Publishers Weekly

Posted by J. Mark Bertrand
on Friday, June 24, 2005
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Meeting publishers and editors is a lot of fun, especially if you're a writer, and this summer I've been having more than my fair share of fun. It started in Missouri where I spent more than a few hours catching up with my friend Eric Williamson, who edited Gulf Coast back in the mid-1990s and now edits fiction for Boulevard, among other things. Eric is a wonderfully talented novelist who has always given me good advice. The next week, I dropped in on Dave Long, fiction editor at Bethany House, and we went to lunch with some colleagues for a bit of intriguing book talk (and some intriguing fountain pen talk, too). I met Dave in person -- after corresponding online over the past year -- at Art & Soul in April, and it was fun to see him in his natural habitat, overwhelmed by towers of manuscripts.

This morning, thanks to the good offices of Stephen Smith, I paid a visit to Crossway Books, where I chatted with Geoffrey Dennis, Executive Vice President, and Dallas Richards, Director of Production Services (who wrote last's month's response to my review of the Cordovan Thinline ESV. It was encouraging to see how committed they are to expanding Crossway's line of finely bound ESVs. Dallas took me to his office, which is an Aladdin's cave of upcoming bindings, and showed me all sorts of goodies. As regular readers will know, I'm a big fan of the English Standard Version, whose "essentially literal" translation philosophy (articulated in Leland Ryken's The Word of God in English) strikes just the right balance between formality and readability. I've dished out a good bit of criticism in regard to the ESV's binding in the past, and I'm happy to say that the folks at Crossway are quite open to input. The Cordovan Thinline is a superb edition, and there are more following in the fall. This promises to be an exciting year for ESV enthusiasts.

Each week, I receive several e-mails from aesthetically-minded Bible readers interested in fine bindings. Geoffrey Dennis is a kindred spirit. What particularly impressed me is how attractive and usable some of the new inexpensive bindings are. There was one example Dallas showed me that kept leaping from his desk into my hands, and if I'd had a good hiding place it would have left with me. (Wouldn't you like to know what it was? Too bad. I promised to be coy and not reveal any secrets.)

It's not often I eat crow, but I need to point out one thing in regard to Crossway's TruGrip Bible, the brightly-colored rubber-bound edition. I poked fun at it before it came out, and the colors are a little loud for a somber-minded fellow like me, but thanks to the sewn binding, these Bibles lay quite flat and feel good in your hands. They're a good value for the money.

There's no telling what the rest of the summer has in store, but so far it has been splendid. I've enjoyed connecting with old friends and making new ones. No doubt I'll share more as time goes on, but I wanted to post this note while things are fresh on my mind. Now, I have to hop in the MINI and head for Ohio!