FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jana Muntsinger, MMPR
804.754.2118
jana@mmpublicrelations.com
Early
Inspirational Writings of Sue Monk Kidd
Now
Available In Firstlight
Where did your heart
first open? And how shall you find your way back to that dawning?
-- Sue Monk Kidd
NEW YORK, NY—In every life there
are defining moments when one’s heart first opens, first dawns on the
realization of who or what one is. For some, a defining moment is huge—illness or death—and for others it
may be more subtle. But each leaves a person forever marked and changed.
Author Sue Monk Kidd, writer of the international bestsellers The Secret
Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair, invites readers to accompany her
as she reveals many of her own “firsts” in Firstlight: Early
Inspirational Writings by Sue Monk Kidd (GuidepostsBooks, $19.95,
hardcover, 240 pages, ISBN: 0-8249-4706-1). The book, which goes on sale October 10, 2006, is a worthy companion for those who enjoy Monk Kidd’s writing and are on
their own journey of awakening.
Says the author, “My
hope is that this book—Firstlight—will, in its modest way, help
to point you there. To the place of your beginning. To the moments when the
light broke and your heart opened.”
Sue Monk
Kidd began her writing career with Guideposts magazine in the late
1970’s and continued writing for the magazine for a dozen years. Since 2002,
when her first novel The Secret Life of Bees (Viking) exploded onto the
national bestseller lists, Sue Monk Kidd’s name has become synonymous with
blockbuster fiction. Her novels have sold more than six million copies to
date, yet many readers are unaware of the author’s rich legacy of spiritual and
inspirational writings.
The stories and
essays collected in Firstlight reflect the early years of her
journey as a writer and spiritual seeker. Working with GuidepostsBooks during
the process of selecting works for inclusion in Firstlight has
been a surprising pleasure for Monk Kidd. “Opening myself to the creation of
this book, so aptly titled Firstlight, became an unexpected act
of reclamation. Firstlight became a bridge—a way for me to
return to my beginnings, to works that had been lost, orphaned, forgotten and
dismissed. It was a gift of reunion.”
Firstlight includes material
from various sources including Guideposts and assorted journals, papers and
lectures. While not comprising a full portrait of Monk Kidd’s life, Firstlight
does offer glimpses into Monk Kidd’s early spiritual awakening. “At the
core of personal spiritual writing is a hungering for wholeness, for self, for
meaning. The question of ‘Who am I?’ reverberates quietly in these pages as
does a willingness to be known.”
--more--
The works chosen for
inclusion in Firstlight are gathered loosely around thirteen
spiritual motifs:
"I began my
writing career more than twenty-five years ago with Guideposts. It
was there, as a young writer, I learned the craft of story and the power
of the narrative form,” Monk Kidd writes. “For over a decade, before embarking
into fiction, I wrote inspirational stories, spiritual meditations,
personal essays, and art of living pieces. I had imagined most of that
work would drift away and be forgotten, which is why it brings
me particular pleasure that GuidepostsBooks is publishing Firstlight.”
“Guideposts
was privileged to introduce Sue Monk Kidd to American readers almost three
decades ago,” says Marilyn Moore, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief,
GuidepostsBooks. “Now GuidepostsBooks has the honor of making many of these
writings available in book format in consumers’ favorite retail outlets. We’re
delighted to know that Firstlight will introduce her fans to a
more personal side of their favorite novelist.”
The release of Firstlight
will be supported by an extensive marketing campaign. Plans includes a national
print publicity campaign (the author will grant a limited number of personal
interviews), a national advertising campaign, a direct marketing campaign and a
broad internet promotion.
Sue Monk Kidd is the
award-winning author of two novels, The Secret Life of Bees (2002) and The
Mermaid Chair (2005), published by Viking Penguin, as well as three highly
acclaimed spiritual memoirs, God’s Joyful Surprise, When the
Heart Waits, and The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, published
by HarperCollins. With more than 4.5 million copies sold, The Secret Life of
Bees spent over two years on the New York Times bestseller
list and was awarded the 2004 Book Sense Paperback Book of the Year,
while The Mermaid Chair received the prestigious 2005 Quill Award for
General Fiction and reached the #1 spot on the New York Times list,
with over 1.5 million copies in print. Each of Sue’s novels has been translated
into more than twenty-two languages and is being adapted for film.
GuidepostsBooks publishes faith-based, inspirational books helping people
in all walks of life achieve maximum personal and spiritual potential. GuidepostsBooks
is the trade book imprint of Guideposts, one of the most beloved and
widely-distributed publishers of inspirational books and magazines. Although
Guideposts has published books for more than 40 years, GuidepostsBooks, launched
in 2006, marks the first foray for Guideposts into general trade publishing
under its own name. GuidepostsBooks editorial and marketing staff is
based in New York City. Sales and distribution is handled by Ideals
Publications, the retail arm of Guideposts, in Nashville, Tennessee.
Guideposts, a
non-profit organization headquartered in Carmel, New York, was co-founded in
1945 by Ruth Stafford Peale and her late husband Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, one
of the foremost motivational speakers of the twentieth century. His
landmark book, “The Power of Positive Thinking,” has sold over 20 million
copies in 42 languages worldwide. Guideposts is a trusted and forward-looking
force for positive change empowered by a deep and determined desire to help
others by providing life-changing information, products, and services for all
in need. Guideposts is America’s pre-eminent publisher of inspirational
books and magazines with annual book sales of over 6 million copies and a
combined paid magazine circulation of over 4.3 million. Ideals Publications,
based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the retail book sales and distribution outlet
of Guideposts; including Guideposts Books, Candy Cane Press, Williamson Books,
and Ideals Press.
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April
10, 2006
For review copies of Firstlight,
contact McClure Muntsinger Public Relations:
Jana Muntsinger, 804.754.2118, jana@mmpublicrelations.com