S&S to Launch New Christian Imprint

by Lynn Garrett, reporting by Daisy Maryles, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 7/12/2006

Simon & Schuster, which acquired Louisiana-based evangelical Christian house Howard Publishing in February, sent a high-level delegation to the International Christian Retail Show, being held this week in Denver. Carolyn Reidy, president of S&S Adult, Mark Gompertz, executive v-p and publisher of Touchstone/Fireside, and three other top executives were all at the show, meeting with Howard staff to plan joint acquisitions and co-marketing, and with the many agents approaching them with new projects. Gompertz said they were excited about working with Howard, which is a good fit for their strategy of expansion in the religion category. He also tipped PW off that S&S has registered and trademarked but not yet officially announced a new “mini-imprint,” Touchstone Faith, which will publish some of the books they acquire jointly with Howard.

S&S and Howard are promoting each other’s books in their catalogues. S&S titles such as The Joy of Cooking 75^th Anniversary Edition and Naomi’s Guide to Aging Gratefully are in a S&S Books of Christian Interest catalogue available at ICRS that will be sold in the CBA market by Howard. Two new Howard titles, Pinocchio Parenting and Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World, are in the new Touchstone catalogue and will be co-marketed by the two companies. S&S moved into religion in another big way this year when its Free Press imprint signed Joel Osteen in a deal reported to be worth more than $13.