The winners of the 2021 ECPA Christian Book Awards were announced this afternoon at a virtual awards webcast. Randy and I have never attended one of the live events but enjoyed getting to watch and take part in the awards.

Bibles

As Bible Buying Guide this category is obviously the one we were most interested in. You won’t often see a reading or reference Bible as one of the nominees since translations without additional material are only eligible in their first printing.

The winning Bible is the NIV Study Bible Fully Revised Edition published by Zondervan.  (Our review here)  A major revision of the popular NIV Study Bible, this Bible includes the NIV Comfort Print font and updated and expanded versions of all of the notes and study helps.

The four runners up are:

  • the CSB Holy Land Illustrated Bible published by B&H Publishing Group (Our review here)
  • the CSB Tony Evans Study Bible published by B&H Publishing Group (Our review here)
  • the ESV Women’s Study Bible published by Crossway (the only one on the list we haven’t reviewed, but we’ll try and fix that).
  • the NET Full Notes Edition Bible published by Thomas Nelson (Our review here)

Other Winners

Of course, the ECPA gives out awards in 11 categories besides Bibles. A full list of all the finalists can be found on the Christian Book Awards website.

Christian

The winners in the other categories are

  • Bible Reference Works The winning book is The New Testament in its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature and Theology of the First Christians written by N.T. Wright and Michael Bird and published by Zondervan Academic and SPCK [IVP/UK].
  • Bible Study The winning book is The Way Home: God’s Invitation to New Beginnings written by Tessa Afshar and published by
    Moody Publishers.
  • Ministry Resources The winning book is Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church written by Paul David Tripp and published by Crossway.
  • Biography and Memoir  The winner is I’ve Seen the End of You written by W. Lee Warren, MD and published by WaterBrook.
  • Christian Living The winning book is Show Me Your Glory: Understanding the Majestic Splendor of God written by Steven J. Lawson and published by Ligonier Ministries.
  • Faith and Culture The winning book is Be the Bridge written by Latasha Morrison and published by WaterBrook.
  • Devotion and Gift The winning book is How Great Is Our God: 100 Indescribable Devotions About God and Science written by Louie Giglio and published by Tommy Nelson.
  • Children The winning book is Extraordinary Women of the Bible written by Michelle Sloan, illustrated by Summer Macon, and published by SPCK [IVP/UK].
  • Young People’s Literature The winning book is Praying Girls Devotional written by Sheila Walsh and published by Baker Books/ Baker Publishing Group.
  • New Author The winning book is Laughing Through the Ugly Cry…and Finding Unstoppable Joy written by Dawn Barton and published by Thomas Nelson Gift.
  • Audio – There was actually a tie. The co-winners are Chasing Vines written and narrated by Beth Moore, produced by Lisa Smith/Oasis Audio, and published by Tyndale House Publishers and Suffer Strong written and narrated by Katherine and Jay Wolf, produced by Gabe Wicks/HarperCollins Christian, published by Zondervan.

Book of the Year

Every year EPCA chooses one of its finalists as the Book of the Year. They choose the one they feel has the highest merit and/or impact.

This year the honor goes to Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison.

Subtitled Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation, this book calls Christians to move toward deeper understanding in the midst of a divisive culture.

Bible Buying Guide would like to congratulate all the finalists and winners.