It is very exciting when some good news happens in our industry. We’ve talked so much about bankruptcies and industry challenges that we also need to celebrate when the good stuff comes along.
Today is the official first day of a newly formed Christian publishing company called Gilead Publishing. The CEO is Bill Giarratana, the President and Publisher is Dan Balow, and the Vice President of Editorial is Sue Brower.
You may know Sue in her previous role as the Executive Editor for fiction at Zondervan and HarperChristian and was named the editor-of-the-year by ACFW. Dan is best known as the head of marketing for the Left Behind series during his days at Tyndale. Plus for the last three years Dan has been (and will still be) a part of The Steve Laube Agency, representing non-fiction projects. Bill is a very experienced marketing person with years of working with major ministry fundraising. He has spent time with both the American Bible Society and Biblica (aka the International Bible Society).
The neat part about Gilead is that they will only be publishing fiction. This means they are extremely targeted and will create a myriad of new opportunities for novelists. In an industry that has been reducing the number of slots available, this is welcome news indeed.
The main operations office is in Wheaton, Illinois and the editorial acquisitions/management office is in Grand Rapids, Michigan. An initial staff of ten employees will be assisted by several key strategic partnerships with service providers. The company is planning to publish from 40-50 titles in 2017, with a few already scheduled for release in late 2016.
Balow comments, “This has been a long time coming as we have been writing business plans and preparing the vision for a company like this for almost a year. When the commitment for investment in a startup traditional publisher was made at the end of last year, we started the count-down toward making this a reality. More details will be revealed in the coming weeks, but we are honored to be a sponsor at the 2016 ACFW conference in Nashville this year and will have plenty to talk about.”
This is the real deal. It is not something run out someone’s basement or on a shoestring budget. We look forward to seeing what impact they will have on the Christian fiction landscape in the years to come.
A preliminary landing page for the company website is at www.gileadpublishing.com with contact information included.
The company is only considering proposals from recognized literary agents at this time.
Congratulations, Dan! Congratulations to Gilead Publishing! What an exciting day for Christian fiction.
Congrats to all! That’s really good news. I’m happy for the great people who will be leading Gilead and all the novelists who have a new venue for their work.
Congrats to the business and to the Christian industry. I’m excited to see where the Lord takes this!
Such great news for the Christian fiction market, authors and readers alike! Congratulations Dan.
Good news. Good people. Awesome.
This is wonderful news for both the Christian reader and author. Thank you for expanding the Christian market rather than shrinking it! Congratulations and blessings.
Wow! This is exciting! Congrats to Dan and all at Gilead Publishing! Will there be a Spotlight at ACFW?
Yes, there will be.
Good to know. It’s going to be a great conference this year!
Congratulations, Dan! Congratulations, Gilead Publishing! This is certainly exciting news for Christian publishing, readers, and authors.
Congratulations to Dan, Sue, and all the others at Gilead. Looking forward to what the future brings.
Fantastic news! Congratulations everyone! God bless.
Congratulations, Dan and the rest of the staff at Gilead. May God continue to bless and guide you in this new endevor.
Yes, endeavor is misspelled. Tried to change it but, one hand was faster than the other in clicking send.
Very exciting news! Congratulations to Dan, Bill, and Susan! I wish you the very best!
This is encouraging news. Congratulations to everyone involved!
Great news for Christian fiction. Congrats to all and I love the name!
Yay! HUGE congrats to Gilead Publishing and all those involved!
Congratulations to all involved. I’m excited for y’all as you tackle one of the hardest goals in Christian publishing. My thought and prayers go with you.
Wow. Congratulations to you Dan and all others involved. This is great news for us and an exciting venture for you all. Praying great success for Gilead for years to come.
Woohoo! Congratulations! This is so exciting. Lifting up Gilead Publishing in prayer. Now keep calm and carry on.
Levitating with joy! (which is a sight to behold, let me tell you…)
Congratulations to all involved, may God richly bless your efforts.
Though I am saddened to see that it was deemed necessary to denigrate other small presses as part of the announcement. Why not, in the spirit of Christian brotherly love, simply leave out those pejoratives and focus on the good that Gilead hopes to accomplish?
Elizabeth,
I’m sorry that came across as denigrating. I was merely trying to separate the fact that Gilead is a major effort with significant backing and a staff with over 100 years of experience on board.
I apologize for a clunky way of expressing it. Whether or not my language was pejorative (=expressing contempt or disapproval) is debatable. Colloquial maybe (=ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary). It certainly was not my intent.
The challenge is that it is hard for the new writer to know which publishers are small presses and which ones are not. There is a substantial difference between outfits that are ebook-only or ebook and print-on-demand only…and those that approach these things like a major publisher.
It is not to say one is “better’ than the other. Merely that they are different in size and scope.
That may be a topic for another blog on another day.
WOW! What exciting news! Congratulations Dan, and Gilead Publishing. Will you be publishing across all genres of Christian fiction or specializing on certain genres?
It’s exciting to know there will be another trustworthy publisher “out there.”
It will be a pretty diverse company eventually, but probably a little more limited initially because we need to get people used to a new approach!
Dan, major congrats. You have imparted much wisdom on this blog and to your clients. Great to know you’ll now be taking that wisdom and experience to this new venture.
And, Sue, glad to hear this is finally being announced! Go, girl!
Excellent news!! I look forward to many wonderful stories from Gilead’s talented team.
Sounds like a great team in place! Praying success and favor 😀
Congratulations! Will share the good news.
Excellent news! The birth of a new Christian fiction house will be a balm to the weary spirits of the novelists fortunate enough to finally find a home there.
Congratulations! What a wonderful opportunity to showcase Christian fiction. I pray God’s blessing on the new venture.
So thankful to hear the good news. Yayee!
What wonderful news!! 🙂
Congratulations to Dan, Sue, and the others involved in this new company. As others have said, this is great news for writers and readers alike. God bless you all as you publish books written to glorify our Lord.
P.S. Meant to add in my earlier comment that since reading Steve’s post today, I’ve been humming that lovely old hymn, “There Is A Balm in Gilead” – – hmmmm…might need to go play it on my piano now. 🙂
This is great news. I look forward to seeing great success stories.
Great news. Praying for much success!
Good to see! 🙂
How exciting! Congrats and God’s blessings!
I hope Gilead is the leading force in a great revival. Congratulations!
This is awesome news! God bless this new venture!
Congratulations to all. It sounds exciting and helps make room for unpublished writers like myself. I look forward to checking it out at ACFW this year, my first year attending. I met Sue Brower at BRMCWC and appreciated her feedback. Steve Laube sat beside me in the lobby at Blue Ridge. Maybe next time I’ll actually introduce myself. I always enjoy your blog. It’s very helpful.
Daphne,
Steve Laube (pronounced Lobby) sat next to you in the lobby? Yes…next time introduce yourself!
I don’t bite. At least not that hard. Or that often.
Will do. But this year I’m opting for ACFW instead. And I didn’t think about the pun I made.
I had to look as I was afraid I spelled your name incorrectly!
Very exciting! Congratulations, Dan!
This is indeed good news!
Congrats! Question for you, Dan: You said in one of your comments, “we need to get people used to a new approach!” What do you mean by ‘a new approach’? Are you publishing fiction differently, or is it just the fact that you are publishing only fiction? Thanks! 🙂
Ha! Publishing fiction at all is unique. But the phrase refers to a traditional publisher focusing on one category of product rather than a variety of everything.
As we begin, every business decision is made keeping in mind Gilead will publish novelists. Novelists have different personalities than the typical ministry leader or pastor.
It does make a difference.
Sounds great! I look forward to hearing more about it!
Excited about this… Hope it isn’t belated though…
Dan, are there specific agents you work with and would you publish newbies too?
It’s great to see this. May the Lord prosper this new publishing house. I have huge respect for Tyndale so I know there is excellent leadership at the helm of Gilead. I hope you do very well in your endeavors!
This is fantastic news for the CBA industry! I am interested to see where this will lead.
Exciting news! Right in my own back yard (Grand Rapids) and just when I have a novel looking for a publisher. Timing is everything. Best of luck in this new endeavor, Dan.
This is exciting!