Franciscan Media Books
an imprint of Franciscan Media

Should Franciscan Media Publish Your Book?

Our Mission

Franciscan Media seeks to spread the Word that is Jesus Christ in the style of Sts. Francis, Clare, and Anthony. Through print and electronic media marketed in North America and worldwide, we endeavor to evangelize, inspire, and inform those who search for God and seek a richer Catholic, Christian, human life. Our efforts help support the life, ministry, and charities of the Franciscan Friars of St. John the Baptist Province, who sponsor our work.

What We Seek to Publish

Franciscan Media Books, formerly St. Anthony Messenger Press Books, seeks manuscripts that inform and inspire adult Catholic Christians, that identify trends surfacing in the Catholic world, and that help Catholics and those who want to be Catholic understand their faith better. We publish for folks who want to connect to the world around them in the context of the Catholic faith and for those who minister to adult Catholics in the parish and in religious institutions and schools. Our goal is to help people "Live in love. Grow in faith."

We look for writing that speaks to a popular audience and is not academic or scholarly in tone. Writing should be easy to read, practical, concrete, and filled with examples and stories. Our books strive to support the church in its spread of the gospel, not to challenge church authority. In resources for pastoral use, we look for universal applicability, not just the story of how a program worked in a single parish or classroom or group setting; we want tried and tested programs and methods. All of our books reflect current Catholic doctrine and rely on sound scholarship.

We publish a total of 20 to 30 books per year in the following categories:

►Applied Scripture: resources for Catholic individuals and small groups to break open the Word of God, to better understand Scripture and its relevance to our daily lives.

EXAMPLES: Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, The Bible's Best Love Stories, Jesus in the House: Gospel Reflections on Christ's Presence in the Home

►Catholic identity/church teaching: resources for Catholics, as well as seekers, to better understand the Catholic faith, its practices and culture, and which promote a Catholic way of life, especially for young adult Catholics and for adults and children participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).

EXAMPLES: Why Be Catholic? Understanding Our Experience and Tradition, Believing in Jesus: A Popular Overview of the Catholic Faith, The Mass: A Guided Tour

►Catholic inspiration: resources ideal for gift-giving and for inspiring people at special times.

EXAMPLES: Catholic Christmas, Rediscover Advent, Good Words: Inspiration for Catholic Women

►Family faith formation: resources and programs to support family life with a Catholic perspective; guides for passing on the Catholic faith within the family; family-based catechetical programs.

EXAMPLES: Parenting Your Adult Child: Keeping the Faith (and Your Sanity), Celebrating Saints and Seasons: Hundreds of Activities for Catholic Children, Creating New Life, Nurturing Families: A Woman's Perspective

►Franciscan: resources that illuminate the Franciscan way of life and prayer; biographies of Franciscan men and women; Franciscan history; materials for the Secular Franciscan Order.

EXAMPLES: Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth, Compassion: Living in the Spirit of St. Francis, Francis: The Journey and the Dream

►Marriage: resources to enrich and support married couples and to prepare for the sacrament of marriage.

EXAMPLES: What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About the First Five Years of Marriage, Together But Alone: When God Means Something Different to Your Spouse, Marriage: It's a God Thing

►Pastoral ministry and parish life: resources to support those who minister and help form the faith of Catholics in the parish, school or religious institution on a grassroots level, and that provide a spiritual context for one's ministry as well as practical advice for ministering; materials for small faith-sharing or Bible groups; resources that support lay ministry as a vocation and way of life; resources that can be sold in bulk to parish gatekeepers; resources that flow out of the sacraments for use by those receiving the sacrament and those who are in relationship with the recipient (parent, sponsor, pastoral minister).

EXAMPLES: Catholic Update Guide to Baptism, When You Are a Godparent, Your Child's First Communion

►Prayer: resources for general Catholic prayer, traditional and contemporary; prayers for special-interest audiences or occasions; prayers for family and group use, including institutions; prayers for seasonal use.

EXAMPLES: Armchair Mystic: Easing Into Contemplative Prayer, God, I Have Issues: 50 Ways to Pray No Matter How You Feel, Preparing for Christmas With Richard Rohr: Daily Reflections for Advent

►Saints and spiritual role models: biographies of saints, church figures, spiritual heroes and prominent Catholics—both modern and ancient—whose lives have been dedicated to a cause or movement or who have been instrumental in the history and life of the church; often includes reflection and meditation elements.

EXAMPLES: Saints at the Dinner Table, 8 Spiritual Heroes: Their Search for God, Mystics: Ten Who Show Us the Ways of God

►Self-help and personal growth: resources for living a Catholic Christian life in contemporary culture, often with a Franciscan approach; resources for special-interest readers, such as divorced, grieving or married; resources which are gender-specific, such as male spirituality or women's issues.

EXAMPLES: Make Room for God: Clearing Out the Clutter, Coping With Loss: Praying Your Way to Acceptance, Healing After Divorce: Hope for Catholics

►Spirituality: resources for finding—and keeping—God in one's life and for integrating Catholic Christian teaching into daily life.

EXAMPLES: Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, Staying Faithful Today to God, Ourselves, One Another, Party of One: Living Single With Faith, Purpose, & Passion

What We Do Not Publish

We do not publish children's books, poetry, collections of homilies or essays or columns, academic studies, art books or encyclopedias.

Our Market: Who Buys Our Books

The people who buy our books are adult Catholics—laypeople, priests, and members of religious orders—who value the breadth and intellectually stimulating message rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the church's teachings. They are parents, married couples, single adults, directors of religious education, catechists, teachers, people actively involved in parish life and ministry, small-group leaders, people who search for inspiration for their spiritual life or help with special issues or situations.

For the institutional market, we look for books that will sell in bulk quantities to parishes, teachers, pastoral ministers, etc., as well as to individuals. About 65% of our books are sold in bookstores. We expect to sell at least 5,000 copies of a book in its first year.

How to Submit Your Book Proposal

When you are ready to submit a book proposal, you can submit it in one of three formats (listed here in order of our preference):

►Online form (click here)

►E-mail to MCKendzia@franciscanmedia.org

►Hard copy to:

Mary Carol Kendzia
Product Development Director, Franciscan Media Books
Franciscan Media
28 W. Liberty St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202
phone: 513-241-5615 (ext.162)
fax: 513-241-0399

Your book proposal should include:

• a cover letter that tells us what you are proposing—the subject of the book, its approximate word length, the intended audience, what makes your idea unique or what sets it apart from similar books on the market, a summary of competitive books.
• a table of contents.
• an outline or synopsis of the book, chapter by chapter.
• a sample chapter and the introduction, if written. If not, please include a sample of your published writing.
• a résumé, curriculum vitae or brief biographical information that is pertinent.
• a description of your platform (speaking engagements, social media presence, blog and other writing outlets).
• any endorsements for your book or proposal.
• your ideas for promotion and marketing of the book.
• a self-addressed envelope for return of the proposal if return of the material is desired.

Upon receipt of your proposal, we will review the proposal and send you a response within two months (60 days).

If we decide that your proposal has potential for publication by Franciscan Media, the product development team will present it to the market team, and then seek approval from the management team to publish. This process can take up to six months to complete.

We prefer proposals that have not been submitted to another publisher at the same time.

We do not accept responsibility for lost manuscripts or unsolicited material. Please keep a copy of anything you send to us and include with your proposal a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like your manuscript returned; otherwise, we do not return manuscripts.

Thank you for your interest in Franciscan Media Books and Franciscan Media.

Rev. 12/11