Trade or industry
ECPA Christian Book Awards
Evangelical Christian Publishing Association (ECPA)
In short
The Christian Book Awards have been presented since 1978 by the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association, the trade association for Christian publishers, across thirteen categories. Christian booksellers, distributors, and ministry buyers follow the results. Because a publishers' association runs it, the publisher is normally the entrant: ask whether your publisher is a member and whether your book is being entered. The entry rules were not readable when this record was checked, so a hybrid or self-published author should confirm eligibility, copies, fees, and the deadline with the association directly.
Rules not verifiedChecked September 16, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Every label is a fact from the official rules, never a judgment about whether the award is worth entering. How we describe awards.
We have not confirmed the current deadline and the entry fee. We could not confirm this record's current rules against the official source. Read it as background, not as a deadline: nothing here sets a date on your checklist or sends you a reminder until we have checked it. Read the official rules (opens in a new tab).
The Christian Book Awards have been presented annually since 1978 by the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association (ECPA), the trade association for Christian publishers. The program currently lists thirteen categories: Bibles, Bible Reference Works, Bible Study, Ministry Resources, Biography and Memoir, Christian Living and Spiritual Formation, Faith and Culture, Devotion and Gift, Children, Young People's Literature, New Author, Audio, and Relationships (Marriage, Family, and Parenting).
Entries are made through ECPA's submissions page on ecpa.org (opens in a new tab). That page couldn't be opened when this record was prepared, so the eligibility rules (including whether the publisher must be an ECPA member, how self-published titles are treated, publication dates, fees, copies, and the current deadline) must be confirmed directly on the ECPA site.
ECPA also runs the Christy Awards for Christian fiction, with a similar submissions process on ecpa.org (opens in a new tab) and a gala each November.
Why it may matter
For books sold through Christian retail and church channels, the Christian Book Awards are the recognition that Christian booksellers, distributors, and ministry buyers track most closely. Because the program is run by a publishers' association, an author should expect the publisher to be the entrant and should confirm membership and eligibility rules before assuming a self-published or general-market title can be entered.
Deadlines
No cycle has been verified for this award yet. Use the official rules link.
Worth knowing
Our reading, not a rule the organization published. We judge an award on the rubric in how we describe awards.
Confirmed on christianbookawards.com (opens in a new tab), the award's own site: the program has run since 1978 and lists 13 categories. Not confirmed, because the pages that carry the rules refuse an automated request: who may submit, the ECPA membership requirement, the eligible publication window, entry fees, the current cycle's open and close dates, and the prize. As of September 16, 2026 the next cycle was not announced on christianbookawards.com (opens in a new tab), and the ECPA submissions page (ecpa.org/page/cba_submissions (opens in a new tab)) again refused an automated request. No deadline or fee is recorded here on purpose. Read the ECPA submissions and rules pages before you ask a publisher to enter.
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 16, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.
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