The president and publisher of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (PPC) Marc Lewis will retire on June 30 after almost 20 years with the company and over four decades in the religion publishing industry.
Lewis’ career began at the United Methodist Publishing House before joining PPC in 1999 as senior v-p and general manager. He was named acting publisher in 2007 and was elected publisher a year later. During his tenure, Lewis oversaw projects such as the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s new Glory To God hymnal, and he helped establish the press’ Westminster John Knox Press, Geneva Press, Thoughtful Christian, These Days, and Presbyterian Leader, and Flyaway Books imprints. Lewis also played a key role in bringing the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s publishing efforts under one roof with the consolidation of Congregational Ministries Publishing into the PPC in 2018.
No other changes to the staff were announced at this time, though “the PPC board has an active search committee seeking my replacement and I expect a person will be selected this spring,” Lewis told PW.
Reflecting on his career, Lewis noted the growing challenges publishers have when trying to "create awareness for good books." He cited Amazon and the demise of local bookstores, as well as modern distractions such as "the daily political noise that can seem to drown out more civil voices," but he remains optimistic about the future.
"My sense is that the challenges will increase, but that publishing will remain a rewarding vocation for hopefully many who want to try to contribute and make a difference," Lewis said.
