The 2019 Omega Writers Conference took place over the weekend, with 96 attendees from all over Australia and New Zealand. The conference included announcing the winners of the 2019 CALEB Awards.
Picture Book
Sponsored by Simon Malcolm Productions.
The winner was Lily’s Balloon, written by Katrina Roe and illustrated by Helene Magisson.
Young Adult Fiction
Sponsored by Iola Goulton at Christian Editing Services
The winner was Penny Jaye (aka Penny Reeve) for Out of the Cages.
Adult Fiction
Sponsored by Cecily Patterson at Fire Wheel Press.
The winner was Grace in the Shadows by Christine Dillon.
Nonfiction (Biography or Memoir)
Sponsored by Shona Weston at Apricot Editing.
The winner was Hudson Taylor and China: A Dramatic Biography by David Bennett.
Unpublished Adult Fiction
The finalists in the Unpublished Adult Fiction category were:
- Catherine Murray
- Claire Steel
- Carmen Thornton
The Unpublished winner is Carmen Thornton, for The Five Year Plan. Carmen receives a $400 voucher from Rowena Beresford at Book Whispers.
Catherine Murray and Claire Steel each receive a $150 voucher for an assessment from Rochelle Manners at Rhiza Press.
Encouragement Awards
Christian Editing Services also sponsored an Encouragement Award for three writers nominated by conference leaders. They were:
- Beth Simpson
- Mindy Graham
- Jodie McCarthy
Katrina Roe and Penny Jaye with their awards, along with Rachel Sweasy, who edited the Nonfiction winner.
The Awards presentation was streamed live on Facebook, and you can watch the replay here: 2019 CALEB Awards Facebook Live.
Thank you to all our judges for their hard work, and congratulations to all the winners!
Achievement Awards
We celebrated all those writers who have taken a step forward this year by:
- Published your first blog post this year.
- Wrote your first book review this year.
- Created a website this year.
- Started an email list this year.
- Entered a contest this year.
- Came to your first writer’s conference this year.
- Are a 2019 Stories of Life finalist.
- Had a story included in another anthology this year.
- Finished the first draft of a novel this year.
- Finished the first draft of a nonfiction book this year.
- Published your first book this year.
- Published a book this year.
After all, writing is a journey, and we need to celebrate the small steps as well as the big steps.
We also celebrate with and congratulate David Rawlings for being Australia’s first ever Christy Award finalist, for The Baggage Handler.