It's my pleasure and my passion to keep up with the growing Christian fiction market and to share it with other writers. Hope this helps you in your writing career.
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[Agents]
2010 Christian Book Publishers
Fiction Market Update
You'll notice that I have 3 categories, the Main houses, Newer and Smaller and Ebook houses, and African-American houses. Our market continues to change and grow.
Abingdon Press
201 Eighth Avenue South
P.O. Box 801
Nashville, TN 37202-0801
Barbara Scott, Sr. Acquisitions Editor-Fiction
http://www.AbingdonPress.com
Abingdon prefers agented submissions or meeting someone at a writing conference. Their lists are filled through Fall 2011, so it's unlikely that an opening will occur soon. Sometime in the fall, they hope to put together the Spring 2012 list. It’s suggested that you read a few of their novels to discover how they differ from other Christian publishers. “Conversion” scenes are not necessary; rather they would prefer to explore the length and depth of Christian experience. Types of genres sought include contemporary and historical romance; contemporary women; romantic suspense, mysteries, and thrillers; romantic comedy; African-American; Amish and/or Old Order Mennonite, and Christmas novellas. Strong female protagonists preferred. No interest at this time in speculative fiction.
Avon Inspire (HarperOne, Division of HarperCollins)
353 Sacramento Street, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94111
Editor: Cynthia DiTiberio
Website: http://www.harpercollins.com.
Types of fiction sought historical and contemporary romance, chick lit, romantic suspense, African American Christian fiction, historical women's fiction with romantic elements
Guidelines for submission: Right now we are only considering published authors.
B&H Publishing Group
127 Ninth Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37234-0115
(615) 251-2438; fax (615) 251-3752
www.bhpublishinggroup.com/
Fiction Editors: Executive editor Pure Enjoyment line; Karen Ball; Gary Tereshita, Executive editor Fidelis line
Company: Established in 1934, B&H is the book division of LifeWay, the world's largest publisher of Christian materials.
Needs: Pure Enjoyment publishes 18-20 new fiction titles per year — contemporary women's fiction, suspense, romance, thriller, historical romance. Pure Enjoyment line is full through early 2013, so won’t be looking for submissions until early 2011. Fidelis line publishes 5-7 fiction titles a year--military/patriotic fiction.
Guidelines: Pure Enjoyment: find guidelines on www.pureenjoyment.com. B&H does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Accepts agented proposals by e-mail. Include synopsis, estimated word count, brief bio, list of publishing credits with first-year sales numbers on previous titles, and sample chapters. Accepts simultaneous submissions.
Barbour Publishing, Inc.
PO Box 719,
Uhrichsville OH 44683
Website: www.barbourbooks.com, www.heartsongpresents.com
Editors - Rebecca Germany, Senior Fiction Editor; JoAnne Simmons, Heartsong Presents Romances.
Types of fiction sought – Primarily romance with traditional settings. We will now consider romantic suspense. We are currently not very interested in cozy mysteries, expect for what we are republishing from the closed line. (We aren't doing chick and mom lit, or settings between WWII and modern day.)
Guidelines for submission: We have specific guidelines available for the Heartsong line. We will work with both agented and unagented authors. It would be best to email a query before submitting. Emailed proposals are acceptable at fictionsubmit@barbourbooks.com
Guidelines are available at: http://www.barbourbooks.com/pages/writersguide.aspx
Openings in all of our fiction areas are very few at this present time.
We have updated a bit since then. We still do primarily romance or things with a good romance thread.
Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, MN 55438
Website: www.bethanyhouse.com
Fiction Acquisitions Editors: David Long, Charlene Patterson, and Raela Schoenherr
Our guiding principle is that great stories will always find an audience, and thus we consider nearly all styles and genres of Christian fiction.
We only accept queries, proposals, or manuscripts to BHP through an established literary agent, recognized manuscript service, or at a writers' conference attended by Bethany House editorial staff.
David C. Cook
4050 Lee Vance View
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
http://www.cookministries.org
Terry Behimer, Editorial Director
Types of fiction sought: contemporary, historical, romance, biblical, teen (high school), suspense, twentysomething—all with high standards of writing quality and a clear discipleship message without being preachy or too neatly tied up at the end. Cook only accepts proposals through agents or by invitation from one of our editors. (RiverOaks is now part of David C. Cook.)
Guideposts Books
16 East 34th Street 12th floor
New York, NY 10016
Website: www.Guideposts.com
Beth Adams Senior Editor
Lindsay Guzzardo, Associate Editor
Guideposts is looking for inspirational fiction in a variety of genres. We are looking for books with high-concept a hook and strong writing. No unsolicited manuscripts, please.
Hachette Book Group USA
10 Cadillac Drive, Suite 220
Brentwood, TN 37027
Website: www.faithwords.com
Two imprints: FaithWords and Center Street.
FaithWords targets Christian readers.
Christina Boys, acquisitions editor, fiction for both FaithWords and Center Street
Types of fiction sought for both imprints:
We are looking for authors who already have an established fan base and presence in the market. We want to partner with strong writers who are committed to honing their craft and taking their publishing career to the next level. We aggressively pursue ABA outlets for all of our books. Accepts ONLY agented submissions.
Harvest House Publishers
990 Owen Loop North
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Terry Glaspey (acquiring editor), Nick Harrison (acquiring editor), Kim Moore (acquiring editor), Rod Morris (acquiring editor), Steve Miller (acquiring editors)
Harvest House no longer accepts unsolicited material.
The best way for new writers to submit to Harvest House is through an agent or at a writer's conference. We also look at the online manuscript listing services, such as www.ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com and Writer's Edge regularly.
Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster
Becky Nesbitt, VP, Editor-in-Chief
216 Centerview Drive, Suite 303
Brentwood, TN 37027
Guidelines:
Simon & Schuster does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. We suggest that prospective authors submit their manuscripts through a professional literary agent.
Howard Books is currently looking to acquire Christian commercial fiction and nonfiction projects.
We are interested in well-established authors with a strong record of sales. We are also interested in developing new authors with fresh voices that have the potential to impact the culture. In fiction we are looking for women’s fiction, suspense, thriller, romance, and literary fiction. In non-fiction we are looking for Christian living, biography, memoir, and current events.
Kregel Publications did not wish submission information to be listed at this time.
Moody Publishers
Attn: Acquisitions Editor / Fiction
820 N LaSalle Blvd
Chicago IL 60610-3284
Website: www.moodypublishers.com
Guidelines:
Not accepting fiction proposals except via agent or personal contact at a writers conference.
Review Policy:
Moody Publishers only accepts proposals via agent or personal contact at a writers conference. It is the goal of Moody Publishers fiction to yield a fresh encounter with Jesus Christ and glorify God in content and style. Titles are selected for publication based upon fit with this goal, quality of writing, and potential for market success. Categories not under consideration include romance, horror, and graphic novels.
Please do not call our offices with manuscript ideas. Rather, for submissions meeting the criteria detailed above, please have your agent send your query to the address above. All queries should include:
1. A brief author biography, including previous writings
2. A synopsis (1-3 pages in length)
3. A description of the intended audience
4. At least two sample chapters (or the entire manuscript if available)
5. A one-page overview of competitive titles on the market (books that are similar or might be compared to yours)
6. Projected word count
7. A list of potential endorsers for the book
It is not our policy to return submissions, so be sure to keep the original copy of your work. Your agent should receive a response to your proposal or manuscript within four months of its arrival at Moody Publishers.
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
Editors Denise Silvestro, Ellen Edwards
Imprints: all imprints can publish under the Praise program
Website: www.penguin.com
Guidelines for submission: We are looking for all types of fiction, full-length, stand-alones and series. We accept only agented
submissions.
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
P O Box 6287
Grand Rapids MI 49516
Website: www.revellbooks.com
Editorial Director: Jennifer Leep
Acquiring Editors: Lonnie Hull DuPont, Andrea Doering, Vicki Crumpton
Guidelines for submission: We are NOT accepting unsolicited submissions. We do work with the agents in our industry, and members of our acquisitions staff attend several writers conferences each year.
Steeple Hill
233 Broadway, Suite 1001
New York, NY 10279
Website: www.SteepleHill.com
Imprints:
Love Inspired
Love Inspired Suspense
Love Inspired Historical
Editors:
Editors: Joan Marlow Golan, Executive Editor; Melissa Endlich, Senior Editor (Love Inspired); Tina Colombo James, Senior Editor (Love Inspired Historical and Love Inspired Suspense); Emily Rodmell, Assistant Editor;l Rachel Burkot, Editorial Assistant, (Steeple Hill and Love Inspired); Elizabeth Mazer, Assistant Editor (Love Inspired Historical and Love Inspired Suspense)
The series romance lines are as follows:
Love Inspired is looking for character-driven contemporary romance with a Christian worldview (55000-60000 words)
Love Inspired Suspense is looking for riveting romantic suspense with a Christian worldview (55000-60000 words)
Love Inspired Historical is looking for Westerns, Americana (e.g., non-western settings.), European historical eras (e.g., Regency, and Victorian England, 18th century Scotland, etc.), 20th century (turn of the century through World War II) and biblical fiction. We are also interested in stories featuring missionaries abroad in exotic locations during various historical periods. Projects should be between 70-75,000 words long.
Guidelines for submission: We accept both agented and unagented material. Our series romance lines are an excellent opportunity for first time authors. Query w/synopsis or query with synopsis & 1st 3 chapters is preferred.
Strang Book Group
600 Rinehart Road
Lake Mary, FL 32746
(407) 333-0600
www.strangbookgroup.com
Fiction Editor: Debbie Marrie
Fiction imprint: Realms publishes full-length (75,000–90,000-word) novels in the genres of Christian visionary fiction (popular subgenres include spiritual warfare and supernatural thrillers) and historical romance (limited to nineteenth century America, AKA prairie romance).
Guidelines: We are only accepting supernatural thrillers and prairie romances at this time. Complete manuscripts required for all unagented and unsolicited submissions. All romances must be series, with a complete manuscript for first book in series upon submission.
Thomas Nelson
P.O. Box 141000
Nashville, TN 37214
www.thomasnelson.com
Fiction Editors: Amanda Bostic, Natalie Hanemann, Ami McConnell
Guidelines: We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts and will only review proposals sent to us by agents. Proposals must include a synopsis, estimated word count, author bio, list of published works, and three sample chapters.
Seeking: Historical romance, Contemporary romance, Women's fiction, YA (age 12+ female and male), and Suspense.
Tyndale House
351 Executive Dr
Carol Stream IL 60188
www.tyndale.com and www.tyndalefiction.com
Fiction acquisitions team: Karen Watson, Associate Publisher; Jan Stob, Senior Acquisitions Editor; Stephanie Broene, Acquisitions Editor.
We are looking for manuscripts with excellent writing, creative storylines, fresh ideas, and strong hooks. Word count should be 75,000-110,000 words. We are not currently accepting proposals for sci-fi/fantasy or End-Times fiction. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Authors must be agented or must be specifically invited by an editor to submit their material.
WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc.
12265 Oracle Blvd, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, CO 80921
Website: http://www.waterbrookmultnomah.com
Senior Editor: Shannon Marchese
Associate Editor: Jessica Barnes
Types of fiction sought: All genres except children's
Guidelines for submission: Unfortunately, we only accept proposals through a literary agent or upon invitation at a writer's conference.
Zondervan
5300 Patterson Avenue SE,
Grand Rapids, MI 49530
USA
LIVE LIFE INSPIRED
http://www.zondervan.com
A division of HarperCollinsPublishers
Sue Brower
Executive Editor, Fiction
Zondervan does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. We will consider those proposals that come to us directly from agents or from writer's conferences when requested. Our manuscript submission guidelines are on our website www.zondervan.com.
Zondervan publishes in all fiction genres except allegory and western. We have a well-balanced list at this time, so are not looking for any particular genre—just exceptional writing, characterization and creativity.
For young adult (YA) fiction and nonfiction, however, we are actively acquiring. For fiction, we are looking for literary, paranormal, humorous, coming-of-age, and books that will appeal across genders, as well as books that appeal to male teen readers. Historical fiction with a teen angle may also be considered. Standalone as well as series are needed. In the nonfiction realm, we are looking for titles that will appeal directly to teens. Exceptional writing, characterization, and creativity are also desired for all YA proposals. The story should be the main driver, with the faith elements naturally woven in.
Length ranges from 75K-105K words for adult, 65K–105K for YA, 40K–65K for juvenile/middle grade
Innovative and imaginative inspirational romance.
Zondervan has very few slots for new novelists and one of the best opportunities to meet with us is at Mount Herman writer's conference and the ACFW writer's conference.
Smaller or Newer Presses or Ebook publishers
To find a list of Smaller Christian Publishers
Visit http://www.christianpublishers.net/
http://www.christianpublishers.net/?page_id=3
Harrison House Publishers (Harrison has just gone through bankruptcy and reorganization but is still alive.)
P.O. Box 35035
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74153
www.harrisonhouse.com
Harrison House is currently not accepting any unsolicited manuscripts.
Marcher Lord Press
8345 Pepperridge Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Website: www.marcherlordpress.com Contact: Jeff Gerke
Marcher Lord Press is a small, indie publishing company founded by Christian publishing industry veteran Jeff Gerke (a.k.a. Jefferson Scott). Marcher Lord Press specializes in Christian speculative fiction: fantasy, science fiction, time travel, supernatural thrillers, and other "weird" Christian fiction. These are full-length novels for adults (no YA) and are regular printed-and-bound novels like the ones on the shelf in your bookstore, though these novels are available through the Internet only. Marcher Lord Press is not a subsidy, vanity, or self-publishing press. It is an advance-paying, royalty-paying publisher that publishes less than 1% of the proposals submitted to it. Marcher Lord Press releases 6 novels a year, in April and October.
Port Yonder Press
6332 - 33rd Avenue Drive
Shellsburg, IA 52332
Contact: Chila "Maggie" Woychik
http://portyonderpress.com/aboutus.aspx
We publish the unique, the well-written, the things other publishers may overlook. We love literary books, essays, elves, sea themes, and more.
Please, no sexuality, keep foul language to a minimum, excessive violence is discouraged, sorcery is taboo unless you're submitting fantasy. We prefer G, PG or PG13 manuscripts.
WE ARE A NEW IOWA PRESS. A TRADITIONAL PUBLISHER USING MODERN BOOK-ON-DEMAND DIGITAL PRINTING. General manuscript submissions in January ONLY - next submission period: January 2011. If you submit to us in any other month, we cannot acknowledge it and it will be automatically deleted. BUT, feel free to contact us at any other time with questions or book ideas.
Sheaf House Publishers
3641 Hwy 47 N
Charlotte, TN 37036
jmshoup@sheafhouse.com
Information and guidelines are available on our Web site at www.sheafhouse.com. The editorial director is Joan M. Shoup. We do not accept unsolicited submissions, but will consider queries, e-mail preferred. Authors must either be agented or be specifically invited to submit a proposal. Currently our list is full through 2012.
Sheaf House (main fiction line): Acquisitions Editor Joan M. Shoup. We’re always on the lookout for innovative, quirky, edgy, out-of-the-ordinary fiction that pushes the boundaries and has a distinctive voice and attitude. Although stories must be written from a Judeo-Christian worldview and contain a redemptive message, they do not have to mention God or Jesus. They should never be preachy or offer pat answers to complex life issues. Desired word count is 60,000+. No category-type romances.
Journey Press (nonfiction): Acquisitions Editor Joy Dekok. We’re open to a wide range of nonfiction as long as the writing is excellent, focused, and offers a life-changing message.
Narrow Road Press (edgy fiction): Acquisitions Editor John Robinson. Debuts Spring 2011. The focus is harder-edged action/adventure, thriller, speculative, sci-fi, futuristic, and fantasy fiction. The boundaries are broader than our main line, with more explicit language and action acceptable, but not pornography or gratuitous sex and violence. A Judeo-Christian worldview is required, but stories do not need to revolve around a faith theme.
Summerside Press
11024 Quebec Circle
Bloomington, MN 55438
Website: www.summersidepress.com
Fiction Editors: Rachel Meisel, regional romance; and Susan Downs, romantic suspense
We are accepting submissions for Love Finds You™, a series of full-length inspirational romance titles set in actual small towns across the United States. The submission guidelines for this series are specific and can be accessed on our website. We are also accepting submissions by invitation only for a series of romantic suspense novels to be launched in 2010. Please contact us through our website for more information about our fiction series. Email rachel@summersidepress.com
White Rose Publishing
eBook, trade, limited edition hardback
PO Box 1738
Aztec NM 87410
www.WhiteRosePublishing.com
Editors: Nicola Martinez, Editor-in-chief; Lori Graham, Editor; M. Jamie West, Editor;
Query only via the submission form available on the website. Publishes contemporary and historical romance. All subgenres are acceptable, however every story must have romance as the central element along with an interwoven Christian theme. Lengths must be 10,000-80,000 words.
Tips: White Rose Publishing also sponsors programs such as Cover Stories and one-to-two contests per year. These are a great way for first-time authors to catch our attention. We are also very interested in series ideas in both short story and full novel length.
We see a lot of submissions that are not romance. Please submit only romance.
African-American Houses
Steeple Hill
African-American authors should submit queries or manuscripts to Love Inspired. They are seeking African-American voices. See above for details
Kensington has an inspirational line, SOULS OF MY SISTERS which is aimed at African-American readers. The editors to query are Candace Sandy and Dawn Daniels. . I'm certain that they are accepting only agented submissions at this time. Visit http://www.soulsofmysisters.com/ to find out more. Contact information is on their site.
Urban Christian
P.O. Box 128
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-0128
www.urbanchristianonline.net
African-American inspirational fiction
Guidelines: www.urbanchristianonline.net/9.html
Online blurb: "Urban Books is a thriving African American publishing company that has a distribution deal with a major publishing house (Kensington Publishing). With over 50 authors published under “Urban Books” (street meets drama) and its newest imprint, “Urban Soul” (women’s fiction), Urban Books added Christian fiction to its repertoire in 2007 to help spread Good News through fiction to avid and new readers across the globe.
Through these divine journeys of moving stories, Urban Christian is the voice and the vehicle that will take the Urban Books readers to another level: the spiritual side of the craft."
Walkworthy Press is associated with Harrison House so this market is in transition. It did publisher 4 African-American inspirational novels. Michelle Stimpson is one of them.
http://www.harrisonhouse.com/showproducts.cfm?WPCID=1055
Moody also has a program Lift Every Voice
Cynthia Ballenger, editor
http://www.lifteveryvoicebooks.com/
Web blurb: "Lift Every Voice Books celebrates a rich culture and great heritage of faith based on the foundation of eternal truth – God’s Word. We endeavor to restore the fabric of the African-American soul and reclaim the indomitable spirit that kept our forefathers true to God in spite of insurmountable odds."
Many aspiring writers have asked me about reputable literary agents. A LITERARY AGENTS list from Mike Hyatt's Blog, CEO of Thomas Nelson exists on the Web. (I recommend you subscribe to Mike's blog. I do)
It was last Updated: 06/23/2009.
So click here to get a list of reputable agents--some work only with Christian authors and some do both secular and Christian. Hope this helps.
Note: Another venue to find out what you want to know is Facebook. Try entering the name of the publisher in the Facebook search and see what comes up. Most have a Fb presence.
And as always, this list carries no guarantees at all. The information I post is what I have found or been told by people who should know. I believe it to be correct at the time of posting. If you wish to contact me, click the Contact button on the site and I will try to answer any question. But I don't know everything!--Lyn
I will often send out bulletins on market changes to my egroup-LynCote_to_Readers. You may want toclick below the Yahoo icon to sign up for Lyn's egroup to keep up with any changes to our growing market.
Lyn
Copyright 2009 by Lyn Cote
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