The Christy Awards began in the year 2000 with the goal of publicizing and honoring the very best of the previous year in Christian fiction. Named after the 1967 novel Christy by Catherine Marshall—sometimes considered to a forerunner of Christian fiction as a genre—the award became a way for evangelical Christian publishers to promote fiction to evangelical readers.
The inaugural award covered books published in the year 1999 and covered six separate categories. Each category recorded three finalists with one finalist in each category being granted the Christy Award for that category.
Bethany House Publishers came away from the awards the big winner, netting two of the six awards while having four other books make the finals. Perhaps the biggest surprise of this year was that neither of the Left Behind books that made the finalist list came away with the win.
Contemporary
| Title | Author | Publisher |
| A New Song | Jan Karon | Viking |
| By the Light of a Thousand Stars | Jamie Langston Turner | Bethany House |
| Romey’s Place | James Calvin Schapp | Baker Books |
Contemporary Romance
| Title | Author | Publisher |
| Whispers from Yesterday | Robin Lee Hatcher | WaterBrook Press |
| Blue Mist on the Danube | Doris Elaine Fell | Revell |
| Surrender of the Heart | Sally John | Crossway Books |
Futuristic
| Title | Author | Publisher |
| By Dawn’s Early Light | Grant R. Jeffrey / Angela Hunt | Word Publishing |
| Apollyon | Jerry Jenkins / Tim LaHaye | Tyndale House |
| Assassins | Jerry Jenkins / Tim LaHaye | Tyndale House |
International Historical
| Title | Author | Publisher |
| Out of the Red Shadow | Anne de Graaf | Bethany House |
| The Power and the Glory | Clint Kelly | Bethany House |
| Triumph of the Soul | Michael R. Joens | Revell |
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
| Title | Author | Publisher |
| Final Witness | James Scott Bell | B&H Publishing |
| A Ship Possessed | Alton Gansky | Zondervan |
| The Chairman | Harry Lee Kraus Jr. | Crossway Books |
North American Historical
| Title | Author | Publisher |
| The Meeting Place | Janette Oke / T. Davis Bunn | Bethany House |
| The Dark Sun Rises | Denise Williamson | Bethany House |
| For Whom the Stars Shine | Linda Chaikin | Bethany House |