Doubleday Signs Two from Prayer of Jabez Author

By Rachel Deahl -- Publishers Weekly, 7/15/2008 7:57:00 AM

Doubleday’s Waterbrook Multnomah division has inked a two-book deal with Bruce Wilkinson, author of the Christian chart topper The Prayer of Jabez. Wilkinson, who hasn’t published anything in six years (three of which he spent volunteering in Africa with his family), is set to deliver two “major works of inspirational nonfiction” under the deal. The first, You Were Born for This!, which Wilkinson said will tell readers "how to unlock your buried purpose and fulfill your destiny," is slated for a fall 2009 release.
 
WaterBrook Multnomah, which acquired world and first serial rights to both titles, published The Prayer of Jabez in April 2000 and, according to the imprint, the title has sold more than 10 million copies, making it the second-bestselling Christian title of all time (trailing Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life). Wilkinson’s other titles—The Secrets of The Vine, A Life God Rewards and The Dream Giver—have also moved quite well, selling more than 20 million copies combined. 

Speaking about the deal, WaterBrook Multnomah president and publisher Steve Cobb called The Prayer of Jabez “a landmark in Christian publishing” that paved the way for other megaselling Christian titles.” Cobb promised that Wilkinson’s forthcoming title “will once again ignite the marketplace and transform lives.”