The Christian Bookshops Blog

PUBEASY.COM, the online trade ordering service and a vital link in the supply chain between many booksellers, publishers and distributors, has been knocked out of action by a storm in the North East USA, according to an email sent out to service users over the weekend:

To all PubEasy Retailers:

Due to storm in the Northeast U.S., the PubEasy site is currently unavailable to all users. We estimate that the system may be down for several days. We will send updates to our PubEasy user community as soon as they are available.

We apologize for the inconvenience and will send more details as they become available.

Best regards,
PubEasy Support

Christian distributors and publishers which use the PubEasy service include, amongst others, Alban Books, Lion Hudson and SPCK, via Marston Book Services; Cambridge University Press; Church House Publishing, Darton Longman & Todd and SCM-Canterbury Press along with others serviced by Norwich Books & Music; Continuum, via Orca; HarperCollins; Hodder, via Bookpoint; and John Wiley & Sons — in short, most of the major players in Christian and wider religious publishing.

My thanks to Andy Rigby of Christian Bits for forwarding this email.

• Christian Bits on facebook
• Follow @christianbits

CONGRATULATIONS TO CWR on their recent appointment of Roger Compton as their UK Retail Merchandiser for dated, seasonal and core titles — and congratulations to Roger himself, too, of course!

In a Trade Announcement posted in the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group last week (Wednesday 26th October), Eddie Olliffe wrote:

CWR is pleased to inform you that Roger Compton has been appointed as CWR’s UK Retail Merchandiser for dated, seasonal and core titles. As many of you will know, Roger has long-standing experience in sales to the specialist Christian retail sector, having worked for the past 12 years with STL Distribution, latterly Trust Media Distribution.

This is a fixed term appointment, designed to maximise the sales and visibility of our dated and seasonal ranges particularly in the busy autumn period and then beyond to Lent and Easter. Roger will complement the excellent work of our three existing contracted sales reps (from Joining the Dots plus Stewart Anderson) and Roger will work mainly in London, the South-east and the Midlands. I’m sure that many of you will be pleased to see Roger again on the patch!

Earlier in the month, Eddie also posted details of CWR’s growing range of ebooks, now available through Gardners to retailers offering ebook sales via their own sites or taking part in the Hive network; ISBNs added, full list including dated materials available to download:

CWR eISBNs (pdf, 49kb)

CWR’s recent range of eBooks is available to trade customers via Gardners Digital Warehouse and Gardlink for Windows. There are five titles (see below) + five dated notes (including Every Day with Jesus) in both Kindle & ePub format.

• One Step Beyond (Gram Seed, 9781853455896)
• What to Say When People Need Help (Selwyn Hughes, 9781853456640)
• God’s Questions (Phil Greenslade, 9781853456190)
• Leadership (Phil Greenslade, 9781853455902)
• Coached by Christ (Andy Peck, 9781853455919)

• Follow @CWRnews
• Follow @eddieolliffe

Ebooks Elsewhere…

CWR are not the only Christian publisher getting up to speed on the ebooks front, of course: Darton, Longman & Todd have a good selection available in Amazon Kindle and Apple iBook format; and SPCK have a growing range, conveniently showcased for the rest of us by Keith Jones, who are undoubtedly leading the way as a Christian ebook retailer, with regular updates posted via twitter:

• Follow @keithjonesbooks

If you’re serious about keeping up to speed with digital developments, make sure you’ve read Bendicte Page’s Bookseller report, 7/10/2011, Christian publishers turn to apps in market squeeze and

• Follow @TheFutureBook

David C Cook/Kingsway Key Stakeholder Letter 21 Oct 2011 (pdf, 111kb)

EIGHTEEN UK WORKERS HAVE PAID THE PRICE in job losses as the long-term globalisation strategy behind Kingsway’s merger with David C Cook has been “accelerated” following the group’s more recent acquisition of Integrity Music.

Emphasising the level of expertise and investment involved alongside the strength and stability of the group’s new distribution system, Cris Doornbos, President and CEO of David C Cook, explains the thinking behind the changes in a Letter to Our Key Stakeholders dated October 21st:

As a key stakeholder of David C Cook and Kingsway, we want you to be among the first to hear news of some changes we have recently made to our UK operation, Kingsway Music and Distribution.

In way of background, we developed a five-year strategic plan earlier this year which laid out specific strategies required to increase our ministry impact and best advance our mission: “To equip the Church with Christ centered resources for making and teaching disciples who obediently transform today’s generations.”

The plan included, among other things, establishing one global worship ministry unit as we see worship music as one of the greatest tools we have to equip the global church. We have long had a vision to utilize music as a key tool for creating disciples around the world, especially as over half of the world’s population entered the new millennium unable to read. Our recent acquisition of Integrity Music has made it possible for us to accelerate our goal and take another important step forward.

The five-year plan also included the strategy of leveraging the expertise in our Canadian distribution business to support growth. Over the past several years, we have made significant investments in both our Canadian distribution operation and our United Kingdom distribution operation. We now have a new warehouse management system in place in both locations coupled with a new ERP system that has proven to be highly efficient and world class. Together with our experienced and knowledgeable team, we are in the advantageous position of having processes and systems that are highly effective, and allow us to offer our current and potential publishing and music partners a strong and stable distribution service in both Canada and the United Kingdom.

The letter goes on to spell out a number of specific changes being made as the plan is implemented, concluding, sadly, with job losses in the UK:

• Kingsway Music and Kingsway Distribution separated;
• Kingsway Music and Integrity Music combined to create “one music ministry unit with two labels” headed up globally by Ryan Dunham with Jonathan Brown taking over from John Paculabo at Kingsway Music UK;
• Creation of a single global distribution service operating from bases in the USA, Canada and the UK, headed by Greg Tombs, Managing Director of Global Distribution;
• John Paculabo becomes Managing Director of Global Song Development, with specific responsibility “for seeing that our songs are being sung in local churches around the world, while working to nurture and develop indigenous writers and artists in other nations”;
• 18 jobs in the UK “eliminated due to new operational efficiencies and redundancies in roles”, an outcome described as “necessary, but heartbreaking.”

My thanks to John Paculabo for providing the information upon which this report is based. John himself explains further:

We intend to remain focused and dedicated to the development of worship songs and worship writers on both sides of the Atlantic, a point which I would strongly emphasize.

The net result of [these realignments], plus the poor economic trading conditions that we are all experiencing, has brought about the redundancies of last week. These decisions are painful and difficult as Kingsway like so many other Christian ministries fosters a family atmosphere, and so it is true to say that friends and family have all been affected by these job losses.

Please keep those who have lost their current livelihood in your prayers.

Pray too that Kingsway/David C Cook’s globalised service strategy and systems prove more resilient and robust than Biblica/IBS-STL’s similar exercise back in 2008/2009.

• Follow @kingswayworship
• Follow @David_C_Cook

TMD: Trust Media Distribution

TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS in rapid succession from TMD this week have highlighted two of the constant challenges faced by Christian booksellers and retailers: stock availability and range.

In the first announcement, issued on Tuesday 25th October, TMD stated that their range of UK publishers would be “reduced significantly” following a review of their current supplier base. That review is now underway with conversations between TMD and suppliers that one, who did not wish to be named, described as “what appeared to be an ultimatum to improve terms or sever our relationship”.

Although TMD’s initial announcement specified that no significant changes would be made “until the New Year”, it nonetheless raised the inevitable spectre of previous disruptions to the supply chain in the run up to Christmas, and a second announcement reiterating that “Christmas supply will remain largely unaffected” was issued on Wednesday, a point that Pete Barnsley, TMD’s Supply Chain & Marketing Team Leader, was keen to emphasise in a conversation with him later that day: retailers can remain confident that it’s business as usual at TMD.

I asked Pete what the reduction in range implied for STL/TMD’s one-time ambition to be the “One Stop Shop” for Christian retailers and he acknowledged that those days were over, admitting that in some cases it makes more sense for retailers to go direct to publishers for better terms and availability.

Given that the publishers listed in the initial announcement fall largely into the evangelical/pop/USA categories, I also asked what the range reduction implied for the more academic, catholic, liberal and mainstream UK Christian publishers: is this a theological narrowing of the range or a focus on the “big guys”? Pete wouldn’t be drawn on who might be in or out until the review is complete but emphasised that TMD’s aim is to serve the entire Christian marketplace across denominational boundaries, and that publishers with a single line were as likely to be included in the new mix as those with hundreds of lines.

The situation, Pete explained, is a case of facing up to reality: better to focus on what TMD can do in terms of publishers whose product availability they can be confident of rather than raise unrealistic expectations amongst retailers and end up letting both them and, ultimately, their customers down.

Retailers whom I contacted were broadly empathetic: the “One Stop Shop” was a fantasy and few, if any, have been wholly reliant upon STL/TMD, sourcing elsewhere as necessary despite the inconvenience of the extra admin involved in dealing with smaller orders and extra invoices.

The question remaining is whether other distributors or wholesalers can step up to the mark? No one was available to comment from Norwich Books & Music, but Phil Burnham, CLC’s UK Director, advised that CLC Wholesale would be willing to assist where appropriate:

CLC Wholesale would be very happy to hear from booksellers if there are items in keeping with our Statement of Faith that they would regularly source from us if we carried them. I’ll pass on any related comments to my wholesale colleagues for their consideration.

• Follow @TrustMediaDist

THIS POST EMERGES out of a conversation in the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group, in which we were discussing (amongst other things) the pros and cons of authors self-publishing v/s going with an established publisher. It’s a tough call for authors in the present economic climate, especially if your book doesn’t quite fit into a clearly-defined niche; and it’s a tough call for publishers: faced by the choice of investing in a debut work from an unknown writer or a new title from an established writer with a good track record, what would you do?

And if you’re a bookseller, how do you decide what to stock? Is the extra admin involved in stocking titles from self-published authors or smaller publishing houses really worth it? Is it better to wave them away, to tell them to go strike a deal with a distributor/wholesaler?

When I was running the bookshop at LST (a distant memory now) my approach was simple: if I thought a title from a small publisher / self-published author was likely to be of interest to my customers, then I’d take it, but initial stock had to be either 100% sale or return or 100% see-safe, carriage paid both ways by the supplier. It generally worked well enough — yes, there was some extra admin involved in dealing with small invoices and parceling up returns, but no big deal really, and I’d encourage any retailer to give it a go. Remember this, people: The Shack started off as self-published — by helping out a small publisher / self-published author in this way, you could be giving the next ‘Shack’ a kick-start!!

So far, not so radical; however…

For Authors and Publishers: Here’s a challenge for authors and publishers: do you believe in your book? Do you want to see it on booksellers’ shelves? Then start the ball rolling by sending them a complimentary copy and tell them it’s theirs to sell or give away; but if they opt to sell it, then when — when, not if! — it sells, they have to use the proceeds of the sale to buy another copy (less whatever your trade discount is, of course). Cost to you: one book + p&p; but potential winnings … who can say? And a straight win for them whether they sell it or give it away: either money for nothing or a happy customer gets a freebie and — another win for you — tells their friends about the lovely book…

It’s a risky strategy, of course: I can hear all the objections and questions already after so many publishers and suppliers have had their fingers burnt and worse in the last few years in the SPCK-SSG/STL-Wesley Owen/Living Oasis fiascos; but as someone far wiser than me once observed, faith is spelt r-i-s-k. If we, as Christ’s disciples, aren’t willing to trust one another, aren’t willing to live out our faith by taking such risks, then what hope is there for the rest of society? And what, exactly, is the point of running a Christian business? What message do our business relationships convey to the rest of society?

For Booksellers: Now the challenge for booksellers: would you be willing to take part in such a scheme? Would you be willing to accept complimentary initial stock from authors/publishers on this basis? Not sale or return; not see-safe; but sale and restock when sold or give away — to commit yourself to not simply relegating the book to a back room or obscure shelf somewhere but actively supporting this vision?

For Readers: And last but not least, a challenge for readers, for those like me on the outside looking in, watching the demise of bookshops around the country and wondering what we can do: adopt an author, a bookshop and/or a publisher! If there’s a book you’d like to see on sale in a particular bookshop, go to the author/publisher and pay for them to supply it to your nominated shop with your compliments.

Imagine, if you dare, the difference this could make if enough of us did it: not just me, not just you, but your friends too, the members of your church.

The future of Christian bookselling is in our hands, my friends: let’s seize the day!

Abidemi Sanusi

IT’S A GREAT PLEASURE AND A PRIVILEGE TODAY to welcome Abidemi Sanusi for this weekend’s guest post and latest contribution to the growing Meet the Author series. Abidemi is a writer and former human rights worker who first came to prominence in the Christian book trade with her book ‘Kemi’s Journal of Life, Love & Everything’ (Scripture Union, 2005). Her last book, ‘Eyo’, was shortlisted for the 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and she is now working on her next book. You can catch up with her on facebook or twitter:

• Follow @abidemisanusi

Abidemi writes:

THE VERY FIRST CHRISTIAN NOVEL given to me was by a non-Christian. I have no idea how she got hold of the book, but I have her to thank for opening up my eyes to this genre of publishing that I wasn’t even aware existed. All I knew was that I wanted to write fiction that was inspired by biblical themes. The book she gave me reassured me that it could be done.

Kemi's Journal

My first book, Kemi’s Journal of Life, Love & Everything, was published by Scripture Union and nicknamed the ‘Christian Bridget Jones’ by the Independent on Sunday newspaper. Two more books and more than a few contributions to devotional publications later, I was firmly put in that creative box known as a ‘Christian writer’.

At first, the label did not bother me, after all, I was a Christian, and I did write for the Christian market. But then, after a while, it began to grate — round about the time I started thinking about doing something new, something that wouldn’t necessarily fit the guiding principles of Christian publishing. Yes, dear readers, I wanted to leap — straight into the arms of an adoring secular reading audience. I also started thinking about my label as a ‘Christian writer’ and found that I didn’t like it – at all.

Christian writer, or a Christian who writes? Who cares anyway?

For one thing, creatively, I found it too restrictive. Yes, I was a Christian, and yes, I was a writer, and yes, there was a time when I did write specifically for the Christian market, but now, with the kind of books I wanted to write, ones, I might add again, that did not fit the mould of Christian publishing, how representative was the label in terms of where I was creatively and professionally, as a writer? My answer to that was ‘Not all representative’.

I came to the conclusion that I was a Christian who wrote. We don’t call someone a ‘Christian plumber’ or a ‘Christian stockbroker’, but it seems that when it comes to writing, the same rules do not apply. I understand that it works for marketing purposes, but at that time, I found it too restricting.

Eyo

I started working on my literary ‘masterpiece’, and when I finished, my agent duly sent it round all the publishing houses (Christian and secular, I might add) – and they all came back with a resounding ‘No.’ Finally, it ended up with an African publisher keen to start a new line of fiction by up-and-coming African writers. Unbeknownst to me, they also entered the book for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

And so it was that I found myself competing with an Orange Prize winner for a literary prize. I didn’t win (and neither did the Orange Prize winner), but I did get a fascinating insight into the world of general publishing.

So, where does that leave me today? I always thought I had to make the choice between writing for the Christian or the general market, and now, I know I don’t. I like writing for both, and there is no reason why I can’t or shouldn’t do both. I’m a writer, and writers write — and that is all there is to it.

Update, 30/11/2011: If you’re a Christian writer — or a writer who is a Christian — don’t miss the parallel discussion in the ACW facebook group. Clare C M Weiner asks,

‎”Christian Writer” or “Writer who is a Christian” – is there a difference? If so, what is it? And how would you identify yourself? (Eg do all Christian writers publish with Christian publishers, and the others not??? Do the others keep their faith in the background, or even, a secret?)

Press Release, 21/10/2011: Walsall Christian Bookshop Completes Major Relocation - Opens Saturday 22nd October

CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES to Luke Hughes-Bunger and his team at The Hub, Walsall, as they finalise preparations for reopening on Saturday 22nd October 2011 at their new location in Stafford Street. Adapted from the official press release, issued today:

• Read the full press release
• Follow @thehubwalsall

MY APOLOGIES to those readers who’ve missed the News Roundups over the last few weeks: life, as they say. The good news is that this trade of ours is at least as busy as I am, with as much going on as ever. Don’t forget, you can pick up on news as it emerges via the UKCBD twitter feed, which I’m using this time around, supplemented by my personal feed, Eddie Olliffe, Melanie Carroll and SPCK Publishing to liven things up a little. If you’d like to see your tweets featured here next time around, give me a nudge by mentioning @notbovvered or @ukcbd in any tweet you’d like me to highlight.

Whilst we’re talking social media, make sure you don’t miss the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group: it’s a closed group, intentionally so, a space for anyone involved in the Christian book trade to meet online but away from the public eye, to exchange ideas and information and offer one another mutual support. Feel free to drop in and join the conversation — or start one!

Congratulations to Quench Shops @QuenchReading on the launch of their new online shop: bit.ly/quenchshops—
UKCBD News Reviews (@UKCBD) October 17, 2011

The new Casting Crowns album, 'Come to the Well' is now out and in stock – be quick as copies have already been… fb.me/17RCUxkR1—
melanie carroll (@unicorntreebks) October 15, 2011

Our new blog for churches is LIVE! Check it out! spckpublishing.co.uk/for-churches—
SPCK Publishing (@SPCKPublishing) October 12, 2011

Wonderful to discover Christian Resources Leicester on facebook: head on over there and hit that like button on.fb.me/q84FU5—
UKCBD News Reviews (@UKCBD) October 10, 2011

#SPCKSSG Bookshops: Philip Brewer files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in California bit.ly/q5gz2o—
Phil Groom (@notbovvered) October 09, 2011

UK Christian publishers turn to apps in market squeeze bit.ly/mUfVxQ – report by @TheBookseller's Benedicte Page, h/t @eddieolliffe—
UKCBD News Reviews (@UKCBD) October 07, 2011

WELL DONE @unicorntreebks in Lincoln. Inclusion in today's Guardian Independent Bookshop Guide 'one of UK's 350 most interesting Indy's' #fb—
Eddie Olliffe (@eddieolliffe) October 01, 2011

Value for money tips the balance as customers rate Amazon as the UK's best brand: Kelkoo Report bit.ly/nZVwDG h/t @eddieolliffe—
UKCBD News Reviews (@UKCBD) October 01, 2011

Amazon readying October Kindle offer – by "asking" publishers for a *90%* discount! via @TheBookseller bit.ly/qzNJVT—
UKCBD News Reviews (@UKCBD) September 29, 2011

"Somehow we have to deal with this or we will be torn apart by it" – @EddieOlliffe reflects on the Christian book trade bit.ly/rreg0O—
UKCBD News Reviews (@UKCBD) September 29, 2011

Storehouse: Resources for Life – the new name for Living Oasis Watford: rebranding in progress -… fb.me/1ihDp2IJg—
Phil Groom (@notbovvered) September 26, 2011

Eleanor Stoneham

MY THANKS TO ELEANOR STONEHAM for providing this fascinating and challenging introduction to her book, Healing This Wounded Earth (O Books, 9781846944451). Eleanor is another writer I met online in the ACW (Association of Christian Writers) facebook group, and I’d encourage any Christian booksellers reading to join the group: it’s a fantastic opportunity to get to know and interact with some of the authors (some well established, others up-and-coming) whose work is your stock-in-trade, the very life-blood of your business — who knows, get involved and you might even be able to persuade one of them to visit your shop for a signing session?

To all Christian writers, wannabes and well-known alike: I salute you! And now: over to Eleanor…

Part 1: Compassion – An idea whose time has come

It took a massive mental breakdown, now many years ago, to launch me into this world of writing. Because it gave me the time and space and opportunity to reassess my life, to change what I was doing, to take up new things, including writing and a more active life in my church.

How many realise that their pension funds may be supporting arms manufacture or child abuse: or that what they eat may be harming the planet or involve appalling animal cruelty? How many understand the flaws in our economy and the wisdom of the alternatives to be found in the Bible’s Jubilee Land Laws, and rules for debt cancellation? How many understand the full global significance of what they may be unwittingly supporting as they go about their day to day lives at work and at play? And do we care? These are important questions for us all, but Christians should be deeply engaged with them as a matter of faith.

I’ve tried to do a brave thing in my book: to explore these questions and many more in the context of compassion, spirituality, love and healing. I’ve tried to open people’s eyes as gently as possible to the results of our actions and the need for changes in how we all live our lives as I explore these qualities in business and finance, in the way we treat the living world around us, in our faith, in our art and creativity and the media, in our healthcare and in our communities.

It’s not always comfortable reading, but then who ever said being a Christian was meant to be easy? John Stott in his wonderful book Basic Christianity wrote of the scandal of “nominal Christianity.” Large numbers of people have covered themselves, he writes,

with a decent, but thin, veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved: enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable. Their religion is a great, soft cushion. It protects them from the hard unpleasantness of life, while changing its place and shape to suit their convenience.

Healing This Wounded Earth

Those words are often as true today as they were when Stott wrote them in 1958 or thereabouts! And I suppose I want to reach out to those “nominal Christians.” Because my book was born out of a deep frustration that too many people seem to forget what they heard at church on Sunday when they go back into their workaday lives on Monday morning. And so often we don’t even realise what we are doing wrong, the effects our behaviour may be having beyond our own limited field of experience. We would often be horrified if we knew! So that’s why I wrote Healing this Wounded Earth: with Compassion, Spirit and the Power of Hope.

It is not just for Christians although it’s certainly a useful handbook for us. And Christ is of course at the heart of healing and compassion. The book was also written for and should appeal to those of all faiths or indeed simply those of Good Faith, who want to make a difference in the world, through finding and nurturing more compassion in their lives. The ideas are further enhanced by many inspirational quotations. I had great fun collecting these together, from the great world leaders and influencers past and present, people such as the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, and others. We would do so well to heed their wisdom. And the book is also practical, with lots of ideas to follow up, to bring a compassionate world nearer for us all. I’ve therefore included detailed endnotes and references, and a final Appendix, “Journey of Hope – Words into Action.”

So I really hope people not only enjoy reading it but make some changes in their lives as well, to make a contribution to healing our wonderful but deeply wounded earth.

My website can be found at www.eleanorstoneham.com where there is more information about the book, details of my background and links to my blogs.

Part 2: So what is the story behind that breakdown and completing the book?

I was running my own accountancy practice, absurdly overstretched and over stressed. And I was worried about what I saw around me. I could see so much self-centred, selfish behaviour, an alarming erosion of moral and ethical values, and a general lack of empathy and compassion for our fellow beings. The Me-Millennium, we’ve called it, and not without good reason.

It needed that breakdown and the convalescence spent lazily by a pool in the Turkish summer heat, to give me my Ah-hah moment: to inspire me to do something about this. My companion on my sun-lounger was Michael Ford’s biography of the spiritual writer and Roman Catholic priest Henri Nouwen, author of the best selling book The Wounded Healer. Of course! Nouwen was such a wonderful living example of the Wounded Healer; so wounded himself and through his own vulnerability such a source of healing for those he came in contact with. His books had helped me enormously. And something he had written about the need for healing the many problems of the world triggered a thought deep within me. That was it! I decided then and there to explore this further. How could we all help to heal the world through love and compassion, perhaps even through our own woundedness?

So I came back home from that holiday not only feeling much better for the sun and sea and relaxation, but also fired up to start my research. Amazingly the internet was then in its comparative infancy, and was nothing like the useful research tool it can be today. Frequent trips to Guildford University library were needed, where I spent day after fascinating day in their stack, surrounded by papers and journals and books and articles, collecting together the information I needed.

What was my background to qualify me for this task? I was a scientist. I’d written a scientific paper and a thesis to gain my PhD as a research postgraduate. For various reasons I had retrained as a Chartered Accountant, later adding the skills of a Tax Consultant, Independent Financial Adviser, and successful businesswoman to my bow. I even became a jobbing amateur theologian. Yes, in mid life I felt called to the Anglican priesthood, but was rejected at selection conference; I know they tell you it’s not rejection, but that’s really how it felt! I’m now an altar girl and verger in the Anglican Church, gardener and enthusiastic allotment holder. And I’ve experienced plenty of mental health care first hand! I had the eclectic knowledge and experience. I just needed to make sure I was up to date with my ideas.

So far so good. But what would I know about writing and publishing?

Realising this gap in my knowledge I took myself off to the internationally respected Winchester Writer’s Conference – twice – and learnt much about the whole writing and publishing business. I spoke to and networked with “wannabe” and published authors, publishers, agents, marketing consultants, soaking up lots of advice, but they were all very secular in their approach and ethos. One agent told me that mentioning Jesus in my draft script was a huge mistake! No one would want to touch it! Then I bumped into that well-known Christian whodunnit author, Veronica Heley, who in a passing comment suggested I look up the Association of Christian Writers. I’m so glad I did. Networking with members really helped me focus on my faith in my writing; they were a great support network and of course nice people to be with!

And I also found O Books who liked my kind of book!

So here I am with Healing this Wounded Earth: with Compassion, Spirit and the Power of Hope. The original book title was Ripples of Hope, inspired by a Robert Kennedy speech at Cape Town in 1966:

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

The publisher didn’t like that title so it was changed, but I still pray that people will not only enjoy reading the book, and discover more about themselves and the lives they lead, but also use it to help them start their very own Ripples of Hope for a better world for us all.

• Meet Eleanor on facebook 
• Follow @obooks (John Hunt Publishing)

IN THIS EXCERPT from the recent discussions about Kingsway, the Spirit Break Out album in HMV and Kingsway’s RRPs, Luke Bunger (The Hub, Walsall) replies to John Robinson (aka ‘John the Areopagite’), presenting us with two possible ways in which things could turn out for the Christian book trade over the next few years.

Many publishers and suppliers offer their Christian retail partners wholly commendable and comprehensive support: I hear the praises of CWR, IVP and Lion Hudson sung most often. This shout out is not to them but to those who seem tempted to think, “Christian retailing is dead: let’s go elsewhere…”

No doubt there are many other scenarios between the two extremes in the picture Luke paints: we live not in a world of black and white but in a rainbow world, with myriad possibilities and God’s promise of grace arcing overhead; but rainbows only appear after the storm — and after the storm, by God’s grace, sometimes we get to choose the colours. Let’s choose wisely.

Obvious typos and minor punctuation/grammatical errors have been corrected, but otherwise these excerpts are exactly as written:

John Robinson said:

God forbid that Kingsway were to actually do their mission and spread the Kingdom message. I think it was high time that some Christian retailers were to understand that the messianic vision is for the world and not to be kept in the back streets – I heartily commend Kingsway for trying to spread the Gospel any way they can!

John the Areopagite

Luke Bunger replied:

John.

The simple fact of the matter is that no-one is criticising Kingsway for getting their stuff out there. In HMV, Amazon, iTunes or otherwise. Many of us (and I would suggest almost everyone who is commenting here) think that it’s good.

The thing we don’t like, however, is taking existing customers and encouraging them to shop elsewhere. Everyone receiving the email were existing Kingsway customers, primarily people who are already Christians, and many of whom already buy Christian music, who either signed up online, filled in contact cards at events, or responded to those cards which used to be placed in the front of CDs and DVDs.

This did NOT hit HMV’s sizeable database, nor did it hit every iTunes user. If it did, this would be amazing news, even given the unfortunate wording.

It hit Kingsway’s.

And as a result, in the main, it was read by people who already support Christian music. Many of these already use Christian bookshops (I know for a fact several of MY customers received it).

It encouraged these people to stop supporting their Christian bookshops and instead to use the secular HMV store for their Christian music needs, and that is what we take offence to.

The other issue is that does making the music available at HMV really spread the gospel, if as a result Christian businesses are closed down?

Let me propose two situations for you to consider:

In the first, Christian publishers and suppliers like Kingsway effectively abandon the Christian trade in favour of the secular trade. Their reasoning is simple: the Christian trade is dying, and focusing on retailers like HMV and Amazon reaches a wider audience.

As a result, their self-fulfilling prophecy comes to pass, the trend continues, and within the next few years, the Directory Phil manages reduces from a few hundred entries to a few dozen.

As a result, Christians still have access to music and books, and non-Christians have the possibility of stumbling across them while browsing through the Self Help sections of bookshops, or the Blues and Gospel section of HMV.

The second option is that suppliers and publishers make a continuing push to support the Christian trade, even if it risks alienating HMV, iTunes or Amazon. Their logic is simple: Christian bookshops exist primarily to support the Christians in the community, and spread the gospel to non-Christians and we should invest in that.

As a result, the trend of closures is slowed, and maybe even reverses. Christian bookshops become healthier, more vibrant and more appealing. Because of the commitment by suppliers, the bookshops become steadily more profitable, and are able to open up more branches, and move into more high profile locations. HMV, Amazon and others may kick up a stink, and may even decide not to stock the products (though that seems unlikely, if there is demand for it, and the possibility of making a profit).

Now. Picture a seeker. Someone who is interested in the bigger questions, but unsure whether they are ready to commit to anything by crossing the threshold of a church. The kind of person who I see most days at The Hub.

In world one, there is no Christian bookshop. They visit their local Waterstone’s, ask about Christianity, and are pointed to either the World Religions section, where they can buy three or four copies of the Bible, alongside dozens of other “Holy Books”, or the Self Help section, where they stumble across a Joel Osteen book, but not before picking up a handful of other books all advocating wildly different beliefs and opinions. They ask the staff member for advice, and the best answer he is trained to give is, “This one by Paul McKenna is very popular. You may have seen him advertising it on the TV recently”.

In this world someone interested in Christian music will be pointed to the Blues and Gospel section, and will think “I’m really more into Rock… I’m not really into Blues or Gospel music… I guess there is nothing in the Christian scene for me”.

They will probably save a few pounds on the books they buy, v/s the prices they would have paid in Christian bookshops, but that’s about the sum of it.

In world two, this seeker would hopefully be able to walk into a Christian bookshop in his or her town.

They would have the choice of dozens of translations of Bibles, in hundreds of different shapes and sizes. They would have a wealth of Christian teaching available, whatever background or circumstances they find themselves in, not to mention the wealth of information afforded to them by staff who have the time and knowledge to talk with them about their needs, and pray with them about their circumstances.

They would ask about music, and find that there are hundreds of CDs and DVDs available, in many different genres, that whatever music they like, there will be something in the Christian world for them.

They may have to journey into the backstreet to find it, but find it they hopefully will, and when they do, they will find a place where they can find out much more about the Christian faith than they likely ever would in HMV, Waterstone’s or at Amazon.

So I ask you this: in which circumstance is the Gospel of Jesus Christ really more effectively preached, and the lost more effectually reached?

Of course, we would all prefer not to have to live in an either/or world, but a both/and one. But if we do have to choose, I know which choice I would be making.