio:

From a very early age, Nancy had a connection with music. Standing on tiptoe to reach Grandma’s old piano keyboard, she picked out the melody to “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, her favorite tune. As a young girl, Nancy learned that Jesus loved her and would always be with her. Baptized at the age of eleven, she always felt the Presence of the Lord in her life. She was blessed with piano lessons from the age of six and eventually won a two year piano scholarship at a Christian college. At age 15, Nancy’s musical horizons were broadened when her older sister taught her to play the flute.

It was while attending college that she learned that the Holy Spirit was still very involved in the lives of Christians and that He wanted to indwell each and every believer. From then on, music took on a new dimension…one of deep worship and high praise. Songs started being birthed and written down and sung at every opportunity. Almost forty years later, the catalogue of Spirit-birthed songs has continually grown and documents the life journey of this musician.

Nancy also works as a freelance writer contributing articles to women’s magazines and has written a book, “Flights Of Fancy” soon to be published. Dabbling in poetry seemed to be a natural progression and has been a hobby and enjoyment.

You may contact Nancy at nancyhance@gmail.com or through the contest administrators by sending an email to director@athanatosministries.org.

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BENEATH THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Beneath the robe of righteousness

Made by the blood of the Lamb,

Under the Holy covering

My heart finds courage to stand.

Although my eyes grow weary with

The sight of my failings and sin,

God sees the blood of His only Son

And places His Spirit within.

His Spirit is like a refiner’s fire

That brings to the surface the dross

Where it meets its match and is done away

By the scarlet red robe of the cross.

Then like the sweet rain from heaven,

His word cleans my mind day by day

And bathes me with beautiful thoughts from God’s heart

And washes the darkness away.

And so by the mouth of three witnesses:

The Spirit, the water, the blood;

I stand clean and dressed and in my right mind,

Safe and secure in God’s love!

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(Comments are accepted but please reserve criticism and feedback to the forum)

Goes to Nancy Hance

Monroe, NC

1st Place

(Category: Poetry)

Bio:

From a very early age, Nancy had a connection with music. Standing on tiptoe to reach Grandma’s old piano keyboard, she picked out the melody to “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, her favorite tune. As a young girl, Nancy learned that Jesus loved her and would always be with her. Baptized at the age of eleven, she always felt the Presence of the Lord in her life. She was blessed with piano lessons from the age of six and eventually won a two year piano scholarship at a Christian college. At age 15, Nancy’s musical horizons were broadened when her older sister taught her to play the flute.

It was while attending college that she learned that the Holy Spirit was still very involved in the lives of Christians and that He wanted to indwell each and every believer. From then on, music took on a new dimension…one of deep worship and high praise. Songs started being birthed and written down and sung at every opportunity. Almost forty years later, the catalogue of Spirit-birthed songs has continually grown and documents the life journey of this musician.

Nancy also works as a freelance writer contributing articles to women’s magazines and has written a book, “Flights Of Fancy” soon to be published. Dabbling in poetry seemed to be a natural progression and has been a hobby and enjoyment.

You may contact Nancy at nancyhance@gmail.com or through the contest administrators by sending an email to director@athanatosministries.org.

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The King’s Garden

(The Garden Enclosed)

Song of Solomon 4:12-16

A garden enclosed is My sister, My bride,

A fountain sealed up-all her water inside.

But I see her seedlings as plants fully grown-

An orchard of fruits and rare spices unknown.

Sometimes she sees rocky soil., sun parched and dry

And wonders at My love and often asks, “Why?”

But I want to show her the things I behold:

The beauty I’ve planted; the spring clear and cold.

The myrrh is her tears as in sorrow she cries.

She longs to be perfectly clean in My eyes.

The spikenard will cure her, the balsam will heal.

The comfort of aloes will soothe how she feels.

Her prayers are the frankincense burning so bright.

I show her the path as she walks through the night.

The henna’s a thankful heart worshipping Me.

The beauty of gratefulness in her I see.

Her hopes and her dreams are the calamus reed.

They fill up the air with the fragrance of need.

I’ll cut them and dry them and powder them soon

And use them to create a rare, rich perfume.

Her flavors are saffron and cinnamon sweet.

In her heart My peace and My righteousness meet.

I kiss her with mercy-embrace her with truth.

I give her My covering as Boaz did Ruth.

Come into Your garden, my Husband, my King.

Take pleasure in eating and drink from my spring.

My heart is Your garden, Your private retreat.

Come enter it now, let me sit at Your feet.

Awake now, O north wind and come now, O south.

Come blow on My garden so her fragrance flows out.

Spring up, sweet Spirit, pure water of life!

Refresh My princess, My sister, My wife.

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(Comments are accepted but please reserve criticism and feedback to the forum)