In today’s divisive social and political climate, many people are scared, angry, and exhausted, and mind-body-spirit publishers are ready to help them manage stress. A host of forthcoming MBS titles look to empower readers to become masters of their spiritual, mental, and physical well-being. And if that seems like too tall an order, others aim to help readers simply survive during difficult times.
Several authors promote manifesting—training the mind to draw in what one desires—while others tout looking to cultural ancestors for wisdom, spiritual rituals, healing practices, and pathways to magic. Since all these strategies take time and strength, there are also MBS guides to finding restorative rest.
“People feel disenfranchised,” says Joel Fotinos, VP and editorial director at St. Martin’s Essentials. “They don’t know what to do. They want a sense of agency, a way to make a difference in their world. We can’t always control the world around us, but we can manifest our own reaction to it.”
A veteran publisher of manifestation titles, Fotinos says he sees a shift in what readers are hoping to manifest. “I’ve probably published more books on manifesting than maybe anybody else in publishing—dozens and dozens and dozens of them over the years—and I am seeing a change. It used to be all about manifesting money or attracting princes, palaces, and parking places. Today it’s more about manifesting a sense of well-being and personal power in the world.”
Fotinos highlights Kelsey Aida’s The Manifesting Fix: Making the Law of Attraction Finally Work for You (Dec.) as an example. “Kelsey is very real world,” he says. “There’s no magical thinking in this book. It’s about thinking differently. You can’t keep the circumstances of your life the same and expect a different result. So she says let’s start with your thinking, and let’s reframe the things in your life so you can stop unknowingly resisting good things and open your life to positive things.”
Judith Curr, president and publisher of HarperOne, is also a veteran when it comes to manifestation titles. Twenty years ago, she published Rhonda Byrne’s blockbuster The Secret, a book that propounded the law of attraction, popularized manifestation, and, according to the publisher, has sold more than 34 million copies worldwide. This November, Byrne returns with Thought Rules: The 12 Rules of Life, which aims to help people think effectively.
“Byrne shows how to navigate manifestation as if you were sailing a boat,” Curr says. “You first turn the rudder in the direction you want to go. It’s the same way with your thoughts.”
HarperOne plans a first printing of 100,000–150,000 units for Thought Rules, which provides readers with 12 guidelines that can lead to increased happiness, better, health, and financial freedom. Curr says Byrne begins the book by asserting, “This is a mental universe. The material or physical world we live in is made of mind. Everything is made of mind. All that you see, from the cup in your hand to the stars in the sky, is a projection of the mind. We created a composite of all of our thoughts.”
Other publishers are also jumping on the manifestation bandwagon. Manifesting for Dummies (Wiley, July) by motivation and wellness coaches Ani Anderson and Brian Trzaskos is aimed at people who want “solace and solutions,” says associate acquisitions editor Alicia Sparrow. And Manifesting by the Moon: A Guide to Lunar Magic (LLewellyn, out now) by tarot reader Jen Sankey looks to the phases of the moon as a cosmic road map that can help readers achieve what they desire.
Ancestral Paths and Magic
With the growing interest in manifestation, books by and about witches continue to have readers under their spell, according to Heather Greene, an acquisitions editor at Llewellyn, who highlights Witchcraft in the Cul-de-Sac: Practicing Magic in Suburbia. Out in October, the book by suburban mom–witch Kanani Soleil teaches kitchen table spell crafting and offers recipes for Crock-Pot potions.
However, words like witch and witchcraft—which have European roots and often negative connotations—don’t always resonate with readers. People today want to be more specific about their magic, Greene says. “Magic is not monolithic. They want to know distinct and authentic traditions and practices.”
For that reason, MBS publishers are looking to age-old magic practices in cultures worldwide. “More and more people realize, hey, my ancestors were not witches,” says Elysia Gallo, senior acquiring editor at Llewellyn. “Let’s see what I have in my own magical toolkit, what spiritual wisdom and magic my ancestors have to offer.”
Llewellyn’s list this year includes Obeah: Demystifying the Authentic Magic & Wisdom of Jamaica (Dec.) by Emma Kathryn, a host of the Wild Witch podcast. Arletha Donnydale Lizana’s Ancestral Roots: Awakening the Ceiba Woman for Health, Healing & Wholeness (May) is inspired by the massive tropical ceiba tree seen in African cultures as a symbol of strength, protection, and spiritual connection, while Wendy Mata finds beauty and power in Indigenous magic in Bruja Curandera: Spells, Rituals & Ancestor Work from a Mexican Healer & Witch (Sept.). And Ocean Keltoi, who calls himself a “snarky polytheist” and professional wizard, updates pre-Christian religious traditions of Northern Europe in Resurrecting Heathenry: A Modern Guide to the Old Norse Ways (Dec.).
Weiser stays closer to home with In the House of Spirits: Folkways and Stories of Appalachian Mountain Religion (Jan. 2027), which looks at beliefs about God, the devil, angels, demons, and death rituals. “In the House of Spirits explores traditional spiritual life and beliefs very rooted in Appalachian Christianity,” says Amy Lyons, senior acquisitions editor at Red Wheel/Weiser.
Lyons adds that readers who want to delve into ancestral wisdom first need to find their ancestors. “People are turning to Ancestry.com or testing their DNA with the idea of incorporating their roots in their magic,” she says, noting a Weiser title that is here to help: Motherline Grimoire: Spells, Rituals, and Ancestor Magic to Connect with Your Sacred Lineage (Dec.) by genealogist Cairelle Crow Perilloux.
If all these studies, spells, and calls for concentrated thinking feel too wearying, publishers are also offering new books to help readers sustain their strength and get some sleep. Shambhala spotlights The Alchemy of Sleep (Oct.) by neurologist Pedram Navab., who writes that deep rest is “a sacred gateway to the unconscious” and “an active process of self-discovery.” At Brazos, a Baker Publishing Group imprint, Ken Wytsma blends research, storytelling, and spiritual reflection in The Sleep You’re Longing For: How Rest Connects Us to Happiness, Healing, and Hope (Apr.), a pragmatic guide to deep rest.
“We have four books this year about people’s need to guard their energy and protect their space,” says St. Martin’s Essentials associate publisher Jaime Schwalb, highlighting activist Michelle Cassandra Johnson’s You Are Protected: Invoking Spiritual Support to Sustain Your Energy (Sept.).
Whether readers want to fine-tune their manifestation skills, explore ancestral magic, or simply rest and recharge, Schwalb says, “people are looking for established and trustworthy sources of transformation, because the world’s spiritual and emotional tumult just continues.”
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