Our judging process began with 436 titles submitted by 67 publishers. CT editors selected finalists in each category, and then our panels of expert judges — one panel per category — sorted out the cream of the crop from 2008. Here are the 10 winners and 11 notables that best shed light on the people, events, and ideas that shape evangelical life, thought, and mission, with comments from our judges.

Fiction | Theology/Ethics | Spirituality | Missions/Global Affairs | The Church/Pastoral Leadership | History/Biography | Christian Living | Christianity & Culture | Apologetics/Evangelism | Biblical Studies

Fiction

Our judges said:

"This poignant follow-up to her Pulitzer Prize–winning Gilead resonates with sensory description, stark, unsentimental reflection on a bygone era, and a storyline that invites contemplation of prejudice, pride, aging, the church, and the biblical narrative of the prodigal son. It's also a profound reflection on the question: What does it mean to 'come home'? Another masterpiece."

Review: No Sweet 'Home' | Robinson's new novel deals with the harder side of life in Gilead. (November 17, 2008)

Books & Culture: Marilynne Robinson at Large Again | A sequel—or a companion—to Gilead, a very different book and just as astonishing. (September 8, 2008)

The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher
Rob Stennett (Zondervan)

Review: Dostoyevsky, American Evangelical-Style | Rob Stennett's The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher doesn't need to ask, 'Could this happen?' (January 30, 2009)

Theology/Ethics

People and Place: A Covenant Ecclesiology Michael S. Horton (Westminster John Knox)

Our judges said:

"A first-rate work that engages recent world-class voices across the confessional spectrum. Horton ...

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