Books & Culture: A Christian Review (B&C) was a bimonthly book review journal published by Christianity Today International from 1995 to 2016.[1] The journal was launched a year after the publication of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark A. Noll, and it sought to address that scandal by providing a vehicle for Christian intellectual engagement with ideas and culture, modeled on the New York Review of Books.[2] It was launched and subsidized through its early years with the help of grants from the Pew Charitable Trusts.[3] John Wilson edited the publication and Noll and Philip Yancey served as cochairs of the editorial board.[4]
| Editor | John Wilson |
|---|---|
| Categories | Literary magazines, Christianity |
| Frequency | Bimonthly |
| Format | Tabloid |
| Circulation | 11,000 |
| First issue | September 1995 |
| Final issue Number | November 2016 Vol 22 No 6 |
| Company | Christianity Today International |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Carol Stream, Illinois |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 1082-8931 |
| OCLC | 32609725 |
While the publisher and the majority of Books & Culture's writers were evangelical, the magazine was not limited to evangelical perspectives. "Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, and a few nonbelievers" could be found among the publication's contributors, according to the New York Times.[2] In 2000, Alan Wolfe observed in The Atlantic that "In addition to evangelicals, figures as diverse as the economist Glenn C. Loury; the historian Eugene Genovese; Richard Bernstein, of New School University; and the novelist Larry Woiwode have written for the magazine, which has featured interviews with Stanley Crouch, Adam Michnik, and Francis Fukuyama."[5]
Journalist Richard N. Ostling called Books & Culture "American religion's classiest highbrow magazine".[6] It was considered "the leading journal of evangelical Protestant engagement with the scholarly disciplines and the arts"[7] and enjoyed a loyal following among both self-styled evangelical intellectuals and the wider publishing industry,[8][9] but it was never financially self-sustaining.[10][3] In 2013 it narrowly avoided closure through a Twitter-driven fundraising push that secured sufficient donations and pledges to keep the magazine afloat into the following year and beyond.[11] Wilson speculated in an interview after the closure was announced that it might have been easier to attract donors if the magazine had functioned as "sort of a culture war vehicle," but that had never been the vision of the publication.[3]
In the Books & Culture podcast, Wilson regularly highlighted other periodicals that he believed would appeal to readers of Books & Culture, including The Other Journal, The Englewood Review of Books, and Image.[12] Commentators discussing the demise of Books & Culture identified these and other publications that might be considered successors to the journal, such as Mars Hill Audio Journal, Touchstone, and Sojourners.[10][13] In December 2016, it was announced that Wilson would be editing a new publication starting in spring 2017 called Education & Culture;[14] that online-only review ceased publication in October 2017.[15]
References
edit- ^ "About B&C". Booksandculture.com. n.d. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ a b Steinfels, Peter (September 3, 2005). "Provocative and Open-Minded, an Evangelical Journal Celebrates 10 Years of Breaking Stereotypes". New York Times – via ProQuest Central.
- ^ a b c "Should Evangelical Intellectuals Despair Books and Culture's Demise?". Christianity Today. October 20, 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ "Masthead". Books & Culture. November–December 2016.
- ^ Wolfe, Alan (October 2000). "The Opening of the Evangelical Mind". The Atlantic. 286 (4): 55ff.
- ^ Ostling, Richard N. (January 24, 2003). "Religious Mags Worth Reading: Sharply Edited Periodicals Find Niche". The Cincinnati Enquirer. pp. E8.
- ^ Torode, Sam (2014). "Books & Culture". In Frohnen, Bruce; Beer, Jeremy; Jeffrey, Nathan (eds.). American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia. Open Road Media. ISBN 978-1497651579.
- ^ Jacobs, Alan (October 11, 2016). "John Wilson and Books & Culture". Snakes and Ladders. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ Coddington, Mark (Oct 14, 2016). "What Books & Culture Meant". Medium. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ a b Schmalzbauer, John (January 12, 2017). "The Life and Death of Evangelicalism's Little Magazine". Comment. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
- ^ Bailey, Sarah Pulliam (September 9, 2013). "Books & Culture survives financial crisis". The Christian Century.
- ^ Wilson, John (October 20, 2014) "the other journal: Everyday theology"; (August 18, 2014) "Rooted Hope for the Church: The Englewood Review of Books"; (August 5, 2013) "A New Look for Image: With the same great content as always." Books & Culture Podcast.
- ^ Loftus, Matthew (October 20, 2016). "After Books and Culture: 9 Ways to Share the Cost of Cultural Engagement". Christ and Pop Culture. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "John Wilson of Books & Culture at Christianity Today to join TheBestSchools.org". The Best Schools. December 9, 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
- ^ "Endings and Education & Culture » Education & Culture". Education & Culture. 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2018-01-21.[permanent dead link]