Search results for: 'part 1'

Michael Cassidy - My Life and Times: Part 1

Alongside the African Enterprise, I (like SPCK) am committed to reaching people and discipling them by books and Christian literature - Michael Cassidy's book publishes ...

Terry Waite on prison reform and rehabilitation - part 1

Terry Waite is an Anglican humanitarian and author. In the 1980s, he worked as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s special envoy, travelling to the Middle East and negotiating the release of hostages, when he himself was taken as a hostage. Since his release from captivity he has worked extensively with prisoners and is a supporter of SPCK’s ...

Part 2 of our Q&A with David Wilbourne, Author of Just John

Here's part 2 of our Q&A with David Wilbourne, author of Just John: The Authorized Biography of John Habgood. Find out in this second part what we can learn from John's life and work, and whether there were any parallels between his life then and the world ...

Michael Cassidy - My Life and Times: Part 2

This is part 2/2 of this blog post. Part 1 can be found here. We are very committed, like SPCK, to reach people and disciple them by books and Christian literature.  ...

My Creator Calling: A Poem from Hope Rising 365 by Meg Cannon

An encouraging poem from Meg Cannon’s Hope Rising 365 explores how God meets us in our weakness and calls us from darkness into hope and new ...
  • 14 Nov 2017

SPCK and the Lord Mayor’s Show

SPCK featured once again in the Lord Mayor’s Show, as we continued our tradition of giving a specially inscribed Bible or Prayer Book to the incoming Lord Mayor of the City of ...
  • 25 Jan 2018

4 Key Ingredients for Success

Does your organisation have the right ingredients for success? Primavera Quantrill writes about our recent 1698 Club ...

Making the Bible Engaging for Children

How do you take an ancient and complex book and make it accessible and interesting for children? Our children's editor, Juliet, shares some of the challenges . . ...
  • 13 Jun 2018

5 Minutes With Gaby Doherty

We will publish Grenfell Hope by Gaby Doherty on 14 June. Ahead of the book’s release, she chatted with us about ...
  • 17 Jun 2018

Independent Bookshop Week - a chat with The Christian Bookshop in Birkenhead

As part of Independent Bookshop Week, we are featuring interviews with, well, independent bookshops! We chatted with The Christian Bookshop in Birkenhead about reviews, social media, comfy shoes, and – of course – books! The Christian Bookshop, 14 Grange Road West, Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 4DATel: 0151 647 ...
  • 20 Jun 2018

6 Questions for Alan Mordue

Continuing on with Independent Bookshop Week, we chatted with our sales director Alan Mordue about unexpectedly successful books, sales conferences, and his favourite part of being a sales ...
  • 19 Jun 2018

Independent Bookshops: more than just tea and cake

We spoke with Ali, Team Leader at Quench Christian Bookshop Wokingham, and Head of Retail for both the Wokingham and Maidenhead shops, about her experience with running a ...
  • 25 Jun 2018

5 Questions for Tim Stead

After the phenomenal success of his book Mindfulness and Christian Spirituality, Tim Stead follows up with See Love Be. We chatted to him about his new ...
  • 6 Jul 2018

What story is your life telling?

By Leila Jennings ‘Narrative is the central function … of the human mind. We turn everything into a story in order to make sense of life.’ - James Bryan Smith Andy Frost’s new book, Long Story Short, provides insight into the narratives that we use to define our path in life. Many of us see life as the pursuit of ...
  • 2 Jul 2018

Keeping The Wright Momentum

This past Friday 29 June, the SPCK team and 350 guests gathered in Methodist Central Hall to hear Tom Wright in conversation with the BBC’s Martin Bashir about his book Paul: A Biography. The event was originally planned for March but had to be rescheduled because of the weather. That day in March was too icy and snowy for people to attend. ...
  • 27 Jul 2018

5 Questions for Andrew Gant

Andrew Gant has held a number of positions in the field of church music, including singing in the choir of Westminster Abbey and Organist and Choirmaster at Her Majesty’s Chapels Royal from 2000-2013, where he was responsible for the music at many Royal and state occasions. He is a stipendiary lecturer in music at St Peter’s College, ...
  • 9 Jul 2018

5 Questions for Paul Hattaway

On 19 July, we will publish Guizhou by Paul Hattaway, the second in a series of books about the exponential growth of Christianity in China. Here, we caught up with him about writing and his plans for the ...
  • 13 Jul 2018

5 Questions For Elaine Storkey

Elaine Storkey, author of Scars Across Humanity, will present at this year’s Keswick Convention. We chatted to her about writing, books, ...
  • 27 Jul 2018

A chat with Sharon Moughtin-Mumby of Diddy Disciples

We chatted with Sharon Moughtin-Mumby about the principles of Diddy Disciples, her programme for younger children that grounds them in faith and encourages curiosity, compassion for others, personal expression, and ...
  • 30 Jul 2018

International Friendship Day - A Chat with Alexa Tewkesbury

Alexa is an author, editor and proofreader who has been writing extensively for children since 2002. Three picture books for SPCK Publishing, Noah and his Ark, Daniel in the Lions’ Den and Jonah and the Whale, were released in 2017. As well as children’s books, Alexa has also written the screenplays for the animation, It’s A Boy!, ...
  • 6 Aug 2018

5 Questions for Rebecca Parkinson

Rebecca Parkinson is the editor for SPCK’s Assemblies website. This site gives instant access to high-quality school assemblies for teachers and others leading collective worship. It is used by millions of people each year.  Rebecca lives in Lancashire with her husband and their two children. Since graduating from Nottingham and ...
  • 6 Aug 2018

A Hero in God’s Eyes

We're into the #SPCKBookClub!  Mankind has reinvented its heroes of old slaying dragons into superheroes facing alien invasions. We often have our own versions of a hero we look up to. Maybe it’s your favourite celebrity or social activist. Maybe even your mum or dad. And as Christians, we often have Biblical heroes we admire like Queen ...

Christianity and poetry – how they often go together

We are all familiar with poetry of some kind. Most likely even studied an anthology or two at school. Maybe you know a poem by heart. But how much do we really know about poetry in the Bible? Believe it or not, at least one third of the Christian Bible (and three quarters of the Hebrew Bible) is poetry. The majority of the Old Testament was ...
  • 10 Aug 2018

Living a Heroic Life

Summer is often the time we wish for throughout the year and, if especially if you have kids, can’t wait to get away for some rest and relaxation. How do you spend your summers? Do you use it to jet off to the beach? Maybe you spend time at home with family and a barbeque. Maybe you take your children on an adventure. Before the summer comes ...

6 Ways to Help Families Who Are Less Fortunate

‘We’ve been so busy feeding everybody else that we’ve forgotten about ourselves!’ said Aunt Miranda. ‘I didn’t think of that,’ said Ellie.  Sylvia Green’s delightful and heart-warming picture book, We’re Hungry Too, helps adults and children alike to think about caring for creation, ...
  • 31 Aug 2018

A Chat with Cole Moreton

Today is National Maritime Day. Cole Moreton’s forthcoming book The Light Keeper is set in London and The South Downs. Here, he chats with us about his writing and the setting of his new ...
  • 6 Sept 2018

5 Questions for Sarah Meyrick

Sarah Meyrick studied Classics at Cambridge and Social Anthropology at Oxford, which gave her a fascination for the stories people tell and the worlds they inhabit. She has worked variously as a journalist, editor and PR professional. She is the Director of the Bloxham Festival of Faith and Literature which is a small literary festival that takes ...
  • 10 Sept 2018

What Not To Say To People Who Have Depression

We all wish we could help our friends and family who are hurting. Sometimes, the things we say to try to comfort them can actually do more harm than good. Rachael Newham, author of Learning To Breathe, considers what we should and shouldn’t say when speaking to someone who has ...
  • 11 Sept 2018

Replay and Regret? Responding to Shame

Our #SPCKBookClub pick for October is I Thought There Would Be Cake by Katharine Welby-Roberts. Rachael Newham, author of Learning to Breathe, shares her thoughts on this honest ...
  • 17 Sept 2018

God values who we are

Liz Carter, author of the forthcoming Catching Contentment, shares her thoughts on our book club pick I Thought There Would Be Cake by Katharine ...
  • 21 Sept 2018

National Doodle Day - A Chat with Thea Baker

On National Doodle Day, we chat with Thea Baker, who illustrated The Shepherd Who Couldn’t Sing by Alan Barker, about her work as an ...
  • 26 Sept 2018

A Chat with Stephen Tyers

Today is #EuropeanDayofLanguages. In the lead up to Frankfurt Book Fair, we chatted with our Rights Executive Stephen Tyres about his work handling rights with our partner publishers in other countries. SPCK has international partners in Turkey, Spain, France, Finland, Poland, Hungary, and Germany, among many ...
  • 26 Sept 2018

The Wisdom of Dr Dawn Harper on Fitness Day

Dr Dawn Harper is on our blog for Fitness Day, sharing her wisdom about the benefits of regular exercise. We all have to find the fitness that works well with us and makes us feel motivated. When we find what we enjoy, we look forward to our ...
  • 26 Sept 2018

Diffusion: using books to make a difference in the lives of prisoners

We caught up with our Commercial Director Alexandra McDonald about the work she does with our Diffusion programme. Diffusion works with prisoners to improve their literacy skills. This helps with self confidence and independence, which are essential when re-integrating into the community upon release from ...
  • 5 Oct 2018

SPCK Assemblies are perfect for teachers on World Teachers' Day

SPCK Assemblies are a great resource for teachers to use with their students. We chatted with Rebecca Parkinson about the assemblies she's been working on. Happy ...
  • 4 Oct 2018

Catching up with Alexa Tewkesbury

Alexa Tewkesbury chats with us for #WorldAnimalDay about children’s books, her love of animals, and the things we can do to protect ...
  • 4 Oct 2018

The Benefits of SPCK Membership

Our Fundraising Assistant Catriona Brickel is on the blog today, chatting about our members' only event at The Tower of London that took place on 3 ...
  • 8 Oct 2018

Music to our ears - new additions to the SPCK Assemblies programme

This month, we’ll publish a biography of Johann Sebastian Bach by composer and author Andrew Gant.  He is writing a music assembly for the SPCK Assembly programme.  We caught up with Rebecca Parkinson about the addition of music assemblies to the ...
  • 12 Oct 2018

6 Questions for John Bowker

We chatted with John Bowker recently about his new book Religion Hurts, which publishes 18 ...
  • 22 Oct 2018

What can compel us to write nonfiction?

What makes a good biography? Barbara Fox reflects on her work in journalism and how it led to the writing of Midwife of Borneo. Though she’d planned to write fiction if she ever wrote a book, her editing and journalistic skills helped her to write nonfiction. While we can often plan to write one book initially, we can sometimes end up ...
  • 31 Oct 2018

Tim Stead on mindfulness

Tim Stead is on our blog today, chatting about mindfulness practices. He’ll be in Oxford on 14 November in conversation with Michael Mosley. Book your ticket ...
  • 2 Nov 2018

5 Questions for Catherine Fox

Continuing on with our #NaNoWriMo theme, we caught up with Catherine Fox and chatted about writing, books, and ...
  • 8 Nov 2018

World Quality Day: what makes a good business?

SPCK Fundraising Assistant Catriona Brickel reflects on the values of SPCK as a company. On World Quality Day, she considers the core beliefs and principles of a good ...
  • 11 Nov 2018

Rev Dr Mark Davidson's reflections on Remembrance Sunday

Rev Dr Mark Davidson, author of War Cries, is on our blog today for Remembrance ...
  • 12 Nov 2018

Prayer as a form of self-care

Gemma Simmonds, author of The Way of Ignatius, is on our blog for self care week, discussing how prayer is as essential to self-care as healthy eating, good sleep, regular exercise, and time with friends and ...
  • 16 Nov 2018

Caring for yourself whilst you care for others

Dr Jennifer Bute, author of the new book Dementia From The Inside, was once a missionary doctor in Africa, and later a GP and educator for 25 years until she developed dementia. Jennifer had to resign from her work but realised understanding dementia from the inside was a ‘glorious opportunity’. Now Jennifer is much in demand as a ...
  • 16 Nov 2018

How to be a Dementia-friendly Church

Dr Trevor Adams is Director of Passionate Dementia Care, which offers training and consultancy to churches and Christian organisations in supporting people living with dementia. Trevor is a nurse and specialises in dementia care. He holds a doctorate in dementia care, has written widely and spoken at dementia conferences and universities in the UK, ...
  • 19 Nov 2018

How We Use Our Profits

SPCK has been publishing Christian books for over three hundred years – in fact, it’s the third oldest publishing house still operating in the UK! So it won’t be too surprising if you’ve come across our books before, or only know us as a ...
  • 20 Nov 2018

5 lighthearted books for Christmas

For most people, Christmas is the perfect time of year to unwind, relax and spend precious time with family. With this in mind, SPCK has handpicked five easy lighthearted books for the ...
  • 21 Nov 2018

The expression of faith through art

‘Pictures can reach parts of the theological imagination that words cannot.’ Jane Williams considers the representation of faith through ...
  • 22 Nov 2018

What motivates us to do missionary work?

When you would like to work as a missionary, how do you get started and how can you stay involved? April Holden, who co-wrote They Called Us Love with Deborah Meroff, writes about her personal missionary experience and offers advice for getting involved with organisations like Operation ...
  • 27 Nov 2018

Ruth Clemence's Top 5 SPCK Reads of 2018

Blogger and book reviewer Ruth Clemence has read many of our books over the last year. We’ve asked her to pick her ...
  • 28 Nov 2018

Books that can change your life

Books are an invaluable source of power. They can teach you many things, show you different perspectives and in turn shape who you are along the way. We have selected a number of books that will shape your thinking and, possibly, change your ...
  • 2 Dec 2018

How can we prevent slavery?

Ben Cooley, CEO of anti-trafficking charity Hope for Justice, has a vision to live in a world free from slavery. Since it was founded 10 years ago, Hope for Justice has grown to become one of the world’s leading NGOs in this sector, active across four continent. Thanks to a team of former senior police investigators and detectives, lawyers, ...
  • 5 Dec 2018

Alan Barker's take on a classic Christmas story

Alan Barker chats with us about his inspiration for writing his new book The Shepherd Who Couldn't ...
  • 10 Dec 2018

5 Questions for Stephen Cottrell

Stephen Cottrell, author of The Sleepy Shepherd, chats with us about books, writing, and his plans for ...
  • 12 Dec 2018

Andy Frost's plans for 2019

We caught up with Andy Frost  about how the last year has been, especially since the publication of his book Long Story ...
  • 15 Dec 2018

Stories and salad bars: catching up with Paul Kerensa

Paul Kerensa is a busy comedian and author. We caught up with him about his plans for ...
  • 18 Dec 2018

Ruth Clemence's thoughts for International Migrants' Day

Blogger Ruth Clemence shares a review of They Called Us ...
  • 18 Dec 2018

6 Questions for Stephen Cherry

Stephen Cherry chatted with us about his book Barefoot Ways and his plans for ...
  • 19 Dec 2018

Q&A with John Goldingay

John Goldingay and Tom Wright recently published The Bible For Everyone. We chat with John about the skills a good translator needs and the importance of providing an updated ...
  • 21 Dec 2018

Q&A with Janet Morley

Janet Morley, author of Haphazard by Starlight, is on our blog today chatting writing and Christmas ...
  • 3 Jan 2019

The peace that passes all understanding

Has your therapist or acupuncturist ever encouraged you to develop a mindfulness practice? Do you sit in front of YouTube tutorials and wonder if you’re doing it right? Do you feel frustrated because you’re afraid that you’ve done it wrong? You’re not alone. Christopher Dines talks us through mindfulness. There is no right ...
  • 4 Jan 2019

Jonathan Sandys: The Man Who Could Call Churchill ‘Great-Grandpapa’

Jonathan Sandys, co-author of God and Churchill, passed away of chronic lung disease on 29 December 2018.  His co-author Wallace Henley had some very kind words to ...
  • 8 Jan 2019

Everyone has a funny travel story: Terry Waite's newest narrative

Terry Waite shares his thoughts on Travels with a Primate, his upcoming book. What’s it like to be an advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury? ...
  • 23 Jan 2019

Gemma Simmonds on things she'd tell her younger self

Gemma Simmonds is a religious sister of the Congregation of Jesus. She began her ministry teaching at secondary level in the UK and went on from there to missionary work among women and street children in Brazil. She trained in Christian spirituality at the Ignatian spirituality centre in Wernersville, USA and this led to work as a retreat giver ...
  • 4 Feb 2019

What Not To Say To Someone Who Has Been Subjected To Abuse

4 – 10 February is Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week. Natalie Collins, author of Out of Control, shares what to not say to someone who has been subjected to ...

Prayer Experiment Activity

What do you think of when you think of prayer? For a lot of people, it brings up images of being told to sit still and close their eyes while someone else ‘says a prayer’; or of reciting words from a page. Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, author of The Prayer Experiment series, teaches a fun prayer experiment to try with your ...

Who Cares About HIV?

For World Health Day, Who Cares About HIV? author, Paul Kybird, explains the new book, the challenges of those living with HIV, and their engagement with pastoral ...

Very Brief Histories Event

The Very Brief History series is a collection of short, accessible introductions on histories, legacies, and movements that have shaped the world written by industry experts. Our event on Saturday features four speakers uncovering the lives of Thomas More, Immanuel Kant, Byzantine Christianity, and Julian of Norwich. ...

News from the Independent Publishing Guild Awards

I am delighted to announce that we have been nominated for the Digital Publishing Award, and Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year (having received this two years in a row)! Learn more about how our school assemblies website is helping teachers grab the attention and engage young people. Today, millions of young people are facing pressures ...

Natural Holy Places: Britain's Top 10

Nick Mayhew-Smith, author of The Naked Hermit, rounds up a five-year journey into the wild sacred spaces of Britain with a top 10 list of the most enchanting holy ...

Mindfulness, Spirituality & Mental Health Awareness Week

Tim Stead, former Vicar, mindfulness teacher and author of See, Love, Be – Mindfulness and the spiritual life writes for Mental Health Awareness ...

Spanning the Decades: The Restless Wave

Sarah Meyrick's final post for our Spanning the Decades series is all about families and how to survive them. Order her new book, The Restless Wave, available ...

The Road to 'The Meaning of Life'

Alister McGrath chats with us about his new book Richard Dawkins, C.S. Lewis and the Meaning of ...

Prayer Experiment - Thank You Jar

With our partner publisher Baker Books, we've paired these two titles to help you find creative ways to pray for your whole family! Like this Thank You Jar activity from Miranda Threlfall-Holmes' The Prayer Experiment ...

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Debra Green, author of Mountain Moving Prayer, is the National Director and founder of ROC which aims to work alongside the church in ways that demonstrate the Christian faith-in-action. She chats about how encouring faith to live out in ...

Inspiring hope: SPCK’s ministry to prisoners

Did you know that SPCK uses its skills as a publisher to help prisoners improve their reading skills? As a Christian charity we consider our work with prisoners to be a direct response to Jesus’ commandment to minister to those in prison (Matthew 25:36). SPCK’s Diffusion books are specially written to help adults who need to improve ...

Q&A with Debbie Flood

SPCK’s Partnerships Director, Primavera Quantrill, spoke to Olympic Rower Debbie ...

Converting to Orthodoxy

Martin Dudley was a prominent Anglican priest at St Bartholomew's in the heart of the City of London. In March 2018 he was received into the Orthodox Church. Martin's upcoming book Being Orthodox is an accessible guide for those who seek to become or live as Orthodox Christians. In this blog post you will find out when and why he made the move to ...

Christian Summer Festivals

Three of the top Christian Summer Festivals to look out for this Summer, many of which are featuring SPCK authors. Find out more in the following blog ...

Christian Resources Together (CRT) Awards 2019

SPCK books shortlisted for Christian Resources Together ...

Storytelling at Greenbelt by Murray Watts

Storytelling has always been a big part of Murray Watts' life. It started with his mother reading him the works of Hans Andersen and Grimms' Fairy Tales, which later led to his live broadcasts of monologues and parables on Radio Merseyside in 1971. It's now come full circle to the publication of 'Yours Truly', a collection of 18 brilliant and ...

Measuring success in the Church - do the numbers count?

How do we measure success in the Church? Should we even be using the word 'success'? Are churches failing if they're not growing? And do numbers really count? Vicars are often faced with questions such as these and long-standing minister Alan Bartlett knows all about these challenges. Alan has been an Anglican priest for 25 years and is now working ...

Exploring Patterns of History - an extract from The Human Odyssey

The long human odyssey of self-discovery has reached a crucial stage: everything we do affects everyone and everything else - and we know it. In this extract from Stephen Green's new book The Human Odyssey he explores patterns of history and questions whether these patterns justify the narrative of a human journey - an odyssey which, for ...

New for September 2019

6 New books for September 2019. From autobiographies to anthologies there's something for everyone, so grab a hot drink and embrace the benefits of hygge with a new read for Autumn ...

SPCK works to improve adult literacy

Did you know 1 in 6 adults in England have very poor literacy skills? Rebecca Law, Project Manager of SPCK's Diffusion Books tells us about the work that the project does to help prisoners, ex-offenders and homeless people improve their reading skills so they can find work and build a more hopeful future for ...

Who were the Mayflower Pilgrims?

16th September is Mayflower Day. Mayflower Day commemorates the day the ship set sail from Plymouth, England in 1620. The story of the first New England settlers has been told many times but not much has been told about what motivated these pilgrims to face the hazards of the transatlantic crossing. Historian Derek Wilson addresses this in his new ...

Busting the Myths of Dementia

Alzheimer's Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness, provide support and demystify dementia. The impact of Alzheimer's Day is increasing but there is still lack of information surrounding dementia. Louise Morse, co-author of Dementia from the Inside writes about the common myths of dementia and explains how the biggest hope is to ...

Black History Month and Extraordinary Saints

Black History Month allows us to take time to consider the individuals who have been relegated not just to the side-lines of history but forgotten through the ages. Sharon Prentis, Intercultural Mission Enabler and Dean of BAME Affairs for the Church of England in Birmingham tells us that whilst there has been a marked improvement in acknowledging ...

Why you should read this book... Q&A with Tricia Goyer, author of Twice Rescued Child

We catch up with Tricia Goyer, author of Twice Rescued Child. She tells us what inspired her to write the book and what we as readers can take away from the ...

How we can work together to create a truly inclusive church community

As we approach the end of Black History Month we're sharing an adapted extract from Ben Lindsay's book, We Need To Talk About Race. In this extract Ben explores the ways in which we can create an inclusive Church community effectively. He also discusses why inclusivity means much more than just having a diverse congregation, which, on its own, ...

Religion and GM Technology

In this extract from Has Science Killed God? Professor John Bryant discusses GM technology and the religious attitudes towards this ...

10 ways to improve your church's physical presence

Have you ever looked at your church's physical presence through the eyes of a visitor? Ensuring that your church is easy to find, has clear signage, and is accessible are just some of the things that need to be considered when mapping your visitor's journey. In this blog post Mark Crosby, author of So Everyone Can Hear lists 10 steps for improving ...

How many of Sister Wendy's favourite paintings have you seen?

How many of Sister Wendy's favourite paintings have you seen in real life? Many paintings from the recently published Sister Wendy's 100 Best-loved Paintings are hanging up inside the National Gallery. We decided to visit the gallery to see how many we could ...

Does Richard Dawkins even agree with himself?

In his latest book Outgrowing God, Richard Dawkins tries to show that all religious belief is intellectually nonsensical and thus highly damaging in practice. In this extract from Rupert Shortt's rebuttal, Outgrowing Dawkins, Rupert presents his argument for why he thinks Dawkins's focus has not always been on ...

SPCK's AGM and Inaugural Annual Lecture

SPCK supporters ponder the mysteries of the Middle East with Terry Waite and Andrew White at SPCK’s inaugural Annual ...

The Evangelist as a Companion

Today on the Feast Day of John, Apostle and Evangelist, we are sharing an extract from Anglican Evangelists: Identifying and Training a New Generation. In this extract editor Martyn Snow writes about his own experiences of his vocation to ministry and how to be a 'true evangelist' we must accompany people on their own journey rather than ...

Taking Action to Save Water

Water is a key theme throughout Saying Yes to Life: The Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book 2020. Whilst Ruth Valerio reflects on light and water in relation to the Days of Creation (Genesis 1), she also relates this back to the environmental, ethical and social concern that we face today with Climate Change. In this extract from the book ...

Is there such a thing as ‘women’s spirituality’?

Do women write differently from men? Is there such a thing as ‘women’s spirituality’? Liz Hoare asks these questions and more in her introduction to Twelve Great Spiritual Writers. In this short extract from the introduction Liz reflects on the history of women as writers and explains why she has chosen to write about these twelve ...

Misconceptions about Ministry Mums and Breaking the Mould

In her upcoming book Breaking the Mould Jules Middleton brings together stories of ministry mums from all different walks of life. From Pentecostal to Methodist, single mums to adopters, RAF chaplains to disability advisors and everything in-between – Jules maps the highs and lows ministry mums may face as they seek to ‘break the ...

Revd Dr Thomas Bray, a man of humble origins

Today we're celebrating Bray Day, a day when SPCK and USPG come together for a church service and time of thanksgiving in remembrance of our co-founder the Revd Dr Thomas Bray. In this blog post, Duncan Dormor,Chief Executive of our sister society USPG, shares the history of our co-founder and the legacy he left ...

The Tudor Reformation

What do think of when you hear the term Reformation? Most would think of the process by which parts of Catholic Europe became Protestant. Professor Alec Ryrie writes that we shouldn't be distracted by this and instead tells us that the English Reformation was more of a political event rather than a religious one. Find out more in this extract ...

‘Don’t just pretend to love others – really love them’

Today is International Women's Day, a global event that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. To tie in with this awareness day we're sharing an extract from Helen Roberts' new book The Comparison Trap. In this extract Helen reflects on a passage from Romans 12:9-15 (NLT) and explores Paul's letter ...

Keeping up-to-date with SPCK authors

In this blog post you will find a list of author-led online events, radio interviews, Facebook LIVE events, Twitter takeovers and much ...

Digital Platforms for Churches During Coronavirus

How do you meet and connect with your church in place of gathered environments, small groups and pastoral conversations? Mark Crosby, author of So Everyone Can Hear explains the many digital platforms that are available and when best to use ...

SPCK Authors at Spring Harvest Home

From 13th to 17th April Spring Harvest will be delivered direct to your living room via a free online conference on YouTube. Many SPCK authors are taking part in Spring Harvest Home and you will be able to find out more about them in this blog post. You will also find here the latest edition of SPCK Today which is a special Spring Harvest edition. ...

Social Imagination, African Politics and the African Theological Network Press

This World Book Day we're sharing another ATNP update from Dr Angus Crichton, SPCK's Global Advocacy Manager. The African Theological Network Press (ATNP) is one of SPCK's charitable programmes, an ecumenical venture, committed to serving the church in Africa and the ...

Q&A with David Wilbourne, Author of Just John

David Wilbourne has been a 'John Habgood observer' for 37 years. Just John: The Authorized Biography of John Habgood has been a long time in the making, as we learn in this Q&A with David it took four years to complete just one chapter. Find out in this first part of our Q&A what it was like to write this biography and whether David, ...

Thomas Graumann, the boy who fled the Nazis

It is with great sadness that today we hear of the passing of Thomas Graumann, one of the last children rescued by British humanitarian Nicholas Winton. Thomas' story was published in the book Twice Rescued Child, co-written with Tricia Goyer. Last year we caught up with Tricia and she told us what it was like working with Thomas and ...

SPCK wins £1,000 Movement for Good award

Thank you to those of you who nominated SPCK for a Movement for Good award. We're delighted to announce that SPCK's Diffusion prison literacy project has won the £1000 Movement for Good award! Find out more in the following press ...

The Medical Clergyman

Who do you go to when you’ve got a fever or broken limb? Your local vicar probably wouldn’t be the first person you would think of. Before the year 1858, medicine could be practised by a wide variety of people. A scientifically minded clergyman was one of them. In this extract from Caves, Coprolites, and Catastrophes, historian Allan ...

'... a springboard for future sustainable change' - Black History Month 2020

As we celebrate Black History Month this October, we ask retired superintendent Dr Leroy Logan, MBE what Black History Month means to ...

Lessons from Loss

Baby Loss Awareness Week takes place 9th - 15th October and is an opportunity for the bereaved to unite with others across the world to commemorate their babies’ lives. In this extract from Still Standing, Tola Doll Fisher reflects on the feelings she experienced after losing her daughter ...

Who doesn’t like making top-ten lists?

In this extract from We are Satellites by Martin Saunders, we learn how lists of favourite films, books, music or games all have one thing in common, and that is: the creative arts. With creative arts having the same common root of human creativity, where does that creativity come ...

The Art of Remembering, an extract for All Souls' Day 2020

With outdoor services, prayer walks, and light displays, All Souls' Day will look very different this year. Commemorating the faithfully departed can be an emotional time for many. Young people in particular can have a difficult time with bereavement. Whether they have lost a family member or friend, there are often little reminders of their lost ...

What to buy your minister this Christmas

In this blog post you will find a selection of gift ideas for vicars, pastors, and those training in ministry. Whether they are expanding their church’s online presence, are involved with the Living in Love and Faith developments, or looking for ways that their church can be fully inclusive, these books will nourish leaders and help them to ...

Gifts with Strings Attached

Receiving a generous gift is often much harder than giving. We can feel obligated or humbled, depending on who is doing the giving. It’s a real challenge to daily accept and believe God’s grace as the ultimate loving gift with no strings ...

Christmas Gift Ideas for Him

If you're in need of some inspiration for a book to gift him this Christmas, let us help you find that perfect read with our Christmas Gift Ideas for ...

Bray Day 2021

Every year, we (SPCK) and our sister organisation USPG come together to celebrate Bray Day, a day to commemorate our founder The Revd Dr Thomas Bray who died on 15 February 1730. This year, Bray Day is being celebrated online, and will be joined by Rowan Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, PC, FBA, FRSL, FLSW. SPCK members are invited to ...

Apprentice to Jesus - Discipleship School

Join Cris Rogers for Lent 2021 to either engage or re-engage in your discipleship and apprenticeship in the way of Jesus. Every Monday evening in Lent, Rogers invites you to be part of a discipleship coaching group based upon his new book Apprentice to Jesus. The group will meet for 75 mins online for an inspirational and helpful coaching ...

The Future of Brexit Britain – debates in the Anglican tradition

Like much of England, the church was divided by Brexit. Join several of the contributors to The Future of Brexit Britain in a Zoom webinar as they discuss why that was, the impact of Brexit on the church and whether faith has a contemporary role to play in shaping national ...

Extraordinary Conversations with Extraordinary Women

This International Women's Day we are delighted to announce a series of Extraordinary Conversations with Extraordinary ...

SPCK Group Press Release 21 April 2021

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) and the AFD Group today announce it has been agreed that SPCK will acquire from AFD the publishing business of Lion ...

Unbelievable? The Conference 2021

This year’s conference is hosted by Justin Brierley & Ruth Jackson. It will bring together world-renowned historians, theologians and communicators, including NT Wright, Tom Holland, Clare Williams and Sean & Josh ...

Wildfires Online 2021

Find out which SPCK authors are taking part in Wildfires Online ...

Re-imagining how we worship

Now that we can gather together again, Nick and Becky Drake share their thoughts on returning to the church building and how we can re-imagine how we worship ...

2021 CRT Awards

Find out in this blog post which SPCK books have been shortlisted for the 2021 CRT ...

Fake News and Clickbait

How many times have you clicked on an online article, only to find it has no relevance to the title it was given? In this extract from Communicate for Change, Genelle Aldred explores the rise of clickbait, and the effect that negative stories can have on our opinions of groups of ...

SPCK Group Press Release 4 October 2021

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) and the Catholic Bible School today announces the merger of the Catholic Bible School into SPCK’s range of publishing and ministry activities, strengthening further SPCK’s offering to the Roman Catholic ...

Saying Yes to Life: 2 Years On

Ahead of COP26, we're sharing the impact of Saying Yes to Life in helping people get involved with the climate crisis all around the ...

SPCK Group Press Release 9 November 2021

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) and the York Courses Limited today announce SPCK's acquisition of the publishing rights to York Courses. ...

Loneliness Awareness Week 2022: what can faith teach us about isolation and despair?

For Loneliness Awareness Week 2022, we’re highlighting some of our books that speak profoundly to mental illness, and how to pursue faith amid loneliness and ...

SPCK and Lexham Press announce UK partnership

SPCK is pleased to announce that it will become the sole sales and distribution partner for Lexham Press in the UK and the European Union (EU). Lexham Press titles will be available from Wiley Distribution Services from 15th January ...

Join SPCK author John-Paul Flintoff on an Online Pilgrimage

Join John-Paul Flintoff, author of Psalms for the City, on an online pilgrimage as he etches exquisite and quirky illustrations on to the streets of ...

Advent Books 2022: Discussion and Readings

Join Church House Bookshop on Wednesday 23 November at 7pm to hear Nicholas Holtam talk about his Advent book Sleepers Wake: Getting serious about climate ...

Bishop Jill Duff Lighting The Beacons Book Launch

Find out more about Bishop Jill Duff launching her book Lighting the Beacons - out this ...

SPCK Authors at Spring Harvest 2023

Spring Harvest is back on April 10th to April 14th, and we're thrilled to be publishing Flipped, the official theme book, and The Beatitudes, the official workbook. To celebrate, we're offering 20% OFF books from all attending ...

Coronation Sale: Enjoy 20% OFF the entire website!

Celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty The King Charles III this Saturday, the 6th of May, with 20% OFF our entire website until May ...

The Company of Heaven Catherine Fox Blog Tour

Join Catherine Fox, author of Company of Heaven - the fifth book in the beloved Lindchester Chronicles series, on her fabulous blog tour taking place on the 18th- 26th of ...

SPCK Author Sir Terry Waite appointed Knight Commander

We're thrilled to congratulate SPCK author Sir Terry Waite on his appointment as Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) for his services to ...

The Best Self-Help Books to Brighten Your January

Looking for best self-care books to support your mental health? Here, we round up our top ten books about mental health, anxiety, depression, stress, and personal growth. ...

Our Bestselling Lent & Easter Books for Children

Explore our bestselling Lent and Easter books for children. Add our favourite Easter books to your basket - perfect for entertaining little ones this Easter! ...

Share Your Love of Reading this World Book Day!

Share your love of reading this World Book Day! With over half of children saying they don't enjoying reading, it's more important than ever to support children in learning how to love reading. We've compiled some of our bestselling children's books we know children and young readers will ...

Celebrate Earth Day With 7 Earth-Friendly Reads For Kids

Today is Earth Day! Celebrate Earth Day with your child or grandchild with 7 inspiring fiction and nonfiction books all about the Earth and the environment. These captivating books will inspire kids to make god's world a cleaner and more beautiful place to ...

Discover our New May Releases

Explore our fantastic new releases for ...

17 Books We Can't Wait To Read This Summer!

Explore seventeen wonderful books that we can't wait to read this ...

Rachel Mann Do Not Be Afraid Advent Videos

Watch Free Advent Weekly Videos to accompany the bestselling Advent book - Do Not Be ...

Guest Post: SPCK Author Natalie Collins

SPCK Author Natalie Collins writes about the importance of ending men's violence against women on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against ...

Understanding the Bible: 10 Essential Books to Deepen Your Christian Faith

Discover 10 essential SPCK books that make understanding the Bible easier, deepen your Christian faith, and help you connect with the teachings of the Bible in a meaningful way. ...

Discover Our Latest Releases: Inspiring Reads for March 2025

Discover our newest releases, featuring inspiring stories, insightful theology, and fresh Bible editions designed to deepen faith and spark ...

Bible Sales Surge Among Gen Z: SPCK's Role In The Growing Demand

Gen Z is driving a surge in Bible sales, seeking meaning, mental well-being, and faith through Scripture like never ...

SPCK Wins Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year at the Independent Publishing Awards 2025

SPCK has been recognised for publishing excellence, winning Specialist Consumer Publisher of the Year and the Virtusales Metadata Award at the 2025 Independent Publishing ...

Join Katie Piper for the Magical Launch of Your Greatest Gift – 19th August at Waterstones

Join Katie Piper OBE for the joyful launch of her new children’s book Your Greatest Gift on 19th August at Waterstones Trafalgar Square, an inspiring family event sponsored by NSPCC and ...

New SPCK Books to Grow Your Faith in 2025

Discover SPCK’s new Christian books for 2025: devotionals, Bible guides, and spiritual formation titles to inspire growth, prayer, and purpose in the year ...

Who Am I? Rediscovering Our True Identity This Advent

In Who Am I?, Bishop Nick Baines invites us this Advent to pause, reflect, and rediscover our true identity in Christ—the God who seeks us out with love, grace, and surprising ...

Guest Post: Why Belovedness Matters More Than Resolutions This New Year

In her heartfelt guest post, Rachael Newham, author of Beloved is Where We Begin, invites readers to embrace gentleness and God’s love in the New Year instead of chasing unrealistic ...

UK Bible Sales Are Up 134% Since 2019

Discover why more people, especially younger readers, are returning to the Bible and how Scripture continues to speak into everyday ...

SPCK Group to Lead Sales & Distribution for Baylor University Press

From July 2026, SPCK will represent Baylor University Press's academic and non-academic titles across Europe, South Africa, the Far East, Australasia, and ...

Why People Still Come to Church: Voices from Southern Africa

The Most Revd Dr Thabo Makgoba shares reflections from Southern Africa on why people still come to church—highlighting worship, community, resilience and faith in the midst of ...
  • 3 Aug 2018

Art that helps through grief

John Bell, author of The Last Journey, chats with us about the inspiration behind ...
  • 24 Sept 2018

A Chat with Anthony Kenny

Anthony Kenny is on our blog today discussing his new book Brief Encounters. He will be at Church House Bookshop on 17 October with Richard Harries. Details ...
  • 11 Sept 2018

How would you like to be remembered?

It’s Remember a Charity in Your Will Week.  Leaving a legacy, however large or small, is a generous and effective way of making sure your loved ones, and the causes you care about, receive the financial support you intend when you are ...
  • 11 Nov 2018

Reflections on the end of the Great War

On Remembrance Sunday, Alan Billings shares his ...
  • 9 Nov 2018

Andrew Adam on the inspiration behind his new book

Andrew Adam, author of Thomas Cochrane and the Dragon Throne, chats with us about his inspiration for writing his new book, which publishes 15 ...
  • 5 Dec 2018

Managing MS Naturally

Tessa Buckley grew up near Epsom race course in Surrey. As a child, she spent a lot of time writing and illustrating stories. After leaving school, she studied interior design at Chelsea College of Art and worked in architecture and design in London until 1989, when she was forced to give up her career after developing multiple sclerosis. That was ...
  • 14 Jan 2019

SPCK in Durham for the 1698 Club Dinner

Fundraising Assistant Catriona Brickel blogs about the 1698 Club Dinner that took place on 11 ...
  • 22 Jan 2019

Catching up with Michael Cassidy

Michael Cassidy, author of Footprints in the African Sand, blogs for us about his role in the dissolution of the ...
  • 5 Feb 2019

Brave New Year

Andrew Adam, author of Thomas Cochrane and the Dragon Throne, blogs for us about the Chinese New ...
  • 6 Feb 2019

#ReclaimSocial – Post Positive in 2019!

Social media has so much potential to be a force for good. We can re-connect with old friends easier than ever before, share important news articles and keep distant family up to date with changes in our lives. Social media has also been central to campaigns and protests, as demonstrated by the viral #metoo campaign. But it is impossible to deny ...

Schools assemblies can be fun!

Do you remember your school assemblies? I do, and how I wish I would forget some of them! We had one teacher, who would insist on taking Monday morning assemblies. Sure, you might think that he should be applauded for stepping up and taking on the task that no one else wanted. But you would be ...

Spanning the Decades

Sarah Meyrick introduces our new blog series where she takes you through the decades of her new novel, The Restless Wave, as well as inspiring stories from her own family ...

Spanning the Decades: 1960s

Sarah Meyrick's fourth Spanning the Decades post for her new book The Restless Wave, available for pre-order ...

Spanning the Decades: 2010s

Sarah Meyrick's fifth Spanning the Decades post for her new book The Restless Wave, available for pre-order ...

World Population Day and Christian Demographics

Our Global Advocacy Manager Dr Angus Crichton reflects on the continuing expansion of humanity and the shift of worldwide ...

How literacy reduces reoffending - the impact of Diffusion books

In an evening spent with Olympic rower Debbie Flood we find out how reading in prisons can help reduce reoffending. Debbie Flood experienced this impact first-hand in her role as prison ...

Book Launch on the Thames with Cole Moreton

Join Cole Moreton aboard the Tamesis for the London launch of his book The Light Keeper. If you're situated on the South Coast there's a few other events to keep in your diary too. Find out more in this blog post taken from Cole's latest ...

The Challenges of Urbanization

From one end of Eurasia to the other, societies are now either already highly urbanized or in the process of becoming so. In The Human Odyssey Stephen Green explores the challenges that are posed by this change. In the following blog post Stephen introduces us to his chapter on 'The forces unleashed by ...

Launching A Better Ambition by Tim Farron

Much was going on in the House of Commons on Tuesday 3rd September. In the evening of an eventful day in parliament the press launch for Tim Farron's autobiography, A Better Ambition was taking ...

10 individuals who risked their lives in the Holocaust

'When the Nazis started to destroy the European Jews, the millions of non-Jews in Europe had to decide their stance: would they help the Nazis, help the Jews, or do nothing. A very small percentage resisted or helped. The great majority did nothing. More than 16,000 rescuers have been recognized officially by Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, yet no one ...

Breaking the Patriarchal Mould | The Story of Joanna

In her book Women in a Patriarchal World Elaine Storkey focuses on the stories of women who faced a range of challenges and life-changing decisions. In this extract from the book we learn about Joanna, a woman who broke tradition by spending little time at home on the duties prescribed for wives at the ...

Tears, Locked Doors and Doubt - an extract from God and the Pandemic

Today sees the publication of Tom Wright's new book God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and its Aftermath. In this extract from the book Tom Wright draws parallels between the tears, locked doors and doubt that are present in the Gospel of John with the tears, locked doors and doubt that we are experiencing ...

What is it like to be a young carer?

Today marks the start of Carers Week, an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring, highlight the challenges unpaid carers face and recognise the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. According to the last census, there are 166,000 young carers in England, but recent research suggests that the actual figure ...

National Poetry Day 2020 - Hope by George Herbert

National Poetry Day is celebrated every year on the first Thursday of October, and encourages everyone to enjoy, discover and share poetry. With this in mind, we are sharing a poem by George Herbert called Hope, with a commentary from Mark Oakley. This is an extract from Mark Oakley's volume My Sour-Sweet Days: George Herbert and the Journey of the ...

Our Need for Renewal - Reflecting back on SPCK’s 2020 Annual Lecture

SPCK’s well-received AGM and annual lecture on 19 November gave us all, “much to ponder and act on.” as one attendee told us. The virtual event was hosted by broadcast journalist, Genelle Aldred in conversation with four esteemed SPCK authors who shared their understanding of ‘renewal’ and responded to questions from ...

Notes on Love Book Launch

Find out how you can attend the launch of Notes on Love in the following blog ...

SPCK Group Press Release 13 January 2022

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) today announces the appointment of two new Key Account Managers. ...

SPCK Authors at Spring Harvest 2022

Spring Harvest at Minehead starts next week and we're thrilled that many of our talented SPCK authors are participating at events throughout the week. To celebrate we're offering 20% off books from authors speaking at Spring Harvest. ...

The Queen and SPCK

Over the past 70 years of her reign, Queen Elizabeth’s support for SPCK and its mission has remained steadfast, a continuation of the centuries of royal patronage we have enjoyed since our charity was founded by Thomas Bray in ...

SPCK Group and Wiley: New Distribution Announcement

SPCK Group is pleased to announce a consolidation in its distribution arrangements. ...

Blue Monday Week: Save 10% on Mental Health Resources

Banish January Blues and save 10% this Blue Monday Week on inspirational and uplifting Mental Health Resources. ...

Cathy Madavan and Why Less Means More

Cathy Madavan, author of Irrepressible, has a new book out this month - Why Less Means More. Learn how you can leave fear and franticness behind and discover that less can really lead to more. Save £2 OFF this month with our coupon code. ...

The Promise and Peril of AI: An interview with Stephen N. Williams

Delve into the fascinating and complex world of Artificial Intelligence with Stephen N. Williams, co-editor of The Robot Will See You Now. Learn about the potential benefits and ethical considerations associated with AI, and explore the ongoing debate on whether AI research is moving too fast. Don't miss our 20% OFF Discount Code! ...

Patrick Regan OBE Brighter Days Tour

Join Patrick Regan OBE on his Brighter Days tour across the UK! Read on for dates and book launch locations. ...

SPCK Christmas Carol Service

Join us for our Christmas Carol Service supporting The Book Trade ...

A New Editor for Theology Journal

SPCK announces the appointment of George Pattison as the new editor of Theology journal, ushering in a new chapter for one of the world's leading platforms for accessible, peer-reviewed Christian ...

SPCK Group Celebrates 50 Years at Frankfurt Book Fair

SPCK Group celebrates 50 years at the Frankfurt Book Fair, honouring our enduring legacy of faith, innovation, and commitment to connecting readers ...

Stories of the Saints: Inspiring Saints Every Child Should Know

Discover inspiring saint stories for children as Margaret McAllister shares the remarkable lives of Christian heroes featured in Stories of the ...

The Story Behind You: A Special Gift

Discover You: A Special Gift, a warm and uplifting picture book by Deborah Lock about identity, faith, and the light each child ...

Our Royal Patron in Congress

Following King Charles III’s address to Congress, SPCK reflects on faith, friendship and a 300-year story of Christian books carrying hope across the ...