MEDIA KIT

DEB ELKINK

writer. speaker. editor.

Email: deb@rolledscroll.com
Website: www.debelkink.com
Postal Address: Box 74, Elkwater
Alberta, T0J 1C0, Canada

Award-winning novel: THE THIRD GRACE
Greenbrier Book Company
December 1, 2011
306 pages
ISBN: 978-1937573003

WELCOME, Press and curious onlookers. On this media page you will find photos (standard headshots and a few more for interest); bios in 25, 50, and 100 words; links to book excerpts, reviews, and interviews; curriculum vitae, and a recent press release. Feel free to cut and paste; for more information tailored to your specific needs, contact deb@rolledscroll.com.

PHOTOS

Deb Elkink (color)	Deb Elkink	THE THIRD GRACE book cover
Author signing at book launch (December 2011)	View from Deb's studio window (Inspiration for Mary Grace)	Paris bridge by night (Inspiration for Aglaia)

BIO

Bio (25 words)
Deb Elkink (B.A. communications, M.A. theology) homeschooled three kids on a Canadian prairie ranch before writing her award-winning debut novel, The Third Grace.

Bio (50 words)
Deb Elkink (B.A. communications, M.A. theology) homeschooled three children on the family's Canadian cattle ranch while learning to ride horses, fly a plane, and cook for branding crews. She's an academic editor, world traveler, and speaker. Her 2011 debut novel, The Third Grace, received the coveted Grace Irwin Award.

Bio (100 words)
Deb Elkink lives with her husband beside a babbling creek in rural Alberta, Canada. She grew up in Winnipeg and attended college in Minneapolis-Saint Paul (B.A. communications), publishing stories during her early years as Saskatchewan ranch wife and homeschooling mom. (Yes, city-girl Deb rounded up cattle on horseback and cooked for huge branding crews!) Graduate studies (M.A. theology) prepared her to edit doctoral dissertations, a professional quarterly magazine, and an online expository Bible study. She posts a literary blog and speaks to women's groups about Christian faith. Her debut novel, The Third Grace, received the 2012 Grace Irwin Award.

READ A CHAPTER of The Third Grace: Click Here

REVIEWS/ENDORSEMENTS of The Third Grace: Click Here

A SAMPLING OF POSTED ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS with Deb Elkink:
Novel Rocket, Interview
Around the Region, NewCap TV, Story
Grace Irwin Award Winner, Articles: Christian Week and Maranatha News
Arts Connection Podcast, Interview
Faith Today, Review
Canadian Christians Who Write, Interview part one and part two
Online Book Tour 2012 Appearances: List of Links

Click here to download promotional video directly.

CURRICULUM VITAE

Profile Summary
I have broad life experience and am effective in artistic communication and interpersonal skills, holding a B.A. in communications and an M.A. in theology. I edit academic projects for Ph.D.s internationally (dissertations and journal articles), but my love is fiction; my debut novel, The Third Grace, was royalty published December 2011 and received the coveted Grace Irwin Award for book of the year, and I'm currently working on my second novel. I've freelanced various magazine articles and short stories over the years, with more than thirty pieces appearing in a national, professional, legal quarterly for which I acted as staff writer and assistant editor. On my website, I post a blog that follows cultural and literary images found in the Bible (mirror, perfume, heart, and so on). I also work with theologian Dr. Grant C. Richison, having co-edited his recent award-winning apologetics book and continuing to edit his online expository Bible study. I speak to various groups of women on the subject of Christian faith, and I travel widely for pleasure (so far, to thirty countries on five of seven continents, sojourning several months in both Mexico and France).

Vocational Experience

1974-1993	Co-owned (with husband) a large Saskatchewan cattle ranch; earned private pilot's license Published a dozen stories and articles in magazines
1983-1997	Home educated three children through junior high level
1989	Designed and sewed costumes for a theatrical rental store
1995-1997	Appointed by an Order in Council to serve as a board member of Alberta Foundation for the Arts, allocating government grants
1999	Wrote the devotional/historical guide to, and curated, an art show at Briercrest Biblical Seminary, SK (which has since appeared as well at University of Manitoba and elsewhere) Published a short story, "Afloat," in Young Salvationist Magazine
2000	Published a short story, "Wet," in Faith Today, receiving Canadian Church Press 2001 first place award for narrative fiction/nonfiction Published a short story, "Delivery," in The War Cry Began to edit a daily online expository Bible study, "Verse-by-Verse Commentary" by Dr. Grant C. Richison, theologian (ongoing) Began to edit/tutor academic writers (doctoral level) through their dissertations and articles eventually appearing in top-tier business journals such as Management Information Systems Quarterly (ongoing)
2001	Contributed a chapter, "The Seven Moods of Gilbert: Conversion Narrative in The Flying Inn," in Scholarship in the Plain (a festschrift honoring Dr. Bruce Hindmarsh, now of Regent College) Qualified as a speaker for Stonecroft and began presentations in Canada and U.S. (ongoing, now including unaffiliated women's groups)
2002	Published an article, "Genius with a Message," in Christian History (75, XX1, 3) Published a letter in The Chesterton Review (Vol. XXVIII, No. 3)
2003	Began as staff writer (and assistant editor) for Court Report and Communiqué, the national newsletter (circulation 3,000) of the Home School Legal Defence Association of Canada (until 2007) Published an article, "Home Schooling and Academia," online at Christianity.ca Published (honorable mention) "Pinned Down" in "The Leaf" (Brucedale Press, ON) acrostic short story contest Co-edited the theological/apologetics book Certainty, A Place to Stand, by Dr. Grant C. Richison (published December 2010 by Castle Quay)
2011	Published The Third Grace, my debut novel Began posting monthly literary articles on my "Rolled Scroll" blog
2012	Received Award of Merit (contemporary novel) and Grace Irwin Award (top pick in Canadian Christian Writing Awards) for The Third Grace

Formal Education

1981	Graduated summa cum laude, B.A. Communications, Bethel University, St. Paul, MN (influenced by author Alvera Mickelsen)
2001	Graduated valedictorian, M.A. Theological Studies/Historical Theology, Briercrest Biblical Seminary, Caronport, SK, Canada (influenced by Dr. Bruce Hindmarsh; received the BBS "Graduate Proficiency and Excellence Award" in research skills, with a 4.0 GPA)

Memberships

• ACFW: American Christian Fiction Writers
• TWUC: The Writers' Union of Canada
• TWG: The Word Guild (Professional membership)
• InScribe Christian Writers' Fellowship
• His Imprint Christian Writers

MEDIA RELEASE

June 2012
For immediate release

NOVELIST RECEIVES $5,000 LITERARY AWARD

MEDICINE HAT, AB, Canada — Alberta resident Deb Elkink has received a major award in a national writing competition for her debut novel, The Third Grace.

Elkink, who accepted the Grace Irwin Award in Mississauga, Ontario, on June 13, writes from her acreage on the banks of Ross Creek near Elkwater in the Cypress Hills. She has lived in and around Medicine Hat since 1994, sat as a board member on the provincial Alberta Foundation for the Arts, worked for six years as staff writer and assistant editor with a national quarterly paper published in Alberta, and speaks to women's groups in the province and throughout western Canada and U.S. Elkink, who holds a B.A. in communications and an M.A. in theology, was raised in Winnipeg, attended university in Minneapolis, and cattle-ranched in Saskatchewan with her husband for many years while home educating their three children.

In her book, Elkink weaves the fictional story of a big-city costume designer who grew up as a Mennonite farm girl and is now on her way to Paris in search of an old French boyfriend and her own misplaced identity. (Read more on her website: www.debelkink.com.)

The Third Grace was listed as a finalist in one category of The Word Guild's Canadian Christian Writing Awards. Elkink attended the June 13th black-tie Awards Gala held at World Vision's headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario — the premier event honouring the work of Canadian writers who are Christian. Elkink hoped to win in her category, but the novelist did not expect to receive the prestigious $5,000 Grace Irwin Award. The award is Canada's largest literary prize for writers who are Christian, this year celebrating the top pick of 53 short-listed books published in 2011.

The contest received a record number of almost 360 entries from writers in eight provinces. The 35 award categories included non-fiction books, novels, articles, columns, poems, blogs and song lyrics. Six other Alberta residents shortlisted in various categories of the national contest, two of them placing first (Marcia Laycock of Blackfalds for her blog series and Murray Andrew Pura of Pincher Creek for his historical novel). Elkink shared runner-up status in the contemporary novel category with Hamilton, Ontario, resident Caroline Way. Another noteworthy finalist was Ann Voskamp of Gowenstown, Ontario, for her New York Times bestselling book, One Thousand Gifts. All shortlisted book category finalists were in contention for the Grace Irwin Award.

"To begin with, I was delighted to learn that The Third Grace was shortlisted in the contemporary novel category I entered," Elkink says. "But I was truly astonished at the Gala when it was named the overall book of the year! The feedback I've been getting on The Third Grace lets me know that readers are connecting with my characters, enjoying the plot, and finding that my message applies to their own lives. It's lovely to receive this substantial recognition for my first novel, and I'm encouraged to finish writing the next one."

The Word Guild, the organization sponsoring the awards, consists of more than 325 writers and editors across Canada who write from a Christian perspective and publish work in a variety of genres. The Word Guild also sponsors Canada's largest Christian writers' conference, Write! Canada (www.writecanada.org). After the Gala, 250 writers, editors, agents and publishers met at the Guelph, Ontario, conference for professional development, networking and marketing opportunities.

To see the complete list of winners, or to obtain more information about the Gala or The Word Guild, visit www.thewordguild.com.