Amazon Publishing Christian Books: Opportunity or Offense?

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Last month, Amazon Publishing announced the launch of a “faith-based imprint,” Waterfall Press. Brilliance Publishing, also part of Amazon, will publish the fiction and nonfiction books released by Waterfall Press.

In a press release, Mark Pereira, president of Brilliance Publishing, said, “We are excited to expand our offering to readers of faith-based material by publishing original Christian content with enduring appeal.” Amazon also stated, “Waterfall Press non-fiction will aim to provide spiritual refreshment and inspiration to today’s Christian reader, while fiction will include stories in the romance, mystery, and suspense genres.”

Initial responses from those in Christian publishing are mixed. Some see this as a terrific opportunity for Christian writers to get a lot more exposure for their books. Others believe Amazon is just trying to make money off of a $1.4 billion business. Those people have expressed concerns that Amazon will publish books that aren’t really Christian under their “Christian” imprint. And that they may put out of business the people who have made Christian publishing so lucrative through years of hard work and loving care: specifically, Christian book sellers, Christian publishers, and Christian agents … possibly even authors who write for traditional Christian publishing houses.

To learn more about this new venture of Amazon’s, read the full press release and these other online articles:

·         Business Wire: “Amazon Publishing Launches Christian Imprint Waterfall Press”

·         NPR: “Amazon Plunges into Christian Publishing with Waterfall Imprint”

·         The Christian Science Monitor: “Amazon Creates Imprint for Christian Works”

What is your reaction to this new development? Do you think Amazon’s new imprint is a way to spread the gospel message to even larger audiences? Or are you concerned that it will do a disservice to the Christian publishing industry? I am very interested to know what you think! Please share your response in the comments section below.