ACU theologian Brad East wins national Gerson prize for writing on faith and public life
The award, presented in Washington, D.C., carries $10,000 and ongoing mentorship.
SchoolsBrad East, an associate professor of theology at Abilene Christian University, has won the 2026 Michael J. Gerson Memorial Prize for Excellence in Writing on Faith and Public Life.
He received it Oct. 13 at a Trinity Forum event at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. This is the second year the Washington nonprofit has given the prize, which recognizes up-and-coming writers on Christian faith and public questions. It comes with $10,000 and mentorship from the Trinity Forum as the winner's career goes on.
The prize is named for Michael Gerson, the former White House speechwriter and Washington Post columnist who died in 2022.
East's book Letters to a Future Saint won an Award of Merit in Christianity Today's 2024 Book of the Year honors, and his essays have run in publications including Christianity Today, Commonweal and First Things. He graduated from ACU in 2007 and was the university's Teacher of the Year in 2022.
