Covenant Communications refocuses on books for the LDS market

Covenant Communications, a branch of Deseret Books, has recently announced that it plans on refocusing on books with LDS themes, after almost two decades of trending away from such works.

Covenant Communications was founded in 1975 by V. Lewis Kofford as Covenant Recording, Inc. It was reorganized as Covenant Communications in 1984. Kofford also created Seagull Book & Tape in 1987. The two operations were focused on selling books and music to the LDS market in the United States, and were the main competition to the Church-owned Deseret Book Company. In 2006, Kofford sold both Covenant and Seagull to the Church, and they became divisions of the Deseret Book Company.

Around the time that Covenant was purchased, and over the following decade, there was a shift at Deseret Book away from publishing fiction books with LDS characters or settings and towards novels aimed at a more general audience, or at least a general Christian audience. This came after years in which novels published at Deseret Book almost required LDS characters. It began as Deseret Book created its “Shadow Mountain” imprint, which published works directed at general audiences. From 2010, Covenant also began publishing romance novels portraying the Regency and other pre-Restoration eras. As their popularity grew, more authors turned towards that direction, and the number of authors writing about LDS characters declined. Although LDS characters did not disappear completely, even contemporary novels increasingly were aimed a general audience. By 2018, Covenant was clearly focused on publishing works designed to appeal to a general or generally Christian audience.

This year, however, the leadership at Covenant has made it known that they are now trying to return to their roots, publishing books that are designed for the LDS market. I recently spoke to Kami Hancock, Senior Editor at Covenant. She told me that they see an opportunity to appeal to an underserved LDS market, by producing more LDS-themed works of both fiction and non-fiction. Furthermore, they plan to try to move do more to publish juvenile literature, including board books, picture books, and middle grade novels, as well as gospel teaching helps for children and youths, areas in which they had not been actively pursuing in recent years.

I asked Kami what she meant by LDS-themed novels. She answered, “We are looking for works with strong faith arcs. That could be characters whose faith helps them overcome conflicts, or their faith could be a part of the conflict, where they have to overcome something that happens to them because of their faith. These kind of arcs can be placed in a variety of different genres, including contemporary romance, suspense, and historical fiction.”

I asked Kami if this change would begin immediately. She replied, “We are gradually moving in that direction. We will be publishing more and more novels with faith-based arcs. In our upcoming lines, from 2024 to 2026, we will still publish quite a few works that are directed at a generally faith-based and Christian audience, but from 2027, and moving forward, we intend to publish books that are more specifically focused on the LDS-market. We are not looking to shy away from difficult topics, either. We are looking for fiction and nonfiction that take on issues such as divorce and other struggles, so that these works can help people navigate those kinds of life events.”

I asked Kami for upcoming works from Covenant that we should look out for, and she highlighted books from Tyson Abaroa (Whitney Award winner, 2017, the author of a recent series of suspense novels), Sarah McConkie (an author of historical romances, who has a new historical fiction series starting in Summer 2026), Barbara Adams (an author of contemporary romance), and Cassie M. Shiels (an author of romantic suspense), as well as non-fiction for youth from John Fossum (including Spiritual Foundations, coming in January 2025). Also the re-release of Sian Ann Bessey’s Kids on a Mission, a “Magic Tree House”-type series about LDS children time travelling to help missionaries in various situations, such as the evacuation of missionaries from Germany on the eve of World War II, and the first missionaries to be sent to West Africa in the 1970s.

On their website, Covenant Communications has the following “About Us” paragraph. “Covenant Communications is dedicated to publishing works that uplift and inspire members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Through genres such as suspense, romance, and historical fiction, with inspirational themes, we aim to provide wholesome content that enriches the lives of readers of all ages. Our mission is to offer material that is not only entertaining but also imbued with empowering values, fostering a sense of hope, faith, and positivity in the hearts of our audience.”

In a section of the website about submitting manuscripts, it states:

Are you aspiring to see your work in print? Covenant Communications is currently seeking submissions tailored for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in genres such as historical fiction, romance, suspense, young adult, and middle reader. We also welcome nonfiction works, such as gospel teachings, self-help, parenting, cookbooks, and children’s books. We’re specifically interested in material that’s wholesome and imbued with empowering values.

Currently accepting manuscripts for:
Fiction

• Themed for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • Historical
  • Fiction
  • Romance
  • Suspense

Nonfiction

• Gospel Teachings
• Teaching Helps for Youth, Children, Ministering, New Converts
• Inspirational
  • Self Help
  • Parenting/Family
  • Youth
  • Children
• Gift and Art Books
• Cookbooks with a Latter-day Saint theme

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You can see discussions of 2005-2023 trend at Deseret Book and Covenant Communications away from LDS-themed books here and here.

Kami Hancock will be talking about the recent changes at Covenant Communications as part of a panel on LDS YA and Middle Grade Literature on Friday, July 19, at 8:05pm Mountain time, as part of the 2024 AML Conference. You can watch a livestream of the conversation on the AML YouTube channel.