What are the Whitneys?
The Whitneys are an awards program for novels by LDS authors. Elder Orson F. Whitney, an early apostle in the LDS church, prophesied “We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own.” Since we have that as our goal, we feel that we should also honor those authors who excel and continually raise the bar.
The Whitney Awards honor novels in the following categories: General Fiction, Romance, Suspense/Mystery, Speculative Fiction, Youth Fiction, Historical, Best Novel of the Year, and Best Novel by a New Author. Novels can be nominated by any reader (via this website or by mail), and nominees are voted on by an academy of industry professionals, including authors, publishers, bookstore owners, distributors, critics, and others.
Who are we?
The Whitney Awards Committee is comprised of seven members:
- Robison Wells (President)
- Julie Coulter Bellon
- Danyelle Ferguson
- John Ferguson
- Crystal Leichty
- Jaime Theler
- Sheila Staley
For more information about the roles and responsibilities of the committee, see the official rules.
The Whitney Awards are sponsored and endorsed by LDStorymakers, the authors guild for the LDS market.
Contact Information:
The Whitney Awards Committee can be reached via email by clicking here, or by post at the following address:
Whitney Awards Committee
1025 Garfield Ave
Salt Lake City, UT 84105