Marcia Lee Laycock of Ponoka is the winner of the Best
New Canadian Christian Author Award sponsored by The Word Guild and Castle
Quay Books, a Canadian imprint of Augsburg Fortress Publishers. Two other
Alberta writers, Donna Carter of Calgary and Emily Wierenga of Edmonton were
also in the running, along with four other writers from across Canada. The
award, which recognizes the best book-length manuscript in either fiction or
non-fiction, was presented by Larry Willard, founder and Publisher, Castle
Quay Books Canada and by Andrew Seal, Canadian Director, Augsburg Fortress
Publishers.
Marcia is no stranger to Central Alberta readers. Her column, The Spur, ran
in local newspapers for over fifteen years and still appears both locally
and provincially. Her first book, The Spur of the Moment, received the Award
of Merit at the God Uses Ink conference in Guelph Ontario in 2003. Her
second book, Focused Reflections, released in October, has been endorsed by
notable Christian authors, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.
Marcia’s writing has also been broadcast on CBC Radio.
The Best New Author Award is open to any Canadian citizen or permanent
resident who affirms the Apostles' Creed, is not currently under contract
with a publisher, and has never had a book published by a royalty-paying
publisher or on a work-for-hire basis.
Marcia receiving award from Andrew Seal and Larry Willard of
Castle Quay
Thirty-one entries from across Canada were submitted, up from 28 in 2005 and
19 in 2004. Four non-fiction works and three novels vied for first place.
Other short-listed finalists include:
David Donaldson of St. Catharines, Ont.; Nan McKenzie Kosowan of Uxbridge,
Ont.; Keith Marward McDonald of Greenwood Village, Colorado; Vi Wilson of
Durham, Ont.
As the winning author, Mrs. Laycock will receive an advance of $1,000 and a
book publishing contract. Her novel manuscript, One Smooth Stone, will be
published by Castle Quay Books Canada in 2007.The announcement came on June
14 at The Word Guild Canadian Writing Awards Gala in Mississauga, Ontario.
Awards were also presented for outstanding career achievement, and for the
best books, articles, poems, scripts and song lyrics published in 2005.
Three new books, The Defilers by Deborah Gyapong of Ottawa, (winner of the
2005 Best New Author Award), Dark Water by Linda Hall of Fredericton New
Bunswick and How Big is Your Umbrella by Sheila Wray Gregoire of Ontario
were also launched at the Gala.
This is the fourth year that The Word Guild has collaborated with Castle
Quay Books Canada, an independent Canadian Christian publishing imprint of
Augsburg Fortress Publishers Canada, and its founder/publisher, Larry N.
Willard, to offer this contest.
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