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Editor’s Note
For most people, spring and summer mean vacations and time off; for book people those seasons bring the hustle of trade shows and may be the busiest time of the year. Last week’s BookExpo America in New York was crowded and a lot of work for those who exhibited and those who attended, but at the center of it all was the joy of learning about new books. This week the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit—for Catholic, Episcopal, and other liturgical booksellers--meets in St. Charles, Ill. Though much smaller and more relaxed than BEA, it is also a place to see what’s coming in the all-important fall publishing season. In July more book people will gather in Atlanta for the International Christian Retailers Show. All of these conventions are places to commune with others who have an unflagging passion for books and the ideas they carry into our lives.
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Religion in Review
A theology of contemplative practice; a humorous look at the fallout from the Great Recession; Pope Benedict on the Great Christian Thinkers; the Christianity of “emerging adults”; a memoir of Breaking Up with God; how the Bible became impossible; where was the Garden of Eden?; monastic responses to 9/11; a paucity of Muslim martyrs; Zen monks battle California wildfires; plus Web Exclusive reviews.
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Short Takes
Wisdom wins two Nautilus Awards; other Nautilus winners announced at BEA; Charisma launches self-publishing unit; CBA partners with SnapRetail on social media; SBL gets NEH grant for non-academic Web site; news in children’s and e-books from Tyndale House; B&H and Tyndale launch mobile apps; Thomas Nelson announces staff additions, promotions; Christian Book Services hires COO.
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Religion Books Among Those Earning Christopher Awards
Books by popular Catholic author and Jesuit priest James Martin and biographer Eric Metaxas were among those honored at the 62nd Christopher Awards given at a banquet in New York on May 19. The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything (HarperOne) earned Martin a second Christopher Award. Metaxas’s Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Thomas Nelson) earned yet another honor; that book has also been named Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, and the author won the 2011 Canterbury Medal, awarded by the Becket Fund for Religious Freedom.
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June 2011 Christian Marketplace Bestsellers
Voskamp’s Gifts are on the rise; three books on heaven are proof of its heat; Dekker’s newest makes the list; Lucado’s newest debuts at #8.
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Carol DeChant: Why Great American Catholic Eulogies Are Not a Downer
Carol DeChant still recalls the awe she felt while listening to the televised eulogy for Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, Archbishop of Chicago, in 1996. In fact, the speech was so memorable that DeChant, 72, said it immediately came to mind more than a decade later when she began brainstorming for her collection of tributes to deceased Catholics.
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Fewer Religion Houses at BEA, But Most Say They Will Be Back
Religion publishers arguably have more trade show options than any other category, with specialized book exhibits for evangelical Christian, Catholic/Episcopal, Jewish, New Age, and academic houses. That’s one reason there were far fewer religion publishers exhibiting at BookExpo this year—21 vs. the more than 50 of a decade ago. But those who were at BEA last week were upbeat, and while bemoaning the rapidly increasing costs of exhibiting at the show, they expressed a continued commitment to being there.
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Hell’s a-Poppin’: Chan Fuels Afterlife Debate with New Book
Bestselling author and pastor Francis Chan is the most prominent author adding two cinders to the debate over hell ignited by Rob Bell’s arguably universalist Love Wins (HarperOne, Mar.). Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity and the Things We Make Up (David C. Cook, July) will launch with a first printing of 250,000, a six-figure marketing budget, and a simultaneous audio release from Oasis Audio. Chan is founding pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, Calif., and his Crazy Love has sold more than 1.6 million copies.
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Fall 2011 Religion Announcements Submission Instructions
Detailed information for publishers wishing to submit titles for PW's Fall 2011 Religion Announcements Issue.
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She prays for strangers: PW Talks with River Jordan
River Jordan didn't mean to write her latest book. She only meant to keep one simple New Year's resolution.
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Finding God In Cyberspace: PW Talks with Adam Thomas
In his first book, Adam Thomas asks, can God be found in computer games? On Facebook? Is God with us when we tweet? Is God, Thomas wants to know, online?
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Speaking for herself: PW Talks to Maria Ebrahimji
As a producer at CNN, Maria Ebrahimji is familiar with the spotlight—she's just not used to being in it. Although her childhood ambition was to be a news anchor, she realized early on that she was naturally drawn deeper into the story. "I believe that the power and value of journalism is really in producing," Maria says. "I'm very much one of those people that likes to work behind the scenes."
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AAR and SBL Together Again
For religion publishers who do academic publishing, the November 19–22 concurrent meetings this year in San Francisco of two major professional groups of religion scholars is a felicitous remarriage after an expensive three-year divorce.
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Christian Retail Show a Skip for Some, a Must for Others
The International Christian Retail Show, July 10–13 in Atlanta, mirrors the evolution of the Christian publishing/retail industry, which has struggled over the past 10 to 15 years to adapt to changing technology and consumer buying practices. Publishers have been rethinking their goals for the show, their presence there, and how they can support ICRS and its CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) retailers.
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Liturgical Show Still Draws Booksellers Who Buy
Much like the faiths the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit serves, this year's annual trade show for Catholic, Episcopal, and other liturgical booksellers will address both contemporary issues and timeless ones. Nearly 100 exhibitors will feature not only classics and backlist titles but also books on everything from the new liturgy translations and newly beatified Pope John Paul II to using new media.
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BEA Now a Low (or No) Priority for Many Religion Houses
Back when independent bookstores dotted the landscape like churches, religion publishers represented only a fraction of the overall number at ABA's annual trade show. Apart from a few large trade houses that published the occasional book in the category, publishers whose focus was religion had other avenues to reach their audience. Their primary sales channels were not trade bookstores but denominational or larger chain religion outlets or independent evangelical Christian stores.
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Publishers Association Announces Christian Book Awards
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association announced the winners of its 2011 Christian Book Awards last night at a banquet kicking off its Executive Leadership Summit in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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Editor’s Note
Books with controversial ideas about religion continue to make headlines: on the heels of the uproar over Rob Bell’s Love Wins comes a new out-cry about Quest for the Living God by Sister Elizabeth Johnson (covered in Behind the News in this issue). The Catholic Church has taken note of what it calls unorthodox theology and condemned the book in recent weeks, even though it has been out since 2007. As with Bell, the Quest story has been picked up by major news outlets, demonstrating once again that in what is supposed to be an increasingly secular country, people still care about theological issues. And that’s good news for publishers.
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Short Takes
Christian Booksellers Association reports 77 store closings, but 14 openings; Our Sunday Visitor acquires In The Round Design Group; Church Publishing partners with Cokesbury and Abingdon; Thomas Nelson launches "Buy a Bible, Help a Child"; winners of Retailers Choice Awards and Christian Small Publishers Association Awards announced; Zondervan offers Certified Dealer program The Story Church Campaign kit.
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May 2011 Christian Marketplace Bestsellers
Zondervan’s Throw It Down rises to number 2; a backlist book about heaven debuts in the hardcover top ten and Heaven Is for Real leads the paperback list; a C.S. Lewis classic returns; Sarah Young holds on to the top spot.
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