The 2024 Australian Christian Book of the Year, Young Australian Christian Writer and Australian Christian Teen Writer Awards were announced and prizes presented during the SparkLit Awards Night on Thursday 22 August, 2024. Join us to celebrate the courage and endeavour of our Christian writers!
The Australian Christian Book of the Year Award is given annually to an original book written by an Australian citizen. The award recognises and encourages excellence in Australian Christian writing. Entries close 31 March 2025. Download conditions and entry form here.
The Meaning of Singleness
Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church
Danielle Treweek
ISBN 9781514004852
This is a work of tremendous scholarship and intellectual acuity. By adopting the perspective of our destiny rather than origin, Treweek demonstrates that in church history, biblical exegesis and Christian theology, singleness has the same eternal significance as marriage. She takes on sacred cows and names Christian leaders who have veered away from the Bible to privilege marriage and devalue singleness. Treweek presents us with a vision of the church that is far more inclusive and faithful to Scripture. Taken seriously, this book will change the way churches operate, preachers preach, Christian organisations act, friends befriend, and crucially, how we love and are loved.
The following ten titles have been shortlisted for the 2024 Australian Christian Book of the Year Award.
Shortlisted
Searching for Paradise
Charles Nombo Lapa & Janet Dickson
9798385207008
Shortlisted
“A Curious Machine”
Edited by Arseny Ermakov & Glen O’Brien
9781666762594
This informed and nuanced collection of essays shows how Christians might advance a biblical understanding of humanity while embroiled in a tech tsunami and meeting the challenges posed by posthumanism and transhumanism. Are technologies good, bad or indifferent? How do digital technologies affect human agency, autonomy, decision-making and accountability? Ranging widely, the contributors explore John Wesley’s openness to the new technologies of his time, the imagination of H. G. Wells and the ethics of sex with robots. The result is scholarly and challenging but also practical, pastoral and positive.
Katherine Thompson shows how suffering can become a spiritual discipline. Because we can trust God with our pain, suffering can draw us closer to him. Thompson gently confronts unhelpful myths and platitudes and brings Scripture and the most useful tools psychology has to offer (like narrative therapy) to the task of embracing, reframing and processing life’s most difficult experiences. She includes raw and frank confessions from a range of sufferers. Thompson is sensitive and empathetic and her book is accessible and engaging. A friendly textbook and workbook for people suffering and those supporting them. Self-help done well.
Siu Fung Wu reads the Epistle to the Romans in the light of his own experience of disadvantage, prejudice, violence and injustice: first as an impoverished child in Hong Kong, then as a lonely student in Britain and a struggling immigrant in Australia. For an affluent and comfortable church, Wu’s insights are as valuable as they are uncomfortable. He gently questions readings of Scripture that ignore the fact that the original readers and hearers were most likely poor and marginalised. He also calls out the suffering Christians inflict on each other through discrimination and exclusive and patronising practices. Let’s listen and learn.
Without change there can be no growth. In this call to action, Andrew Heard urges church leaders to be confident in the unchanging truth of the gospel but pragmatic, entrepreneurial and adventurous when it comes to strategy, structure and methods. Heard is forceful but also cautious, compassionate and wise. He warns against traps, temptations, and false expectations and measures of success. A timely reminder of the gravity and significance of the ministry of proclamation. Every church needs a pastor who is enthusiastic about evangelism.
This generous and inspiring compilation is the fruit of a long life spent contemplating, teaching and practising Christian mission. The enterprise engages the head, heart and hands (intellectual rigour, deep love and practical application) and has transformed Ringma as much as his world. The book is encyclopaedic in scope and eclectic in nature. It explores issues, movements and protagonists throughout the history of the church and across its denominational divides. The insights are rich and the writing is both scholarly and personal. A valuable sourcebook on the history, strategy and spirituality of global Christian mission.
If God is beyond gender why do Christians feel at ease with images of God as male, but awkward about images of God as female? This thought-provoking and unsettling book explores such questions and examines the strand of wisdom literature which identifies the feminine figure Wisdom in the Old Testament with the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. Study of the evidence for this in Scripture and in the writings of the early church is followed by an invitation to consider how an understanding of Jesus as Sophia might enable us to become more Christ-like.
To address urgent contemporary environmental concerns, Kate Rigby revives the Hexameron—an ancient Christian practice of meditating on the six days of Creation. However, by adding a seventh meditation, she moves the focus from human dominion to God’s enjoyment and celebration of creation, so that we might see the world as God sees it and then rejoice and look after it. Rigby’s thoughts run deep and range widely. She draws on Scripture, early Christian writing, recent scientific research and her own experience. The result is at once devotional, serious, entertaining and personal.
So that we might be agile, flexible and sensitive to the needs and opportunities around us, Michael Frost tells the story of ten distinct movements in the history of Christian mission. While the gospel message is unchanging, the form that mission takes is fluid—like water. The metaphor serves not just to show how mission is shaped by context but also how movements advance with the humble contribution of ordinary Christians; there is a part for every Christian to play. A compelling and encouraging introduction to the history and theory of mission.
Shortlisted
Searching for Paradise
Charles Nombo Lapa & Janet Dickson
9798385207008
An extraordinary life. Charles Nombo Lapa has witnessed Papua New Guinea’s transition from a mosaic of tribes to a parliamentary democracy. This vivid yarn takes us from his Highlands village to Parliament House in Port Moresby. Lapa’s experience of colonisation and Christian mission together with his response to the gospel is instructive and challenges popular stereotypes. In both the old ways and the new, he must discern what to honour and retain and what to reject. Lapa’s sacrificial and faithful service to God and his people is moving and inspiring.
Greg Clarke has a doctorate in modern literature and long experience in publishing, academia and Christian mission. He is the CEO of Leprosy Mission Australia and the author of the 2014 Australian Christian Book of the Year, The Great Bible Swindle. Greg and his family are members of St Mark’s Anglican Church in Darling Point, Sydney.
Miriam Wei Wei Lo is a writer intrigued by the intersection between faith, art and messy human lives. After eleven years in country ministry with her husband, she returned to academia in 2019 and currently lectures in creative writing at Sheridan Institute of Higher Education in Western Australia. Miriam and her family go to East Fremantle Baptist Church. Her latest poetry collection is Who Comes Calling?
Catherine Place started out as a secondary school teacher. Theological study added to the excitement of raising a family with her husband Dan. She has written for a Catholic liturgical magazine, produced resources for teachers of Religious Education and Texts and Traditions in secondary schools and was a tutor at Corpus Christi Seminary and the Catholic Theological College in Melbourne.
Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture
Christopher Watkin
ISBN: 9780310128724
A philosopher uses the Bible to analyse and interpret contemporary Western culture. The task is ambitious and daunting but Watkin’s confidence, curiosity and joy are contagious. No matter where you happen to open the book, the author’s easy style, wide-ranging scholarship and generosity grab your attention and you are off, exploring the unfolding biblical narrative and how it cuts through assumptions and ideologies to speak to our times. An enlightening and absorbing read for anyone wanting to deepen their appreciation of how the Bible addresses our world here and now. To reframe debates and culture wars, you will return regularly to this resource.
Appalled and infuriated by the abuse and degradation of the environment, a boy offers himself to God. God answers this child’s prayer and the ensuing adventure across continents and decades is breathtaking. The simple and sustainable system of land management that Tony Rinaudo pioneered in Niger is transforming the lives of subsistence farmers around the world and offers a model for solving our environmental crisis. Reviving dormant tree stumps is as powerful a metaphor as it is a method of reforestation. Tony is determined and faithful, and writes without guile or hubris. Irresistible, exemplary and, above all, hopeful.
Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World that Says You Shouldn’t
Stephen McAlpine
ISBN: 9781784985981
No longer just quaint or irrelevant, Christians in Western society are once again regarded as “haters of humankind”. After exploring the ways a Christian worldview is unacceptable in contemporary Australia and the complex situations in which this places orthodox believers, Stephen McAlpine gets down to business. There is neither reason nor time for indulging in despair or victimhood. Being the Bad Guys calls on Christians to admit our failures and embrace life as a creative minority. As a community on the margins, we can welcome the actual victims of contemporary culture as they look for grace and solace from its bruising brutality. McAlpine is fearless, feisty and fluent. This book is an overdue reset for Christians who have not yet realised that they are more like Daniel in Babylon than Solomon in the land of milk and honey.
For the Love of God: How the Church is Better and Worse Than You Ever imagined
Natasha Moore with John Dickson, Simon Smart & Justine Toh
Centre for Public Christianity
ISBN: 9780647530351
For the Love of God is a bold yet balanced appraisal of the impact of Christianity, examining both the best and worst of what Christians have done over two millennia. Natasha Moore and her collaborators confront the failure of those who claimed to follow Christ but were responsible for the Crusades, the Inquisition and the abuse of children. The ease with which Christians through the ages have ignored both the teaching of Jesus and the dissenting voices of contemporary prophets is a caution. The authors also show how—when they obey Jesus—Christians have contributed to what is beautiful and beneficial in culture and society. In a time of social media echo chambers, fact-free opinion bubbles and divisive culture wars, this sort of fair and generous commentary is invaluable.
The Fountain of Public Prosperity
Stuart Piggin & Robert D. Linder
ISBN (hardback): 9781925523461
ISBN (paperback): 9781925835403
The Fountain of Public Prosperity: Evangelical Christians in Australian History 1740–1914 by Stuart Piggin and Robert Linder is the 2019 Australian Christian Book of the Year. It is a challenge for the historian to make visible that which has long been invisible. The contribution Evangelicals have made to Australia has not so much been lost as never found. Understanding the fountain from which our present prosperity flows is the first step in reimagining a future for Australia. Professors Piggin and Linder have devoted decades to unearthing the story of ‘Christlike citizenship’ in Australia. The result is a gripping, deeply insightful and impressively researched contribution to Australian Christian history covering the eighteenth century through to World War I. The Fountain of Public Prosperity is a seminal work of national and international importance.
The Australian Christian Book of the Year Award is given annually to an original book written by an Australian citizen. The award recognises and encourages excellence in Australian Christian writing. Entries close 31 March 2022. Download conditions and entry form here.
The Australian Christian Book of the Year Award is given annually to an original book written by an Australian citizen. The award recognises and encourages excellence in Australian Christian writing. The ACBOY Award carries a prize of $3,000 for the author, and a framed certificate for the author and publisher.
Entries are judged with an eye to the:
Original nature of the work.
Literary style, including suitability for the target audience.
Design, layout, cover, text and illustrations.
Contribution that the book makes in meeting a need for Christian writing in the Australian situation and in the Australian market. Entries are read and judged by a panel selected by the SparkLit Council.
The Australian Christian Book of the Year Award has been conferred annually since 1981.
2024 Australian Christian Book of the Year The Meaning of Singleness: Retrieving an Eschatological Vision for the Contemporary Church by Danielle Treweek (InterVarsity Press)
Open 2024 awards results and judges’ comments.
2023 Australian Christian Book of the Year Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture by Christopher Watkin (Zondervan Academic)
Open 2023 awards results and judges’ comments.
2022 Australian Christian Book of the Year The Forest Underground: Hope for a Planet in Crisis by Tony Rinaudo (ISCAST)
Open 2022 awards results and judges’ comments.
2021 Australian Christian Book of the Year Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World that Says You Shouldn’t by Stephen McAlpine (The Good Book Company)
Open 2021 awards results and judges’ comments.
2020 Australian Christian Book of the Year For the Love of God: How the Church is Better and Worse Than You Ever Imagined by Natasha Moore with John Dickson, Simon Smart & Justine Toh (Centre for Public Christianity)
Open 2020 awards results and judges’ comments.
2019 Australian Christian Book of the Year The Fountain of Public Prosperity: Evangelical Christians in Australian History 1740–1914 by Stuart Piggin & Robert D. Linder (Monash University Publishing)
Open 2019 awards results and judges’ comments.
2018 Australian Christian Book of the Year The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History by Meredith Lake (NewSouth Publishing)
Open 2018 awards results and judges’ comments.
2017 Australian Christian Book of the Year Our Mob, God’s Story: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists Share their Faith edited by Louise Sherman & Christobel Mattingley (Bible Society Australia)
Open 2017 awards results and judges’ comments.
2016 Australian Christian Book of the Year Child Arise! The Courage to Stand by Jane Dowling (David Lovell Publishing)
Open 2016 awards results and judges’ comments.
2015 Australian Christian Book of the Year Captains of the Soul by Michael Gladwin (Big Sky Publishing)
Open 2015 awards results and judges’ comments.
2014 Australian Christian Book of the Year Winner. The Great Bible Swindle by Greg Clarke (Bible Society Australia)
Open 2014 awards results and judges’ comments.
2013 Australian Christian Book of the Year Forged with Flames by Ann Fogarty (Wild Dingo Press)
Open 2013 awards results and judges’ comments.
2012 Australian Christian Book of the Year Gumbuli of Ngukurr: Aboriginal Elder in Arnhem Land by Murray Seiffert (Acorn Press)
Open 2012 awards results and judges’ comments.
2011 Australian Christian Book of the Year Economics for Life by Ian Harper (Acorn Press)
Open 2011 awards results and judges’ comments.
2010 Australian Christian Book of the Year Losing My Religion by Tom Frame (UNSW Press)
Open 2010 awards results and judges’ comments.
2009 Australian Christian Book of the Year No Ordinary View by Naomi Reed (Ark House Press)
Open 2009 awards results and judges’ comments.
