2024 is proving to be another banner year for religion publishing with sales up, up, up three consecutive quarters. Both trade and academic publishers and editors spoke of changes and challenges —political, social, and technological—but they were largely optimistic for 2025. Top stories with PW readers included coverage of late great spiritual writers and current stars, young (Savannah Guthrie) and old (Pat Boone).
10. Agents Speak on the State of BIPOC Representation in Christian Book
The 2020-2021 rush to sign more books by minority authors has slowed as publishers set "a much higher bar for acquisitions," agent Adrienne Ingrum observed.
9. Religion Scholars Share Books—and Worries—at Annual Meeting
Members of the Society of Biblical Literature and the American Academy of Religion pondered the role of academics in society and university press editors addressed their concerns in "tricky times."
8. Skyhorse to Phase Out Regnery's Salem Books Imprint
Skyhorse pledges to continue to grow its overall Christian and conservative content. Christian publishing also got a boost with the creation of the Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, an umbrella for Waterbrook & Multnomah, Image, and Forum imprints.
7. What Does Being Jewish Mean? PW Talks to Harvard Law Professor Noah Feldman
Feldman sees Jews struggling to "make sense of God, of Israel, and of our own people." And a forthcoming book by journalist Peter Beinart examines Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning (Knopf, Jan. 2025.) which PW's reviewer calls "urgent and thought-provoking."
6. 'Experiencing God' co-author Henry Blackaby Has Died
His groundbreaking, million-selling 1990 Bible study workbook (Lifeway), was updated in 2022. And Zondervan announced new titles drawn from works by two late authors, pastor Tim Keller and philosopher Dallas Willard.
5. If We Could All Feel God’s Love: PW Talks to Savannah Guthrie
The broadcast journalist and author of Christian children's books explores the "salve for my soul" she finds in faith in an essay collection for adults, Mostly What God Does (Thomas Nelson).
4. Religion Publishers See a 'Good Day'
Boom! In May, StatShot reported that the religion category outperformed all the others with a 7% increase in sales for 2023 over 2022. Driving the sales — all things Bible-related, said Doug Lockhart, senior VP for sales and marketing for HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Now, for the first nine months of 2024, religion remained the leader at 18.4%.
3. 'All My Knotted-Up Life' by Beth Moore Named Christian Book of the Year
Moore led the list at the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association spring awards ceremony. And in early December, Christianity Today named Gavin Ortlund's What it Means to be Protestant (Zondervan Reflective) Book of the Year.
2. Sebastian Junger Examines Life Before and 'After'
PW talked with the bestselling author about his new book on "coming face to face with the afterlife" and what he has learned about life, death, and consciousness.
1. Pat Boone Makes the Case for God, Country, and Grits
At age 90 he was singing an ode to grits and launching his 28th book urging people to choose Christ and not make "the wrong bet on eternity."
