Dafina to Expand in Spirituality Category

by Holly Lebowitz Rossi, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 11/16/2005

At the top of an ambitious publishing agenda for Dafina Books, the African-American imprint recently acquired by Kensington Publishing, is expansion in the "spiritual and inspirational" categories. But according to Karen Thomas, Dafina's founder and editorial director, the expansion in spiritually themed titles is more a result of better manuscripts being available than any deliberate effort.

"We've always seen this area as an area of growth," Thomas said. But recently, she added, "more writers are more comfortable writing in this vein."

Dafina's presence in Christian fiction began in 2003 with Pat G'Orge Walker's Sister Betty, God's Calling You Again. The African-American comedienne wrote subsequent humorous Christian novels for Dafina in 2004. More recently, other authors—who have previously published only on secular topics—have approached Dafina with Christian fiction manuscripts.

Thomas explained that authors are growing more confident about the marketability of spiritual and religious topics. "There's always been a feeling of not wanting to lose their base," Thomas said. But, she continued,"Many of them come from faith-based backgrounds. Now writing these books, they're really able to identify with the life they've been leading."

Author Victor McGlothin, who has published several novels with St. Martin's Press, is shifting gears with his forthcoming Dafina title, scheduled for May 2006. Down on My Knees is the faith-based story of a single mother who takes a vow of celibacy.

Kensington's ongoing expansion is making for some strange bedfellows. The press made news in late October when it launched a new imprint, Aphrodisia, that will offer "erotic romance" titles to readers. Dafina also publishes urban fiction that can delve into some gritty topics. But Thomas said that the imprint just looks for good books, not holding to a pre-set ratio of topic areas. "I will never look at my list and say, 'I want x-number of urban fiction books and x-number of Christian books,'" she said. Dafina also plans to break into nonfiction spirituality, with self-help titles that appeal to African-Americans.