Anna Rose Johnson is a third year student in the Author Conservatory.

And last week? She won one of the biggest book awards in the Christian publishing industry.

The Christy Awards are run by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

Every year, they recognize excellent fiction written from a Christian perspective.

And this year, Anna Rose won the Amplify Award for her debut middle-grade novel, The Star That Always Stays.

The judges commented: 

“It was just perfect — a refreshing read that hit on the right balance of multilayered themes: divorce, blended family, indigenous culture, a bit of high school drama, God’s love, how to handle things you can’t control, forgiveness, grace, and divine intervening in our lives.”

This isn’t the only award Anna Rose’s book has won… it was also an NPR Book of the Year, a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

Quite the feat for an author who’s still in her twenties!

We’re so proud of Anna Rose and her accomplishments.

If you haven’t picked up the book for yourself, you can click here to get your own copy of The Star That Always Stays.

(And if you’ve already read it, you may want to check out the pre-orders for her next book, The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry!)