@EvaMarieEverson

It’s that time again! Time to start talking about the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference contests.

If you have been to BRMCWC before, you know that the awards night is one of the highlights of the conference. We dress up. We take pictures. And we hear phrases like, “And the winner is …”

For me, as the BRMCWC Contest Director, this is an especially exciting evening. For months, published books have arrived at my door, carefully packaged in manila. Unpublished manuscript submissions have arrived in my inbox. The works have then been sent to readers and judges. Sometimes by more than one judge. The results have been sent back to me and I have spent an afternoon printing winners’ names onto certificates and sliding them into blue folders trimmed in gold.

Then, the magic evening is upon us … the evening when I get to call the names of the winners, to see their faces beaming with excitement, to hear the applause of hundreds as they cheer their fellow conferees and contest entrants on.

But first … before all of that, the conferee or the author has taken the time to read about the contests and then to send in their submission. None of these grand moments occur without that first act.

But why be a part of the contest?

Well, for one … did I mention the thrill of hearing your name called from the podium? Of receiving the certificate or award? Of having your photo taken? Of being able to say, “I’m an award-winning author.” (Publishers and readers notice things like that, you know…)

For another, there is a discipline in following the instructions of a contest, the same type of discipline necessary for working with agents and editors.

The Selah deadline has long passed, but there’s still time to enter the Foundation Awards (for unpublished writers) and the Director’s Choice Awards. This is also an opportunity for writers to release their words to someone else. To say, “Yes, I wrote this” and to trust that it will be all right.

Entering is a chance to shine, whether you win or not.

And, did I mention … you get to have your photo taken, sometimes with people you know!

To learn more about entering the BRMCWC contests, go to: Blue Ridge Conference Contest Tab

Eva Marie Everson is the multiple award-winning and bestselling author of over 35 books, both fiction and nonfiction. She is the president of Word Weavers International and the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference and North Georgia Christian Writers Conference. Eva Marie and her husband make their home in Central Florida where they enjoy a lake view, their children, and grandchildren. They are owned by a very small dog.