2026 CMA Book Awards Winners List
Honoring the remarkable efforts of authors, publishers, and editors who have made significant contributions to the Catholic literary landscape.
B101: PILGRIMAGES / CATHOLIC TRAVEL
- First Place Incredible Catholic America: Smallest, Tallest, Oldest, Oddest
- Second Place Finding God Along the Way
- Third Place Living the Jubilee
- Honorable Mention Making a Pilgrimage: A Companion for Catholics
- Honorable Mention From Glory to Glory: A Pilgrim’s Notes from the Badlands of Grace
B102: POPE FRANCIS
- First Place Remembering Pope Francis
- Second Place I Am a Mission on This Earth: Selected Writings
B103: SPIRITUALITY CLASSICAL
- First Place Growing into God: Christian Maturity and the Fathers of the Church
- Second Place Embracing God: Essays on the Spiritual Treatises of Aelred of Rievaulx
- Third Place In Praise of the Virgin Mary, the God-Bear.er: Alan of Lille’s Concise Elucidation of the Song of Songs
- Honorable Mention The Reed of God: Deluxe Hardcover Edi.tion
- Honorable Mention Karl Rahner: Spiritual Theology
B104C: ADULT SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
- First Place “Do Not Judge Anyone”: Desert Wisdom for a Polarized World
- Second Place The Paradox of Poverty: Why Are the Poor in Spirit “Blessed”?
- Third Place Towards Dawn: Essays in Hopefulness
- Honorable Mention Epiphanies of Nature and Grace: Twelve Meditations from a Life in Dialogue
- Honorable Mention The Soul Also Keeps the Score: A Trau.ma-Informed Companion to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
B105A: CHILDREN’S DEVOTIONS AND PRAYER
- First Place The Magnificat (I Can Pray)
- Second Place My First Examen
- Third Place OSV Kids Rosary
B105C: ADULT DEVOTIONS AND PRAYER
- First Place Meeting the One Who Loves You: Saint Teresa of Ávila’s Way of Prayer
- Second Place Given for You: Eucharistic Stations of the Cross
- Third Place The Frassati Field Guide: An 8-Day Ascent to Heroic Virtue
- Honorable Mention Make Our Hearts Like Yours: Daily Medi.tations on the Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Honorable Mention The Book of Before and After: The Liturgy of the Hours of the Church of the East
B108: LITURGY OR WORSHIP
- First Place Lay Eucharistic Preaching in a Synodal Catholic Church
- Second Place The Abbey Psalms and Canticles
- Third Place Liturgy in the Shadows of Trauma: Reck.oning with the Roman Catholic Sex Abuse Crisis
- Honorable Mention Full Communion with Us: The Reception of Candidates in the OCIA
- Honorable Mention The Mass of the Early Christians, Revised and Expanded, Third Edition
B109: PASTORAL MINISTRY – PARISH LIFE
- First Place Indispensable: Indispensable: A Catholic Guide to Welcoming Persons with Intel.lectual and Developmental Disabilities
- Second Place First Reconciliation and Beyond: A Family’s Guide for Learning and Living Forgiveness
- Third Place First Communion and Beyond: A Family’s Guide to Eucharistic Joy
- Honorable Mention Empowering People through Encounter: Catholic Social Teaching and Community Organizing
- Honorable Mention The Transformative Power of Small Groups: A 7-Step Guide for Building Vi.brant Catholic Communities
B110: PASTORAL MINISTRY – CATECHETICAL
- First Place Full Communion with Us: The Reception of Candidates in the OCIA
- Second Place What Christians Believe: Understanding the Nicene Creed
- Third Place Life Everlasting: Heaven, Hell, Death and Judgement
- Honorable Mention The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation
- Honorable Mention Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church
B112: CHURCH PROFESSIONAL
- First Place Vision, Values, and Victories: Notre Dame-Style Leadership
- Second Place The Transformative Power of Small Groups: A 7-Step Guide for Building Vi.brant Catholic Communities
- Third Place Together Through Reflection: Themes for Those Who Lead and Serve in Catholic Organizations
- Honorable Mention Full Communion with Us: The Reception of Candidates in the OCIA
B113: POPE LEO XIV
- First Place When the White Smoke Clears: A Guide to Pope Leo XIV’s Early Days
- Second Place Leo XIV: Portrait of the First American Pope
- Third Place Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy
- Honorable Mention The Office and Authority of the Local Prior in the Order of Saint Augustine
- Honorable Mention Pope Leo XIV
B151: NEWLY CANONIZED SAINTS OR THOSE IN THE PROCESS
- First Place Carlo’s Simple Wisdom: Words of Hope from a Young Saint
- Second Place The Frassati Field Guide: An 8-Day Ascent to Heroic Virtue
- Third Place Fear Nothing: The Heroic Life of Aloysius Schwartz
- Honorable Mention The Most Dangerous Man in England: Newman and the Laity
- Honorable Mention Christian de Chergé: Modern Spiritual Masters series
B201: MODERN EXPLORATION OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH
- First Place Life Everlasting: Heaven, Hell, Death and Judgement
- Second Place Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith
- Third Place The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation
- Honorable Mention Foundations of Faith: A Journey Through the Catechism of the Catholic Church
B202: THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
- First Place Man’s Desire for God
- Second Place Biblical Interpretation and Doctrine in Early Christianity: Collected Essays
- Third Place What Christians Believe: Understanding the Nicene Creed
- Honorable Mention Being Before God: Cornelio Fabro, Thomism, and Sen Kierkegaard’s Theology
- Honorable Mention Is Belief Believable? Reasoning About God from Plato and Aquinas to C.S. Lewis and Jordan Peterson
B203: HISTORY OF THEOLOGY, CHURCH FATHERS AND MOTHERS
- First Place What Christians Believe: Understanding the Nicene Creed
- Second Place Human Salvation in Early Christianity: Exploring the Theology of Physicalist Soteriology
- Third Place The Apostolic Tradition: Its Origins, Development, and Liturgical Practices
- Honorable Mention The Controversial Thomas More: Politics, Polemics, and Prison Writings
B204: MORALITY AND ETHICS
- First Place Catholic Morality: Finding Truth in God’s Law
- Second Place Jubilee Economics: The Purpose, Practices, and Possibilities for a Better Future
- Third Place Empowering People through Encounter: Catholic Social Teaching and Community Organizing
B205: SCRIPTURE – POPULAR STUDIES
- First Place The Word on Fire Bible (Volume V): Exile and Return
- Second Place Hearing Earth’s Call: Life and Livelihood in First John
- Third Place The Bible Timeline: The Story of Salvation
- Honorable Mention Handel’s “Messiah”
- Honorable Mention Stretch Out Your Hand: Reflections on the Healing Ministry of Jesus
B206: SCRIPTURE – ACADEMIC STUDIES
- First Place Judeophobia and the New Testament: Texts and Contexts
- Second Place The Host of Gethsemane: Eucharistic Hospitality in the Gethsemane Narratives
B207: HISTORY
- First Place The Legacy and Limits of Vatican II in an Age of Crisis
- Second Place The Unknown Modern Side of St. Pius X
- Third Place China’s Church Divided: Bishop Louis Jin and the Post-Mao Catholic Revival
- Honorable Mention Christian Conversion and Mission: A Brief Cultural History
- Honorable Mention Crabgrass Catholicism: How Suburbanization Transformed Faith and Politics in Postwar America
B208: BIOGRAPHY
- First Place I Wait in the Night: The Death Row Journal of Jacques Fesch
- Second Place The Glacier Priest: Father Bernard Hubbard and America’s Last Frontier
- Third Place Faith of the Fathers: The Comprehensive History of Catholic Chaplains in the Civil War
- Honorable Mention Love Made Me an Inventor: The Story of Maggy Barankitse – Humanitarian, Genocide Survivor, Citizen without Borders
- Honorable Mention The Most Dangerous Man in England: Newman and the Laity
B209: REFERENCE/ ACADEMIC STUDIES
- First Place Introducing Communio Theology
- Second Place The Law for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life: An Introduction to Canons 573-746
- Third Place Engaging the Doctrine of the Church
- Honorable Mention Holy Bible – The Great Adventure Catholic Bible (Limited Edition)
B210: FAITH AND SCIENCE
- First Place Darwin and Doctrine: The Compatibility of Evolution and Catholicism
- Second Place The Soul Also Keeps the Score: A Trauma-Informed Companion to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
- Third Place God, The Science, The Evidence
- Honorable Mention A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars
- Honorable Mention Behold the Heavens: Discovering God through the Night Sky
- Honorable Mention Be Still and Know: Contemplative Practices for Christian Schools and Educators
B212: JESUS – CHRISTOLOGY
- First Place Christology in Early Christianity: Collected Essays
- Second Place Stretch Out Your Hand: Reflections on the Healing Ministry of Jesus
- Third Place The Host of Gethsemane: Eucharistic Hospitality in the Gethsemane Narratives
- Honorable Mention The Light of Tabor: Toward a Monistic Christology
- Honorable Mention Human Salvation in Early Christianity: Exploring the Theology of Physicalist Soteriology
B213: SACRAMENTS
- First Place For I Have Sinned: The Rise and Fall of Catholic Confession in America
- Second Place Full Communion with Us: The Reception of Candidates in the OCIA
- Honorable Mention First Communion and Beyond: A Family’s Guide to Eucharistic Joy
- Honorable Mention First Reconciliation and Beyond: A Family’s Guide for Learning and Living Forgiveness
B214: PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES
- First Place Socrates Meets
- Second Place Body and Identity: A History of the Empty Self
- Third Place Is Belief Believable? Reasoning About God from Plato and Aquinas to C.S. Lewis and Jordan Peterson
- Honorable Mention Kant Today: A Survey
- Honorable Mention The Metaphysics of Martyrdom
B215: MARIOLOGY
- First Place Many Paths with Mary: Popular Piety and the Future Church
- Second Place The Way of the Rosary: A Journey with Mary Through Scripture, Liturgy, and Life
- Third Place A Fierce and Tender Love: 7 Meditations on Mary, Mother of God
- Honorable Mention Gate of Heaven: Reflections on the Mother of God
B301: CHILDREN’S BOARD BOOKS AND PICTURE BOOKS
- First Place God Made Me Good
- Second Place Song of Zechariah
- Third Place Magnificat
- Honorable Mention Our Family: Seen and Unseen
- Honorable Mention My Catholic 123
B302: PRESCHOOL READING
- First Place God’s Little Flowers
- Second Place If a Saint Had a Song
- Third Place If the Pope Had a Puppy
- Honorable Mention There Is No Saint Named Kelly
- Honorable Mention Song of Zechariah
B303: ALL CHILDREN’S BOOKS
- First Place Past Watchful Dragons: Biblical Stories Retold
- Second Place Consider the Birds
- Third Place Peek-A-Boo Saints 2
- Honorable Mention The Story of All Stories: A Story Bible for Young Catholics
- Honorable Mention The Riddle of the Tongue-Stones: How Blessed Nicholas Steno Uncovered the Hidden History of the Earth
B304: FAMILY LIFE
- First Place Our Family: Seen and Unseen
- Second Place She Loved: Resting in the Beauty of Motherhood
- Third Place Love Fiercely: Lessons from the Dad of a Special Needs Daughter
- Honorable Mention Lovemaking: How to Talk about Sex with Your Spouse
B305: CHILDREN’S INDEPENDENT READING
- First Place Past Watchful Dragons: Biblical Stories Made New
- Second Place The Riddle of the Tongue-Stones: How Blessed Nicholas Steno Uncovered the Hidden History of the Earth
- Third Place The Story of All Stories: A Story Bible for Young Catholics
- Honorable Mention OSV Kids Discover: The Pope
- Honorable Mention All About Lent & Holy Week: Sharing the Seasons of Repentance and Salvation with Children
B351: BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS (AGES 12-18)
- First Place Joan of Arkansas
- Second Place An I Love You Book for People About to Take on the World
- Third Place Friendship Reset: Ditch the Drama and Find Your Crew
- Honorable Mention Advent and Christmas: One Day at a Time for Catholic Teens
B401: COFFEE TABLE BOOK
- First Place The True Gifts of Christmas
- Second Place Catechism of the Catholic Church, Every Sacred Sunday Edition
- Third Place Sacred Wine: The Holy History and Heritage of Catholic Vintners
- Honorable Mention The Catholic Cartoon Collection: No. 3
B452: LIFESTYLE BOOKS
- First Place Savoring Awe
- Second Place The True Gifts of Christmas
- Third Place Around the Catholic Table
B501: INCLUSION IN THE CHURCH
- First Place Love Fiercely: Lessons from the Dad of a Special Needs Daughter
- Second Place Praying with Our Feet
- Third Place Theology for the Unwanted: Reclaiming Your Place in God’s Church
- Honorable Mention Together as One Body: Full and Meaningful Participation with Persons with Disabilities
- Honorable Mention Catholicism at a Crossroads: The Present and Future of America’s Largest Church
B502: CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
- First Place Praying with the Popes: Words of Hope and Peace from Leo XIII to Leo XIV
- Second Place Catholic Social Teaching: Revealing the Treasure
- Third Place Humanitarianism from Below: Faith, Welfare, and the Role of Casas de Migrantes in Mexico
- Honorable Mention God Made That! Catholic Nature Field Guide
- Honorable Mention Empowering People through Encounter: Catholic Social Teaching and Community Organizing
B503: RELIGION IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE
- First Place An Inspired Word in Season: Reading the Bible Responsibly in a Polarized World
- Second Place Abortion and America’s Churches: A Religious History of “Roe v. Wade”
- Third Place “Do Not Judge Anyone”: Desert Wisdom for a Polarized World
- Honorable Mention Sacred Resistance: Eco-Activism and the Rise of New Spiritual Communities
- Honorable Mention The Paradox of Poverty: Why Are the Poor in Spirit “Blessed”?
B505: ECUMENISM OR INTERFAITH RELATIONS
- First Place Blessing of a New Dawn: Reorienting Christianity’s Relation to Judaism
- Second Place The Mortara Case and Thomas Aquinas’s Defense of Jewish Parental Authority
- Third Place Translingual Catholics: Chinese Theologians before Vatican II
- Honorable Mention My Chinese Dream: Dialogues and Encounters with Christianity
- Honorable Mention Full Communion with Us: The Reception of Candidates in the OCIA
B506: THE FUTURE OF THE CHURCH
- First Place African Synodal Theology: A Tall Tree Is as Strong as Its Roots
- Second Place Towards Dawn: Essays in Hopefulness
- Third Place A Council by Another Name?: The Synod on Synodality and What Comes Next
- Honorable Mention The Future of Synodality: How We Move Forward from Here
- Honorable Mention On Earth as in Heaven?: Liturgy, Materiality, and Economics
B507: LIFE AND DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
- First Place Love Fiercely: Lessons from the Dad of a Special Needs Daughter
- Second Place Our Family: Seen and Unseen
- Third Place Love Made Me an Inventor: The Story of Maggy Barankitse – Humanitarian, Genocide Survivor, Citizen without Borders
- Honorable Mention The Safari Concept: An African Framework for End of Life Care
- Honorable Mention Overcoming the Narcissist, Sociopath, Psychopath, and Other Domestic Abusers: Workbook for Support Groups and Bible Studies
B601: FIRST-TIME AUTHOR: CHILDREN’S BOOK
- First Place When God Speaks
- Second Place Past Watchful Dragons: Biblical Stories Made New
- Third Place The Riddle of the Tongue-Stones: How Blessed Nicholas Steno Uncovered the Hidden History of the Earth
- Honorable Mention Our Family: Seen and Unseen
B602: FIRST-TIME AUTHOR: NOVEL
- First Place A Serpent’s Pursuit
- Second Place Sweet Sorghum Winter
- Third Place The Gospel Engine
- Honorable Mention The Black Knight
B605: FIRST-TIME AUTHOR OF THEOLOGICAL SUBJECT MATTERS
- First Place The Way of Heaven and Earth: From Either/Or to the Catholic Both/And
- Second Place Return to the Heart
- Third Place The Homefront Devotional: Navigate Military Life with Courage, Hope, and Faith
- Honorable Mention In the Twilight of the Christian West: A Theology of Mourning and Resistance
- Honorable Mention Pray Like a Champion Today: Sacred Stories from the Sidelines of Notre Dame Football
B701: DIOCESAN/PARISH DIRECTORY
- First Place 2025-2026 Directory of the Diocese of Orange Catholic
- Second Place 2025-2026 Catholic Directory of the Archdiocese of Baltimore
- Third Place 2025-2026 Official Directory of the Diocese of Rockford
B801: CATHOLIC NOVEL
- First Place The Curse He Chose, In Aeternum, Book One
- Second Place The Wanderer and the Way
- Third Place The Year of My Humiliation
- Honorable Mention Prison of Now
- Honorable Mention The Wagers of Sin
B802: FAITH-BASED NOVEL
- First Place Jojay and the Joy of Anyway
- Second Place Joline
- Third Place Child of These Tears
B803: TEEN AND YOUNG ADULT NOVELS
- First Place Joan of Arkansas
B804: SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS
- First Place Blinding Dawn
- Second Place The Black Knight
- Third Place The Gospel Engine
B805: CHRISTIAN ROMANCE
- Second Place Roses in Rome
- Honorable Mention Eve’s Brother (More Love in Andauk #3)
B901: HEALING AND SELF HELP
- First Place The Years of Ripening: Reflections on Aging in the Later Years
- Second Place The Soul Also Keeps the Score: A Trauma-Informed Companion to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius
- Third Place Stretch Out Your Hand: Reflections on the Healing Ministry of Jesus
- Honorable Mention Love Fiercely: Lessons from the Dad of a Special Needs Daughter
B1151: ENGLISH TRANSLATION EDITION
- First Place God, The Science, The Evidence
- Second Place Kant Today: A Survey
- Third Place Challenging Modern Atheism and Indifference: Pascal’s Defense of the Christian Proposition
B1201: DESIGN AND PRODUCTION
- First Place The Story of All Stories: A Story Bible for Young Catholics
- Second Place Peek-A-Boo Saints 2
- Third Place Around the Catholic Table
- Honorable Mention The Glenstal Prayerbook: A Benedictine Book of Prayer
- Honorable Mention Holy Bible — The Great Adventure Catholic Bible (Limited Edition)
B1202: DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: CHILDREN’S BOOK
- First Place Past Watchful Dragons: Biblical Stories Made New
- Second Place The Story of All Stories: A Story Bible for Young Catholics
- Third Place The Riddle of the Tongue-Stones: How Blessed Nicholas Steno Uncovered the Hidden History of the Earth
B1203: FRONT COVER ARTWORK
- First Place Past Watchful Dragons: Biblical Stories Made New
- Second Place A Fierce and Tender Love: 7 Meditations on Mary, Mother of God
- Third Place Waiting Well: Advent with Fr. Mike Schmitz, Journal
- Honorable Mention The Curse He Chose, In Aeternum, Book One
- Honorable Mention Peek-A-Boo Saints 2
B1204: CATALOG
- First Place Orbis Books Fall 2025 Catalog
- Second Place Votive Catalog
- Third Place Ave Maria Press: Spring 2025
B1205: ILLUSTRATIONS
- First Place Magnificat
- Second Place Song of Zechariah
- Third Place The Story of All Stories: A Story Bible for Young Catholics
- Honorable Mention There Is No Saint Named Kelly
- Honorable Mention Our Family: Seen and Unseen
B1301: BEST BOOK BY A SMALL PUBLISHER
- First Place Surrender to Lead
- Second Place Saint Joseph: A Silence that Speaks Volumes
- Third Place A Serpent’s Pursuit
- Honorable Mention Why Christ Rejects All Church Prejudice Against Women
- Honorable Mention Overcoming the Narcissist, Sociopath, Psychopath, and Other Domestic Abusers: Workbook for Support Groups and Bible Studies
B1401: SELF-PUBLISHED FICTION BOOKS
- First Place Musings of Owl & Rabbit
- Second Place Rescuing the Rain Man
B1402: SELF-PUBLISHED NON-FICTION BOOKS
- First Place Conversations for the Modern Catholic Woman: Collected Reflections on Catholic Womanhood
- Second Place Love Fiercely: Lessons from the Dad of a Special Needs Daughter
- Third Place Another Way: A Journey of Faith, Love, and Identity
B1403: SELF-PUBLISHED CHILDREN’S BOOKS
- First Place Our Family: Seen and Unseen
- Second Place Sharing the Sorrow: Caitlyn and Peter’s Rosary Adventures
- Third Place Walter the Food Truck’s Big Mission “Serving Food, Faith, and Friendship”
B1501: ANTHOLOGY
- First Place She Loved: Resting in the Beauty of Motherhood
- Second Place The Essential Cardinal Newman Collection: Prayers, Meditations, and Other Spiritual Writings
- Third Place Towards Dawn: Essays in Hopefulness
B1502: MEMOIR
- First Place I Will Come To You: A Story of Adoption and the Relentless Love of God
- Second Place Finding Flannery: A Travel Memoir Exploring the Mystique of Flannery O’Connor and the Legacy She Has Left Us All
- Third Place More Than Half Way Home: A Story of Accompaniment in the Shadows of Incarceration
- Honorable Mention Why I Believe in God
B1551: POETRY
- First Place Resting Place
- Second Place The Wisdom I Can’t Teach
- Third Place Invited to the Feast
- Honorable Mention Seeing Things
B1552: BACKLIST BEAUTY
- First Place Abide: A Pathway to Transformative Healing and Intimacy with Jesus
- Second Place Set the World on Fire: A 4-Week Personal Retreat with the Female Doctors of the Church
- Third Place Finding God In Suffering
- Honorable Mention Sacred Wounds: An Encounter with Jesus on the Holy Ground of Suffering
- Honorable Mention Eight Promises of God: Discovering Hope Through the Beatitudes
B1553B: EDITED COLLECTIONS – CLASSIC AUTHORS
- First Place Saints of the First Monasteries (Catholic Classics)
- Second Place The Brothers Karamazov
- Third Place The Imitation of Christ (Catholic Classics)
- Honorable Mention Marian Fathers’ Classic Edition of True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin
B1553C: EDITED COLLECTIONS – CONTEMPORARY/MODERN AUTHORS
- First Place Indispensable: A Catholic Guide to Welcoming Persons with Disabilities
- Second Place Beneath the Roar and Tumult: Promoting Radical Hospitality and Belonging in College Classrooms
- Third Place Gate of Heaven: Reflections on the Mother of God
- Honorable Mention The End of the Affair
B1651: RELIGIOUS BOOK SERIES
- First Place Lectures from Rome
- Second Place Socrates Meets
- Third Place Illuminate: A Guided Advent Journal for Prayer and Meditation
- Honorable Mention First Reconciliation and Beyond: A Family’s Guide for Learning and Living Forgiveness
B1653: YOUNG ADULT FICTION BOOK SERIES
- First Place In Plain Sight
B1654: SCRIPTURE – SERIES
- First Place A Catholic Guide to the New Testament
- Second Place Bible Basics for Catholics (Expanded Edition)
- Third Place Deuteronomy
B1655: ADULT FICTION BOOK SERIES
- First Place The Wanderer and the Way
- Second Place Growing A Family in Persimmon Hollow
- Third Place Joline