Hey, I’m Austin.

I write books at the intersection of faith and the human experience.

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The Long Road to Holy Island: A Novel

Cameron MacAllister is an unlikely pilgrim, not least because he doesn't believe in God ... and he hates walking. But when his mother dies unexpectedly, Cameron learns of her dreams to travel Saint Cuthbert's Way through the hills of Northumberland to Holy Island. She will never have the chance to fulfill that dream, but he can. For her.

What ensues is a story of grief, the kindness of strangers, and the intrigue of his enigmatic and unexpected traveling companion, Brother Aidan, an elderly monk who insists all of life is about learning to pray. As the miles pass under his feet and conversations flow, Cameron must confront questions he had long since considered settled, questions about life, faith, and the difficulty of making sense of a world that itself so rarely makes sense.

Releasing Nov. 17, 2026 from Monkfish Books.

Praise for The Long Road to Holy Island

Kristen Holt-Browning, author of Ordinary Devotions

“This novel invites us along on a young man’s singular, grief-driven journey, which gradually and gracefully widens to encompass a community of fellow travelers and seekers, from Brother Aidan to Bede the cat, from the holy fool Symeon to Anne, whose devotion to Lindisfarne resides deep in her bones. The Long Road to Holy Island is a moving meditation for both the reader and Cameron; like this grieving son, the reader is invited to open up to the world, to embrace the possibility of union with both the people we meet and the land upon which we walk. Suggs has gifted us with a vision of spirituality and an approach to mourning that is expansive, interpersonal, ongoing, and rooted in connectedness. By the time I read the final page and closed the book, I, like Cameron, felt newly awakened, alive to the possibilities of faith and kinship in ‘this new meaning-saturated world.’”

Matthew Levering, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary

“What a delightful novel! The characters come alive, and the book is a quest—following St. Cuthbert’s Way, guided by Br. Aidan—a quest that turns out to be not only a recovery from loss, but also a passionate search for the wellsprings of Christian unity. Christian unity, grounded in the heritage of the faith and in self-sacrificial acts of love, is the very center of this story.”

Tsh Oxenrider, author of At Home in the World

“I’ve known for a while now that Austin was a sharp thinker and introspective creator. Thanks to his debut novel, I now know that he’s also a delightful storyteller! I found myself turning the pages, wanting to know more and more about each of his characters and their journeys—and to join them on that journey, both physically and spiritually. Now, I want to walk the pilgrim’s way to Holy Island myself and meet my own Br. Aidan.”

Meet the author

Austin Suggs works at the intersection of faith and fiction, driven by an insatiable curiosity about life and its many mysteries. You know how toddlers incessantly ask, “why?” till their parents can’t stand it anymore? Well, Austin never kicked the habit. And as all roads lead to Rome, so too all “why” questions eventually find their way to God. In his theological and fictional work, Austin seeks to bring others along for life’s most exciting task of trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. His debut novel, The Long Road to Holy Island, comes out on November 17, 2026 from Monkfish Books. You can find his theological work on YouTube as Gospel Simplicity and on Substack as Austin Suggs.

Austin holds a BA in Theology and MA in Liberal Arts. He lives outside Baltimore, MD with his wife, Eliza.

FAQ

  • The Long Road to Holy Island is available in the U.S. at Barnes & Noble (online and in select retail locations), Bookshop.org, and IndiePubs.

  • While The Long Road to Holy Island is not a true story, it is set in the “real world.” So, if you want to follow in Cameron’s footsteps, you can travel St. Cuthbert’s Way to Holy Island.

  • Austin is currently working on several projects, both fiction and non-fiction. Be sure to subscribe to his Substack if you want to keep up with news related to his books.