So last week, when I posted about Amish Vampires in Space, I didn’t realize what a hot mess of controversy I’d stumbled into! If you would like a crash course in Inspy publishing drama, this story will give you a great idea of what is driving some of the hot button issues in Christian Publishing.
Turns out Amish Vampires in Space, originally published by Marcher Lord Press, was not part of the deal when owner Jeff Gerke recently sold Marcher Lord Press to Steve Laube, a publishing agent who has stong ties to CBA publishing, which means the Big Bad CBA is trying to destroy Christian Speculative fiction!
…Ok, that was an exaggeration. For real this time.
Jeff Gerke started Marcher Lord Press 5 years ago because he was frustrated by mainstream CBA’s (Christian Booksellers Association) lack of interest in Christian Sci-Fi and Fantasy. As “the premier publisher of Christian Speculative Fiction” MLP has been sucessful, producing award-winning titles and introducing new authors such as Jill Williamson. Gerke has sold Marcher Lord Press to Steve Laube, a publishing veteran and agent with strong ties to the CBA publishing industry. Some fans worry that MLP has “sold out,” while others believe Laube is an excellent choice. Karen Hancock, Kathy Tyers, Bryan Davis, Tosca Lee, and Donita K. Paul are just a few of the authors Laube has worked with in the past, all of whom are major pioneers in the Christian Spec-Fic genre.
And you thought Inspirational publishing was all smooth sailing across the prairie!
Click through the links below for more.
Blog post from speculativefaith.com with lots of fun comments from some of the big names.
Laube’s official press release with a Q&A
Kerry Nietz talks about Amish Vampires in Space being dropped
Another blog post with more great links on the subject
ADDLibrarian 