Bill Chadwick, a retired pastor in Minnetonka, Minnesota, has been chosen winner of the Presbyterian Writers Guild’s 2022 Best First Book Award, co-sponsored by the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Chadwick, a graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary, won the prestigious award for his memoir, Still Laughing, Still Learning (Still Looking for a Good Title).

Chadwick’s book – a compilation of stories chronicling his career as a Presbyterian minister – “is one of a handful of books I’ve read that is laugh-out-loud funny, said Best-First-Book-Committee chair Jerry Van Marter.

Added committee member Skip Dunford of Elizabethtown, Kentucky: “Bill’s stories capitalize on the ability of stories to help readers experience both the humor and pathos of life. Its appeal lies in the author’s ability to transform short stories into larger life lessons.”

Still Laughing, Still Learning was one of seven books nominated for the biennial award, which includes a $500 cash prize funded by PPC. This year’s contest was open to books written by Presbyterian writers in 2020 or 2021.