Four Ave Maria Press titles won 2022 Excellence in Publishing Awards from the Association of Catholic Publishers.
In the general interest category, Our Not-Quite-Holy-Family by Mark and Melanie Hart took first place.
St. Dymphna's Playbook by Tommy Tighe and A White Catholic's Guide to Racism and Privilege by Daniel P. Horan tied for third place in the general interest category. Deacon Harold Burke Sivers also won a third-place award in resources for ministry for his book for deacons, Our Life of Service.
First-, second-, and third-place awards were given in sixteen categories. An overall resource of the year from among the first-place winners will be announced later this summer.
See the complete list of winners on the ACP website.
Go on an extended road trip this summer with The Bleacher Brothers—Fr. Casey Cole, OFM, and Fr. Roberto “Tito” Serrano, OFM.
From Miami to Seattle and Chicago to Los Angeles, the Franciscan friars are crisscrossing the United States and Canada to attend games at all thirty Major League Baseball stadiums to meet people where they are, preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In 2013, Cole and Serrano began to dream how they might preach in the modern world like St. Francis of Assisi did in the 13th Century: to ordinary people in the spaces they gather in ways they understand. Avid baseball fans, Cole and Serrano came up with the idea of spending a summer visiting the ballparks of America’s pastime, inviting people “home” to the Catholic Church. That dream is finally coming true this summer.
They will celebrate Masses and also visit Catholic schools, parishes, and dioceses for talks along the way.
“St. Francis didn’t just preach in churches,” Cole said. “He had a gift of finding God even in the ordinary. For 800 years, the Franciscans have continued this legacy. This trip is our way of continuing what St. Francis started.”
The tour coincides with the release of Cole's new book, The Way of Beatitude: Living Radical Hope in a World of Division and Despair. He explores the mearning of the words Jesus preached at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12) and shows readers how to get beyond apathy and despair and help Christ bring about the Kingdom of Heaven in the here and now. The Beatitudes, Cole says, offer a path toward radical change.
The stadium tour kicks off with a visit to the Miami Marlins (vs. Atlanta Braves) on May 20 and ends with the Colorado Rockies (vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers) on July 30. You can see the complete schedule for The Bleacher Brothers tour on breakinginthehabit.org.
Josh Noem has been named editorial director at Ave Maria Press.
"Josh brings a solid Catholic background, a deep understanding and appreciation of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and strong management experience to Ave’s editorial department. He also offers the creative energy and vision to help our management team expand the reach of our books and digital content,” said Karey Circosta, publisher and CEO. “I am excited that he is joining the Ave family."
"The team at Ave Maria Press is bringing creativity and faithfulness to the work we have ahead of us as a Church in the coming years, and I’m thrilled to join the effort," Noem said. "What a gift to be working alongside authors and the Congregation in forming communities of the coming kingdom."
Noem serves as senior editor at the award-winning Grotto Network, an initiative from the University of Notre Dame that is pioneering new approaches to digital evangelization. The platform engages disaffiliated young adults online and welcomes them back to practicing communities of faith. Noem develops original content and has grown a diverse pool of freelance writers to contribute to the platform.
He previously worked as editor of FaithND, a service of the Notre Dame Alumni Association, where he grew the reach of the daily Gospel reflection email tenfold. Noem also has served in campus ministry at the University of Portland, as a facilitator for the Notre Dame Satellite Theological Education Program, and as a blogger for the USCCB’s ForYourMarriage.org. Noem began his career as an editor and reporter at the Florida Catholic newspaper.
He is the author of The End of Ending, which took first place in the Catholic Media Association book awards in 2021. Noem and his wife, Stacey, are active parishioners at St. Joseph Parish, South Bend. He has served on the school boards of both St. Joseph Grade School and St. Joseph High School.
Noem officially will join Ave on May 20.
Nine books by Ave Maria Press authors—including three books in two separate categories—are finalists for the 2022 Excellence in Publishing Awards by the Association of Catholic Publishers.
The books and their categories are:
Real Presence by Timothy P. O’Malley and the McGrath Institute for Church Life, theology;
Oración y Espiritualidad by Andres Arango, Spanish;
Our Life of Service by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, resources for ministry;
Pray for Us by Meg Hunter-Kilmer, inspirational;
Finding Sanctuary by Jennifer Hubbard, inspirational;
Awakening at Lourdes by Christy Wilkens, inspirational;
St. Dymphna’s Playbook by Tommy Tighe, general interest;
Our Not-Quite-Holy Family by Mark and Melanie Hart, general interest; and
A White Catholic’s Guide to Racism and Privilege by Fr. Daniel P. Horan, OFM, general interest.
“I am so pleased that these authors have been recognized as award finalists,” said Karey Circosta, publisher and CEO of Ave Maria Press. “These book selections represent the depth and breadth of the outstanding work we publish at Ave.”
First-, second-, and third-place winners for each category will be announced in June. A resource of the year will be named from among the first-place finishers in the fourteen overall book and music categories. There are ninety-five finalists representing eighteen Catholic publishers among the finalists.
See the complete list of finalists on the ACP website.
South Bend, Ind.—Three men will be ordained priests of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers, at 2 p.m. EDT April 23, 2022, at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame.
Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend will confer the Sacrament of Holy Orders on Cameron Cortens, Drew Clary, and Gabriel Griggs, C.S.C.
The Mass will be live-streamed at livestream.holycrossusa.org and later posted on YouTube.
“We are blessed to have our brothers Cameron, Drew, and Gabe join us in the ministry of the priesthood,” said Provincial Superior Fr. William M. Lies, C.S.C. “Each of them brings unique talents and gifts to our community. It has been a delight to watch them grow and immerse themselves in our mission. They will be joyful ministers of the Sacraments and bring hope to the people of God.”
Cortens is the oldest of four children of Caroline and Andrew Cortens of Boise, Idaho. He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Notre Dame. He entered formation with Holy Cross in 2014.
He will celebrate his first Mass at noon EDT April 24, 2022, at the Basilica.
Clary is the oldest of three children of Pamela and Richard Clary, of Castroville, Texas. He earned a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees from Notre Dame and entered formation with Holy Cross in 2015.
He will celebrate his first Masses on April 24, 2022, at 8 a.m. EDT (English) at St. Adalbert Church, South Bend, and at 11:30 a.m. EDT (Spanish) at St. Casimir Church, South Bend.
Griggs grew up in South Bend, the oldest of three children of Ann and Gladden Griggs. He earned bachelor’s and master’s from Notre Dame. Griggs entered formation in Holy Cross.
He will celebrate his first Mass at 10 a.m. EDT April 24, 2022, at the Basilica.
Kristi M. McDonald has been named executive editor, trade, at Ave Maria Press by Karey Circosta, publisher and CEO.
McDonald has worked for Ave Maria Press in various editorial capacities since 2010, most recently as an acquisitions editor. She is responsible for acquiring books by bestselling and award-winning authors including Bob Schuchts, John Bergsma, Sr. Miriam James Heidland, Emily Wilson Hussem, Fr. John Burns, Brandon Vogt, Danielle Bean, Mark Hart, and Kevin Cotter.
“It's an absolute joy to be joining the staff of Ave Maria Press, where I have spent more than ten years in collaboration with the amazing team of authors, editors, marketers, and designers that creates some of the most influential and formative books in Catholic publishing,” McDonald said.
Circosta praised McDonald’s work and the impact the books she has acquired have had on the Body of Christ. “Kristi is an outstanding editor who has shepherded books—such as Bob Schuchts’s Be Healed—that have provided a path to healing for many Catholics. I am so pleased to have her back on staff as a full-time editor.”
She is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville and previously worked as director of resource development for Catawba County United Way and a journalist for The Washington Times. She and her family live in Tennessee.
Responding to Suicide: A Pastoral Handbook for Catholic Leaders has been named Resource of the Year by the Association of Catholic Publishers.
The book earned a first-place award in resources for ministry in the ACP’s 2020 Excellence in Publishing Awards, which qualified it as a Resource of the Year finalist. Fourteen books were evaluated on eight criteria addressing audience appeal, potential impact on Catholic thinking, action, and faith/spirituality, and whether the book would be a Catholic “classic” or bestseller.
One member of ACP’s five-judge panel emphasized that one of the strengths of the book is that it focuses on a timely topic presented in an accessible way. Another judge noted that it explores the psycho-social-spiritual aspects of suicide in a balanced and pastoral way, making the book a necessary resource for those in parish ministry.
"We so much appreciate ACP’s recognition of Responding to Suicide as Resource of the Year,” said Karey Circosta, publisher and CEO of Ave Maria Press. “The Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, Deacon Ed Shoener, and Bishop John P. Dolan created a unique and much-needed book that allows pastoral leaders to better understand suicide and more effectively minister to those who are grieving. Their work is a blessing to the Church."
The National Center for Health Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that suicide was the tenth most common cause of death among Americans of all ages in 2017 and the second leading cause of death among fifteen to twenty-four year-olds.
More than a dozen contributors from across the spectrum of Catholic life provide rich guidance rooted in firsthand experience of suicide loss. Contributors include Deacon Ed Shoener, Bishop John P. Dolan, Msgr. Charles Pope, Leticia Adams, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, and clinical experts in the field of mental health and suicide. They share personal stories of loss, grief, hope, and healing, and clear up misconceptions about Church teaching.
Responding to Suicide also earned a third-place award in pastoral ministry books from the Catholic Media Association. The companion book for survivors, When a Loved One Dies by Suicide, won a second-place award in the general interest category from the ACP and an honorable mention in grief and bereavement from the CMA.
You can read the complete announcement on the ACP website.
Heather Glenn has been promoted to director of sales and marketing at Ave Maria Press and will serve on the core leadership team.
Glenn joined Ave as an intern in 2007. She has served in a variety of capacities, most recently as marketing manager, a role she assumed in 2020. “She has been such an integral part of our marketing department since day one,” said Publisher Karey Circosta. “Heather took over most of the responsibilities of managing the marketing department for the past year as I transitioned to publisher. She has embraced the challenge with skill and grace.”
Glenn is excited to continue Ave’s important work in serving the Church. "I am deeply humbled and blessed to work with such an exemplary team of colleagues who often go above and beyond to serve our mission, provide support for our authors and customers, and show compassion for one another,” Glenn said. “I owe them endless gratitude for their mentorship and encouragement throughout the years and I am delighted to join the core leadership team at Ave as we continue to advance the important work of serving the Congregation of Holy Cross and our sisters and brothers across the globe.”
Among her accomplishments, Glenn spearheaded Ave’s launch of a new website in 2020, which Circosta identified as a “herculean effort.” The website was honored by the Catholic Media Association in June with a 2020 Catholic Media Award.
Circosta credited Glenn’s leadership with moving the marketing department forward under unusual and challenging circumstances. “Under Heather’s leadership, the marketing team has continued to grow Ave Explores and Ave Spotlight, found innovative ways to sell books during the pandemic, creatively marketed Ave’s first Bible, developed more inventive and attractive marketing collateral than ever before, established new relationships with outside marketers to help with influencer campaigns, online advertising, and SEO, and so many more things.”
Glenn is a 2007 graduate of Saint Mary’s College with a double major in English writing and English literature with a minor in business. She and her family live in the South Bend, Indiana, area.
