Frank Peretti Publishing Timeline

The Making of an Inspirational Fiction Phenomenon

1986                             Peretti, while working in a ski factory, finishes and submits query letters for a manuscript to 14 different publishers.  Only one publisher responded.  Crossway Publishers signs Peretti to a one book contract.

1988                             This Present Darkness releases from Crossway Publishers.  It is a first for inspirational fiction, a supernatural thriller written from a Christian perspective.

1989                             Recording superstar Amy Grant begins to tout the novel This Present Darkness during her concerts across the country.  Sales of the book quickly top 2.5 million and the title appears on the CBA* fiction bestseller list every month for more then eight years.

1989                             Piercing the Darkness, the sequel to his bestselling debut novel, is published by Crossway. Piercing the Darkness wins an ECPA** Gold Medallion Award for best fiction of the year.  Today, sales of these first two novels exceed 4.5 million units worldwide.

1994                             Peretti signs a multi-year, multi-book contract with Word Publishing (Thomas Nelson, Inc.). 

1995                             The Oath, Peretti’s sixth novel, releases with sales of more than 1,000,000.  Due to an innovative consumer pre-sell campaign, The Oath appears on the CBA Bestseller list twelve weeks prior to its publishing date.  The Oath is featured in numerous national media including The New York Times, Newsweek and USA Today.

1996                             The Oath wins an ECPA Gold Medallion Award for best fiction of the year.

1999                             The Visitation (W Publishing Group) is published and immediately becomes an ECPA bestseller, debuting at the #1 position. Ralph Winter, producer of X-Men and Planet of the Apes, is producing the movie adaptation of The Visitation. The movie, featuring country music legend Randy Travis, will be released in 2005.

2000                             Peretti pens his first non-fiction title and his most personal book, The Wounded Spirit (now re-titled No More Bullies, W Publishing Group).  Peretti discusses his own difficult childhood as well as the epidemic of bullying in schools today. 

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Peretti Publishing Timeline, page two

2004                             Peretti receives an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Indiana Wesleyan University and is the second person inducted into the school’s Society of World Changers.

2005                             In April, WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., releases Peretti’s first adult novel in six years, Monster. 

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*CBA=Christian Booksellers Association

**ECPA = Evangelical Christian Publishing Association

February 2005