Winners of the Association of Catholic Publishers Awards

I've been honored to be a judge for the ACP awards in the Children's category for the past few years. Here is press release on all the winners. 

The Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2017 Excellence in Publishing Awards which recognize the best in Catholic publishing.

“As we look at the 2017 winners, we cannot underestimate the hunger on the part of readers to explore the grace, mercy, and faith that Pope Francis champions,” stated Therese Brown, executive director of the Association of Catholic Publishers. “The desire is deeply rooted, and publishers are responding with works in every category, for every age, to satisfy this hunger.”

The 2017 “Book of the Year” is Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World from Loyola Press, currently #24 in Christian Children’s Books at Amazon. “The questions are both thought-provoking and interesting, and Pope Francis illustrates his respect and care for children in his answers,” commented one of the judges. The “Book of the Year” is selected from among the first-place finishers.

Ave Maria Press and Liturgical Press tied with 5 total awards each. A total of 12 different publishers received honors. Ave Maria Press received 2 first place awards, and Liturgical Press had 1. Books from 14 different publishers were represented across the 11 categories.

The reading public also recognizes the quality of these titles through their purchasing patterns as measured by Amazon. Of the 31 awardees, 17 are in the top 1000 sales of an Amazon book subcategory. Of those, 13 are in the top 500, and of those, 6 are in the top 100, led by A Single Bead from Pauline Books and Media at #9 in Teen books (Emotions & Feelings).

The following titles are the 2017 winners of the “Excellence in Publishing Awards” by category.

Biography

1.            The Lion of Münster: The Bishop Who Roared Against the Nazis by Fr. Daniel Utrecht (Saint Benedict Press)

2.            Edith Stein by Marian Maskulak, CPS (Paulist Press)

3.            Joseph Bernardin by Steven P. Millies (Liturgical Press)

Children's Books

1.            Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World by Pope Francis (Loyola Press)

2.            A Single Bead by Stephanie Engelman (Pauline Books and Media)

3.            32 Days: A Story of Faith and Courage by Ellen Lucey Prozeller (Pauline Books and Media)

General Interest

1.            One Ordinary Sunday by Paula Huston (Ave Maria Press)

2.            Walking Home Together by Michael Mercer (Twenty-Third Publications)

3.            The Root of War Is Fear by Jim Forest (Orbis Books)

Inspirational

1.            Remembering God's Mercy by Dawn Eden (Ave Maria Press)

2.            Little Sins Mean a Lot by Elizabeth Scalia (Our Sunday Visitor)

3.            Blessed Among Us by Robert Ellsberg (Liturgical Press)

Prayer and Spirituality

1.            Faith: Practices, Models and Sources of the Spirit by Walter Kasper (Paulist Press)

2.            Learning the Language of the Soul by Andrew D. Mayes (Liturgical Press)

3.            My Heart Is Ready by David Haas (Clear Faith Publishing)

Resources for Liturgy

1.            Three Great Days by Jeremy Helmes (Liturgical Press)

2.            One Love, A Pastoral Guide to The Order of Celebrating Matrimony by Paul Turner (Liturgical Press)

3.            Of Poets, Prophets, and Preachers by Joseph J. Juknialis (World Library Publications)

Resources for Ministry

1.            When We Visit Jesus in Prison by Chaplain Dale S. Recinella (ACTA Publications)

2.            Redeeming Conflict by Ann M. Garrido (Ave Maria Press)

3.            To Heal, Proclaim, and Teach by Jared Dees (Ave Maria Press)

Resources for Ministry (Programs)

1.            Doors of Mercy: Exploring God's Covenant with You by Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, STD (Saint Benedict Press)

2.            Joined by Grace by John Bosio and Teri Bosio (Ave Maria Press)

3.            Luke: The Gospel of Mercy by Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, STD and Paul Thigpen, PhD (Saint Benedict Press)

Scripture

1.            Bringing the Gospel of John to Life by George Martin (Our Sunday Visitor)

Spanish

1.            Querido Papa Francisco: El Papa responde a las cartas de niños de todo el mundo by Pope Francis (Loyola Press)

2.            Sean mis testigos: Formacion par la Nueva Evagelizacion by Kathia and Andres Arango (RENEW International)

3.            Nuestra Vida Catolica: El Camino Humano de la Fe (El Credo) by Bill Huebsch (Twenty-Third Publications)

Theology

1.            The Strength of Her Witness by Elizabeth A. Johnson (Orbis Books)

2.            A Commentary on Laudato Si by Kevin W. Irwin (Paulist Press)

3.            The Fellowship of the Beatific Vision: Chaucer on Overcoming Tyranny and Becoming Ourselves by Norm Klassen (Cascade Books (Wipf and Stock))

The Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP) is a membership organization of Catholic publishers, those who provide services to Catholic publishers, and individuals who work with Catholic publishers. The ACP provides opportunities for members to further the Catholic publishing industry, promote Catholic publishing and reading, and engage those they interact with, including retailers, pastoral leaders, individual customers, and staff.