 |
| Histories,
self-help, children's books and psychological studies are all
sold at the Alba House, a Christian bookstore in New York City
June 20, 2005. (reuters)
| |
Christian girls just want to have fun too, and the
U.S. publishing industry is working overtime to cater to a growing demand
for good , clean fun.
Sales of religious books are booming, and the category has much more to
offer than just bibles and prayer books.
From Christian chick lit to
frank discussions of sexuality and how to avoid temptation, the shelves of
both Christian bookstores and secular
chains offer a variety of wholesome reading that would have
been unthinkable a few years ago.
According to the Book Industry Study Group, which uses data from all
sectors of the industry, total U.S. book sales rose 2.8 percent in 2004 to
$28.6 billion, while religious books saw 11 percent growth to nearly $2
billion.
Calculating exact sales is difficult, however, and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association
says sales of its members' books is an annual $2.38 billion.
Much of the growth is from books like Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven
Life," the top-selling non-fiction book in the United States in 2004,
selling over 7 million copies.
The book surged back up bestseller lists in March after a woman taken
hostage in Atlanta convinced her kidnapper to release her unharmed by
reading him passages from the book.
Christian fiction too, long belittled as either low-quality dross
or frivolous and a waste of time， is enjoying a boom that has been linked
by some to George W. Bush's presidency.
Joan Marlow Golan, executive editor of Steeple Hill, an imprint of
romance publisher Harlequin dedicated to "faith-based" fiction, said the
Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were "very important in terms of the growth of
Christian fiction."
Last year, Steeple Hill launched an imprint of "hip, fun and smart
fiction for modern and savvy women of faith."
"My first thought was Christian girls just want to have fun too, so why
not do a variant of chick lit," Golan said.
Guidelines for authors are strict: "The stories may not include alcohol
consumption by Christian characters, dancing, card playing, gambling or
games of chance (including raffles), explicit scatological terms, hero and
heroine remaining overnight together alone, Halloween celebrations or
magic or the mention of intimate body parts."
Another publisher offering Christian chick lit is privately held Random
House whose Broadway imprint will release "Emily Ever After" in July, the
story of a country girl coming to New York. Doubleday-Broadway recently
announced plans to more than double the sales of its religion unit.
Lauren Winner, author of "Real Sex: the naked truth about chastity,"
said Christian bookstores which account for a major chunk of sales in the
sector were still cautious about content but non-fiction books like hers
were pushing the boundaries.
The book discusses her own sexual experiences before she converted to
Christianity and is explicit about the difficulties faced by women trying
to stay chaste -- a far cry from past generations when Christian
publications would assume women were not troubled by desires of the flesh.
"There's definitely a blurring of lines between religious books
and self help books," said Winner, 28, who is studying for a doctorate in
American religious history.
Winner said that religious imprints are raising their literary
standards, pointing to the major Christian publisher Thomas Nelson's
fiction imprint Westbow, launched in 2003.
"It's wholly devoted to doing subtler, less hit-you-over-the-head
Christian fiction," she said.
Golan said Steeple Hill was also trying to shed the preachy tone of
some Christian fiction. "It's rather tedious if characters talk like
pastors giving a sermon."
(Agencies) |
基督教女孩們只是想和別人一樣找點樂子，美國出版商們則加班加點迎合市場對這種“純潔的”樂趣不斷增長的需求。
宗教圖書的銷量正在急速增長，種類也不僅僅限于圣經和祈禱書。
從基督教暢銷小說到公開談論性及如何避免誘惑，基督教書店和普通的連鎖書店的書架上都擺滿了各種各樣的有益讀物，要在幾年前這絕對是不可想象的事情。
圖書行業研究集團（BISG）對從圖書業全部類別獲取的數據研究后發現，2004年美國圖書銷售總額為286億美元，增長了2.8%，其中宗教類圖書銷售總額增長11%，達到近20億美元。
雖然很難計算出精確的銷售數據，福音基督教出版商協會仍表示，該協會成員的年銷售總額約為23.8億美元。
圖書銷售總額的大幅增加主要歸功于諸如華理克所著的《標竿人生》等此類圖書，《標竿人生》是2004年美國最暢銷的非小說類圖書，其銷量超過700萬冊。
一名在亞特蘭大被綁架的女人質為勸說綁架者釋放她，為他讀了《標桿人生》里的幾段文字，結果居然打動了綁架者，平安獲釋。繼此之后，該書在3月份一躍躋身暢銷圖書排行榜。
基督教小說類圖書的銷量也大幅攀升，這與美國總統布什的就職有一定關系。長期以來，基督教小說一直被認為是質量不高且無聊乏味，讀起來根本就是浪費時間。
以出版浪漫小說而著稱的禾林出版公司推出了“基于宗教信仰”的“尖塔山”系列從書，該從書的執行主編約翰·馬羅·戈蘭表示，2001年的“9·11”恐怖襲擊事件“對基督教小說的增長非常重要”。
去年，“尖塔山”又推出了“為現代知性女人的信仰而備的輕松娛樂小說”系列。
戈蘭稱：“"我的第一想法是，基督教女孩也需要尋找樂趣：為什么不寫一種與眾不同的暢銷小說呢？”
作家們創作時必須循規蹈矩，“故事中不能包括基督教徒喝酒、跳舞、打牌、賭博或玩運氣游戲（包括抽彩券）、說臟話、男主角或女主角單獨在外過夜、慶祝萬圣節、巫術或提到身體隱私部位等。”
另外一家出版基督教暢銷小說的是著名的私營出版商藍登書屋，它旗下的百老匯出版公司將在7月份發行新書《艾米麗的新天地》，該書講述了一個鄉下女孩來到紐約的故事。多布爾戴百老匯出版集團最近宣布，計劃將宗教類圖書銷量提高兩倍以上。
《真實的性：貞潔背后的真相》的作者勞倫·溫娜表示，在圖書銷售中占據主要市場的基督教書店仍對書的內容保持謹慎，但像她的作品這樣的非小說類圖書則處于分水嶺。
這本書講述了她在成為一名基督徒之前的性體驗，同時指出了女性在試圖保持貞潔過程中所遇到的各種難題，這與上個時代的觀點（當時基督教刊物認為女人不受肉體欲望的困擾）有很大的距離。
溫娜稱，“在宗教圖書和自助圖書之間肯定存在模糊的界限”。溫娜今年28歲，她目前在攻讀美國宗教歷史的博士學位。
溫娜表示，宗教圖書出版商們提高了他們的文學水準，她這里指的是著名的基督教出版商托馬斯·納爾遜公司于2003年啟動的專門致力于出版小說的Westbow公司。
戈蘭指出，“尖塔山”從書也試圖擺脫某些基督教小說的說教氣息。“如果主人公說話就像牧師在布道，確實會令人乏味。”
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2005-06-23 10:58