2026 Catholic Media Awards
The Catholic Media Association recently announced the winners of the 2026 Catholic Media Association Book Awards! During their Catholic Media Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, the program recognized the outstanding work of publishers, authors, and book editors that promote the faith-filled life of Catholic readers. We are excited to announce that nine outstanding books from Notre Dame Press have received top honors this year.
Second Place, Biography
The Glacier Priest: Father Bernard Hubbard and America’s Last Frontier
“The Glacier Priest would be a wonderful addition to an undergraduate course on topics such as Catholic culture, Alaskan mythos, and religion and politics, to name just a few. . . . [S]tudents will learn about the history of the United States, Catholicism, and Alaska through the lens of Father Bernard Hubbard’s colorful and interesting life.” —American Catholic Studies
Second Place, Philosophical Studies
Body and Identity: A History of the Empty Self
“Angela Franks’s Body and Identity: A History of the Empty Self illuminates how our culture came to be unrecognizable to so many. . . . It is a careful and vast intellectual history, engaging notable thinkers like Aristotle, Augustine, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, but also novelists like Jane Austen and C. S. Lewis, to explain the observable contemporary incoherence surrounding the self, the body, and identity. . . . This deeply considered work is a welcome contribution to the present literature on the body, gender ideology, and the self.” —Law & Liberty
Second Place, Religion in the Public Square
Abortion and America’s Churches: A Religious History of “Roe v. Wade”
“Religion did come to play a significant part in the evolution of abortion policy, a part more subtle and complex than today’s reductive abortion conversation tends to reflect. In his new book, Abortion and America’s Churches: A Religious History of ‘Roe v. Wade,’ Daniel K. Williams, a longtime student of the religious right, observes that the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision, signed by six Protestant justices and one liberal Catholic justice, reflected the consensus that mainstream Protestant denominations had reached on the issue.” —New York Review of Books
Third Place, Biography
Faith of the Fathers: The Comprehensive History of Catholic Chaplains in the Civil War
“Faith of the Fathers is a vital contribution to religious history in America’s bloodiest conflict. It will be the go-to book for anyone wanting to understand the experiences of Catholic chaplains in the war and, therefore, Catholics in the ranks.” —Emerging Civil War
Third Place, Ecumenism or Interfaith Relations
Translingual Catholics: Chinese Theologians before Vatican II
by Jin Lu
“Rarely does one encounter a “new work” that genuinely confronts entirely new research—Jin Lu’s Translingual Catholics is such a book. . . . Relying upon an impressive array of archival sources spanning the globe, adroit scholarly analysis, and trenchant intuition, Lu Jin’s Translingual Catholics is an essential work that shall, I hope, inspire a new generation of scholars to expose more details about the decisive influences that Chinese Christians have had upon the global Church.” —Journal of Religious History
Third Place, English Translation Edition
Challenging Modern Atheism and Indifference: Pascal’s Defense of the Christian Proposition
“In Challenging Modern Atheism and Indifference, Manent has provided an introduction to Pascal’s thought as well as a serious exploration of the political, personal, and religious needs of our moment. He is one of a very few political theorists rising to the challenge of his time, and it is a privilege to read him.” —Religion & Liberty
Honorable Mention, Theological Studies
Being before God: Cornelio Fabro, Thomism, and Søren Kierkegaard’s Theology
“No one has explored Fabro’s appropriation of Kierkegaard in depth. Furnal’s recovery of Fabro’s thought is thorough, compelling, and important. In this regard, the book has no rival.” —Lee C. Barrett, author of Kierkegaard on God’s Will and Human Freedom
Honorable Mention, History of Theology, Church Fathers and Mothers
The Controversial Thomas More: Politics, Polemics, and Prison Writings
“In each of the works that Curtright considers, he makes a compelling case that, far from leading a retired contemplative existence in the Tower of London, Thomas More continued to exercise his rhetorical abilities in defense of his religious and political convictions. . . . Thomas More’s sainthood rests on not his detachment from the world but rather his achievement of excellence through robust engagement as a layman in the world, both in family and political life.” —Modern Age
Honorable Mention, Jesus – Christology
The Light of Tabor: Toward a Monistic Christology
“Thoughtful and thought-provoking, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, The Light of Tabor: Toward a Monistic Christology is an extraordinary work of meticulous scholarship and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, seminary, college, and university library Christian Theology & Philosophy collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.” —Midwest Book Review