In addition to changing the name of its religion books imprint from Regnery Faith to Salem Books, Regnery Publishing has hired Tim Peterson as the imprint’s new associate publisher. The moves are part of an effort to expand Regnery’s Christian publishing program.
“We will publish 12 books this year, and we want to grow significantly,” Peterson told PW.
According to Regnery, its faith-based imprint grew 400% from June 2017 to June 2018, versus the previous 12-month period, with help from bestsellers such as Everett Piper’s Not A Day Care and The Rational Bible by Dennis Prager. Both authors have books coming out with Salem Books in 2019.
Regnery launched its Regnery Faith imprint in 2015, one year after it was acquired by Salem Media Group—a $274 million conservative Christian media company that owns a radio network and several websites. The imprint’s new name reflects the Salem brand, which is part of Peterson’s strategy.
“We are looking for authors who can benefit from Salem’s vast platforms," said Peterson, whose experience in Christian publishing includes serving as associate publisher at David C Cook as well as stints at Baker Publishing Group and Zondervan.
Political books will remain at Regnery’s core, while Salem Books is looking for faith content based in conservative evangelical theology, according to Peterson, who will be working on the titles alongside Salem Books editor-in-chief Gary Terashita and publicist Angela Swinson.
