Looking to take advantage of the ongoing interest in religion books, Sean Manning, president and publisher of the flagship Simon & Schuster imprint, has hired Jonathan Merritt as VP and executive editor. Merritt begins at S&S on May 12 with a remit to build a list specializing in faith, religion, and spirituality titles. He will report to S&S VP and editor-in-chief Priscilla Painton.
Merritt has a deep and wide-ranging background in religion and media. He holds master’s degrees in divinity and theology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, has been a contributing writer for The Atlantic, and has written for Christianity Today, the New York Times, USA Today, and the Washington Post. Merritt is a recipient of multiple Religion Communicators Council’s Wilbur Award for excellence in journalism, as well as the 2014 Religion Commentary/Blog of the Year award from the Religion News Association.
Closer to the book world, Merritt has worked as a ghostwriter on dozens of bestsellers, and has written several of his own books, including Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words are Vanishing—and How We Can Revive Them. Most recently, he served as a literary agent with the Christopher Ferebee Agency, where he sold Bethany Joy Lenz’s memoir Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also In an Actual Cult!) to Manning.
“From our first interactions, I was deeply impressed by Jonathan’s intellect, professionalism and affability—and most especially by his passion for and insight into the category of religious publishing,” said Manning, in a statement. Those traits convinced Manning that Merritt is the right person to help the publisher grow in the category where it has published such authors as Bart D. Ehrman, M. Scott Peck, and Pope Francis.
Merritt said he plans to draw on his relationships across the theological and political spectrum to find authors with an ability to create works that can transform lives and make the S&S imprint “a leader in the faith and spirituality category.” The initial list is expected to feature 10–12 titles.
