Announcing our 2023 judges

For the Short Category (max 500 words)

Wendy Parker is an author, blogger and speaker. She is a member of the Australasian Christian Writers, Christian Writers Downunder, International Christian Fiction Writers, and Omega Writers. Currently studying a Bachelor of Theology with Alphacrucis College, Wendy’s passion is to give people hope, and to see them reach their full potential by discovering their identity in Christ and the redemptive blood of Jesus. In her popular blog thebigvoiceonline.com and her podcast The Spacious Room, Wendy writes and speaks about the struggles of the everyday Christian life in her unique devotional style and draws from her experience of being part of church leadership for almost 20 years.

Wendy’s debut non-fiction book, Wounded And On The Run was released by DOLL Ministries in October 2022 and she is in the process of writing her next book, A Song Is Rising which will be released towards the end of 2023.  British by birth, but Aussie by choice, Wendy currently lives in Wollongong, Australia, and does life with her husband, Philip, their two grown children, and one spoilt chocolate Labrador named Rose.

For the Open category (max 1500 words)

Dr Mark Worthing is a Lutheran pastor, editor and prolific writer. His book Martin Luther: A Wild Boar in the Lord’s Vineyard (Morning Star Publishing, 2017) was shortlisted for the 2018 Christian Book of the Year Award. His most recent works include The Winter Fae, A Fantasy Novella (Stone Table Books, 2018); and Iscariot (Morning Star, 2018), The Sacred Life of Words: A Guide for Christian Writers (Morning Start 2020), Chelsea McAllister and the Bubblegum Effect (Stone Table Books, 2021).