Christian publisher cancels author’s book deal after he comes out
A Christian book publisher has scrapped an author’s book deal – after he came out as queer.
Evangelical writer Brandan Robertson had signed a deal last year for Destiny Image to publish his book, ‘Nomad: Not-So-Religious Thoughts On Faith, Doubt, and the Journey In Between’.
However, after Mr Robertson appeared in a TIME article last month in which he identified himself as queer, the publisher approached him with “concerns” about his “media attention”.
He alleges that he was asked to sign a statement affirming that he does not “condone, encourage, or accept the homosexual lifestyle”.
Mr Robertson, who is a spokesperson for Evangelicals for Marriage Equality, refused to sign the statement, and days later he was contacted by the publisher again – and told his book had been dropped.
He wrote: “My publisher explained that in recent weeks as they had tried to sell my book to a number of Christian distributors and had been informed that because of my advocacy of and identification with the LGBTQ Christian community, they had refused to buy my book (which, once again, has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of sexuality).
“Because the Christian Bookstores are the main buyer for Destiny Image, my publisher informed me that it was likely that they were going to have to drop my book.”
He added: “I don’t know what the coming days hold. It is my hope that my book will find a new home at another publishing house. But more than that, I hope that God will continue to work to radically uproot and reform his Church on this issue.
“For me personally, this situation has stoked the flames of passion within me to continue working hard to change the hearts and minds of Evangelical Christians on the topic of LGBTQ inclusion and equality.”
Don Nori of parent company Nori Media Group told TIME: “We did not reject or refuse. As with all books, a publisher decides what is financially viable.
“We released the book back to the author with our sincere prayers for his success. This occurrence happens every season.”
