Category: Publishing
Can “Horror” and Christianity Co-Exist?
A tiny publishing house in the Christian publishing sphere who thinks they’re hot shit has decided to take a number of stands lately. One is to slut-shame (or smut-shame) their readers with the hashtag #sickofthissmut in which they demonize readers of steamy romance. And today, they decided to announce an imprint for “horror, thrillers, and the darkness…so long as the light wins at the end.”
Now, in theory, I would have no problem with this. Christian beliefs states that “That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5, HCSB). We believe that the battle between good and evil has already been won; it’s already the guaranteed outcome. For a Christian publisher to require that “horror” have that sort of ending is perfectly reasonable.
Faith-Filled Fiction: Sharing Truth or Idolizing Exclusivity?
In Kevin Davis’ essay, “Does Coming to College Mean Becoming Someone New?” he defines some of the barriers to joining new discourse communities—groups with their own communication styles and values. In response to his attempts at integrating with the academic English world, he says, “I found I didn’t like the someone new I was being asked to become” (Davis, 236). I said this very thing to myself when I finally decided to leave Christian publishing, and I resonated with his struggle to belong.