Old and New Religion: PW's Religion Top 10

The Amish are everywhere, on bestseller, fiction, and nonfiction lists. This spring, two top names in Amish fiction offer different slices of the big shoofly pie. Beverly Lewis, who started all this with her novel The Shunning, compiles Amish Prayers; Bethany House is printing 75,000 copies.

In Profile

Profiles of four religious writers.

Joining the Fiction Frenzy

Christian fiction remains an attractive market to many publishing houses, with several of them expanding their presence or jumping in for the first time. But with the cranky economy, the shifting landscape of retail outlets, and the ever-finicky reader, houses looking to play in the competitive category say they must have a sharp focus and a clear plan.

Surfing the E-book Wave with Fiction

Readers of inspirational fiction have a story of their own to tell these days: they love e-books, especially when the price is right. But can publishers keep them coming back after the novelty wears off?

To Market, with Strategies Old and New

Publishers of inspirational fiction are blending new and old tricks to tempt readers to buy, whether at Christian bookstores, megastores, or via the Internet. Past successes—print ads, shelf-talkers, word of mouth—are augmented with the newest technology to reach savvy fans.

Fiction Publishers From A to Z: Strategies, Opportunities, Successes

Here's one informal measure of growth in the market for what some call Christian and others call inspirational fiction. In 2010, the number of novels received by PW's religion department for review consideration increased by 15% over 2009.

Christian Publishers Move Ahead with Enhanced E-Books

A number of Christian publishers have recently launched new initiatives to produce what are being called “interactive e-books” and “multi-media reading experiences.” Zondervan and David C. Cook are among the first to move beyond the usual e-book format into enhanced e-books that offer readers more than the printed word.

Everything New Age is Newer Again?

From time to time, angels--and widespread fascination with them--have given books a winged lift. Publishers hope this will be such a time again, and they’re lining up heavyweight authors to give an earthly push. Three new and re-released books anticipate that the fascination with angels or spiritual beings wasn’t just a fad of the ‘90s.

Ehud and Vatsala Sperling: Committed for Seven Lifetimes

Fifteen years ago, Ehud and Vatsala Sperling published a book of letters that documented an unusual courtship between an Indian-born Tamil Brahmin and an Israeli-born U.S. Jew. The Sperlings’ engagement--they met through a personals ad in an Indian newspaper--upended modern egalitarian norms about falling in love, and their book provoked both positive and negative responses.

March 2011 Christian Marketplace Bestsellers

Max Lucado has climbed to #2; George W. Bush has dropped out of the top ten, while Drew Brees drops in; James Dobson’s latest takes #6.

Mike Leach on Why Stay Catholic?

Michael Leach is what most would call a die-hard Catholic, and he is one of the most upbeat people you’ll ever meet. So it’s surprising to learn that the “dean of Catholic book publishing,” as one magazine dubbed him, found himself weary of his church—weary of scandal, canned sermons, and lack of respect for women. This from someone who wrote a book titled I Like Being Catholic (with Therese Borchard; Doubleday, 2000). But 70-year-old Leach has his Catholic mojo back, and the publisher emeritus and editor-at-large for Orbis Books is sharing what he calls “the good stuff” of Catholicism in a new book, Why Stay Catholic? Unexpected Answers to a Life-Changing Question (Loyola Press, Mar.).

Religion in Review

A pastoral memoir from Eugene Peterson; a new food book from Geneen Roth; more on heaven from Don Piper and Cecil Murphey; Anthony DeStefano guides readers through The Invisible World; Michael Leach asks and answers Why Stay Catholic?; new crime fiction from Multnomah; a sneak peek at religion reviews in the March 14 PW; a starred review for March 14; and links to Web Exclusive reviews.

Short Takes

Moe Girkins leaving Zondervan; Strang rebrands as Charisma Media; Charisma sues Benny Hinn for morality violation; PW cites Tyndale House for the most 2010 Christian bestsellers; ECPA launches consumer Web site; ZDL Books publishes 100th Christian book in China; L.A. Dream Center will get all royalties from pastor’s book; Joe Lieberman signs with Howard for Sabbath book; InterVarsity Press wins leadership book awards; Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Awards voting opens; Thoughtful Christian increases discounts, launches new blog; Paulist Press names new scripture editor; ChristianBookVideos.com posts 1,000th book trailer; Standard to be repped by ABridge International; Barbour named top gift book publisher by GiftBeat.

Editor’s Note

E-books, e-books, e-books. It seems that’s all anybody is talking about in publishing, and that’s as true in religion as in any other category. In this issue of RBL we take a look at Christian publishers’ first forays into enhanced e-books, as they hope the shiny new multi-media experience will draw even more readers to their titles. Fiction seems to be a favorite of e-book readers across the board, and in next week’s issue of PW, with the Religion Update supplement, we zero in on e-books in inspirational fiction, as well as looking at other aspects of that booming business—the hottest genres, the newest marketing techniques, publishers entering that arena for the first time, and more.

Publisher Honors KJV 400th at Religious Broadcasters Meeting

Thomas Nelson, the leading publisher of King James Version Bibles, will mark the 400th anniversary of the KJV with an exhibit of historic Bibles and artifacts at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. “The Living Legacy of the Bible” will be on display Feb. 27 to March 1 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tenn.

One Year After: New Books Deal with the Haiti Disaster

How do you sell books about a cataclysm that left 300,000 dead and one million people homeless? One year after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, religion publishers with books on the quake and its aftermath are highlighting the stories of hope, resilience and faith that emerged from the rubble. The books call readers to compassion and action for the poor made even poorer by the events of Jan. 12, 2010, while reminding them that suffering unites us all. Zondervan has landed major national media for Unshaken: Rising From the Ruins of Haiti's Hotel Montana by Dan Woolley with Jennifer Schuchmann (Zondervan, Jan.). The book tells parallel stories, of Woolley’s three days trapped in the rubble of a Port au Prince Hotel and of his wife's torment with not knowing his fate.

A Plethora of Chesterton for a New Era

British writer G.K. Chesterton struck a chord with readers in his day, authoring some 80 books and thousands of essays before his death in 1936. Now publishers in the United States are ready for him to be popular again, especially in Christian circles. Today’s readers will find no shortage of new releases by and about Chesterton, who’s perhaps best known for his classic of Christian apologetics, Orthodoxy. In January, Thomas Nelson published Kevin Belmonte’s Defiant Joy, a biographical look at Chesterton as a prolific Christian who shaped public discourse and society. A simultaneous release, The Quotable Chesterton (Thomas Nelson), serves up a selection of brief, witty insights on topics from academia to Emile Zola, culled from Belmonte’s research. Others are helping seed what they hope will be a Chesterton revival.

Joseph Lowery: From King to Obama, A Witness to History

When the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery gave the inaugural benediction at Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony, he saw himself performing a role in a national drama that began 45 years earlier when he stood alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial. Gazing out at the masses assembled on the mall as he listened to King’s 1963 speech, Lowery says, “I was participating in the nation’s response to that call.” Now 89, the Methodist preacher and civil rights leader is capping a career full of historic moments with a book of collected sermons and speeches. Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land (Abingdon Press; reviewed in this issue) reflects Lowery’s unquenchable thirst for justice as he calls the nation to fulfill God’s vision for society.

Corrections

Religion in Review

Brian McLaren offers more unconventional ideas in Naked Spirituality (HarperOne); in Valley of the Shadow (Free Press) James L. Kugel meditates on facing terminal illness; civil rights pioneer Joseph Lowery collects his thoughts in Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land (Abingdon); James D. Davidson and Ralph E. Pyle write about social class and religion in Ranking Faiths (Rowman & Littlefield); James C. Burkee offers his account of the shift toward conservativism in a Lutheran Church denomination in Power, Politics, and the Missouri Synod (Fortress); marathoner Ryan Hall writes about Running with Joy (Harvest House); plus sneak peeks at surprising books on the Bible from Bart Ehrman and Israeli columnist Meir Shalev; and a starred review of James Carroll’s newest from the Feb. 14 PW reviews.