The Parable Group and WestBow Press, the self-publishing division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, today announced that Richard Newberry is the Grand Prize winner of the 2014 Aspiring Authors Writing Contest. Newberry’s manuscript, The Light at Rat Pond, was selected from a pool of more than 520 entrants. His winning novel will be self-published through WestBow and reviewed for possible traditional publication by Thomas Nelson and Zondervan.

In addition, upon publication, Newberry will receive a free marketing package from The Parable Group to promote the prize-winning book in catalogs and bookstores.

Newberry, who is from Maryland Heights, Missouri, entered the contest through Christian Book and Gift Shop in Rochester, Minnesota. The Light at Rat Pond is a coming-of-age novel set in east central Illinois during the summer of 1970. Ten-year old Jack and his crew, The Icks, befriend the new kid in town, who shakes up their group and forever impacts the entire Doverville community.

“We were very pleased to see so many aspiring authors participate in the 2014 Aspiring Authors Writing Contest,” said Pete Nikolai, publisher at WestBow Press and director of publishing services for HarperCollins Christian Publishing, WestBow’s parent company. “The Parable Group and their partner stores did a great job of making this opportunity available to local authors. We congratulate Richard Newberry for writing such a great story and encourage all the entrants to keep writing and sharing their stories with the world.”

Additional winners included First Place winner Charlene Yoder, who will receive a free Pro Format publishing package for her book, Soul Snare, a fiction work about a college student who finds herself in danger of becoming a kidnapped bride while studying abroad in London. Second Place winner Jody Eileen Solinski will receive a free Essential Access publishing package for her book, A Matter of Control, a novel set in a Detroit neighborhood where those caught up in drugs, gangs and the system try to survive, and those who dare to dream try to make a difference. Click here for the complete list of finalists.

The Aspiring Authors Writing Contest was open to authors who were at least 18 years of age and had written an unpublished manuscript.