October 2026 | LISLE, IL—InterVarsity Press (IVP) is pleased to announce that The Journey of God: Christianity in Six Movements by J. D. Lyonhart was named the winner of the 2026 Word Awards for Best Non-Fiction Book. The Journey of God was also named the winner of the Academic category.
In addition, two IVP titles were honored as award finalists. Reading the Bible on Turtle Island: An Invitation to North American Indigenous Interpretation by Daniel Zacharias and T. Christopher Hoklotubbe was a finalist for the Indigenous Writer Award, and Preaching in a New Key: Crafting Expository Sermons in Post-Christian Communities by Mark R. Glanville was a finalist for Best Non-Fiction Book.
The Word Guild is Canada’s national association for Christian writers and communicators, bringing together authors, editors, publishers, speakers, booksellers, librarians, and others who share a passion for faith and the written word. The Word Guild Awards recognize outstanding Canadian Christian writers while encouraging excellence, professional growth, and faithful storytelling. The annual event for The Word Awards was held on October 3, where winners were announced.
The Journey of God travels through the six pivotal acts of the Christian story—Creation, Fall, Nation, Redemption, Church, and End. Each chapter unfurls as part novel, part sermon, and part philosophical inquiry, challenging readers to engage with deep theological questions in the order they naturally arise. Of his book, Lyonhart said, “I wanted to combine big ideas with big tales told provocatively, wedding my love of storytelling with my academic training as a professor of philosophy and religion.”
Lyonhart is a British-Canadian theologian, philosopher, author, and ordained minister, as well as an advocate for the learning disabled and neurodiverse. He is an associate professor of Christianity and philosophy at the University of Jamestown, a fellow at the Cambridge Center for the Study of Platonism at Cambridge University, and a cohost of the Spiritually Incorrect Podcast. See more at his website.
In Reading the Bible on Turtle Island, Indigenous scholars Chris Hoklotubbe and Danny Zacharias explore what it means to read the Bible from the lens of Indigenous peoples in North America. Indigenous culture has often been dismissed or deemed problematic within Western Christian circles, and historical practices have often communicated that Indigenous worldviews have little to offer the church or its understanding of Scripture. Hoklotubbe and Zacharias challenge this perspective, reasserting the dignity of these cultures that were condemned through colonial practices and showing how Indigenous interpretations bring invaluable insights to all of God’s people.
A quote from Foreword Reviews says, “Comprehensive and visionary, Reading the Bible on Turtle Island reimagines Christian faith in view of Indigenous experiences and identity.”
Dr. Mark Glanville provides a fresh look into the art of crafting sermons for post-Christian contexts in Preaching in a New Key. As the perception of the pastor has changed in recent years, and as congregations battle with increasing doubt, preaching appealing solely to rationality doesn’t resonate in the same way as it once did. In response, Glanville teaches the art of Christ-centered expository preaching integrated with creativity, cultural discernment, pastoral health, justice, missiology, and more in his book.
Glanville works as the director of the Centre for Missional Leadership at St. Andrews Hall, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He is an Old Testament scholar and has written five books, including Improvising Church and Preaching in a New Key. Glanville is also a professional jazz pianist, active on the Vancouver jazz scene. Mark’s podcast is Blue Note Theology, which he hosts from the grand piano.
For more information about The Word Guild, visit thewordguild.com. For the complete list of 2026 Word Award winners and finalists, visit https://thewordguild.com/the-word-awards-winners-finalists-2/.
Find the full list of IVP award winners at ivpress.com/award-winners.
Contact | Eva Hoilien | ehoilien@ivpress.com
