Whitney Award finalists announced

Thirty Mormon novelists have been nominated as finalists in six categories for the Whitney Awards.For best romance, finalists are 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.In the mystery suspense category, finalists are Lockdown, by Traci Hunter Abramson; Methods of Madness, by Stephanie Black; Murder by the Book, by Betsy Brannon Green; Lemon Tart, by Josi Kilpack; Altered State, by Gregg Luke.In the youth fiction category, finalists are Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George; Fablehaven IV: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, by Brandon Mull; My Fair Godmother, by Janette Rallison; Bright Blue Miracle, by Becca Wilhite; The Chosen One, by Carol Lynch Williams.Finalists in the speculative category are Servant of a Dark God, by John Brown; The Maze Runner, by James Dashner; Wings, by Aprilynne Pike; Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson; I Am Not a Serial Killer, by Dan Wells.In the historical category, finalists are Tribunal, by Sandra Grey; The Undaunted, by Gerald Lund; Alma, by H.B. Moore; The Last Waltz, by G.G. Vandagriff; In the Company of Angels, by Dave Wolverton.In the general fiction category, the top five are Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford; No Going Back, by Jonathon Langford; Gravity vs. the Girl, by Riley Noehren; The Route, by Gale Sears; Eyes Like Mine, by Julie Wright.Winners will be announced at a banquet on Saturday, April 24 at the Marriott Hotel in Provo, Utah. Tickets are now on sale at www.WhitneyAwards.com.Also, Gerald Lund will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, and Dave Wolverton will receive an Outstanding Achievement Award.