Meet Our Celebrity Judges Panel for “The Story: A Short Fiction Competition”

With more than 15 million
copies of her books in print, Karen Kingsbury’s bestsellers include Take
One, Between Sundays, Even Now, One Tuesday Morning, and Ever
After, named the 2007 Christian Book of the Year. Her novel Like
Dandelion Dustwas a major motion picture release. She lives in
Tennessee with her husband Don, and their six children, three of whom
were adopted from Haiti.  

Tamela Hancock Murray has
been an agent for over 12 years. A bestselling, award-winning author of twenty
novels, novellas, and nonfiction books, Tamela brings the perspective of a
working writer to her role as a literary agent.

Award-winning author Lisa Harris has been writing both fiction and nonfiction since 2000 and has twenty novels and novellas in print. She currently lives with her family in Mozambique, where they work as missionaries. In 2012, Lisa was the grand prize winner of FamilyFiction’s Create Romance competition.  

The RITA Award-winning author of more than thirty novels, Susan May Warren served with her husband and four children as a missionary in Russia for eight years before they returned home. She now writes full-time as her husband runs a lodge on Lake Superior in northern Minnesota, where many of her books are set. 

The author of 25 books, Tricia Goyer won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored as Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer’s Conference in 2003. In her novels, Tricia writes contemporary and historical stories that feature strong women overcoming great challenges. She recreates historic wartime eras with precise detail through comprehensive research. 

Rel Mollet is a FamilyFiction contributor with a wildly popular book-reviewing blog www.RelzReviewz.com, dedicated to showcasing Christian Fiction and its writers, by way of reviews, author interviews, character spotlights, and more. Rel is a founding and Advisory Board member of the INSPY Awards and a book club co-ordinator, who resides in Melbourne, Australia with her family. 

A former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Kathi Macias has authored some 30 books and ghostwritten several others. She’s taught creative and business writing in various venues, and is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences. Kathi lives in California with her husband, Al, where the two of them spend their free time riding their Harley.  

Amanda Flower, an Agatha-nominated mystery author, started her writing career in elementary school when she read a story she wrote to her sixth grade class and had the class in stitches with her description of being stuck on the top of a Ferris wheel. She knew at that moment she’d found her calling. Amanda is an academic librarian for a small college near Cleveland.

Sherry Gore has a multiple book contract (including a memoir)
with Zondervan. Sherry is the author of Simply Delicious Amish
Cooking and is the editor-in-chief of Cooking & Such magazine, which has
been called “Visually stunning, completely heartwarming” by Amish novelist,
Cindy Woodsmall. She has three children and is a member of a Beachy Amish
Mennonite church.

An accomplished storyteller
with more than 850,000 copies of her novels, novellas and young adult books in
print, best-selling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is an East Texas native who
experienced the transforming power of words at a young age, thanks to stumbling
upon her grandmother’s set of encyclopedias.

Deidra Romero is a twenty-something blogger, freelance writer, and Managing Editor at FamilyFiction. She loves good coffee, good books, and good conversation.              

Jeane and Tyson Wynn are the founders and owners of Wynn-Wynn Media, LLC, a full-service publicity firm that has represented the finest books and authors since 2001. The Wynns live in Welch, Okla., where they run their company, are close to family, are active in the community, and have planted a church.