WESTMONT, IL—InterVarsity Press is pleased to announce that Struck by Russ Ramsey was selected as a finalist in the biography and memoir category of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association’s (ECPA) 2018 Christian Book Award® program.
The Christian Book Award® program has recognized the absolute highest quality in Christian books since 1978. Based on excellence in content, literary quality, design, and impact, the Christian Book Award® program is the oldest and among the most prestigious awards in the religious publishing industry.
“The quality and variety of the finalists exemplify the commitment to literary excellence of the Christian publishing industry,” said ECPA executive director Stan Jantz. “These books and Bibles reflect a professional curation process that begins with an idea in the mind of an author and ends with literature that brings the transforming message of Christ to millions of people of all ages. We are excited to honor our publishers with this recognition.”
Struck: One Christian’s Reflections on Encountering Death is the story of Ramsey’s journey through a near-fatal heart disease in real time. He was struck by a bacterial infection that destroyed his mitral valve, sending him into heart failure and requiring urgent open-heart surgery. As he faced the possibility of death, he found himself awakened to new realities. In the critical days and months that followed, Ramsey came to see the world through the eyes of affliction. He grappled with fear, anger, depression, and loss, and yet he experienced grace through the suffering that filled him with a hope and hunger for the life to come.
Claire Gibson, a freelancer writer and novelist, said, “Struck is Russ Ramsey’s raw, unflinching look at what it means to be a person of faith in the midst of physical suffering. Doctors should read this book to better understand their patients. Nurses should read this book as a reminder to leave ‘trail magic’ for the weary. But this book isn’t just for those who work in hospitals. To those whose lives or loved ones have been struck by pain, trauma, or heartbreak, this book speaks boldly about grief and the recovery process. Russ offers no silver linings. Instead, he offers the truth.”
The Christian Book Award® winners in each category, along with the 2018 Christian Book of the Year®, will be announced on May 1, 2018, at the ECPA Awards celebration held during the ECPA Leadership Summit in Washington, DC. The dinner event will be held after-hours in the Museum of the Bible and will celebrate forty years of Christian Book Awards, with Anne Graham Lotz serving as the keynote speaker.
See a complete list of IVP’s award-winning titles at ivpress.com/award-winners.
Founded in 1947 as an extension of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, InterVarsity Press serves those in the university, the church and the world by publishing thoughtful Christian books that equip and encourage people to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord in all of life. For more information, visit ivpress.com.
Contact: Krista Clayton | 630.734.4013 | kclayton@ivpress.com
