BOOKS & SUCH LITERARY AGENCY'S VIRGINIA SMITH IS 2008 WRITER OF THE YEAR (THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS) Wendy Lawton of Books & Such Literary Agency is proud to announce that Utah author Virginia Smith was named Writer of the Year earlier this week during the closing night ceremony at Mount Hermon's 39th Annual Christian Writers Conference. The international group of more than 500 attendees and faculty included writers from forty-eight states and three foreign countries. Keynote speakers at this year's conference were international bestselling authors Debbie Macomber and Jerry B. Jenkins. The coveted Writer of the Year award is selected by the conference's 72 faculty and staff members.

"I'm delighted that Mount Hermon honored Virginia with Writer of the Year," says Wendy Lawton. "Not only has she been successful with her own writing-- building a group of faithful readers-- but she continues to teach workshops, give to other writers and spearhead a new energy for CAN, Christian Authors Network."

In regard to being chosen for this honor, Smith says, "I'm still reeling. I am so honored to have my name added to the list of distinguished authors who have received this award in the past."

Smith left her job as a corporate director in the summer of 2005 to become a full time writer and speaker. Since then she has received contracts for ten novels. She writes humorous inspirational novels, including her debut Just As I Am, a cozy mystery entitled Murder by Mushroom, and her latest releases, Sincerely Mayla and Stuck in the Middle, book 1 in the Sister-to-Sister Series.