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HarperCollins is stepping up its Christian publishing in the UK, using its acquisition of Thomas Nelson and its global 360 publishing programme to develop its range and release 1,200 titles a year.
The publisher bought US Christian publisher Thomas Nelson in 2011, and has brought it together with its own Zondervan, and religious publishing from non-fiction imprint William Collins, to grow its faith offering.
Along with HarperCollins 360, the international publisher's initiative to exploit all titles it holds global rights for, the publisher is now hoping it can grow its market in the UK, with a total available backlist of 37,000 titles and plans to release around 400 titles during each of three annual sales cycles. Though all US titles with relevant rights were theoretically available in the UK, a dedicated London-based team will now curate the selection of backlist titles to promote, alongside frontlist acquisitions.
Rose Sandy, affiliate publisher for HarperCollins Christian Publishing, is now leading a team based in the UK. Speaking at gathering last week (3rd July) for Christian retailers and the media, Sandy said the value of the Christian book market in the UK was worth £187m in 2011, and had grown since then.
Speaking to The Bookseller, she said: "HarperCollins worldwide c.e.o. Brian Murray said not long ago that the two areas where HarperCollins could really look to grow were its children's publishing and its Christian publishing, and that is exactly what we're trying to do.
"So far, Christian publishing in the UK has been a lot more traditional than in the US, it has been small and focused whereas in the US it is very mainstream. Where I see growth is networking with churches in the UK and finding out exactly what their communities want. They may already be familiar with the Thomas Nelson and Zondervan brands, but we have never had a presence here to develop them and really connect with the readership."
Brands that HarperCollins Christian Publishing will be looking to grow include US successes Max Lucado and the Heaven is for Real series.
She added that HarperCollins had already used 360 to start supplying in the UK. "We spoke with a church group who wanted to study an Os Guinness title we had in the US but wasn't in print in the UK. It wasn't on our agenda to publish it but using our print on demand services at our Glasgow distribution centre, we could do a short print run of 100 copies and get them what they wanted."
Chris Magee, head of wholesale at Christian book distribution firm CLC International, said he was intrigued by the expansion plans. He said: "We are obviously familiar with Thomas Nelson and Zondervan titles, but never with this kind of structure behind them – it will be interesting to see how it develops. On the whole, there is a lot of optimism in the Christian book market, the shops that are still going are very good at what they do, so they are looking for good titles."
He added: "I think there is some concern about HarperCollins, which is a general publisher and a huge business, looking after this Christian business – is it all about bottom line, or values and content?"
Sandy said that two were not exclusive: "We couldn't be successful as a Christian publisher unless we cared deeply about the books we produce and the values in them, and that has been true for Thomas Nelson and Zondervan for decades. We have a very strong mission statement that we live by."
Andrew Lyon, editorial director at William Collins, which publishes CS Lewis's religious writings as well as bibles, hymn books and liturgical titles, said he felt there was a strong appetite for faith-based titles. "Even if there has been a general drift away from religion, there is a still a huge hunger for knowledge and spirituality," he said.