A century of publishing in the palm of your hand

Anabaptists have been publishing for centuries. The writings of Menno Simons date from the 1500s and Martyrs Mirror was first published in 1660. As readers of this blog likely know, MennoMedia’s publishing history runs over one hundred years.

I began working for MennoMedia 10 and a half years ago. I was new to the publishing industry, and from my perspective, the business still revolved around the production of physical, printed material. Ebooks were just a blip on my radar.

Much has changed since then. The popularity of ebooks has risen as more and more people adopt smartphones, tablets, and e-readers. This change brought about controversy and growing pains for publishers. But it has brought greater access and flexibility for readers.

MennoMedia has been involved in digital publishing for a little while now. But some recent changes make it a good time to reintroduce all of our digital efforts.

Sunday school teachers and church leaders have a number of options of downloadable studies available from the MennoMedia webstore. The products range from adult studies such as the Good Ground series, to the junior youth series Fast Lane. There are also resources for teachers for ages K-6 looking for quick lesson plans. And the new editions of Generation Why are now becoming available on the webstore as they are released. These study resources are all available in PDF format.

For many years MennoMedia has partnered with Logos Bible Software to publish digital editions of the Believers Church Bible Commentary series. The Logos software allows for extensive searching and research across the Bible and through the user’s own library. In addition to the commentary series, in recent years many Herald Press theology and historical books have been added to the Logos library. This platform is ideal for those doing research or in-depth study of texts.

MennoMedia has also added various ebook formats to our publishing efforts. Many of our newest titles are available, as are our popular bestsellers like More-with-Less Cookbook and The Upside-Down Kingdom. We have also added a large assortment of backlist books including the Believers Church Bible Commentaries, Classics of the Radical Reformation, the Louise Vernon series, and historical texts like the Complete Writings of Menno Simons and the Martyrs Mirror.

You can download these from our webstore or from your preferred ebook seller. We are pleased to announce that our books are now available from iBooks on iTunes, and also from Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Kobo.

If you’re a bibliophile like me, you may have some skepticism about ebooks, preferring the physical presence of a book in your hands, enjoying the smell and feel of the pages. You may also be like me and look at shelves groaning under the weight of books, and dread the thought of ever moving them to a new residence!

While I do not think ebooks will ever fully replace the physical book, they do provide a great new way of reading. Quick delivery, space-saving, the ability to easily search the text, and even ways of highlighting and making notes in the “margins.”

Whatever your preferred reading method, MennoMedia has options for you to choose from. And I think we can all admit that it’s pretty amazing to now to be able to carry the entire Martyrs Mirror in your pocket.

Joshua Byler, Marketing and Sales Manager