Jonathan Merritt, VP and executive editor of Simon & Schuster's new religion list that was announced last May, has announced the first nine deals he has signed, with the first title coming out in September and the rest to follow in spring and fall 2027.
Merritt told PW that the list includes several authors who already have a track record of success with evangelical Christian publishers, but wanted the "marketing power and the status" of the flagship S&S imprint. He noted that moving to a general market house also gives authors more flexibility.
"I see the religion publishing category as a spectrum," Merritt said. "At one end is faith-based, then there's faith-informed, and faith-adjacent. We have books at all three points."
Among the clearly Christian-based books is the September title Overcoming Infidelity: 10 Conversations to Help Heal the Hurt, by former pastor Carl Lentz—who lost his pulpit at the famous Hillsong Church in a public scandal—and his wife, Laura.
There's also theologian Savannah Locke's unique devotional, Every Question Jesus Asked, which cites hundreds of examples to inspire "divine curiosity," Merritt says. And David Kinnaman, CEO of survey research company the Barna Group, has signed a six-book deal for what Merritt described as trade books that track social, cultural, and religious trends to equip Christian leaders to navigate change. The first as-yet-to-be-announced title is set for 2027.
The imprint's faith-informed books also include two by Christian social activists. Christopher Heuertz's The Lost Way of Prayer presents pilgrimage as a form of prayer in many global spiritual traditions, and Casper ter Kuile’s How to Be Together: Transforming Modern Relationships with the Ancient Practice of Covenant includes spiritual techniques for "combating the modern forces that pull us apart," said Merritt.
Many of the faith-adjacent 2027 titles extol mindfulness, meditation, and contemplation. However, "all the books are ones Christians would be comfortable with," said Merritt, who grew up Southern Baptist and has two graduate degrees in theology. "I want to get these books in the hands of not only Christians but of spiritually curious people who might not have otherwise known these authors. I want books that meet us in the moment we are in. I love a highly practical book, a book that feels so urgent to people they are willing to spend $28.99 on it in a down economy."
For example, he pointed to two forthcoming books dealing with grief and death—spiritual teacher Mirabia Starr’s Landscape of Loss, which introduces guided meditations and mystic exemplars, and psychologist Hillary McBride's Embracing Mortality: Practices for Overcoming Death Anxiety and Living Beyond Fear, which mixes "ancient spiritual traditions and modern psychology," he said.
He described writers as varied as poet/podcaster Drew Jackson, whose book, A Shelter for When the World is Ending advises ways to be "fully alive in the midst of an apocalypse," and Barb Schmidt, a meditation teacher whose book, The 1% Practice, outlines a path to peace of mind in 14 minutes (1%) of a day.
Merritt's mandate is to bring out nine to 10 books a year. But S&S has not neglected the category in the past. It has long published religion and spirituality books with authors including Pope Francis and theologian Bart Ehrman, whose latest book, Love Thy Stranger, releases in March.
The company's significant expansion into the Christian space "makes perfect sense from a business standpoint," said Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, of which S&S is not a member.
"The company's reach and history make it an attractive option for rising stars and established Christian writers," Crosby noted. "But ECPA member publishers already include the Christian divisions of major publishers (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette) that have similar reaches and histories of successful publishing."
"Will Simon & Schuster's move make for more competition? Without question," he continued. "But my own sense is that our member publishers will celebrate the enlarging of the pie of Christian books and resources and will stay focused on their own unique missions, characteristics, and attributes as they serve authors, readers, and channel gatekeepers."
