Religion publishers are finding a deep and ready market thanks to public libraries that stock their shelves with everything from inspirational fiction to Judaica, numerology to Christian living. The Library Bill of Rights states, “Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.”

Librarians are the usually overworked gatekeepers between publishers and patrons, arbiters of shelf space and reading habits. That makes them obvious targets for publishers eager to tap into a market that buys often and in big numbers. With more than 9,000 public libraries/systems—totaling nearly 17,000 individual buildings—in the United States, publishers are looking for innovative and successful ways to reach them.

A few years ago, Joanna Sussman attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a library in a small community in northern Minnesota. She was there to support her husband, an architect, who had designed the building. But as publisher of Kar-Ben Publishing, Sussman couldn’t help taking note of what was inside the walls as well. On one table, a copy of Ten Good Rules: A Ten Commandments Counting Book (Kar-Ben, 2007) by Susan Remick Topek, was displayed beside a sign saying “New and of Interest.” Sussman was “pleased and surprised” to see the book prominently featured in a town with few Jewish residents, and she silently praised “thoughtful librarians everywhere who believe in curating broad collections for their patrons and encouraging them to read outside their comfort zones.”

With a steady erosion of traditional audiences and the rise of new markets, as well as the growth in electronic publishing and self-publishing, some religion publishers have decided to refresh or reimagine their brands. In some cases, that means a more up-to-date name, in others a return to a historic identity.

Bondfire Books, a new e-publishing company, has been launched by Alive Communications, a Colorado Springs-based literary agency representing Christian and inspirational authors.

Thomas Nelson and bestselling author Max Lucado have a signed a new three-book, nonexclusive contract. The first title will release in fall 2013; others will follow over the next five years. Thomas Nelson also will publish ancillary products for the children’s, gift, and curriculum markets.

Zondervan has signed Nobel Peace Prize-winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu to collaborate with bestselling author and illustrator Nancy Tillman to produce a picture book telling the creation story from Tutu’s Children of God Storybook Bible, which he published with Zondervan in 2010. Tillman will illustrate Tutu’s narrative. Zondervan holds world rights and plans to release the book in spring 2014.

Nearing Home by Billy Graham (Thomas Nelson) has been named 2012 Christian Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

Watergate figure, prison minister, and author Chuck Colson died Saturday (April 21) at the age of 80. Colson became infamous as a creator of “dirty tricks” for Richard Nixon and for his role on the Committee to Re-elect the President as it put in motion actions that led to the burglary of the Democratic National Committee offices in 1972, and eventually to Nixon's resignation in August 1974. Before going to prison Colson became a born-again Christian; despite skepticism of the sincerity of his conversion, he went on to found Prison Fellowship and to write more than 20 books.

The movie based on the bestselling book Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller (Thomas Nelson, 2003) opened April 13 in 55 cities. Said Brian Hampton, senior v-p and publisher for the nonfiction trade group at Thomas Nelson, “We’ve been tracking sales overall and regionally since the movie premiered. We are seeing significant sales increases on the original trade paperback and the movie edition, which released prior to the movie opening. Overall, we've seen a 75% increase.”