Finding Their Power

Women's issues move front and center on publishers' lists

By Kimberly Winston -- Publishers Weekly, 11/12/2001

The Equal Rights Amendment might not have passed, but in recent years women's issues have received a growing amount of attention from religion publishers, who report the subcategory keeps growing, maturing and branching off into ever newer and more interesting directions.

"The feminist movment won the day," states Michael West, editor-in-chief at Fortress Press. "And once that kaleidoscope changed, there were a whole range of possibilities for rethinking traditional religious areas." Add to that the conventional wisdom that women purchase the majority of books--in religion and in other categories--and the forecast calls for continued fair weather for weighty, woman-oriented books.

Leading the current pack of religion/spirituality titles on women's issues are scholarly works--most of them by women--that continue a re-examination of religious traditions, texts and history in terms of women's experiences. Fortress's West says the strength of this corner of the category is a result of its lineage--now some 25 years long, beginning with the women's movement of the 1970s. "What we are seeing is the maturation and institutionalization of the women's movement," West says. Attesting to that, Fortress has Rediscovering Friendship: Awakening to the Power and Promise of Women's Friendships by Elisabeth Moltmann-Wendel and Visionary Women: Three Medieval Mystics by Rosemary Radford Ruether, both out in October. Other scholarly works with a feminist perspective include Beyond Fear and Silence: A Feminist-Literary Reading of Mark by Joan L. Mitchell (Continuum, Sept.) and Women and Christianity, Volume II: From 1000 to the Reformation by Mary T. Malone (Orbis, Feb. 2002). In New Testament studies comes Women in the New Testament by Mary Ann Getty-Sullivan (Liturgical Press, Sept.) and Woman, You Are Free by Susan Yanos (St. Anthony Messenger Press, Sept.).

While books by established women scholars and theologians are hot, so are books for up-and-coming women in religion, as a variety of publishers offer titles about female leadership. John Koize, associate director of marketing and sales for St. Anthony Messenger Press, theorizes that, because of the decline in male leadership plaguing most Christian denominations, readers want to rediscover notable and heroic women in the Bible and in church history. "As the Catholic Church struggles with waning numbers of priests and professed religious, we see women coming in to play a critical role," he says. To that end, St. Anthony's has Remarkable Women, Remarkable Wisdom: A Daybook of Reflections (Sept.), edited by Sister Mary Francis Gangloff (Sept.); it offers advice from women ranging from Joan of Arc to Joan Baez. Among evangelical Protestant publishers, New Hope has Seeking Wisdom: Preparing Yourself to Be Mentored by Tricia Scribner and Edna Ellison (Oct.).

Especially hot right now are books by, about and for women of color, such as InterVarsity Press's Women's Liberation Jesus Style, edited by Stephanie Frances Bibb (Jan. 2002), in which black ministers address the empowerment of women. From Chalice Press comes A Time for Honor: A Portrait of African American Clergywomen by Delores C. Carpenter (Aug.). Ballantine just released in paperback last year's Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind and Spirit by Queen Afua (Nov.). In August, the University of Tennessee Press published Recalling Religions: Resistance, Memory and Cultural Revision in Ethnic Women's Literature by Peter Kerry Powers. Pilgrim Press offers Strength in the Struggle: Leadership Development for Women by Vashti Murphy McKenzie (Sept.), the first woman bishop in the African-American Methodist Episcopal Church.

Books about both traditional and maverick women's roles are taking off, especially on the Catholic side of the aisle. Tradition is represented in Sheed & Ward's The Friendship of Women: A Spiritual Tradition by Joan Chittister and Wisdom: The Feminine Face of God by Daniel Berrigan, both released in September. A more radical viewpoint is presented in Ordinations of Women in the Catholic Church: Unmasking a Cuckoo's Egg Tradition by John Wijngaards (Sept.) from Continuum. Katy Lockwood-Holmes, religion marketing manager at Continuum, says this title has been the house's fourth-biggest seller since its debut--a sure sign of the topic's currency.

Also strong in the category right now are books that celebrate the voices and experiences of women of faith, both biblical and contemporary. Carol Hupping, publishing director at the Jewish Publication Society, says more and more women are "writing themselves back into the Bible." She noted, "Women are big readers of fiction, and they naturally want to read about other women. Combine that with the growing interest we have now in the subjects of religion and spirituality, and you've got a hot combination: women in the Bible." Liz Curtis Higgs, author of WaterBrook's Bad Girls of the Bible (1999) and Really Bad Girls of the Bible (2000), both of which reinvent the lives of biblical women, says women are always interested in reading more about the interior lives of other women. "Their stories speak to us because they ring true," she says. "You have either been in their situations or know someone who has." Higgs--known as a humorist but possessing a solid grasp of biblical studies--continues her colorful series with Mad Mary: A Bad Girl from Magdala Transformed at His Appearing (WaterBrook, Sept.), which received a starred review in PW. JPS has Sisters at Sinai: New Tales of Biblical Women by Jill Hammer (Nov.). Similarly, American Baptist publisher Judson Press published Meet the Queen of Sheba: More Dramatic Portraits of Biblical Women by Roseanne Gartner (Oct.).

Spiritual memoirs and biographies by and about women--consistently a well-published subcategory--continue to thrive. Nancy Ellgate, senior acquisitions editor at SUNY Press, says titles like these--especially those from non-Christian women--seem to be of particular interest now. Out last month from SUNY Press are Portraits of Buddhist Women: Stories from the Saddharmaratnavaliya by Ranjini Obeyesekere and The Journey of One Buddhist Nun: Even Against the Wind by Sid Brown. Trafalgar Square published The Journey Is My Home by Lavinia Byrne in September; it tells the story of a Roman Catholic nun who leaves her order. Florence Nightingale: The Making of a Radical Theologian by Val Webb is due from Chalice Press in January.

Publishers agree that the demand for these books is strong, and they see no signs of this strength diminishing anytime soon. Susie Burgess, marketing director for Chalice Press, says, "When I first started here in 1998 we were actively seeking authors. Now the manuscripts are just pouring in." Sheila Orbach at Innisfree thinks the category will gain momentum from society's general turn to religion and spirituality. "People are taking their belief systems into the workplace and all the other places of their lives," she says. "And women are always at the vanguard."