Cite: http://www.fortune.com/fortune/articles/0,15114,539244,00.html
TEEN BOOKS
For God's Sake
Teens open their wallets for a new breed of pop-culture Bible.
By Julia Boorstin
Today's hottest-selling Bible has some pretty unusual cover lines. "Are You Dating a Godly Guy? (And Other Quizzes)." "Beauty Secrets You've Never Heard Before!" "200+ Blab Q&A's." Called Revolve, what looks like a glossy teen magazine is actually the complete New Testament, sprinkled with photos of fresh-faced teens and sidebars (mostly about makeup, kissing, and how to apply the Bible to everyday life). A box demystifying Thessalonians notes that "everyone was stoked when Jesus walked the earth"; to clarify Matthew 7:14, a passage reads, "Jesus isn't telling you to be a doormat." Since Revolve, which is aimed at 13- to 16-year-old girls, hit shelves in July, it has sold 150,000 copies at $14.99 apiece, making it the most popular Bible sold in Christian bookstores, according to the Evangelical Christian Publisher's Association. Thomas Nelson, Revolve's 200-year-old Nashville publisher, expects to sell nearly twice that amount by Christmas and to release new versions every 18 months or so. (In comparison, the company's average Bible sells around 40,000 copies a year).
All sorts of publishers are suddenly finding religion in teen Bibles. In October, Zondervan, a Bible publisher based in Grand Rapids, released Revolution: The Bible for Teen Guys and True Images: The Bible for Teen Girls. In July, Nav Press, a Christian publisher in Colorado Springs, debuted The Message: Remix, a version of the Bible in contemporary language. And a boys' version of Revolve is due in spring 2004. Says Kate Etue, head of Thomas Nelson's teen division: "The Christian-book industry needs this segment; otherwise, in a few years they won't have anyone shopping in their stores."
Bible sales are hard to track, but according to the Association of American Publishers, through the first nine months of 2003, religious book sales were up 32% from the same period last year. Barnes & Noble won't release numbers but says Revolve has generated unprecedented interest. "Normally we don't sell a lot of teen Bibles, but Revolve has sold a huge number," says a spokeswoman.
For decades publishers have slapped eye-catching covers on regular Bibles to try to market to teens, but "no one was creating a book teens would actually want to pick up," says Gabe Filkey, a publisher at Nav Press. "Teens told us the Bible is too big, intimidating, and freaky," says Laurie Whaley, 28, co-creator and spokesperson for Revolve. Whaley, who comes from a long line of pastors, earned her MBA and then joined Thomas Nelson five years ago. After teens in focus groups told her they read magazines, she persuaded the publisher to mimic that style, recruiting women in their 20s who worked with Christian youth groups to write the sidebars.
The Bibles are part of a larger trend in Christian commerce of "broadening the message." Just as teens responded to Christian musicians like Creed who look and sound like rock stars, many would rather buy Bibles that don't look like Bibles. "Hollywood is so mainstream it defines our culture and our decisions," says Paul Caminiti, a publisher at Zondervan. "You've got to speak in the language of Hollywood yet give a very different message." Hey, whatever gets the kids stoked.
TEEN BOOKS
For God's Sake
Teens open their wallets for a new breed of pop-culture Bible.
By Julia Boorstin
Today's hottest-selling Bible has some pretty unusual cover lines. "Are You Dating a Godly Guy? (And Other Quizzes)." "Beauty Secrets You've Never Heard Before!" "200+ Blab Q&A's." Called Revolve, what looks like a glossy teen magazine is actually the complete New Testament, sprinkled with photos of fresh-faced teens and sidebars (mostly about makeup, kissing, and how to apply the Bible to everyday life). A box demystifying Thessalonians notes that "everyone was stoked when Jesus walked the earth"; to clarify Matthew 7:14, a passage reads, "Jesus isn't telling you to be a doormat." Since Revolve, which is aimed at 13- to 16-year-old girls, hit shelves in July, it has sold 150,000 copies at $14.99 apiece, making it the most popular Bible sold in Christian bookstores, according to the Evangelical Christian Publisher's Association. Thomas Nelson, Revolve's 200-year-old Nashville publisher, expects to sell nearly twice that amount by Christmas and to release new versions every 18 months or so. (In comparison, the company's average Bible sells around 40,000 copies a year).
All sorts of publishers are suddenly finding religion in teen Bibles. In October, Zondervan, a Bible publisher based in Grand Rapids, released Revolution: The Bible for Teen Guys and True Images: The Bible for Teen Girls. In July, Nav Press, a Christian publisher in Colorado Springs, debuted The Message: Remix, a version of the Bible in contemporary language. And a boys' version of Revolve is due in spring 2004. Says Kate Etue, head of Thomas Nelson's teen division: "The Christian-book industry needs this segment; otherwise, in a few years they won't have anyone shopping in their stores."
Bible sales are hard to track, but according to the Association of American Publishers, through the first nine months of 2003, religious book sales were up 32% from the same period last year. Barnes & Noble won't release numbers but says Revolve has generated unprecedented interest. "Normally we don't sell a lot of teen Bibles, but Revolve has sold a huge number," says a spokeswoman.
For decades publishers have slapped eye-catching covers on regular Bibles to try to market to teens, but "no one was creating a book teens would actually want to pick up," says Gabe Filkey, a publisher at Nav Press. "Teens told us the Bible is too big, intimidating, and freaky," says Laurie Whaley, 28, co-creator and spokesperson for Revolve. Whaley, who comes from a long line of pastors, earned her MBA and then joined Thomas Nelson five years ago. After teens in focus groups told her they read magazines, she persuaded the publisher to mimic that style, recruiting women in their 20s who worked with Christian youth groups to write the sidebars.
The Bibles are part of a larger trend in Christian commerce of "broadening the message." Just as teens responded to Christian musicians like Creed who look and sound like rock stars, many would rather buy Bibles that don't look like Bibles. "Hollywood is so mainstream it defines our culture and our decisions," says Paul Caminiti, a publisher at Zondervan. "You've got to speak in the language of Hollywood yet give a very different message." Hey, whatever gets the kids stoked.
