bible illuminated

Sue Daly, owner of Renegade Handmake, a craft consignment shop in Chicago , stands next to a group of

Leia Bell silkscreened posters at the store on Tuesday. Daly said that despite a nationwide decline in retail

sales, her business is holding steady and she’s planning for bigger?than?ever crowds at an annual Christmas

craft fair being held next month, while increasing the vendor space by a third to sell everything from kitschy

collages to knitted scarves and felted toys.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) _ Martin Luther King Jr. graces one page, Angelina Jolie the next. A photo of a man

on fire opensthe Book of Revelation. And laid across a two?page image of gasoline spilling from a pump is

the quote that begins, “The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.”

It’s not the good book some may remember.

While the Bible has been recreated and repackaged innumerable times, publishers of the newest editions are

using some distinctly unique formats to capture the attention of readers.

“In general, Bible publishers have always been creative, but now they are scrambling to meet a culture where

people are moving away from print reading,” said Paul Gutjahr, an associate professor of English and adjunct

associate professor in religious studies at Indiana University.

Secular as well as traditional religious Bible publishers are getting in on the act. Dozens of different versions

of the Bible come out each year for various niches: the outdoorsman, the married couple, business leaders.

There are electronic Bibles available for the Kindle, iPods and handheld devices. There are graphic novel and

comic book interpretations. There’s even a new chronological version of the Bible coming out this fall.

It’s difficult to capture how many different versions of the Bible are sold each year. Butthe Book Industry

Study Group estimates that Bibles, testaments, hymnals and prayer books were a $795.2 million market in

2007.

Experts say Bible sales tend to rise in times of war and economic crisis. Andthe Book Industry Study Group

says a Bible publishing boom is indeed under way. The market size has grown steadily over the past several

years and is expected to jump in the coming years. The group estimates the market will reach $823.5 million

this year ” growth other publishing categories might covet.

The Bible is reinvented quite often. While essentially still the same book, Gutjahr said that for the past two

decades, updates were largely focused on new translations. There are also versions that come out each year

that are essentially the same book, with different covers and sizes based on people’s wants. But he sees the

next trend as one toward textual translation and visual translation.

“In a visually literate, advertising?skeptical age ” how do you grab people’s attention?” Gutjahr asked.

“Mixing the biblical text with Angelina Jolie doesn’t surprise me.”

First published in Sweden last year, “Bible Illuminated:The Book” is the glossy fashion magazine?style

publication that features Jolie. It looks like it might be more at home on a coffee table or the nightstand of the

latest hipster hotel than a church.

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The creation of former advertising executives, it pairs intense photo essays ” including images such as a child

with a gun or beatings in the Belgian Congo under King Leopold’s II’s regime ” with passages from theNew

Testament. It is aimed at people who might not otherwise ever read the Bible.

“There is a large part of the population that considers themselves smart, educated, conscientious, connected

people who are not particularly religious and have not regularly read the Bible,” saidLarry Norton, a former

publishing executive and president ofIlluminated World, the company that is putting out “Bible

Illuminated.”

“That group of people probably know it would be smarter, more sensitive to their surroundings if they read the

Bible if they were religious or not,” Norton said.

Illuminated World is quick to point out that they are not affiliated with any church or religion. The Swedish

version was sold first in boutiques and design stores, and mainstream bookstores were hesitant to carry it

initially. But as it gained popularity,the book was sold more widely and even found a strong secondary

market in secular sales.

Norton said sales of “Bible Illuminated” in Sweden, where an estimated 60,000 Bibles are sold each year,

reached 30,000 in its first year. They are hoping for similar success in the U.S. and plan to release theNew

Testament in October and potentially the Old Testament in March. In the U.S., theNew Testament is already

pre?selling on Amazon andIlluminated World has contracts with most major bookstores.

“We are living in the age of increased secularization and distance from traditional religion,” said Robert

Hodgson, dean emeritus at the Nida Institute For Biblical Scholarship that is responsible for the translation

and quality control for the American Bible Society, which licensed the rights to the Good News version of the

Bible toIlluminated World.

“It’s about new points of entry in a modern world that is not ready to open its doors and windows to the

traditional word,” he said.

These “gateway Bibles” ” those intended for the secular crowd ” seem to be the latest frontier in Bible

publishing.

“Contrary to popular belief, I think most Bibles are published for people who are already in the club,” Gutjahr

said. “Publishing for people who are outside the club, I don’t know how much luck there has been with that.”

Thomas Nelson publishing, which is one of the largest Bible publishers, broke some ground with “Revolve,” a

Bible with a teen?magazine style to it. Girls took well to the format, which publishers said made girls feel

more comfortable accessing it and carrying it, and sales were strong.

The company is also coming out with a chronological version of the Bible this fall that has built some buzz.

While not the first chronological version, this looks more like a social studies text ” with informational and

historical outakes on the time. The publisher also has an audio version of the Bible with stars such as Marisa

Tomei and Richard Dreyfuss, that they hope will do well among the secular crowd.

“I think that is personally what drives me,” said Wayne Hastings, a senior vice president at Thomas Nelson.

“The inner?circle (of traditional Bible readers) is a great customer but that next circle is what we are after.”

Associated Press

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