ACP Announced 2021 Winners of Excellence in Publishing Awards

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BALTIMORE, MD — The Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Excellence in Publishing Awards. A record number of titles—almost 15% increase—were submitted during the pandemic-impacted publishing year.

First, second, and third place honors were awarded to publishers and authors of the best Catholic content in 14 categories—Biography, Children’s Books: Young Readers, Children’s Books: Picture Books, General Interest, Inspirational, Music: Distinguished Mass Setting, Music: Song of the Year, Prayer, Resources for Liturgy, Resources for Ministry, Scripture, Spanish, Spirituality, and Theology. First place only is awarded in categories where there was a small number of entries.

The Resource of the Year Award will be determined by a separate panel of judges from among the 14 first place winners and announced later this summer.

This year’s award winners had four notable standouts.

  • Ave Maria Press swept all three places in the Prayer category.
  • Music publisher OCP earned four places including two winners in non-music categories.
  • Author Stephen Binz received three of the four places awarded in the Scripture category.
  • My First Interactive Mass Book (Children’s Books: Picture Book) and Wanderlight (Resources for Ministry) were the first interactive titles to win.

The 2021 award winners were produced by 15 different publishers with the 17 first place winners published by 11 different publishers. Ave Maria Press and Liturgical Press came away with 7 winning titles in 4 different categories each. Loyola Press earned winners in the most number of categories—five.

The winners by category are:

Biography
1.  (tied) In Caelo et in Terra: 365 Days with the Saints (Written by the Daughters of St. Paul; Illustrated by Danielle Victoria Lussier, FSP, Pauline Books & Media)
1.  (tied) Writing Straight with Crooked Lines: A Memoir (Jim Forest, Orbis Books)
3.      Theodore Hesburgh, CSC (Edward P. Hahnenberg, Liturgical Press)
 
Children’s Books: Picture Books
1.      My First Interactive Mass Book (Written by Jennifer Sharpe, illustrated by Candace Camling, Ascension)
2.      God the Father and the Best Day Ever (Gracie Jagla, OSV)
3.      What Would You Do? (Jennifer Moore-Mallinos/Illustrated by Andy Catling, Loyola Press)
 
Children’s Books: Young Readers
1.      Brilliant! 25 Catholic Scientists, Mathematicians, and Supersmart People (Written by David Warren; illustrated by Jaclyn Warren, Pauline Books & Media)
2.      My Little Catholic Encyclopedia (Marie-Christine Vidal & Robin, Pflaum Publishing Group)
3.      Shadow in the Dark (Antony Barone Kolenc, Loyola Press)
General Interest
1.      The Ignatian Guide to Forgiveness (Marina Berzins McCoy, Loyola Press)
2.      When a Loved One Dies by Suicide (Ed Shoener, Most Rev. John P. Dolan, Ave Maria Press)
3.  (tied) Hunger for Hope: Prophetic Communities, Contemplation, and the Common Good (Sister Simone Campbell, Orbis Books)
3.  (tied) The Caregiver's Companion (Debra Kelsey-Davis, Kelly Johnson, Ave Maria Press)
 
Inspirational
1.  (tied) Journey to Jerusalem: Steps on the Road to Your Soul (Mark A. Villano, Liturgical Press)
3.      Hineni: In Imitation of Abraham (Alisa Kasmir, Liturgical Press)
Music: Mass Setting
1.      Misa Luna (Peter Kolar, World Library Publications)
 
Music: Song of the Year
1.      Still We Sing Alleluia (Paulo K Tiról , OCP)
 
Prayer
1.      Surrender All: Illuminated Journal Retreat (Jen Norton, Ave Maria Press)
2.      Awaken My Heart (Emily Wilson Hussem, Ave Maria Press)
3.      Bless Us, O Lord (Robert M. Hamma, Ave Maria Press)
 
Resources for Liturgy
1.      Let Us Rejoice: Modern Musical Settings of the Entrance and Communion Antiphons (Steve Angrisano/Sarah Hart/Curtis Stephan, OCP)
2.      The Abbey Psalms and Canticles (The Monks of Conception Abbey in collaboration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, USCCB Communications)
3.      Liturgy and Discipleship: Preparing Worship That Inspires and Transforms (Wendy Cichanski Caduff, Benjamin J. Caduff, Mary A. Ehle, Mary G. Fox, Timothy A. Johnston, John T. Kyler, Anne Y. Koester, Stephen S. Wilbricht, CSC, Liturgy Training Publications)
 
Resources for Ministry
1.      Responding to Suicide (Ed Shoener, Most Rev. John P. Dolan, Ave Maria Press)
2.      Wanderlight (Loyola Press, Fable Vision)
3.      Marriage in the Lord, Seventh Edition: A Catholic Formation Resource (Leisa Anslinger, Laura Boyce-Steinhauser, Sandra Dooley, Christopher J. Ferraro, Mary G. Fox, Kim Haggerty, Frank P. Hannigan, Steven D. Monaghan, Lauri Przybysz, Lorie Simmons, William Steinhauser, Dora Tobar, Kyle S. Turner, Liturgy Training Publications)
 
Scripture
1.   (tied) Threshold Bible Study: Wholehearted Commitment: Part One: Deuteronomy 1–15 (Stephen J. Binz, Twenty-Third Publications)
1.   (tied) Threshold Bible Study: Wholehearted Commitment: Part Two: Deuteronomy 16-34 (Stephen J. Binz, Twenty-Third Publications)
3.   (tied) Holy Land Pilgrimage (Stephen J. Binz, Liturgical Press)
3.   (tied) Ponder: Contemplative Bible Study for Year B (Mahri Leonard-Fleckman, Liturgical Press)
 
Spanish
1.   Mi Primer Misal Interactivo (Written by Jennifer Sharpe, illustrated by Candace Camling, Ascension)
3.   (tied) La Biblia (Rafael Ramírez, Ave Maria Press)
3.   (tied) Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe (Various, OCP)
 
Spirituality
1.   Heartstorming: Creating a Place God Can Call Home (Robert J. Wicks, Paulist Press)
2.   (tied) Spiritual Practices for the Brain (Anne Kertz Kernion, Loyola Press)
2.   (tied) The Inner Chapel (Becky Eldredge, Loyola Press)
 
Theology
1.      Sex, Love, and Families (Edited by Jason King and Julie Hanlon Rubio, Liturgical Press)
2.      A Prophetic, Public Church (Mary Doak, Liturgical Press)
3.      Sixty Years of Moral Theology (Charles E. Curran, Paulist Press)
 

Each category was judged by a three-person panel, which reviewed and evaluated the entries. A brief explanation of each category can be found at https://www.catholicpublishers.org/Excellence-in-Publishing-Awards

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.

CORRECTION: One of the music categories were inaccurately reported when the finalists were announced. Misa Luna (Peter Kolar, World Library Publications) and Misa San Juan Bautista (Damaris Thillet y Diego Correa, OCP) should have been reported as finalists for the “Music: Distinguished Mass Setting” category.