Bibles not only lift the spirit for believers. For many religion publishers, Bible and Bible-related books provide the biggest boost to their bottom line. The Association of American Publishers’ StatShot program reported an 8.3% rise in revenue for the first 10 months of 2024 over the same period in 2023 for all 1,279 participating publishers, but the religious book category had the largest increase —up 18.5% in the same time frame. Last year, religion publishers also had the biggest sales increase among all AAP categories.

When PW asked executives last year what the sales drivers were, they pointed to Bibles and Bible-centric studies, commentaries, and devotionals. And it's still so today, five marketing executives tell PW. But, they also suggest, there are other drivers pushing up the numbers. They cite titles that promise inspiration, soothe anxiety, or guide the way to harmony at home or successful leadership in the light of faith, or point toward joy.

HarperCollins Christian Publishing

For HCCP, home to Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, which publish Bibles and related titles by the hundreds including prodigious backlists as well as new formats, there's no rival to their Bible's importance. Bible studies and curriculum sales were both up over 20% for 2024 over 2023, says Doug Lockhart, SVP for sales and marketing. "As a matter of fact, for HCCP, our backlist percentage for the last six months of the year was 84% of sales. It is historic for us." Lockhart attributes this to "a hunger for something eternal and stable."

He also says sales of trade nonfiction, including books often classified as Christian living titles, and children's titles were up single digits over the prior year, despite the declining numbers of people who attend church or identify with a specific denomination. The Coming Golden Age: 31 Ways to be Kingdom Ready (Nelson), an October release and Publishers Weekly bestseller by David Jeremiah, known for his writings on end-times prophecies, was followed a month later by an accompanying Bible study from Harper Christian Resources.

Lockhart says in 2025 HCCP will carry on with "growing the visibility of our brands," keying off the massive sales of the Jesus Calling titles from the late Sarah Young, the company's perennial top-selling author, and leveraging new bestsellers by authors for Thomas Nelson such as Lysa TerKeurst (I Want to Trust You, but I Don't: Moving Forward When You’re Skeptical of Others, Afraid of What God Will Allow, and Doubtful of Your Own Discernment) and Max Lucado (What Happens Next: A Traveler’s Guide Through the End of This Age).

InterVarsity Press

Shane White, divisional VP for sales, marketing, and publicity, sees continued success with IVP's unique Bibles —Terry Eastman's First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament, released in 2021, and its September 2024 spin-off picture book based on the Gospel of Luke, Birth of the Chosen One: A First Nations Retelling of the Christmas Story. A First Nations Version Psalms & Proverbs is planned for release this summer.

Other strong-selling Bible-related books include: the 2023 revised and expanded 1,200+ page Dictionary of Paul and his Letters; the illustrated Our Church Speaks a devotional highlighting saints across history; The New Testament In Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary with two dozen contributing scholars; and scores of LIfeGuide books and Bible studies that target niche markets. White says they are "thrilled" with sales for Moms at the Well: Meeting God Through the Mothers of Scripture, which is a 7-week interactive Bible study by authors Tara Edelschick and Kathy Tuan-MacLean, with an accompanying video. And another interactive study, Redeemer: God's Lovingkindness in the Book of Ruth by Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young, comes out next week.[Feb. 11]

Says White, "People want to live better in the light of faith. They want to see books about hope, now more than ever. They want to know God is right there for them. Christianity and Scripture and the people who write from these perspectives hit people where they live. That's why we see the sales we see."

Baker Publishing Group

"Whatever denomination you're in, whatever your religious background, you're engaging the Bible more now than you did 10 years ago," says Bob Gaudet, BPG's executive VP of marketing and publicity. While the company always offered a Bible, it's moved strongly into Bible studies and commentaries with author Tara-Leigh Cobble's blockbuster, The Bible Recap and her series of Bible studies leading the way. Gaudet calls her "the wonder woman. Her sales nearly doubled from 2022 to 2023 and doubled again from 2023 to 2024."

What else is selling big? "Books on fear and anxiety," says Gaudet, noting sales for author Jamie Winship's 2022 debut book for Baker imprint Revell, Living Fearless: Exchanging the Lies of the World for the Liberating Truth of God, have "just exploded. It launched well. And then it just keeps growing and growing and growing." Today is a tense time, with wars abroad, culture wars at home, and natural disasters, too, so parents are scrambling for help for their children from a Christian perspective. Gaudet points to thriving sales for backlist books for Baker's Bethany imprint by therapists Sissy Goff (Raising Worry-Free Girls, 2019) and David Thomas (Raising Emotionally Strong Boys, 2022).

Looking ahead, Gaudet sees another avenue of growth — books that take on the hard questions people are asking of religion right now. He cites two February releases for Baker Books, Erin Hicks Moon's I've Got Questions: The Spiritual Practice of Having It Out with God and Mark Tabb's Am I a Better Christian on Zoloft? And Other Questions I Should Probably Keep to Myself. Says Gaudet, "People aren't finding answers in the pews so they are looking outside on their own. This is the new normal."

Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group

The group, which formed in October and includes WaterBrook & Multnomah, may not publish a Bible, but Bible-related books on spiritual formation and devotionals that key off scripture passages are a strong category for them, says Ginia Croker, VP director of marketing. For example: prolific bestselling author John Mark Comer just chalked up sales 400,000 copies for his latest title, Practicing the Way: Be With Jesus. Become Like Him. Do as He Did. It was released by WaterBrook last January and a study guide was added in November. Croker says, "People are drawn to his warm voice and adherence to Biblical principles."

Croker also sees a thriving audience for the Bible-based encouragement found in works such as 2024's top-selling devotional for WaterBrook, The Joy of the In-Between: 100 Devotions for Trusting God in Your Waiting Season by Ashley Hetherington, and Mark Batterson's holiday season hit A Million Little Miracles: Rediscover the God Who Is Bigger Than Big, Closer Than Close, and Gooder Than Good (Multnomah). "Readers are really drawn into those titles about joy and wonder. These books resonate in a world that can often feel strained and a bit divisive," says Croker."

In 2025, she says, the publisher is keeping a close eye on the Gen Z market with a forthcoming devotional, Out of the Wilderness: Out of the Wilderness: 31 Devotions to Walk with God Through Your Hardest Seasons (WaterBrook, June) by the duo who host the Girls Gone Bible podcast, Angela Halili and Arielle Reitsma.

Eerdmans

Eerdmans, where revenue was up 10% for fall for 2024 over fall 2023, does not publish a Bible, but Will Bergkamp, senior VP of sales, marketing, and finance, points out, "We are deeply into Biblical studies through multiple commentary series that are essential for pastors, professors, and students and just keep shipping out of the warehouse."

He calls Eerdmans "an eclectic press that serves a lot of different interests." Hence, 2024's success also stood on titles as varied as The Wise Leader by entrepreneur and philosopher Uli Chi, which had multiple printings and strong group and event sales; New Testament scholar Brant Pitre's Jesus and Divine Christology, "a meaty title that has exceeded all of our expectations;" Daniel Silliman's biography One Lost Soul: Richard Nixon's Search for Salvation; and Brad East's Letters to a Future Saint: Foundations of Faith for the Spiritually Hungry, which was a runner up for Christianity Today's 2024 Book of the Year award. In 2025, expect books that take on the swirling currents in culture and faith today such as Michelle Van Loon's fall title, Downsizing: Letting Go of Evangelicalism’s Nonessentials.

"Whether it's history, Biblical Studies, theology or leadership, the books do well because I think the mood is now for people to dig in," says Bergkamp. These books, he says, are "cousins in the sense of being deep, thoughtful, engaging. They are similar in that they speak to people's spiritual hunger. That's Eerdmans' DNA."