Mark in 40 Days
LENT IS ALMOST UPON US, starting 9th March this year: are you ready? Are your customers ready? As always, there’s a lot of material out there, but here’s one you may have missed: Mark in 40 Days, from St Mark’s Press. St Mark’s Press are a relatively new Christian publisher based in Bedfordshire, last featured here for Christian Aid Week 2010: Give as you sell with St Mark’s Press.
Mark in 40 Days is written by Simon and Chris Danes: Simon is the director of St Mark’s Press and Chris, his older brother, is a writer and broadcaster, perhaps best known for his audioblog on bipolar disorder for the BBC’s You and Yours. Both Simon and Chris are former teachers and theology graduates from Oxford who have also had plenty of experience of adult education as well as writing books together on Christianity for young people. Over to Simon:
I don’t like blowing my own trumpet, but we’re very pleased with the way Mark in 40 Days has turned out. It’s a Bible study course, with comments and daily reflections, but it also introduces readers to what New Testament scholars have said about the Gospel. I’d hesitate to say it’s a similar sort of thing to the Daily Study Bible – I can’t claim to have Barclay’s brilliance! – but it’s that sort of style: both devotional and informative, you know the sort of thing.
St Mark’s Press are emerging as a key publisher of Barclay’s backlist with The Gospels and Acts (two volumes) and The Mind of St Paul already in print and a further three titles planned this year. The Barclay family are keen for them to publish more still, so a programme is beginning to be put together. Back to Simon:
It’s early days yet as we have to get the rights issues finalised and that can take time. We’ll let people know as soon as we can what the new titles are going to be. It’s likely that we’ll do two of Barclay’s books on the New Testament and one of his prayer books in 2011; we’d be interested in hearing from retailers if they have any preferences: whether they’d like more New Testament studies or more books of prayers, or whether they have favourite titles that they’d like to see.
The books that are out at the moment are doing well. The Gospels and Acts is in two volumes: the first covers Matthew, Mark and Luke and the second’s on John and Acts. It was one of the last things Barclay wrote before his death and it’s got a strong claim to be the best. They’re more detailed than the Daily Study Bible but every bit as good; I always find the depth of Barclay’s knowledge and his ability to put things across absolutely astonishing. An incredibly learned and wise man. The Mind of St Paul is an older and shorter work but it’s still very good; it’s an introduction to themes in Paul’s thought and, as usual, is accessible and readable.
All St Mark’s Press books are available direct (with good discounts!) or through STL, Gardners or Bertrams. Contact details and full bibliographic info as follows:
William Barclay
St Mark’s Press, 2010
ISBN 9781907062070
£14.95
The Mind of St Paul
William Barclay
St Mark’s Press, 2010
ISBN 9781907062087
£11.95
Mark in 40 Days
Simon and Chris Danes
St Mark’s Press, January 2011
ISBN 9781907062117
£9.95, paperback
The Gospels and Acts: Matthew, Mark and Luke
William Barclay
St Mark’s Press, 2010
ISBN 9781907062063
£14.95
Contact Details:
St Mark’s Press
20 Close Road
Pavenham MK43 7PP
01234 824861 / 077907 13872
info AT stmarkspress.com [email address split to resist spambots]
www.stmarkspress.com
