15th August, 2014
Bible Society CEO Greg Clarke’s book, The Great Bible Swindle, was named Australian Christian Book of the Year at the annual awards in Melbourne last night.
Second prize went to Roy Williams’ book In God They Trust?: The Religious Beliefs of Australia’s Prime Ministers 1901-2013 while Kel Richards’ murder mystery, CS Lewis and the Body in the Basement, came in at third place.
The awards – which recognise and celebrate "excellence" in Australian Christian writing – are hosted annually by Christian literature organisation SparkLit. This year’s judges included Mark Conner, senior minister at CityLife Church in Melbourne, Brisbane barrister Alex Crawford and religious educator Alice Priest.
Other books which were short-listed included Simon Carey Holt’s Eating Heaven: Spirituality at the Table, Cameron Semmons’ Love is the New Black, Ken Manley’s On the Way to Faith: Personal Encounters with Jesus in John’s Gospel, Joseph Wakim’s Sorry We Have No Space, and Scott Petty’s Tactics for Teen Ministry.
The award carries a cash prize of $2,500 which Clarke – whose book was described as a "concise, persuasive and friendly appeal to read the Bible" – will reportedly put toward promoting Bible literacy in Australia.
Other awards handed out on the night included the 2014 award for Young Australian Christian Writer which was won by Heidi Waddell for The Bridge and the award for Australian Christian Teen Writer which was won by Annie-Jo Vogler for Ellesmere Road.
– DAVID ADAMS
