INSPY News | Presenting the 2019 Longlists

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Hello, authors, friends, readers and fellow bloggers!

After hundreds of nominations, much work and long awaited excitement, today, the INSPYs Advisory Board is thrilled to finally share with you the 2019 INSPYs longlists! Below you will discover our seven category long lists, but first there’s the usual thanks to extend and shout-outs to be given.

Many thanks to each and every one of you who share about this program and nominate your favorite reads from the previous year. We so appreciate this. We’re grateful for the support you show this program, and for the enthusiasm you extend to it. Thank you. Should out to my fellow Advisory Board team mates (Rel, Lydia, Jamie and Kara). Though we all lead lives full of other things and busyness, I’m grateful each year we’re able to enjoy this award season – even though it means extra work accompanies it. Best of all, I enjoy the friendships that came from this, and all of the fabulous conversations. 2019, here we come!

Without further ado, you can see the longlists below, or visit the official website to see the announcement.

INSPY 2019 Longlists


Hello fellow readers, bloggers and authors. First, we’d like to say a big thank you to every reader and author who nominated their favorite reads of 2018, and likewise to everyone who shared about the opportunity to nominate on social media. The Advisory Board is again so grateful for the support and interest in this program. Our nomination process is as follows.

To help simplify our nomination process, we made some adjustments to our awards program recently. To that end, instead of publicizing our long list of nominations as they come in, the Advisory Board keeps the list private since the method of nomination involved a process of popular vote. We also made changes prior to the start of this year’s nomination process. The number of books that received the most nominations (the top 10 from each category) came out as the winners, which then determined the long lists.

From the lists below, the Advisory Board will narrow these respective lists down to three books per category which will become our 2019 short lists. From there, the same judging process and practices will follow.

Grab your favorite beverage, and enjoy browsing through the books that YOU nominated, propelling them into “phase two.”


Contemporary Romance / Romantic Suspense

1: All Made Up (Bellbird Press) by Kara Isaac

2: An Unpresentable Glory (Ambassador International) by Eleanor Gustafson

3: The Saturday Night Supper Club (Tyndale) by Carla Laureano

4: Mind Games (Bethany House) by Nancy Mehl

5: Dead Drift (Bethany House) by Dani Pettrey

6: The Masterpiece (Tyndale) by Francine Rivers

7: Finding Love in Eureka California (Mountain Brook Ink) by Angela Ruth Strong

8: Falling for You (Bethany House) by Becky Wade

9: Just Let Go (Tyndale) by Courtney Walsh

10: Wait for Me (Revell) by Susan May Warren

Debut Fiction

1: Among the Poppies (Smitten Historical Romance) by J’Nell Ciesielski

2: The Hope of Azure Springs (Revell) by Rachel Fordham

3: Engraved on the Heart (Tyndale) by Tara Johnson

4: Common (Love2ReadLove2Write Publishing) by Laurie Lucking

5: Missing Isaac (Revell) by Valerie Fraser Luesse

6: A Future and a Hope (Ambassador International) by David Matthews

7: Flowers from Afghanistan (Pelican Book Group) by Susie Parish

8: The Plum Blooms in Winter (Mountain Brook Ink) by Linda Thompson

9: At First Glance (Bling! Romance) by Susan L. Tuttle

10: Northern Deception (Anaiah Press) by Laurie Wood

General Fiction

1: The Hidden Side (Tyndale) by Heidi Chiavaroli

2: Hidden Among the Stars (Tyndale) by Melanie Dobson

3: Grace in the Shadows (Christine Dillon) by Christine Dillon

4: No One Ever Asked (WaterBrook) by Katie Ganshert

5: The Heart Between Us (Thomas Nelson) by Lindsay Harrel

6: Swimming in the Deep End (Kregel) by Christina Suzanne Nelson

7: Before I Saw You (Tyndale) by Amy K. Sorrells

8: The Solace of Water (Thomas Nelson) by Elizabeth Byler Younts

9: Things Left Unsaid (Waterfall Press) by Courtney Walsh

10: Where Hope Begins (Thomas Nelson) by Catherine West

Historical Fiction

1: Thief of Corinth (Tyndale) by Tessa Afshar

2: Sons of Blackbird Mountain (Thomas Nelson) by Joanne Bischof

3: A Refuge Assured (Bethany House) by Jocelyn Green

4: A Defense of Honor (Bethany House) by Kristi Ann Hunter

5: Romancing the Bride (Utmost Publishing) by Melissa Jagears

6: The Lieutenant’s Bargain (Bethany House) by Regina Jennings

7: The Making of Mrs. Hale (Kregel) by Carolyn Miller

8: Miss Serena’s Secret (Kregel) by Carolyn Miller

9: Winning Miss Winthrop (Kregel) by Carolyn Miller

10: A Rumored Fortune (Revell) by Joanna Davidson Politano

Mystery and Thriller

1: If I Live (Zondervan) by Terri Blackstock

2: Blood Moon Redemption (Ambassador International) by Judy DeCharme

3: A Secret to Die For (Revell) by Lisa Harris

4: Thirst of Steel (Bethany House) by Ronie Kendig

5: Cowboy Bodyguard (Love Inspired) by Dana Mentink

6: Formula of Deception (Thomas Nelson) by Carrie Stuart Parks

7: Delayed Justice (Thomas Nelson) by Cara Putman

8: The Kremlin Conspiracy (Tyndale) by Joel C. Rosenberg

9: Kill Shot (FaithWords) by Susan Sleeman

10: The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond (Bethany House) by Jaime Jo Wright

Speculative Fiction

1: Song of Leira (Enclave) by Gillian Bronte Adams

2: Mark of the Raven (Bethany House) by Morgan L. Busse

3: The Wounded Shadow (Bethany House) by Patrick W. Carr

4: The Rejected Princess (Pelican Book Group) by Katie Clark

5: The Story Peddler (Enclave) by Lindsay A. Franklin

6: Fairyeater (Love2ReadLove2Write Publishing) by Pam Halter

7: Fierian (Enclave) by Ronie Kendig

8: The Crescent Stone (Tyndale) by Matt Mikalatos

9: The Man He Never Was (Thomas Nelson) by James L. Rubart

10: No Less Days (Shiloh Run Press) by Amanda G. Stevens

YA Fiction

1: Porch Swing Girl (Mountain Brook Ink) by Taylor Bennett

2: Fawkes (Thomas Nelson) by Nadine Brandes

3: Gone Too Soon (WhiteFire Publishing) by Melody Carlson

4: The Orphan’s Wish (Thomas Nelson) by Melanie Dickerson

5: Unbreakable (Thomas Nelson)  by Sara Ella

6: A Loyal Heart (Northern Lights Press) by Jody Hedlund

7: A Worthy Rebel (Northern Lights Press) by Jody Hedlund

8: Olivia Twist (Blink) by Lorie Langdon

9: Launch (Little Lamb Books) by Jason C. Joyner

10: The Edge of Over There (Revell) by Shawn Smucker


We’d like to congratulate all of the nominated authors and thank all of the bloggers and readers who put forth their favorite reads of 2018.

We’re ready to get to work and find the top three in each of these categories. Shortlists will be announced April 30th.

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About Rissi JC

amateur graphic designer. confirmed bookaholic. bubbl’r enthusiast. critical thinker. miswesterner. social media coordinator. writer.

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