We have just heard the news that my first work of historical fiction — The Auschwitz Escape — has become a finalist for the Gold Medallion Award for Best Novel, an annual award given by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

The Auschwitz Escape was also recently a finalist for the 2014 Good Reads award for Best Historical Fiction.

Given the personal nature of this book, and our desire to see Christians learn more about the Holocaust and share that knowledge with younger generations, Lynn and I are thrilled that ECPA has named The Auschwitz Escape a finalist. Perhaps this will draw more attention to the novel — and to some of the true stories of heroism and courage in the face of terrible evil that inspired the novel in the first place — and encourage many more to read it, especially young people.

In 2006, my third political thriller — The Ezekiel Option — won the Gold Medallion Award for Best Novel. It was a true honor and one for which we are deeply grateful.

Here are excerpts from last week’s press release:

PHOENIX, Ariz., March 19, 2015 —The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) released today the 37 finalists for the 2015 Christian Book Award® program, honoring Christian publishing’s best book and Bible releases of the year.  The top five titles in Fiction, Non-Fiction, Children, Inspiration, and Bibles – with ties in both Bible Reference and New Author – make up the stellar finalist pool deemed as the “best Christian books of the year.”

A winner in each category and the Christian Book of the Year™ will be announced on May 5 among industry leadership at the ECPA Awards Banquet held in conjunction with the ECPA Leadership Summit in Nashville….

Fiction

• The Advocate, Randy Singer | Tyndale House Publishers, 9781414391304

• The Auschwitz Escape, Joel C. Rosenberg | Tyndale House Publishers, 9781414336244

• The Legend of Sheba: Rise of a Queen, Tosca Lee | Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 9781451684049

• The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn: A Novel, Lori Benton | WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, 9780307731494

• The Sentinels of Andersonville, Tracy Groot | Tyndale House Publishers, 9781414359489

“These 37 titles join a premier collection of Christian content carrying our industry’s highest accolade,” says ECPA President/CEO Mark Kuyper.  “We are honored to promote them as the apex of what we do as an industry: produce great books that feed the soul in a marketplace too often dominated by content that starves it.”

Christian Book Award® program finalists and winners receive recognition and support throughout multiple retail and media outlets, including Christianity Today, ChristianBook.com, Cokesbury, Family Christian, LifeWay, Mardel, Munce Group, Parable Christian Stores, Crossings, Innovative/Signature Websites, NetGalley, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.  Christianity Today will continue their partnership with the program through ad campaigns in their digital and print publications, May through December of this year.

The Christian Book Award® program has recognized the absolute highest quality in Christian books since 1978. Based on excellence in content, literary quality, design, and impact, the Christian Book Award® program is the oldest and among the most prestigious awards in the religious publishing industry.

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) is an international non-profit trade organization, comprised of nearly 200 member companies worldwide, representing a combined revenue of nearly $1.4 billion. Since 1974, ECPA has strengthened Christian publishing by building Networking, Information, and Advocacy opportunities within the industry and across multiple channels so that our members can more effectively produce and deliver transformational Christian content. For more information about ECPA: 480-966-3998, info@ecpa.org, www.ecpa.org.