Christian publisher scraps gay writer’s book deal

A Christian book publisher allegedly dropped an author’s book after he came out as gay in an interview.

Writer Brandan Robertson had originally signed a deal with Destiny Image to publish his book, ‘Nomad: Not-So-Religious Thoughts On Faith, Doubt, and the Journey In Between’.

In an interview with TIME last month, the spokesperson for Evangelicals for Marriage Equality, spoke freely about his sexuality.

However, the publisher’s then approached him with “concerns” and asked him to sign a statement in which he would state that he does not “condone, encourage, or accept the homosexual lifestyle”.

“My publisher explained that in recent weeks as they had tried to sell my book to a number of Christian distributors and had been informed that because of my advocacy of and identification with the LGBTQ Christian community, they had refused to buy my book (which, once again, has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of sexuality),” he explained, after learning that his book had been dropped and contract “voided”.

“Because the Christian Bookstores are the main buyer for Destiny Image, my publisher informed me that it was likely that they were going to have to drop my book.

“I don’t know what the coming days hold. It is my hope that my book will find a new home at another publishing house. But more than that, I hope that God will continue to work to radically uproot and reform his Church on this issue.”

In a statement to TIME, the publisher’s parent company Nori Media Group said: “We did not reject or refuse. As with all books, a publisher decides what is financially viable.

“We released the book back to the author with our sincere prayers for his success. This occurrence happens every season.”

Speaking of his “anger and sadness”, Robertson stated: “For me personally, this situation has stoked the flames of passion within me to continue working hard to change the hearts and minds of Evangelical Christians on the topic of LGBTQ inclusion and equality.”

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