Finalists have been named in the 18th annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, hosted by MerleFest 2010, the popular roots-oriented music festival that takes place April 29-May 2 on the campus of Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jim Lauderdale chaired a volunteer panel of Nashville music industry professionals that selected the writers of 12 songs, from among more than 1,000 entries in four categories (bluegrass, country, general and gospel), for the opportunity to compete on the Austin Stage at MerleFest on Friday afternoon, April 30. The finalists in the bluegrass and general categories are listed below.

Bluegrass: “New Love” by Josh Pickett (Cana, VA), “Whisper Sweet Goodbyes” by Jo Ellen Doering (Los Angeles, CA), and “Carolina Dust” by Brink Brinkman (Pickerington, OH).

Doering and Brinkman also were finalists in the gospel category last year, while another of Doering’s songs is a finalist in that category this year.

General: “Rush” by Liz Longley (Downingtown, PA), “Get It Right” by Shay Lovette (Purlear, NC), and “Opening” by Chris Ayer (McLean, VA).

As reported on AcousticMusicScene.com in February, Longley recently was named the overall grand prize winner in the International Acoustic Music Awards.

First place winners in each category will perform on the Cabin Stage during MerleFest and will each receive a Taylor acoustic guitar, a check for $300, two boxes of D’Addario strings and one-year subscriptions to Acoustic Guitar and American Songwriter magazines. Second and third-prize winners also will receive cash prizes, strings and magazine subscriptions, as well as performance slots during the Friday night Songwriters Coffeehouse at Merlefest. The finalists also will participate in a group mentor session with Lauderdale.

Entries were judged based on originality, lyrics, melody and overall commercial potential. Previous winners of the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest include Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, Michael Reno Harrell, Adrienne Young, Martha Scanlan, David Via and Johnny Williams. The contest was established to honor the memory of Chris Austin, a songwriter and former sideman for Ricky Skaggs. Austin’s life was tragically cut short when a private plane carrying him and six other members of Reba McEntire’s band, as well as her tour manager, crashed in California in 1991.

A short article featuring the artist lineup for MerleFest appears in the Bluegrass & Beyond and Festival Focus sections of AcousticMusicScene.com.