Local writer Lynn Dove has been shortlisted for the 2019 Word Awards that will take place June 14 at the Conference at Carmen's Banquet Centre in Hamilton, Ont.
Dove has been shortlisted in two categories for the 2019 Word Awards which honours the best of Canadian Christian Writing from 2018. Dove’s popular blog, Journey Thoughts is shortlisted for the David Mainse Best Blog of the Year Award, and her blog article, Canada’s Grief is shortlisted in the Article/General Market – Personal Experience category.
Dove was also shortlisted in 2011 and in 2017 for her Journey Thoughts blog articles, and won the prestigious award in 2011. This year marks the first time the David Mainse Best Blog of the Year Award will be awarded in honour of Mainse who is the founder of Crossroads Christian Communications Inc. and Yes TV. He died at the age of 81, Sept. 25, 2017. Dove’s blog, which has a world-wide following and boasts over 12 million hits, is one of three blogs up for this award.
Dove’s article, Canada’s Grief was written after the Humboldt bus crash and she shares how that tragedy not only affected her but the entire nation.
"I started writing my blog, Journey Thoughts in 2009. Initially, it was a way to promote my books, but then when I started writing personal anecdotes and sharing my faith experience stories, the blog gained a much larger reading audience than I ever could imagine. Being nominated for Best Christian Blog in Canada is undeniably the greatest thrill, and if I win will be the most prestigious writing accolade I have achieved. It represents years of hard work and writing," Dove said of the nomination.
"I am delighted and honoured to be nominated as well for my blog article, Canada’s Grief, which I wrote right after the Humboldt bus crash. I was reeling, like everyone else in the country, over this tragedy and I remembered the many times we took our son to his hockey tournaments in small-town communities. Hockey is so much a part of our Canadian identity. I had to write about how that one incident affected not only me personally but our nation as a whole."
"Overall, I am humbled that so many people read my blog and share it with their friends and family as is obvious by the world-wide following Journey Thoughts has. Being recognized for its content challenges me to ensure my writing is exemplary and worthy of their readership. I don’t write for awards. I write for my readers."
With so many talented writers gathering in one room at the Awards Gala, Dove said it's nice to be able to pick the brains of her fellow writers.
"I was able to attend the Awards Gala in 2017, after my nomination for the Word Awards that year, and I will admit I was dazzled by the talent present in that room," Dove said. "To be among so many wonderfully gifted writers was incredibly inspiring. I am honouredto be surrounded and encouraged by a community of Christian writers who are purposeful in sharing their God stories with the world."
