It is exciting to hear that Gilead Publishing is back in business after an eight month hiatus. This fiction-only publisher lost their funding last Fall and had to suspend their operations while they sought out new partnerships. It is exciting to see that Dan Balow’s efforts have born fruit.
One of the keys was securing a partnership with Kregel Publishing to handle all warehousing, inventory, distribution, and sales. All editorial work including acquisitions will remain under Gilead’s control. Marketing and publicity will be shared with Kregel focusing on the retail accounts and Gilead will focus on the readers.
It is also very exciting that Gilead announced that their first book under this new partnership will be a 50th Anniversary edition of Christy by Catherine Marshall releasing October 3rd. This book has sold over 10 million copies. This along with new titles from Enclave will have Gilead bringing out eight titles between October of this year and February of next. With the various projects contracted and in the pipeline Gilead will release over 20 books in 2018. This is great news for our industry.
I’ve heard some say Kregel bought Gilead. I’ve heard others say the two companies merged. Neither is accurate. Instead it is, in essence, a distribution partnership. Gilead titles are created by Gilead, but the rest of the back room process is handled by Kregel. Gilead titles will be in the Kregel catalog shown to retail vendors. To illustrate the separation, Kregel will continue to produce their own fiction line separate from Gilead.
Remember also that Gilead is fiction only. The Gilead imprint will cover the broad fiction genres. Enclave will focus on science-fiction, fantasy, and supernatural. I will continue to oversee the acquisitions of Enclave titles which was the original plan after I sold the imprint to Gilead over a year ago.
Dan Balow will continue to work as an agent for The Steve Laube Agency but will only represent non-fiction while simultaneously running Gilead as their Publisher. To forestall any confusion, let it be clear that The Steve Laube Agency and Gilead are separate companies. The only connection between them is the fact that Dan and I work with each other in different capacities. He works for me in the agency and I consult with him for the Enclave imprint of Gilead. We keep the boundaries firm and the lines of demarcation clear.
