The Presbyterian Writers Guild (PWG) is seeking entries for its annual Jim Angell Award. The award has been presented each year since 1996 to the Presbyterian author of the best first book published during the previous calendar year.

Nominations are being accepted now for the best first book by a Presbyterian author during the calendar year of 2010. Books may be of any type — fiction, non-fiction, theological, how-to, photos with commentary, poetry, etc.

The award was established by the Guild and the estate of the late James W. Angell, a prolific and respected Presbyterian writer, as a means to recognize and encourage new writers.

Entries may be submitted by the author or by others on their behalf. Three copies of the book and a brief statement attesting to the author's current active membership in a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation or presbytery should be sent to the Angell Award Committee, c/o Nancy Bray, 8209 Canoe Ridge Lane, Denton, TX 76210.

Deadline for submissions is April 1, 2011.

The book needs to be the author’s first book, and has to have a publication date in 2010. Include an e-mail address if the sender wishes to be notified that the books were received. The three copies of the book can not be returned.

Questions about the Award or entry process may be directed to Guild President Bill Lancaster.

Previous Angell Award winners (for books published in the previous year) are:

2010 — Rebecca Barnes-Davies, Louisville, 50 Ways to Help Save the Earth:  How You and Your Church Can Help Make a Difference.  Westminster John Knox Press. Louisville, Ky.

2009 — Linda Raymond Ellison and Bill Ellison, Louisville, Like Jacob's Well: The Very Human History of Highland Presbyterian Church (Beechmont Press).

2008 — Mary Frances Chupick Bennett, Kerrville, Texas, Invitation to Cat Spring: From European Tyranny to Freedom to Civil War (AuthorHouse).

2007 — Bud Frimoth, Portland, Ore., Bring in the Clowns: A Metaphor for Ministry (Pleasant Word, a division of Wine Press).

2006 — Laurel McKay Horton, Seneca, S.C., Mary Black's Family Quilts: Memory and Meaning in Everyday Life (University of South Carolina Press).

2005 — John H. Barden, Fulton, Mo., 'Postle Jack Tales, Gospel Images in New Appalachian Folktales (KiwE Publishing, Ltd).

2004 — Ruth Linnea Whitney, Port Townsend, Wash., Slim (Southern Methodist University Press).

2003 — Carol J. Morrison, North Bend, Wash., Catching On: Love With an Avid Fly Fisher (Freestone Press).

2002 — Gary Charles, Alexandria, Va., The Bold Alternative: Staying in Church in the 21st Century (Geneva Press, 2001).

2001 — Stephen P. McCutchan, Winston-Salem, NC, Experiencing the Psalms: Weaving the  Psalms into Your Ministry and Faith.

2000 — James O. Chatham, Louisville, KY, Sundays Down South: A Pastor's Stories, (University of Mississippi Press).

1999 — Cathy Cummings Chisholm, Vandalia, Ill., Landscapes of the Heart (Bridge Resources).

1998 — Duke Robinson, Oakland, Calif., Good Intentions: The Nine Unconscious Mistakes of Nice People, (Warner Books).

1997 — Bard Young, Nashville, Tenn., The Snake of God (Black Belt Press).

1996 — Shelly E. Cochran, Rochester, N.Y., The Pastor's Underground Guide to the Revised Common Lectionary (Chalice Press).