Cindy Safronoff’s historical biography has been judged one of the best Christian books of the year. Results for the 2016 Illumination Book Awards contest have been announced, and in the category of “Christian Thought” judges gave a bronze award (3rd place) to Crossing Swords: Mary Baker Eddy vs. Victoria Claflin Woodhull and the Battle for the Soul of Marriage. This award category is in the Enduring Light Metals section of the contest, described as for books deemed to have an enduring message. The other winners in “Christian Thought” are A More Christlike God, by Bradley Jersak (Gold), and The Divine Progression of Grace: Blazing a Trail to Fruitful Living, by Bob Santos (Silver).

Best Christian Books

With the motto “Shining a light on exemplary Christian books,” the Illumination Book Award honors the best books published in the past year with a Christian worldview and “shines a light” on them.  Winners came from 27 different states, plus Canada and New Zealand. Winning books were published by long-established publishing companies, small presses, and self-published authors.

Christian Battle Themes

Crossing Swords was not the only award winning book using a battle theme to explore Christian concepts. Robert Vera won silver for A Warrior’s Faith, a book about wounded Navy Seal Ryan Job. Living Sword Publishing won gold for a Christian fiction book by Jaye L. Night called Resistance, which has the image of a sword on its cover. Tony Jones won gold for Did God Kill Jesus? The press release announcing the 2016 Illumination Book Awards was titled “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Awards Director Jim Barnes explains, “Christian authors use their storytelling and their voices as weapons – weapons of peace.”

The Battle for the Soul of Marriage

Crossing Swords with its “Battle for the Soul of Marriage” certainly fits the 2016 “Christian Soldiers” theme and the awards director’s explanation. This historical biography explores an 1870s marriage debate when America was wrestling the question of with how giving women full civil rights would change the institution of marriage. Despite the provocative book title and its subtitle about nineteenth-century American culture war, Crossing Swords is ultimately a book about peace–finding peace about and within marriage. 

Crossing Swords: Mary Baker Eddy vs. Victoria Claflin Woodhull and the Battle for the Soul of Marriage by Cindy Peyser Safronoff (This One Thing, July 4, 2015) is available on Amazon, by special order through your favorite local bookstore (through Ingram), and at a growing list of public libraries.

The post Crossing Swords wins award for best Christian books appeared first on Crossing Swords.

US History award winners

The winner was Riot: Witness to Anger and Change, a book about the 1962 student protests at the University of Mississippi over the admission of James Meridith, by Edwin E. Meek, for whom the Meek School of Journalism is named. In addition to Crossing Swords, there were five finalists writing on a variety of topics from settlers of the American west to survivors of natural disaster, including Below the Water Line: Getting Out, Going Back, and Moving Forward in the Decade After Hurricane Katrina by Lisa Karlin, and A Settler’s Year: Pioneer Life Through the Seasons by Kathleen Ernst, photography by Loyd Heath, published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

All the winners and finalists in all three History categories, including the US history award, are shown with descriptions on the History page of the contest website.

Twelfth annual USA Best Books contest

Competing in the contest were books from large publishing companies, independently published, and self-published. Over 2,000 books were entered into the contest, which were narrowed down to 400 winners and finalists in 100 categories. This marks the twelfth year of the USA Best Book Awards contest, based in Los Angeles, California, which judges books based on design, content, and overall appeal and helps promote them through their website, social media, and press releases.

Crossing Swords: Mary Baker Eddy vs. Victoria Claflin Woodhull and the Battle for the Soul of Marriage by Cindy Peyser Safronoff is available on Amazon or by special order from your favorite local bookstore. 

The post US History award finalist in USA Best Book contest appeared first on Crossing Swords.