LONDON BOOK FESTIVAL NAMES ‘DIVINE WITNESSES’ FOR TOP HONORS


LONDON:_ A collection of stories told by those who bore witness to Christ and his many miracles is the grand prize winner of the 2026 London Book Festival, which celebrates the best of international publishing.

Author Steven Manchester’s Divine Witnesses (Luna Bella Press)  imagines scenarios featuring Biblical characters interacting with Jesus, applying lessons and miracles to modern-day challenges. Divine Witnesses bears witness to Jesus Christ's three-year ministry from a myriad of different perspectives.

The relatable story collection and its crisp writing make for a compelling read.
Other winners in the competition:


BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY:

WINNER: Spirit Guides and Angels: Death and Taxes — Wayne Cesaro

RUNNER-UP: My Family and “Them Languages” — Aline P'nina Tayar


HONORABLE MENTIONS:


BUSINESS:

WINNER: Careers By the People — Mike Wysocki

RUNNERS-UP:

  • How to Write a Self-Help Book in 14 Days — Lisa Daily
  • The Asset Play — Capt. Pradeep Singh


HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Climb Greater Heights — Tony Jeton Selimi
  • The Invisible Industry — Bob McGlincy


CHILDREN’S BOOKS:

WINNER: Bailey's Awesome Day — Mary Mayo Balfour Calvert

RUNNERS-UP:

  • A Flower for You — Tasha Nicole Terani
  • The Ridiculous Party — Julie Rogers Pomilia
  • A Tale of Two Seeds — C. Blatt
  • The Umbrella — Vickie Wilder
  • L'echange d'histoires: Une tradition familiale — Vassi Rombis

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Hamish & Jasper: The Giant Rescued Rabbits — Alan Barclay
  • Grandpa Red and the Cherokee Rose — H.H. Madsen
  • There's a Girebra in the Forest — Mike Stonecypher
  • ΏMe Dolerα el Corte de Pelo? — Martha Goldner
  • The Heart of a Leader — Dr. Josh McConkey
  • It's Okay to Have Feelings — Patricia Miller
  • A Princess on Her Own Terms — Kirsty Demuth


COMPILATIONS/ANTHOLOGIES:

WINNER: Gravity Flow: The Jimmy Whistler Stories — EM Schorb

RUNNER-UP:Chasing Legends: Motorcycle Stories from the Podcast Trail — Aaron Pufal

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Doρa Basura Manda: en una Tierra Llena — Martha Goldner
  • Fantastic!: A Celebration of Fans Discovering Doctor Who — Nicholas Seidler


GENERAL FICTION:

WINNER: Then Came The Summer Snow — Trisha T Pritikin

RUNNERS-UP:

  • A Step Too Far — Dell Brand
  • May Dodd — Jim Fergus
  • The Long Farewell — Bob Van Laerhoven
  • Asayi An Autistic Teen's Journey to Topple a Shogun in Medieval Japan — Sharon Curcio
  • One Ordinary Man — Steve Vesce
  • Purple Dove — J A Crawshaw
  • An Improbable Alliance — Diane Coia-Ramsay

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • The Fateful Voyage of the Empress of Ireland — Cheryl Roberts Gale
  • Attacking the Dragon — A. Marc Ross
  • Conniption Creek — Earl L Carlson
  • Framed in Love — Clifton Wilcox
  • In Search of Achilles — Marco van den Berg Scholten
  • Second Life — Jim Sniechowski, PhD
  • The Invisible Hand — Douglas Cole
  • The Return of the Flying Boat — Dale Morton
  • Munyori and Johannes in 72 Hours - Valencia Williams


GENERAL NONFICTION:

WINNER: Masters of the Ocean Sea — Andrei Romanov

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Imperial Religious Policy from Constantine to Theodosius - Ferdinando Emilio Abbate
  • The Call I Almost Missed: — Tommy Short
  • Before Their Crimes — Dr. Wendy Smith
  • Palimony - Steve Grossman

HONORABLE MENTIONS:<

  • Overcoming the Fear of Being Fabulous — Judith Sherven, PhD and Jim Sniechowski, PhD
  • Uprooted: A Memoir of Belonging and Becoming — S.B. Long
  • Being Broken — Geoffrey R Jonas
  • The Price of Hope — Rony Jane
  • Litter Lady Leads: in a Litter-filled Land — Martha Goldner


GENRE-BASED:

WINNER: Escala's Wish — David James

RUNNERS-UP:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Therein Lies the Pearl — Catherine Hughes
  • Vows of Love — Sandra Gharabaghli
  • The Escape - Eve M. Riley

HOW-TO:

WINNER: One Teacher at a Time - Ken Rand

RUNNER-UP: The 100-Page Subscription Pricing Book — Felix Mφrιe


MEMOIR:

WINNER: No Map Just Vision — Capt. Pradeep Singh

RUNNER-UP: Dancing with the Shadow - Agnes Bristow

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • My Family and 'Them Languages@ — Aline P'nina Tayar
  • Chasing Sex: Wanting Love, Finding Myself: A Memoir — Patti Britton
  • A Time Like No Other - Ken Rand


PHOTOGRAPHY/ART:

WINNER: The Other Worldly Deep — Charles Rawlings

RUNNER-UP: In The Valley of the Shadow — Steven Manchester & Brian Fox


POETRY:

WINNER: Ireland's Unparalleled Essence Vol. 1-5 — Norbert G. Gomes

RUNNERS-UP:

  • A Flower for You — Tasha Nicole Terani
  • The Wonderful Attic of Dreams - Ebenezer Makinde

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • American Mobile — EM Schorb
  • All the Shoulders of the Earth - Natia Khaduri


ROMANCE:

WINNER: Ava Again — Janet R. Perroni

RUNNER-UP: Ava's Connection: A Tumultuous Heart — Janet R. Perroni


SCIENCE FICTION:

WINNER: Diverging Streams — Earl L Carlson


SELF-HELP:

WINNER: Must: Becoming the Person You Are Meant to Be — Stephen Rue

RUNNER-UP: How to Write a Self-Help Book in 14 Days — Lisa Daily


SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS:

WINNER: Divine Witnesses — Steven Manchester

RUNNERS-UP:

  • What Does Jesus See in You? — Coleen Aquino and Conrad Aquino
  • The Cosmic Caretaker — Ang Anderson

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • No Place Like Heaven — Jill Deville
  • Spirit Guides and Angels: Death and Taxes — Wayne Cesaro
  • An Unknown Angel's Gift — Cherie S. Blackwell


WILD CARD:

WINNER: Ava — Janet R. Perroni

RUNNER-UP: Ava Again — Janet R. Perroni


YOUNG ADULT:

WINNER: The Concert — Lawson McDowell

RUNNERS-UP:

  • Guardians of the Cosmic Clocks:  Wings of the Gods - Jabril Yousef Faraj
  • Overtwixt: Welcome to the World of Bridges — R. L. Akers

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

  • Can Skinwalkers Swim? — Michael Wescott Loder
  • The Greenbrier River Adventures — Rusty McQuade