Bestseller Bytes
by Daisy Maryles, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 1/17/2007
Sue Monk Kidd was honored at the InSight and InPerson Distinguished Author Series at the Jefferson County Public Library Benefit in Denver, Colo. More than 800 attendees heard Kidd read from her new bestseller, Firstlight. Spirituality and Health magazine selected Firstlight as its December Book of the Month and Thorndike has picked up large-print rights. Guideposts Books reports that sales exceed 175,000 copies.
It’s surprising that the top-selling religion book is The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, who said recently on PBS-TV’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly that “the God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction.”
John Eldredge was mentioned in a December 7 Los Angeles Times story (“Manliness Is Next to Godliness” ) about Christians and masculinity that described him as “a seminal writer for the movement.” The author, an avid outdoorsman, practices what he preaches about engaging with nature and adventure. Thomas Nelson reports that Eldredge is “passionate about mountain-climbing and exploring the waters of the West in his canoe, about fly-fishing and hunting. Many of the stories in The Way of the Wild Heart are about his own real-life adventures in the wilderness.” First printing for the book was 230,000.
Revell credits word of mouth for the huge success of 90 Minutes in Heaven, now boasting 1.2 million copies in print. The first printing, back in September 2004, was 7,500 copies. The publisher has heard stories from people who have lost loved ones or are recovering from terrible accidents. One woman, reports publicity manager Deonne Beron, read the description of heaven to a dying soldier and later got in touch with his family to tell them that his passing had been peaceful. Author Don Piper keeps traveling and speaking, both in the U.S. and internationally. He’s had several invitations to speak in Sweden and Norway—not typical markets for strong religion sellers. Some people from Norway had been vacationing in Asia when the tsunami hit; their experiences during that disaster and with reading the book afterward led to speaking engagements for Piper.
Speaking to the strength of the Battlefield of the Mind franchise, FaithWords reports total copies in print, paper and hardcover for Battlefield (published in 2002) of 1.5 million copies; its Battlefield of the Mind Devotional (2005) has sold over 250,000 copies; Battlefield of the Mind for Kids and Battlefield of the Mind for Teens boast a combined total of 200,000 copies sold.
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