The Christian Novelist is a relatively new creature. For centuries there have been various writers who have spread the Christian word through writing. This new style- the Christian novel spreads the message of Christianity in a most interesting way through thematic design and allegory.
Christian ethics and morals as well as the simple rules to live by have been major features of some of the best known novels in the past 150 years. Writers such as C. S Lewis with his 'Chronicles of Narnia' and Jane Austen and J. R. R Tolkien have long been regarded as writers who have spread the message in their fiction. They set their characters in sometimes epic battles with morality and forces of evil both large and small.
This topic for writing has a much longer history- back as far as Christendom itself; but it is through the use of the novel that it has been most widely dispersed in the last 150 years. The reason for this is the simple mass appeal of the novel.
Church attendance has seen a steady decline, especially in western countries for a long time now. Some writers have seen this as a call to action and have used the writing of novels to reach those who no longer go to religious services. Heroes of these novels are placed in moral and ethical dilemmas and use their beliefs and virtues to overcome these.
At the end of the 1970s a lot of American conservative writers changed tack and began to write their novels in different genres. This enabled them to reach out to a far wider audience and this spread their message much farther afield. Thrillers, romance and even Science Fiction are all now fertile grounds for Christian novelists. This has been especially powerful in reaching younger generations for whom weekly attendance at mass is not part of their lives. It is also a very good way to get their beliefs and ideas out to non believers in a way that they do not fond obtrusive.
Urban Christian fiction has been a particular success in the last few years, this is written mostly by Latino or African descended people and the work is set in the areas and cultures of these people in many US cities and large towns. A lot of this type of writing is in relation to God centred people living their lives within these cultures.
Such has been the growth in Christian Novels readership that there are now countless awards for this genre and some in relation to annual sales have winners who have sold over 20 million copies of their books. These writers are not one offs, there are many who are in the sales bracket and may more who also have sales to be envied. These numbers of sales and without a lot of the marketing and advertising that normally accompanies book launches give a flavour as to the size of the audience and the demand that is out there.
So as you can see even from this brief introduction the Christian Novelist is here to stay. For that reason if writing is your thing and you are a believer in Christ there may be a future for you in this fast growing genre.
Christian ethics and morals as well as the simple rules to live by have been major features of some of the best known novels in the past 150 years. Writers such as C. S Lewis with his 'Chronicles of Narnia' and Jane Austen and J. R. R Tolkien have long been regarded as writers who have spread the message in their fiction. They set their characters in sometimes epic battles with morality and forces of evil both large and small.
This topic for writing has a much longer history- back as far as Christendom itself; but it is through the use of the novel that it has been most widely dispersed in the last 150 years. The reason for this is the simple mass appeal of the novel.
Church attendance has seen a steady decline, especially in western countries for a long time now. Some writers have seen this as a call to action and have used the writing of novels to reach those who no longer go to religious services. Heroes of these novels are placed in moral and ethical dilemmas and use their beliefs and virtues to overcome these.
At the end of the 1970s a lot of American conservative writers changed tack and began to write their novels in different genres. This enabled them to reach out to a far wider audience and this spread their message much farther afield. Thrillers, romance and even Science Fiction are all now fertile grounds for Christian novelists. This has been especially powerful in reaching younger generations for whom weekly attendance at mass is not part of their lives. It is also a very good way to get their beliefs and ideas out to non believers in a way that they do not fond obtrusive.
Urban Christian fiction has been a particular success in the last few years, this is written mostly by Latino or African descended people and the work is set in the areas and cultures of these people in many US cities and large towns. A lot of this type of writing is in relation to God centred people living their lives within these cultures.
Such has been the growth in Christian Novels readership that there are now countless awards for this genre and some in relation to annual sales have winners who have sold over 20 million copies of their books. These writers are not one offs, there are many who are in the sales bracket and may more who also have sales to be envied. These numbers of sales and without a lot of the marketing and advertising that normally accompanies book launches give a flavour as to the size of the audience and the demand that is out there.
So as you can see even from this brief introduction the Christian Novelist is here to stay. For that reason if writing is your thing and you are a believer in Christ there may be a future for you in this fast growing genre.
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