The American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) has named Kathleen Y’Barbo Turner as its new CEO. The author of more than 120 novels takes over from Colleen Coble, who led the organization for Christian fiction writers for 19 years.
“God has taken ACFW well beyond what we thought it would do,” said Y’Barbo Turner, who was among the early members after its founding in 2000 as the American Christian Romance Writers. The name was changed in 2004. She has been serving on the ACFW board most recently.
Y’Barbo Turner sees only growth in the future of both ACFW and Christian fiction as a whole. “When we are responsive to the market and the word of the Lord, there is no telling where we’ll go,” she said. “Readers seem to be responding to us giving them something nourishing and entertaining in the Christian fiction world.”
ACFW has about 3,000 members worldwide, with 31 local chapters, including online chapters such as Beyond the Borders for writers who don’t live near local chapters, and ACFW KidLit for children’s authors.
“We love our local chapters because they do the work of reaching out to members on a more personal level than we can at a national level,” said Y’Barbo Turner, who lives in Texas.
ACFW sponsors the Carol Awards for Christian fiction published in the previous year, the Genesis Contest for unpublished manuscripts, and First Impressions, offering winners an evaluation by publishing professionals. The organization has also expanded its parameters to include independently-published novels along with traditionally published work through the Carol Awards.
Y’Barbo Turner points to the positive impact of the industry moving toward more “clean” fiction, fiction written based on Christian values aimed at the general market but without the sex, language, and other issues in much of general-market fiction. She also sees the legacy of ACFW and its work.
“We’ve shown the world that Christian fiction is just as well-written and entertaining as any other type of fiction,” she said.
