For many religion publishers, this was a different kind of BEA. The earlier date and change of venue meant they weren't coming straight from another show--the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit, which has been held each year for the past 10 in the Chicago suburbs in the three days before BEA. (The exception was 1999, when BEA moved to L.A.)

While publishers in the category might have been better rested at BEA NYC, they were certainly no less busy. The Religion/ Spirituality/Inspiration section was larger this year, and it was completely filled, with a waiting list for next year, according to show manager Greg Topalian. The section's prominent location at the front of the main hall, as well as this BEA's higher attendance, made for well-populated aisles and busy booths. "I think it should always be in New York!" one excited bookseller was heard to exclaim, though Carol Johnson, editorial director at Bethany House, wasn't so sure. "It's a very stimulating city, and I do like to visit, but I wouldn't want to do this every year. Chicago is just easier," she said. Johnson was celebrating the success of The Swan House, a novel by Elizabeth Musser that was published last June and had sold 22,000 copies by show time--a pleasing performance, since the book has strong regional interest (it is set at the historic Swan House in Atlanta) and is primarily moving in the South. She was also excited about Arena (May) a science fiction allegory by first-time novelist Karen Hancock. "This one is something special," Johnson said.

Saturation on Islam?

Dwight Baker, president of Baker Book House, which publishes Revell, Chosen, Baker Academic and Brazos Press titles as well as Baker books, was "very, very excited" about the list his company was launching at the show. "All the staff changes and the changes in our publishing model--all the last two years of hard work--are starting to show up in this fall list," he told PW. "We've moved to being more of a frontlist company, with new materials versus reprints; and we're moving toward greater diversity."

Baker reflected the consensus of many who spoke with PW about the issue when he said that popular-audience books about Islam had already "saturated a crowded area" and that the need for new titles was not there. But, he quickly added, "We're never going to go through a period of that kind of indifference toward it again." While there is little need to expand the number of popular books on Islam, he said, books for the college and study group market will be a growth area.

On August 1, Baker is reissuing in an updated edition of Answering Islam by Norman Geisler and Abdul Saleeb. The title, originally published in 1994, had been averaging sales of about 3,000 copies a year prior to September 11. Since then, the house has sold between 40,000 and 50,000 copies--proof, Baker believes, that the titles already in place are sufficient in number and moving well to the general market.

One publisher hoping there is room for more is U.K.-based Oneworld. At BEA, managing director Helen Coward told PW that the house's big fall book is The Qur'an: A Short Introduction by Fareed Esack (Sept.). The publisher has been pleased with the performance of The Palestine/Israeli Conflict by Dan Cohn-Sherbok et al., released in December, which has sold about 15,000 copies worldwide.

Meanwhile, Islamic publisher and distributor Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an was busily handing out 5,000 paperback Korans at the convention. The 25-year-old company, based in Elmhurst, N.Y., publishes the Koran in several English translations and editions and has exhibited at BEA for the past six years. Like other Islamic publishers, TTQ saw a sales surge this fall--it went from selling 125,000-250,000 copies of the Koran per year to more than 250,000 in the four months post-September 11, according to general manager Sajida Bandali. She also noted that the house offers a full line of books on Islam for children, as well as a variety of adult titles.

Vigorous Veggies, Other Kids' Trends

Mary Meehan, Zonderkidz promotions manager, reported success in launching the company's Big Idea Books, the result of a partnership with Big Idea Productions, creators of the bestselling VeggieTales videos. Promoting the first of the book titles, due in August, Meehan was pleasantly surprised to discover how well the VeggieTales line had already penetrated the ABA market, with most show-goers recognizing and responding to the characters. Attention for the Big Ideas Books will almost certainly be boosted by the October release of the feature film Jonah--A VeggieTales Movie, set to open in 1,100 theaters; Zonderkidz will be ready with additional titles that month. In addition to placing the titles with a variety of retailers, including Wal-Mart, at BEA Zonderkidz solidified large orders with bookstore chains, many of which will also feature floor displays of Big Ideas Books.

For SkyLight Paths' editor-in-chief Jon Sweeney, BEA afforded an opportunity to test a new venture--the August release of the children's book In God's Name by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso in a Spanish-language edition as El nombre de Dios. Sweeney and Stuart Matlins, publisher of sister imprint Jewish Lights, had been talking "for years" about producing Spanish-language editions of their children's books, floating the idea at Frankfurt, London and at previous BEAs. But, as Sweeney put it, "Spanish-language publishers outside the States tend to want to have nothing to do with religion, and Spanish-language publishers here primarily want to develop their own material." They decided to do it themselves. The response at BEA was approving, and while orders have been modest, they have nonetheless exceeded Sweeney's expectations. Booksellers expressed a need for quality Spanish-language religion titles for children, Sweeney said, and want to see more.

Tony Wales, international rights director for Lion Publishing in Oxford, England, had come straight to the show from the Bologna Fair and was excited about the still-growing potential of the children's Bible market. "Of the making of children's Bibles, there is no end," he told PW. Wales cited an example coming from Lion in July for which the first print run is 130,000, most of it pre-sold. "We'll be back to press by summer's end," he predicted.

The other subject area he earmarked for growth is books for and about the emotional life of the child. That trend was confirmed by titles such as NavPress's Parenting the Hurt Child: Helping Adoptive Families Heal and Grow by Gregory Keck and Regina Kupecky, published in April and prominently featured at the convention.

Moving and Shaking

On Saturday morning, Christian leadership guru John Maxwell signed galleys of Running with the Giants: What Old Testament Heroes Want You to Know About Leadership, which Warner's Christian division will publish in September under the Warner Faith imprint. The popular author, whose most recent book with Thomas Nelson, Your Road Map for Success, had debuted in the number one spot on the Wall Street Journal business bestseller list just the day before the luncheon, has signed to do two more books with Warner.

Nelson v-p of marketing Pamela Clements continues to be "amazed" by the performance of John Eldredge, whose Wild at Heart, published last April, has sold nearly 270,000 units. "The demand for the book is climbing--it's not slowing down," Clements told PW. Nelson has hired an outside PR firm to do "a major ABA re-launch" in the coming months. His next book is planned for January.

The Jewish Publication Society was celebrating healthy sales for its Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, published last September in cooperation with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. The five-volume, 1,560-page set had sold 140,000 by show time. JPS sales rep Dolores Verbit was also showing off Jews in America: A Cartoon History by David Gantz (June), who has drawn for Mad magazine, among other publications. "But it's a very respectful treatment, and the history is solid," said Verbit.

More Potter Titles Coming

At BEA, Westminster John Knox Press distributed sample chapters of its forthcoming The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Favorite Seeker (Sept.). Author Connie Neal, who garnered much attention with her 2001 book What's a Christian to Do with Harry Potter? (WaterBrook), presents brief moral lessons from the four Potter books. Senior editor David Dobson said that the title should fit nicely with WJKP's informal Gospel series, which began in 1966 with The Gospel According to Peanuts (10 million copies and counting) and continued with The Gospel According to the Simpsons in 2001. There are plans to do future titles on Disney and The Lord of the Rings.

But the competition is fierce in Potter publishing, and WJKP learned just after the show that St. Martin's had recently acquired a book, written by the Rev. Dr. John Killinger, with the same working title. St. Martin's plans to release its Gospel According to Harry Potter in January, though Ruth Cavin, who is the senior editor and associate publisher of the Thomas Dunne imprint at St. Martin's, said that the press will likely change the title, since the WJKP book will be released first. Meanwhile, Image/Doubleday is also entering what is shaping up to be a three-team Quidditch match: it will publish Francis Bridger's A Charmed Life: The Spirituality of Potterworld on September 17.