Professor Candida Moss wins 2026 Grawemeyer Award for book God’s Ghostwriters

Theology Professor Candida Moss has won a major religious study prize for her book that explores the makings of the Christian bible.

Candida Moss, Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology at the University of Birmingham, has been awarded the 2026 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for her book God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of the Bible.

The annual Grawemeyer Award in Religion honours an exceptional work of religious and spiritual study, and recognises work that provides significant insights into the relationship between human beings and the divine, including the ways in which this can inspire and empower human beings to attain wholeness, integrity, or meaning, either individually or in community.

The award, named after US philanthropist and entrepreneur Charles Grawemeyer, comes with a $100,000 prize which is funded by the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and the University of Louisville.

In God’s Ghostwriters, Professor Moss examines the role of slaves in the formation of the Bible’s New Testament.

Authorship of the Bible is traditionally ascribed to Evangelists and Apostles, including familiar names like Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul, but Professor Moss's research shines a light on the enslaved scribes who were responsible for producing the earliest works in the New Testament. These Christian slaves had a huge role to play in the dissemination of the Christian gospel across the Roman Empire, but their efforts were largely forgotten.

Professor Candida Moss reacted to the award saying: “I am profoundly honoured and deeply moved to receive the Grawemeyer Award in Religion for God’s Ghostwriters.

“To be counted among such an extraordinary and visionary group of previous recipients, scholars whose work has shaped the field and broadened public understanding, is both humbling and inspiring. This honour affirms the importance of telling fuller, more honest stories about the people whose labour created the texts that have shaped our world, and I am grateful beyond words.”

Professor Moss is widely recognised as one of the leading religious scholars in the world. Her research focuses on the wide array of ideas about body and power in early Christianity, including slavery, disability, martyrdom, death, suffering, and the afterlife.

Professor will present a public lecture on her work at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary on Thursday, April 16, 2026, where she will formally receive the award from the seminary and the University of Louisville.

Tyler Mayfield, Grawemeyer Religion Award Director and Associate Dean of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, said of the award: “God’s Ghostwriters and its author are worthy additions to our revered list of Grawemeyer winners.”