Contact: Anthony Horvath, Athanatos Christian Ministries, 202-697-4623, director@athanatosministries.org

GREENWOOD, Wis., April 26, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- A long running Christian writing contest has added a non-fiction category while continuing its fiction category. The award amounts have been increased and a deadline for submissions of January 15th, 2017 has been set.

Athanatos Christian Ministries has been hosting writing contests for more than 5 years as a way to identify Christian writers who can pen novels that are enjoyed by both Christian and non-Christian readers, and encourage other Christians to do the same.

As part of its vision for defending the faith through the arts, ACM will be hosting its first annual Christian arts and apologetics festival in Greenwood, WI., this August. The festival will feature award winning authors Joseph Courtemanche and Jamie Greening, among others.

Courtemanche's recent release, "Assault on Saint Agnes" has rocketed up Amazon's rankings and amassed a staggering 44 reviews, 36 of which were five-starred.

Courtemanche was the runner-up in ACM's 2013 Christian novel contest, and went on to win other awards as well, such as being named a finalist in Operation First Novel, and credits ACM's unique judging process for the success of his book.

ACM's Executive Director, Dr. Anthony Horvath explains, "As part of our contest, authors are invited to request feedback from our judges. So, even if they don't progress in the contest, they have an opportunity to hone their skills and refine their manuscript. But, if they reach the semi-finals, they get to work one on one with our judges over the period of several months before re-submitting the manuscript for the final round. The end result is an extremely polished manuscript."

The non-fiction category was added because of multiple requests over the years. Horvath says that non-fiction manuscripts go through the same process. While some of the criteria is different than the fiction category for obvious reasons, Horvath hopes that authors of works that have an appeal outside the Christian community will take an interest in the contest.

"Most Christian authors want to further God's kingdom through their writing," Horvath explains, "but they find it easier to find a market for books that only fellow Christians are interested in. There are few ministries who embrace the challenge of reaching both Christians and non-Christians through their writing the way that Athanatos Ministries does."

To learn more about the contest visit www.christianwritingcontest.com.

Horvath is available for interviews at director@athanatosministries.org or 202-697-4623.