With 2013 marking the 50th anniversary of the death of C.S. Lewis, Tyndale House Publishers plans to release a definitive hardcover biography by apologist, educator and best-selling author Alister McGrath.

C.S. Lewis—A Life will release March 2013, in advance of the anniversary observance of the death of the beloved Christian author who died Nov. 22, 1963.

"Not only is he [McGrath] one of the world's most respected Christian theologians, he's also a champion of C.S. Lewis' importance for Christian apologetics and understands the academic culture within which Lewis developed his ideas," said Tyndale Senior Vice President and Publisher Ron Beers. "He is ideally placed to write this biography and will introduce Lewis to a new generation of readers who are eager to understand the mind behind the 'Narnia' series and other popular Lewis works."

McGrath, a former atheist who grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, studied at Oxford University, where he became a Christian. McGrath subsequently served as professor of historical theology at Oxford until 2008, before taking up the newly established chair of theology, religion and culture at King's College London in London. He is the only scholar to have conducted a complete and chronological analysis of the entire collection of Lewis' written documentation," a Tyndale statement said.

Meanwhile, the St. Thomas Philosophy of Religion Project has announced the two winners of the 2012 C.S. Lewis Book Prize.

First place went to Natural Signs and the Knowledge of God: A New Look at Theistic Arguments (Oxford University Press, 2010) by C. Stephen Evans, university professor of philosophy and humanities at Baylor University.

Second place went to Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies (Brazos Press/Baker Publishing Group, 2009) by Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, professor of philosophy at Calvin College.

The prize recognizes the best recent book in the philosophy of religion or philosophical theology written for a general audience. Twenty-two entries were judged on quality of argumentation, importance of the positions argued for, level of accessibility to a general audience and stylistic or literary merits.