Recent Trends in Religious Book Publishing

Abstract

An increasingly important division of today's American book publishing industry is the “religious book” market. The Association of American Publishers defines this division's scope as “primarily Bibles and prayer books, but also other works of specific religious content, such as theological treatises….” The more prevalent notion of a religious book, however, rests on a much broader interpretation; a religious book is loosely defined as any “inspirational work or one emanating from a religious publisher.” Even such titles as The Total Woman tend to fall under the “religious book” umbrella when it comes to statistic‐gathering by such groups as the Christian Book‐sellers Association. But regardless of how one chooses to define the scope of this market, there is no denying that it is expanding, and doing so at an impressive rate. Publishers (both secular and religious), bookstore owners, and librarians in public and academic libraries are noting a dramatic increase in the general public's interest in religious books.