Awards

Tamela Hancock Murray Named Agent of the Year!

By Steve Laubeon September 3, 2026

We are very pleased to announce that during the recent ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) annual event in Memphis that Tamela was named Agent of the Year! ACFW has the largest gathering of Christian fiction authors in the country.

This is the second time she has received this honor!

I can personally attest to Tamela’s abilities and her success. She works extremely hard and loves her clients. Few in our industry can match her understanding of the Christian romance genre. I am so proud to have her as part of our agency.

Join me in giving her hearty congratulations!

Why it’s Okay to Lose a Contest

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon December 14, 2017

Any author who’s entered contests knows that they are difficult to win. The competition is more fierce than ever. For example, I just judged an ACFW competition and would have been happy to represent most of the authors whose work I reviewed. Entries get better every year. This is good news for readers while encouraging authors to fine tune their work. In the case of prestigious contests …

Category: Awards, Career, The Writing LifeTag: Awards, contests, The Writing Life

Tamela Hancock Murray Named Agent-of-the-Year

By Steve Laubeon September 25, 2017

We are very excited to announce that during the recent ACFW (American Christan Fiction Writers) annual event, Tamela was named Agent-of-the-Year! ACFW has the largest gathering of Christan fiction authors in the country. I can personally attest to Tamela’s abilities and her success. She is an extremely hard worker who loves her clients and her job. There are few in this industry who can match her …

Category: Agency, AwardsTag: Agency, Awards, Tamela Hancock Murray

Another Productive ICRS!

By Steve Laubeon July 11, 2013

Tamela Hancock Murray

Two weeks ago I enjoyed the privilege of attending ICRS (International Christian Retail Show) as part of The Steve Laube Agency, marking my third ICRS with Steve.

As usual, our schedule was packed but seeing our colleagues is why we attend, so a full agenda is welcome. Year after year, reports say ICRS is getting smaller, and indeed we did miss seeing some of our …

Category: Book Business, Conventions, ICRSTag: Awards, ICRS

Questions About Editors, Countries, and Awards

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 17, 2013

This blog is a continuation of my question-and-answer session in response to queries posted on a recent post.

1) Would you be able to get access to briefs from editors on what they are looking for and suggest to the author if there are any mutually interesting topics or genres?

Yes. Between the three of us, our agency has 81 years in publishing experience. During this time, we have forged …

Category: Agents, Awards, Conferences, Get Published, TamelaTag: Agents, Awards, Editors

Christian Book Awards

By Karen Ballon May 1, 2012

Congratulations to our client Mesu Andrews (represented ) for winning the 2012 Christian Book Award for best New Author!

Here is the list of winners:

CHRISTIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

Nearing Home, Billy Graham (Thomas Nelson)

Category: BIBLES

ESV Student Study Bible (Crossway)

Category: BIBLE REFERENCE

Dictionary of Christian Spirituality, Glen G. Scorgie …

Category: Agency, Awards, Karen, News You Can UseTag: Awards

Three Steps to Freedom!

By Karen Ballon April 18, 2012

It’s The Most Wonderful/Terrible Time of the Year

It comes every year, and every year we wait for it with a mixture of excitement and dread. No, I’m not talking about taxes.

I’m talking about the award season.

From the ECPA Book of the Year awards to the Christy’s, the Genesis to the RITA, the Golden Heart to the Carol, and all the gazillion contests and awards in-between, online groups, …

Category: Encouragement, Get Published, Karen, Marketing, Writing CraftTag: Awards, contests, Encouragement, News

Author Accolades – Dec. 5, 2011

By Steve Laubeon December 5, 2011

We are very pleased to announce that we have two client's whose books have been named as "The Best Christian Fiction of 2011" by The Library Journal.

Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee's Forbidden (Center Street) - we represent Tosca

Tracy Higley's Pompeii: City on Fire (B&H Publishing Group)

Also Debbie Ulrick and Liz Tolsma are part of the Log Cabin Christmas collection of novellas which is …

Category: Agency, Awards, Get PublishedTag: Awards, New Books

Special Announcement

By Steve Laubeon July 15, 2011

Congratulations to Kathi Macias, author of Red Ink (New Hope Publishers) for being given the 2011 Golden Scroll book award for Novel of the Year presented by the Advance Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA). This is a tremendous honor.
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We are also thrilled to announce that seven of our agency's clients have been named as finalists for the Carol Award presented by the …

Category: Awards, News You Can Use, Steve, TamelaTag: Awards