Christian Fiction News: BET, The Shack, Exorsistah & the List

Christian Fiction News for the Week of June 7, 2008

BET Lift Every Voice's Gerard Henry Gone

Mona Austin of Eurweb reports. "After nine years, Gerard Henry, the face of BET's "Lift Every Voice" has left the network. "He has just launched a one-hour inspirational talk show entitled, "G-Talk! Religion, Sex, and Politics" which airs Sundays 12:00-:00 p.m. in Washington D.C. on WPGC Heaven 1580 AM. Question: What's going on at BET?

The Shack on Audio

On June 20 Oasis Audio will release surprise best-selling novel, The Shack(at Amazon for 21.17 instead of the $27.99 retail price.) Source Christian Retailing

The Young Adult Christian Edge

Last week Publisher's Weekly spotlighted Zondervan, FaithWords, Multnomah, NavPress, Thomas Nelson and my Write-or-die-chick, Claudia Mair Burney's The Exorsistah in an article about the rise in edgy contemporary young adult Christian novels.

Clearly, it's tough to balance depicting the rough stuff of adolescence in a realistic way without offending conservative sensibilities. Novelist Claudia Mair Burney understands this tension well. “Christian fiction seems to play it safe so often, but adolescence is inherently unsafe,” she explains. “If we can't show Christ as redeemer in the midst of people cutting themselves, starving themselves or having sex before they're ready, why would we write at all?” Burney's latest YA novel, The Exorsistah, comes out from Pocket on July 22 and will push some buttons: it's about a homeless teenage girl with a spiritual gift for discerning demons. “Exorcism is not child's play,” warns Burney.

Way to go, Claudia!

FoxFaith's The List on DVD Shelves Today

The List based on Robert Whitlow's novel hits DVD shelves today, coinciding with the release of his latest novel, Deeper Water (the first book in Whitlow's Tides of Truth series from Thomas Nelson Publishers).