Contact: Anthony Horvath, Athanatos Christian Ministries, 202-280-7971, director@athanatosministries.org  

LA CROSSE, Wisc., Aug. 18 /Christian Newswire/ -- Athanatos Christian Ministries is proud to announce the results of their first annual Christian writing contest. Winners dot the globe: from the United States and Canada to Egypt to Trinidad.

Combating cats. Intergalactic interfaith dialogues. The judging of the gods. Evil defeated. Martyrs martyred. Sin atoned for. A sinister underwater beast. A salvific act of kindness. The ultimate sacrifice. Redemption. The Gospel cloaked in story.

These themes and more mark the winning stories of the 2009 Athanatos Christian Ministries Christian Writing Contest. Established with the goal of equipping and inspiring Christian authors to engage the world through the arts, and literature in particular, the contest is well on the way to meeting its objective.

Anthony Horvath, the Executive Director of ACM, says, "As a Christian, when one thinks about all the areas in our society where we wished more Christians were writing, the importance of efforts like ours becomes clear. Imagine what sitcoms would be like if they were being written by Christian writers. Imagine if the news media was packed with those with a Christian world view. How would our culture be different?"

Anthony adds, "But that won't happen just by wishing. The Christian Church needs to support the arts if they want Christians represented within them. I am very pleased to be part of that effort."

More than $2,000 in awards will be disbursed to winners spanning the globe and each entering author will receive the contest anthology.

ACM presented its C.S. Lewis Award (1st prize in the 19 and up category) to Michael Pape, an author currently residing in Texas and living proof that talent lurks in the most unlikely of places. His story, "Those Chickens, They Don't Roost in Some Random Coop in Another State" is a commentary on the times resting on timeless truths about the human condition- and grace.

The JRR Tolkien Award (1st prize in the High School category) goes to Elizabeth Chance for her story, "Azrael." Lurking in the depths, tormenting the hapless human race for eons, is an evil which knew only one defeat. This evil is still with us, and there is still only one that has defeated it.

Their stories, and the stories of the 9 other winners, are available to read in full HERE.

To request an interview with Anthony Horvath or the winning authors contact through: director@athanatosministries.org.