Yay! I'm a Genesis Contest Semi-Finalist!

Well, Friday was the day. The day that the semi-finalists in the ACFW Genesis contest would be notified. At about 1:00, I started noticing Facebook statuses by some of my friends saying they'd gotten "The call." 1:30...nothing. 2:00...nothing. In the meantime, more Facebook status updates.

It was at this point that I allowed myself a good cry. I obviously didn't make it through the first round. I whined to my daughter, ate a slice of humble pie, and decided to stay away from the laptop for a little while.

And then the phone rang.

It was Pam Meyer, coordinator of the Historical Fiction category. She was calling for Camy, the coordinator of the Women's Fiction category, as Camy was unable to make the call herself. I had semi-finaled with one of my WF entries.

Wow. Really?

Needless to say, I was thrilled, geeked, grateful, ecstatic, and all of those other emotions.

I AM A SEMI-FINALIST IN THE WOMEN'S FICTION CATEGORY

 OF THE GENESIS CONTEST!

Yes, this is the fourth year in a row (but who's counting?) I have yet to take 1st in my category (always a finalist, never a winner), and honestly,  I'm not holding my breath this year. The Women's Fiction category had the most entries of any category (90) and I consider it a huge honor to have made it past the first round, made up of the top 20% of the entrants.

Many of my friends also got "The Call," so I want to include the entire list here. Join me in congratulating the following semi-finalists in the Genesis contest:

Semi-Finalists were the top 20% of the entries in each category, so
the number of Semi-Finalists in each category will vary.

CONTEMPORARY FICTION:(total entries: 48)

Melanie Brasher/ Joy N. Malik (Pen Name)
Candee Fick
Amy Matayo
Christina Suzann Nelson
Robin Patchen
Katy Pistole
Lori Stafford
Elaine Stock
Chris Storm
Delores Topliff

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE:(total entries: 82)

Pepper Basham
Kimberly Buckner
Jeannie Campbell
Ashley Clark
Mary Curry
Tanya Eavenson
Dawn Kinzer
Patricia Lee
Becky Lyles
Susan Mason
Stacy Monson
Sherri Murray
Andrea Nell
Jessica Nelson (double-finaled with two entries)
Krista Phillips
Julie Pollitt
Julie Vickery
Jennifer Vihel

HISTORICAL FICTION:(total entries: 44)

Lori Benton
Heidi Chiavaroli
Linda Davis
Johnnie Alexander Donley
Marcie Gribbin
Rick Gunter
Nancy Herriman
S.C. Iles
Renee Yancy

HISTORICAL ROMANCE:
(total entries: 73)

Sandra Ardoin
Kay Chandler (double-finaled with two entries)
Rebecca DeMarino
Angie Dicken
Anita Mae Draper
Melissa Jagears (double-finaled with two entries)
Sherrinda Ketchersid
Sarah Ladd
Kathleen Maher
Naomi Rawlings
Marilyn Rhoads
Sherri Shakelford
Brandy Vallance

MYSTERY/SUSPENSE/THRILLER:(total entries: 47)

Emily Ann Benedict
Dianna T. Benson (double-finaled with two entries)
Deanne Durrett
Linda Glaz
Shelley Ledfors
Bob Lyzenga
Bethany Macmanus
Christen Morris
Dave Slade

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE:(total entries: 52)

Emily Ann Benedict
Loretta Boyett
K. Victoria Chase
Sue Harrison
Michelle Lim
Erynn Newman
Rajdeep Paulus
Renee Ann Smith
Pat Trainum
Katie Vorreiter
Jan Warren

SPECULATIVE FICTION:(total entries: 54)

Raelene Burke
Patrick Carr
Matt Jones
John Leatherman
Christian Miles
Will Ramirez
Amy Deardon
Dianna Shuford
Holly Smit
Amanda Stevens
T. Neal Tarver

WOMEN'S FICTION:(total entries: 90)

Sally Bradley
Carole Brown
Camille Eide
Normandie Fischer (double-finaled with two entries)
Julie Garmon
Sara Goff
Marian Green
Cindy Hays
Mary K. Johnson
Katherine Jones
Sarah Layton
Christina Suzann Nelson
Lynda Schab
Karen Schravemade
Patty Slack
Amy K. Sorrells
Michelle Weidenbenner

YOUNG ADULT:(total entries: 65)

Pepper Basham
Lori Cecil
Becky Dean (double-finaled with two entries)
Diane M. Graham
Cleo Lampos
Stephanie Landsem
Teresa Lockhart
Amy Matayo
Nicole Quigley
Chawna Schroeder
Diana Sharples
Kim Vandel

This year, the Genesis had a whopping 556 entries! That's a 14% increase from our numbers last year! Hooray!

Again, congrats to all the semi-finalists! The entries are now being judged by a panel of second-round judges. The top 3 will make up the Finalist list and will be announced on May 13th. Those entries will then go on to the final round, judged by pre-determined agents and editors. The winner will be announced at the ACFW conference in September.