October 22, 2011

Making the Leap: Abidemi Sanusi reflects on what it means to be a ‘Christian’ writer

Posted by Phil Groom under Author Profile, Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Abidemi Sanusi

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:

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

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

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?)

 

June 23, 2010

Dear Bob

Posted by Phil Groom under Book Reviews, Guest Posts | Tags: , , , , , , |
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Dear BobDear Bob

Annie Porthouse
ISBN 9781859996331 (1859996337)
Scripture Union, 2003 (208pp)
£6.99

Category: Fiction
Subcategory: Christian
Reviewed by: Joy McIlroy

When asked to read and review Dear Bob by Annie Porthouse I did a little research in preparation. I was particularly concerned as this title has generally donned prime position in the ‘youth’ section in my shop and so I wondered whether I was qualified to take on the task. But on discovering that being an entertaining read for all ages and specifically aimed at those aged 18-30 I felt more relaxed. Whilst clinging on to this age bracket by my fingernails I felt confident diving right in.

The book is a work of fiction based around the main character, Jude, as she discovers the joys and challenges of freshers’ year at university. It is written in a diary style not dissimilar to such titles as Bridget Jones’ Diary and Theodora’s Diary (not forgetting the Sacred Diaries of Adrian Plass for those of you who can remember back that far!). Rather than being a diary, it is, in fact, a series of letters addressed to ‘Bob’, that elusive young man that all teenage girls think about every second of every day – my husband-to-be whom I have not actually identified yet! The book instantly appealed to me as I like prose that is laid out slightly differently: I find it keeps my attention and has the added advantage of breaking down the chapter into little chunks for those of us who don’t have time to sit for long periods of time to indulge in a bit of reading. We are taken on a journey through friendships, love interests, parental disputes, and ultimately a search for faith in a new and often lonely existence.

I want to congratulate Annie Porthouse! My personal university experience was rather short-lived, but within the pages of Dear Bob Annie has successfully captured every single emotion and experience that I had. This time in any young persons’ life is an amazing journey of discovery as they experience independence on a new level, but also how this independence impacts their friendships, relationship with parents and siblings, and also their faith. As well as being often full of good fun times and shared experiences that stay with you forever, it can also be a time of incredible pain as you juggle feelings of loneliness, home-sickness and soul-searching. When a young Christian enters this journey there is of course a level of discovery about faith and church which nothing in Sunday School has ever prepared you for. To travel with this character through her struggles and see a glimmer of hope emerge on the other side is incredibly gratifying and releasing, as well as good fun at times.

So who should read this book?… Well I came away very surprised at how much of the story I found I could relate to. There is obviously a lot of substance in the book that will appeal to those in their years following leaving school (whether heading to university or not). Also, those like myself who still have a glimmer of a memory of this experience will find it an entertaining journey down memory lane! But beyond the main character there are many others that have quite some depth and can speak into many situations. I found myself particularly drawn to the main characters’ older sister who is married and has 2 small children (the life phase I now find myself in). The author has managed to successfully portray the challenges that come to this character as well: emotional, psychological and physical experiences that can eventually take its toll in this tricky phase of life. I would also recommend it to any parents who have children leaving home. The experiences of the main character and the feelings alongside it are depicted incredibly accurately and so parents would do well to be prepared for these.

I personally found it hard to put this book down, mainly because it actually became a personal journey of discovery and healing as I reminisced about this time in my own life. I question its shelf-life based on its regular use of pop culture references, but it is a well written and fun book. Whilst leaving the reader satisfied that Jude will take on the rest of her university experience in a more positive place faith-wise, the question of the identity of ‘Bob’ is never revealed. So I shall be picking up the sequel Dear Jude shortly…

Joy McIlroy, June 2010

Joy McIlroy is manager of the bookshop at Ashburnham Place and is a frequent commenter on this blog.

Annie Porthouse’s blog, complete with revised and updated ‘Dear Bob’ study guides

Scripture Union | Order from your local Christian bookshop or www.christianbookshops.org

Authors | Categories | Publishers | Reviewers | Titles

Facebook discussions…

 

March 1, 2010

Church Times Blog: New Living Oasis Christian bookshops to be ‘three times the size’ of former Wesley Owen shops

Posted by Phil Groom under Bookshop Ramblings | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Christian Marketplace, March 2010

Christian Marketplace, March 2010

My thanks to Dave Walker for permission to cross-post the following from the Church Times Blog, a superb summary of reportage in this month’s Christian Marketplace. Scroll to the end for my own comments and concluding reflections.

Clem Jackson from Christian Marketplace magazine has been busy talking to everyone involved in the events following the demise of the UK’s largest Christian book distributor IBS-STL (UK) and its associated bookshops (Wesley Owen). In particular he has interviewed representatives of the organisations who have taken over the assets.

You can download the latest issue of Christian Marketplace via this page. There are many interesting nuggets of information to be found, including some in an interview with Ray George of Nationwide Christian Trust, who have taken on half of the shops in the Wesley Owen chain (for background see Living Oasis Christian bookshops). This is a brief extract, which gives some idea of the direction that is planned for the new ’Living Oasis‘ shops:

We are looking to lead with the coffee shop and not the Christian bookshop and we believe that we will add a further 60% to the turnover; this is the difference between profit and loss.

The bookshops we have acquired are too small, so in most cases we are looking to relocate. We have taken temporary leases on the current bookshop sites for three or six months, but we’re negotiating hard. We’re in a buyer’s market looking to open new shops – and that’s going to happen.

The footprint of our shops will probably be three times the size of the average Wesley Owen shop we have. We want to coffee shop to be prominent, but we don’t want it to seem as if the coffee shop is all we’ve got.

Clem also talks to the Managing Director of Koorong, who have taken over a smaller number of shops, along with the online shop and Authentic publishing. You’ll need to download the magazine to read that.

Available online is a news story, Major casualties revealed in IBS-STL UK collapse, which gives some idea of the size of the losses taken by Christian organisations in the wake of the IBS-STL (UK) collapse:

Two the world’s leading Christian publishers, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, are in line to suffer losses exceeding £280,000 between them as a result of the collapse of IBS-STL UK at the end of 2009, according to information given to Christian Marketplace, by the administrators handling the winding up of the company. However this figure is significantly exceeded by the amount owed to UK publisher Scripture Union, which has submitted a claim for around £360,000 for ‘SU Product’, although this figure has “not yet been agreed by the administrators” according to latest letter to ‘all known creditors’.

Living Oasis: Which Shops?

Clem’s interview with Ray George also brings to light the definitive list of shops that Living Oasis have in their sights:

We now have 20 shops in our portfolio: Aberdeen, Bedford, Belfast, Cheltenham, Chester, Croydon, Edinburgh, Harrogate, Harrow, Inverness, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, South Woodford, Southampton, Sutton, Watford, Weston-Super-Mare and Worthing.

Concluding Reflections

With respect to the debts — also reported by the Bookseller, Trade creditors owed £2.5m after Wesley Owen failure — I find myself wondering how in good conscience Biblica, IBS-STL UK’s parent company, can simply walk away from this and continue their operations in the USA and elsewhere as if nothing untoward has happened? Was it not Biblica’s globalisation strategy that brought IBS-STL UK to its knees? Yet to this day Biblica’s news section has carried not a single report on the UK situation.

No doubt Biblica have acted within the letter of the law — but is this really the way a supposedly Christian organisation should conduct its affairs? Biblica sums up its core values as follows:

We believe that Biblica should be guided by biblical core values that serve as the measuring standard for the work we do, the people we serve and the mission we strive to accomplish. These values also serve as a reflection of the commitment we have to all of the standards set forth in God’s Word.

In Romans 13:8 the Scriptures that Biblica claim to affirm admonish us:

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…

Where, O Biblica, is the love in the way we see you conducting your affairs in relation to the UK??

 

February 27, 2010

Christian Suppliers Update: Alban Books, Kingsway, Norwich Books & Music and Scripture Union

Posted by Phil Groom under Announcements, Book Trade Ramblings, Christian Publishers, Christian Suppliers, Musings..., News, STL | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Despite the new STL UK’s best efforts to become a one stop shop for retailers, it seems that not all publishers want to play ball. The latest to jump ship is Scripture Union, who have now signed up Marston Book Services as their trade distributor. Distribution moves from STL to Marston with effect from Monday, 1st March 2010, although STL will continue to stock Scripture Union product as a wholesaler: full announcement below, courtesy of  Michael Welch.

It’s a more sensible move, it must be said, than Kingsway‘s attempt to manage their own distribution: a number of retailers have reported various problems with Kingsway, including delays, shortages and incorrect discounts. Hopefully we’ll begin to see some improvements soon now that they have James Batterbee (former branch manager at Wesley Owen, Croydon) on board as Customer Services Manager.

Kingsway say that trade orders are currently being turned around within 72 hours, carriage-free until the end of March; the aim, I believe, is 24 hour turnaround. Authentic UK product — acquired from the old STL — should be available next week. The company have also taken on UK distribution for Joseph Prince, Moody and Navpress and are reportedly planning — a little prematurely, perhaps, given the recent collapse of STL’s global ambitions? — to expand operations into the USA: UK Christian Music Giant, Kingsway, Establishes North American Presence. You can find Kingsway’s USA owners on twitter @David_C_Cook and on facebook; Kingsway appear on facebook as Mission Worship.

In the meantime, Alban Books — UK distributors (also with Marston) for a number of USA publishers including Abingdon Press, Augsburg-Fortress, Eerdmans and Westminster John Knox, to name but some — have announced that following Kate Dennis’s departure last year, they’ve decided that a full-time Sales Rep is no longer necessary and are switching to a telesales system, expected to launch mid-March this year. Any concerns or comments may be addressed to Nigel Parkinson, Sales Manager: contact details here. You can also find Alban Books on facebook.

Finally for now, Norwich Books & Music (distributors for SCM, Canterbury Press, Church House Publishing, Darton Longman & Todd and HarperCollins Religious, amongst others) have upped their game to match IVP and are now offering 24-hour delivery service as standard to the UK book trade, with same day despatch for orders placed by 12 noon and no small order surcharge. With comprehensive online search and ordering across Norwich’s entire list available via PubEasy.com, this in fact gives Norwich a distinct edge on IVP, whose trade list is only available as pdf downloads.

All we need next is for Marston, Norwich and IVP to get their invoicing systems up to speed with batch.co.uk…

Related Posts (most recent first)

Editor’s note: email addresses in the following announcement have been split as a spam prevention measure.

IMPORTANT TRADE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM SCRIPTURE UNION

Scripture Union is pleased to announce the appointment of Marston Book Services as its distributor.

Distribution provision will move from STL-D to Marston Book Services as of the 1st March 2010

All orders for Scripture Union titles including dated resource should be directed to Marston from the 1st March. Orders can be placed using your existing Marston trading account.

All orders for the April-June dated quarter and/or Submerge March-April should also be placed with Marston after this date – including top-up orders. If you have a SU dated standing order with STL-D we ask that you cancel and transfer it to Marston ASAP thereafter.

All returns for credit including dated should be sent to Marston Book Services. Any other claim – for damage goods, mix see/safe order etc should be returned to STL-D.

All orders and customer enquiries should be sent to:

Marston Book Services Ltd
160 Milton Park
P O Box 269
Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4SD
Tel: 01235 465576
Fax: 01235 465555
Email Orders: trade.orders AT marston.co.uk
Enquiries: trade.enquiry AT marston.co.uk

Any queries regarding this change please contact Scripture Union’s retail support – telephone Tracy on 01908 856182
fax 01908 856030
email retailsupport AT scriptureunion.org.uk

STL-D will continue to offer our wide range of titles as a wholesaler.

 

September 19, 2009

Scripture Union to Shed up to 25 Jobs

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Publishers | Tags: , , , |
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SU Press Release 16/09/2009

SU Press Release 16/09/2009

Scripture Union, perhaps best known as publishers of daily Bible reading notes and holiday club resources, issued the press release shown below on Wednesday 16th September, announcing up to 25 job cuts in a major shake up intended “to create a more cost-effective, flexible, mission-focused organisation”.

Consultations with staff — any of whom could be affected, according to the press release — are in progress and should be concluded by November, the plan being to bring the “new model” for the organisation into effect in January next year.

Scripture Union announces plans for a flexible, digital future

The leadership of Scripture Union in England and Wales today announced a major re-shaping to create a more cost-effective, flexible, mission-focused organisation. The aim is to minimise overheads and drive resources from fixed costs into longer-term development of front-line mission through field work, publishing and holiday and mission events.

Scripture Union’s publishing arm will build on its ground-breaking commitment to digital resources, though its much-valued Bible Reading Guides and resources for churches will still be available in printed format.

Face-to-face work with children and young people will be increasingly managed and funded regionally, allowing for greater flexibility and responsiveness to local needs and opportunities. Central costs will also be pared down, with head office positions being reduced.

This is the most radical re-shaping of the organisation in a generation following on from the strategic investment in digital ministries. To achieve it the movement will shed some staff posts and seek to increase the number of locally based associate roles. The move is likely to reduce the number of existing staff posts by 25. Any employees could potentially be affected, and any that are will be offered help to find new work.

Commenting on the developments, Scripture Union Chief Executive Keith Civval said ”Our calling to make God’s good news known to children, young people and families hasn’t changed. We’ve been carefully seeking God for the way forward and this move is about being faithful to our heritage in a new context. These are tough recessionary times and we can’t do everything, so we are choosing to invest limited resources wisely.”

Scripture Union has begun a comprehensive consultation with its staff, which will be concluded by the end of November. The new model will come into effect in January 2010.

 

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