I’m so happy Spec Faith is back up and running! For whatever reason, we were hacked last week and repeated fixes only brought the site back up temporarily. Special thanks to Stephen for his tireless work to keep the site running smoothly. We only seem to notice when glitches disrupt the normal activity.

For those in the US, blessings on this Memorial Day.

For all of us, an update on the Clive Staples Award–specifically three announcements:

1. The nominations are now officially closed. We had a great response. Thanks to each of you who added a book you think worthy of the award.

2. Because we received such a large number of nominations (thirty-three), we’ve decided to have readers select the winner in two phases. First we will narrow the field down to five finalists, then choose the CSA winner from those in a second survey.

3. Spec Faith and CSA have teamed with the new speculative writers’ conference, Realm Makers, not only to provide a venue for the announcement of the winner, but also to award a small cash prize to that author.

And now some comments/elaboration on each of these.

First, you’ll find the entire list of nominations posted below. I want to stress the fact that we want the CSA to reflect the best writing as opposed to the most popular author. The two are not always the same.

Consequently, in order to vote in the readers’ choice award, we need voters to read at least two of the nominated books. That seems like a ridiculously low number to me, but we want people to participate so we’re keeping the requirement something readers can easily manage.

Second, the number of nominees jumped fifty-seven percent over the last year the CSA was awarded. I think this increase is due to two factors. One, the book business has opened up and there are far more small presses now. And two, Christians are beginning to embrace speculative fiction more and more.

Regarding the publishers, I couldn’t help but notice the mix between traditional houses and small, independent companies, many existing for five years or less. I like that readers are finding both, and our hope is that the Clive Staples Award, the Spec Faith Library and Reviews, and the daily discussion about speculative literature on the blog will expand the awareness of their books to more and more readers.

Third, the CSA aims to encourage and honor great writing. One way to do that is through a monetary prize, not just high-fives and hand shakes, though we’d like to seem many of those as well.

The Realm Makers Conference is a bold move to provide Christian speculative writers a place to gather and learn. It also allows us the opportunity of celebrating the great stories in the genre. We’re excited that the conference founder and organizers share our vision and want to contribute in a meaningful way to the Clive Staples Award.

By the way, if you’re interested in attending the August 2-3 conference in St. Louis, you’ll have some great teaching from industry professionals like Jeff Gerke, Kathy Tyers, and Bryan Davis. Seventy percent of the spaces are filled, but you have a few more days (until June 1) to reserve a spot at the early bird price of $185.

And now the final list–your 2013 Clive Staples Award nominees (in alphabetical order by author’s last name):

Words in the Wind by Yvonne Anderson (Risen Books)

Daughter of Light by Morgan L. Busse (Marcher Lord Press)

Devil’s Hit List: Book Three of the UNDERGROUND by Frank Creed (Splashdown Books)

Liberator (Dragons of Starlight series) by Bryan Davis (Zondervan)

A Throne of Bones by Vox Day (Hinterlands / Marcher Lord Press)

Mortal (The Books of Mortals) by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee (FaithWords)

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore (Thomas Nelson)

The Telling by Mike Duran (Realms Fiction)

Risk by Brock Eastman (P&R Publishing/Focus on the Family)

Live and Let Fly by Karina Fabian (Muse It Up Publishing)

I Am Ocilla by Diane Graham (Splashdown)

Seeking Unseen by Kat Heckenbach (Splashdown Books)

Remnant in the Stars by Cindy Koepp (Under The Moon)

The Unraveling of Wentwater (The Gates of Heaven Series) by C.S. Lakin (Living Ink Books)

Prophet by R. J. Larson (Bethany House)

Judge by R. J. Larson (Bethany House)

Spirit Fighter by Jerel Law (Thomas Nelson)

Fire Prophet by Jerel Law (Thomas Nelson)

The Spirit Well by Stephen Lawhead (Thomas Nelson)

The Wrong Enemy by Jane Lebak (MuseItUp Publishing)

Alienation (A C.H.A.O.S. novel) by Jon S. Lewis (Thomas Nelson)

Curse Bearer by Rebecca P Minor (Written World Communications)

Rift Jump by Greg Mitchell (Splashdown Darkwater)

Bid the Gods Arise by Robert Mullin (Crimson Moon Press)

Prophetess (Winter Book 2) Keven Newsome (Splashdown Darkwater)

Failstate by John W. Otte (Marcher Lord Press)

Soul’s Gate by James Rubart (Thomas Nelson)

Starflower by Anne Elizabeth Stengl (Bethany House)

Moonblood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House)

Star Of Justice by Robynn Tolbert (Splashdown Books)

Daystar by Kathy Tyers (Marcher Lord Press)

The New Recruit by Jill Williamson (Marcher Lord Press)

Replication: The Jason Experiment by Jill Williamson (Zonderkidz)