Teach the Children to Pray makes HFC Book of the Year Award Longlist

I’m delighted to be able to share one last announcement before the new year: Teach the Children to Pray has been longlisted for the Historical Fiction Company Book of the Year 2023! It has also received its first 5-Star review and the HFC’s “Highly Recommended” Award.

Their reviewer writes, “Harwick's ability to weave a narrative that explores the profound lessons war survivors impart to future generations is commendable. Beyond its historical context, the novel delves into the nature of war, the pursuit of peace, and the enduring power of faith, offering lessons that resonate even in contemporary times.”

The full review is here.

Winners for the Book of the Year contest—which includes category winners as well as the overall prize—will be announced very soon.

I’m of two minds about contests. It’s an honor to be considered for any award at all, of course. But writing is not something you win at. If you’re publishing a book for validation, you’re apt to lose your way, to become untethered from reality, from the very things that made you want to write to begin with: the joy and pain of wrangling some vast dimension of the human experience into words (mere words!) So the work itself remains most important. It is not a means to an end, but an end in itself.

Nevertheless, books are written to be read, and hopefully, readers find something in them that reminds them of their own humanity. But for that to happen, I need a way to get the word out, and for a self-published author, getting recognized by a contest like this certainly helps.

So, I’m pleased to see Teach the Children to Pray getting this early recognition, and I’m even more excited for you all to read the book next year!