Chrism Press aims to bring you the very best Catholic and Orthodox fiction…and the Association of Catholic Publishers agrees.
This week, the Association of Catholic Publishers announced the winners of its annual Excellence in Publishing Awards. While this well-respected program has existed for many years, this is only the second year they’ve offered a fiction category and the first time Chrism Press has entered.
…And we swept the awards.
When we opened our doors five years ago with the goal of bringing you fiction across all genres from the best Catholic and Orthodox voices of our generation, we already knew that stories have the power to change the world. We also knew that God speaks in mysterious ways: in the voices of classics like The Divine Comedy and Crime and Punishment, yes, but also that the Spirit continues to enliven the hearts and imaginations of writers in our own day, and only He knows the limits of where He’ll take us through stories. So we’re not one bit surprised that the ACP committee chose as the best Catholic novel of the year…a book about zombie leprechauns.
The Holy Spirit may usually be depicted as a dove, but there’s a reason why early Christians often called Him a wild goose instead.
Congratulations to Eleanor, Rebecca, Erica, and the entire Chrism Press team! If you haven’t read these books yet, what are you waiting for? And if you have, send a copy to a friend. Ask him or her to join you in anointing your imagination…and have some fun along the way!
First Place: Wake of Malice by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson
When Father Michael Walsh, a Jesuit priest on the western coast of Ireland, faces a charge of embezzlement, a London newspaper sends expatriate Irish reporter Hugh Buckley home to deliver a story—or else. Buckley and his photographer colleague Frederick Jones arrive in the village of Doolin to find themselves embroiled in a tangled mess of parish politics, occult practices, and bloody murder. By night, as wicked things rise from the earth, Buckley faces his own long-repressed struggles with his country, his abandoned faith, and his dead family. But by day, he finds help, both professional and personal, from English Dominican friar Father Thomas Edmund Gilroy, OP, who has come to Doolin to support his friend Father Michael and to aid in the spiritual battle against the occult.
Can Hugh and Freddie save their employment—and their skins—as the grotesque violence intensifies? Or will they and the rest of the village of Doolin be consumed by dark powers lurking within the mysterious landscape of Ireland?
Learn more or order here.
Second Place: Love in the Eternal City by Rebecca W. Martin
Rome—once the heart of an empire, now the heart of the Catholic Church—has witnessed many love stories. When the Eternal City draws together a Swiss Guard and an American expat, a modern-day romance blooms in the shadow of Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Haunted by a broken engagement and betrayed by her best friend, Elena Gattino travels to Rome for a new job and the hope of a new life. Fueled by pasta and bolstered by prayer, she becomes brave enough to forge new friendships with the Rechsteiner siblings as she explores Rome and finds her footing at work.
Benedikt Rechsteiner is comfortable serving in the Swiss Guard, even if he recognizes his life lacks a special something…or someone. Simmering family tensions and uncertainty about his future have left Beni wary of relationships, but his unexpected feelings for Elena challenge him to face his fears.
Soon, Beni and Elena’s friendship turns into more, thanks to the matchmaking meddling of a Vatican spymaster, a Swiss Guard comrade-in-arms, and Beni’s overenthusiastic yet lovable sister. But then Elena’s past follows her to Rome, putting her in danger that even Beni may not be able to save her from. And if Beni wants to be with Elena, he’ll need to discern where his own future lies—and reconcile with his father after years of bitterness. Can the two forge a relationship strong enough to withstand the suffering that comes their way? Or will the tensions of their own lives pull them apart?
Learn more or order here.
Third Place: The Oystercatcher of Southwark by Erica Colahan
Philadelphia, 1897—When Italian Catholic immigrant Mary Paragano runs away to marry a Jewish boy named Jakob, she does not find her happily ever after. Instead, she is disowned by her father, abandoned by her husband, and pursued by a jealous gangster. She ends her life in an asylum, accused of trying to murder her own children.
Philadelphia, present-day—While Bella, Mary’s great-great-granddaughter, tries to cope with the pain of her recent divorce, she is approached by Sophie, a stranger claiming to be a relative of Jakob, the man who abandoned Mary to her horrible fate 125 years before. As the women piece together what happened on that tragic night, they soon realize things are not always what they seem. Was Jakob a scoundrel and Mary insane? And how have deceptions more than a century old affected their lives even in the present day?
Based on the actual events of the life of the author’s great-great-grandmother, The Oystercatcher of Southwark is a journey through the immigrant neighborhoods of South Philadelphia that focuses on the intense love of a mother for her children and the redemptive hope that God offers to all creation.
Learn more or order here.