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Ronald J. Sider: Social and Spiritual Transformer
Forty years ago, says Ron Sider, not many evangelical Christians talked about the poor or about social justice, preferring instead to emphasize individual salvation and personal transformation. Thanks to his 22 books and numerous public appearances, all of this has changed. From his groundbreaking 1977 book, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity, to his newest, Fixing the Moral Deficit: A Balanced Way to Balance the Budget, Sider’s has been a voice for evangelical engagement in social issues.
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Books for Caregivers Offer Advice and Inspiration
Tending to a loved one who is chronically ill or dying often leaves caregivers feeling overwhelmed or alone. Three new books seek to make the process less stressful and more fulfilling through practical tips, emotional support, and spiritual inspiration. Teaching someone how to listen, how to touch, and how to help someone make plans for the end of their life can significantly impact how the dying person experiences his or her final days, says one author.
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Zondervan Hopes to Ride the Lin Craze
As publishers buzz around Jeremy Lin, he apparently continues to turn down book deals to focus on his playing. Nonetheless, at least five unauthorized e-book bios are already on the market. One publisher hoping to be the first with a print book is Zondervan, which is publishing Linspired: The Remarkable Rise of Jeremy Lin in both adult and children’s versions in April. The book had its genesis last November, when Barbour published a collection of short bios of current players, including Lin, by sports writer Mike Yorkey. When Lin fever hit, Yorkey’s agent, Greg Johnson, approached Barbour about expanding the material into a stand-alone book. Barbour decided against the project, but allowed Johnson to approach other publishers with the idea, and Zondervan made the deal.
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Sizzle, Sizzle... Fizzle, Fizzle...
The more things change, the more they stay the same”—the old saw describes the state of Christian fiction in 2012. Try to spot inspirational fiction trends for spring, and you could get run over by an Amish buggy. But could the bonnet craze be cooling off? As PW looks at the category at the start of a new year, it appears the appetite for all things Lancaster County, while still healthy, may be spawning new, perhaps smaller, trends. Romance and the longing for a simpler life, along with nostalgia for the pioneer spirit, are fueling the imaginations of authors and the acquisitions of publishers.
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Building Buzz with Social Media
These days it doesn’t take long to change the face of marketing. According to Tom Dean, senior marketing director in the trade book division at Zondervan, “The game has changed dramatically in the past 18 to 24 months.” That change comes thanks to the power of social spaces that allow authors to interact with thousands of readers quickly and easily. Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and new avenues such as Pinterest put authors in direct contact with both established and potential fan bases.
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IN Profile
Robert Liparulo: Knocking Down a Wall
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In Digital Christian Fiction, Pluses and Perils
As publishers find their way through the digital wilderness, one sector is leading the rest toward a land where revenue from e-books might someday flow like milk and honey: Christian fiction.
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Editor’s Note
Despite recent rumblings that e-book sales might be leveling off, there doesn’t seem to be any sign of that with Christian fiction, where sales in digital formats continue to soar. As our correspondent Jeff MacDonald has discovered, “from the Q4 2010 through Q3 2011, e-books made up 30 percent of all Christian fiction titles sold, according to Bowker Market Research. That marks a six-fold increase from the prior year and dwarfs results from all other segments,” including general fiction. You can read Jeff’s findings in the February 13 Religion Update print supplement to Publishers Weekly, along with articles on genre trends, how fiction publishers are using social media for promotion, and a wealth of reviews and author profiles. Christian fiction continues to be a very bright spot for those who publish it, and PW covers it.
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Short Takes
Baker wins two Christianity Today awards; Rachel Gardner goes to Books & Such; Religion News Service launches a book blog; Thomas Nelson titles selected by Leadership Journal, and Nelson holds 11 NYT bestseller spots; Grupo Nelson spearheads a book drive to combat illiteracy; First Freedom Center honors the Vicar of Baghdad; Nautilus Awards extend submission deadline; B&H hires Dawn Woods; Moody launches the Love Language Challenge; Charisma House title debuts on the Times list.
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Rabbi’s Book About Jesus Stirs Controversy
To many Jews, there’s nothing kosher about Jesus, so a book linking the two was bound to provoke. And it has--stoking passionate cries of heresy within the Chabad-Lubavitch sect and online. Kosher Jesus, by celebrity rabbi Shmuley Boteach (Q&A in this issue), builds on existing scholarship to suggest Jesus lived the life of a devoted Jew. His rebellion was not against Jewish law, but mostly against Roman brutality, Boteach writes. Advance copies of the book have occasioned vitriolic responses from at least two Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis who attacked it earlier this month.
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February 2012 Christian Bestsellers: Adult, Children’s, Bibles
Osteen’s newest is back in the top ten; Lucado returns to the adult hardcover list; Graham and Tebow hold steady at #3 and #5; an uptick for The Resolution; lots of Bailey Flanigan; two of Barbour’s activity books make the kid’s list, along with Bibles for princesses and surfers; an ESV and an NTL leaven the NIV’s dominance in adult Bibles.
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Religion in Review
An author argues the Christian church is in a Fourth Great Awakening; a neurosurgeon writes about how politics and his own life intersect; a Tibetan Buddhist teacher encourages spiritual growth; a timely introduction to Mormonism; a priest-philosopher explores human origins; thoughts on temptation in stories from the Bible; following the Amish way; John Ramsey on suffering and grief; are children Born Believers?; a Christian economist on balancing the budget; an atheist finds religion useful; and for children: books on world religions, Judaism and Islam, and prayers; plus a Web Exclusive review.
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It Is Written: News in Bibles and Sacred Texts
Thomas Nelson publishes two new children’s Bibles, one for boys and another for girls, using the International Children’s Bible translation; Counterpoint’s Dogen’s Genjo Koan: Three Commentaries, contains three separate translations and commentaries on the first chapter of The Shobogenzo by Eihei Dogen Zenji, considered the founder of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism; DK Publishing throws the book at biblical illiteracy with The Illustrated Bible Story by Story , retelling key stories, adding maps, notes, and full-color photographs; Zondervan partners with Glo Bible and producer Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey (Touched by An Angel) to create interactive Bible app; the Common English Bible translation is adopted on multiple Web sites.
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Robin Roberts: Celebrating a Remarkable Mother
Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts always knew she had a remarkable mother--what she didn’t know was how much more there was to learn from her. My Story, My Song: Mother-Daughter Reflections on Life and Faith by Lucimarian Roberts as told to Missy Buchanan, with reflections from Robin Roberts (Upper Room, April) is a memoir that is a tribute to hope, grace under fire, and the power of faith. The book follows the challenges and triumphs of Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts, whose grandfather was a sharecropper, and her late husband Lawrence, a Tuskegee Airman. Born in 1924, she experienced the seismic shifts of the past century including the Great Depression, World War II, segregation, and the civil rights movement.
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Jen Hatmaker: Better Living with Less
When Jen Hatmaker started writing her latest book, she had 327 pieces of clothing in her closet, and more in drawers. By the time she completed 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess (B&H, Jan.), Hatmaker, an author (Interrupted), speaker, and mother of five, had eliminated more than two-thirds of her wardrobe. And she didn’t miss a single item. The purge was part of a one-month project of eliminating excess from each of seven areas in her life: food, clothes, spending, media, possessions, waste, and stress.
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Shmuley Boteach: Was Jesus Kosher?
RBL catches up with bestselling author Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (Kosher Sex) as he releases the newest installment in his Kosher series: Kosher Jesus. The noted lecturer and TV and radio host tells why this controversial new book that reevaluates the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth will promote religious goodwill even as it has stimulated intense debate across religious lines.
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Books for Lent Encourage Reflection
For many Christians, Lent is a time for prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. For religion publishers, it’s a time to release new titles aimed at helping the spiritually minded gain a new perspective on the liturgical season. Five new books—from Catholic, Episcopal, mainline Protestant, and general trade publishers—help readers to reflect on the meaning of this solemn season and prepare for the joy of Easter.
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Editor’s Note
On the cusp of 2012, a primary preoccupation in the book business continues to be the impact of e-books. After the AAP earlier this month reported more skyrocketing sales, predictions abound and questions remain about what this will mean for publishers and booksellers alike. Now Christian retailers are offering e-books on their Web sites, but the fact that these stores carry such a wide range of products—not only books, but also gifts, décor, apparel, and other “lifestyle” items—may make the effect of e-book sales less significant than for other booksellers. There’s plenty of room for speculation and less for solid projections. For now and the foreseeable future, the digital frontier remains the wild, wild West.
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Tebow Book Sales Drive Toward the End Zone
Sales of Through My Eyes (HarperOne, June), the Christian life story of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, have been climbing rapidly since evangelicalism’s poster boy won the starting job in October. As of Sunday (Dec. 18), Through My Eyes had tallied 220,000 print book sales, making it HarperOne’s biggest book of 2011. That’s saying something. HarperOne made a splash in February with Rob Bell’s Love Wins, which to date has sold an impressive 210,000 hardcovers. But Tebow is known for fourth-quarter heroics, and apparently Q4 2011 is no exception.
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January 2012 Christian Bestsellers: Adult, Children's, Bibles
Tim Tebow moves up the hardcover list, and Idleman overtakes Osteen; The 5 Love Languages returns to the paperback top ten; Bishop Tutu’s storybook Bible for kids debuts at #3; the Bible list is all about the NIV.
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