Best Romance


Counting the Cost by Liz Adair	Illuminations of the Heart by Joyce DiPastena	All the Stars in Heaven by Michele Paige Holmes	Santa Maybe by Aubrey Mace	Previously Engaged by Elodia Strain

Best Mystery/Suspense


Lockdown by Traci Hunter Abramson	Methods of Madness by Stephanie Black	Murder by the Book by Betsy Brannon Green	Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpack	Altered State by Gregg Luke

Best Youth Fiction


Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George	Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (Fablehaven Book 4) by Brandon Mull	My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison	Bright Blue Miracle by Becca Wilhite	The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

Best Speculative Fiction


Servant of a Dark God by John Brown	The Maze Runner by James Dashner	Wings by Aprilynne Pike	Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson	I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Best Historical


Tribunal by Sandra Grey	The Undaunted by Gerald Lund	Alma by H.B. Moore	The Last Waltz by G.G. Vandagriff	In the Company of Angels by David Farland

Best General Fiction


Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford	No Going Back by Jonathan Langford	Gravity vs. The Girl by Riley Noehren	The Route by Gale Sears	Eyes Like Mine by Julie Wright

Unlike previous years, no finalists are being announced for the two overall awards. Instead, the Whitney Academy can choose from any of the eligible finalists in any category. In other words, all of the novels listed above are still in the running for Best Novel of the Year.

Likewise, any of the above finalists that meet the eligibility requirements for Best Novel by a New Author can be chosen for that award. This year, the eligible books are:

Servant of a Dark God, by John Brown
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford
No Going Back, by Jonathan Langford
Gravity vs. The Girl, by Riley Noehren
Wings, by Aprilynne Pike
I Am Not A Serial Killer, by Dan Wells
Bright Blue Miracle, by Becca Wilhite

This year we will also be asking voters to certify that they have read each of the books in the categories they are voting in. If, for example, a voters wants to vote for Best Romance, then the ballot will contain a checkbox asking the voter to certify that they’ve read all five novels in that category.