Most publishing houses release a stream of new titles throughout the year, hoping that each one might become a bestseller.
At Zondervan Bibles, there is one big book they publish, many different ways: the Bible. Zondervan is a Christian imprint based in Grand Rapids, Mich., and a division of HarperCollins (which is owned by News Corporation, the same company that owns The Post).
The challenge for Zondervan is to think of new ways to bring life to the ancient text and to engage their readers. In addition to the many traditional versions of the New International Version (NIV) they publish, they also release special editions of the Bible — there’s a NASCAR edition, a version for teens and one aimed at women who enjoy art journaling, which includes pre-completed Scripture art paired with blank pages where people can try their own hand at drawing.
“We were seeing women on Pinterest and Etsy showing their scripture art,” says Melinda Bouma, vice president and publisher of Zondervan Bibles. “There were women doing this who were very talented, and we thought [the special edition] would be a great way to introduce the idea to women who might not have considered that this could be a great way to worship through art.”
One of the other big sellers is the Cultural Background Study Bible, complete with photos, maps and charts — which helps the reader understand the Bible in the context of the time in which it was written.
“The comments have poured in in terms of people explaining, ‘I’ve read this one way my whole life, and now I understand it through new eyes,’ ” says Bouma.
“It has been very popular.”
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