CONTINUATION OF INTERVIEW
GILL
You're the only person to have been responsible for religious publishing at
two of the big commercial publishing houses in this country. How did your career
develop?
JAMES
My first proper job was with UCCF, the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship,
and I worked with students in the North West of England. I was really very inexperienced
but I was eventually asked to be a head of department. UCCF owns IVP and I then
moved over to become a commissioning editor, running the Frameworks list that
was just beginning. Colleagues were wonderful to me as I cut my teeth on commissioning
and editing. You can imagine how thrilled I was when we published our first
number one best-seller and 'Book of the Year' - Joyce Huggett's Life in a Sex-Mad
Society. From IVP I moved to London to join Hodder and Stoughton. When the company
became Hodder Headline, I took over as publishing director of the newly formed
Religious Division under Eric Major. I started to expand the list to include
more authors who could sell outside the Christian market and in the High Street
chains. At 35, I felt that my life was becoming a bit too predictable so I quit
book publishing and spent a year as managing director of a small magazine company.
I turned Alpha magazine into Christianity magazine, which has since become Christianity+Renewal,
owned by the same trust which runs Premier Radio. I'm still on the board eight
years later. Magazines were wonderful but I missed book publishing and knew
that I wanted to work in a field wider than religion. Eddie Bell at HarperCollins
asked me to take over their religious publishing as well as to look after some
of the larger non-fiction projects. I jumped at the chance and had five enjoyable
years working with Jeremy Yates-Round and others. Authors included Margaret
Thatcher and the Pope and just before I left, I signed up Archbishop George
Carey to write his autobiography. George is the first Archbishop of Canterbury
to do this and the book should come out this year.
GILL
What are your leisure pursuits - and do they include writing?
JAMES
I swim as often as I can and my wife Sue and I scuba-dive in places which are
warmer than Britain. Sue is great at picking out good plays for us to see, usually
at the National Theatre or the Royal Court. I also try to keep up with the music
charts but I'm not as good at this as I used to be. We try to protect our weekends
for walking and cycling as well as lots and lots of reading. My favourite books
by far are biographies and at Christmas, I was given Roy Hattersley's biography
of John Wesley. In the past, I've written magazine columns and might well start
another one this year. The idea has always been to learn for myself the skills
of popular writing, which is a bit of advice I give many budding authors. In
fear and trepidation, I'm now working on the outline of a book and I'm beginning
to understand how hard the process can be!
GILL
What key decisions have brought you to where you now stand, both personally
and professionally?
JAMES
Around two years ago, I sensed that my time in UK publishing might be drawing
to a close. The management at HarperCollins had changed and I was also feeling
that I needed fresh challenges. After much discussion over many months, I decided
to take a six months sabbatical, the first time in 20 years that I'd had a long
break. During that period, I helped to set up another magazine company, I read
the adult works of CS Lewis and I formed a trust called 'Renovaré' which was
originally founded in the US by Richard Foster. Richard asked me to join his
board in America. I already knew other people on it, including the remarkable
professor, Dallas Willard. The books of both these men have made a huge impact
on me and, in many ways, have been used by God to shape my life. I did some
work for IVP then joined their board to chair their publications committee.
I was also first choice for a job in New York in a mainstream book publishing
company but I didn't feel that any of this was quite right for me. Then the
Bible Society asked me if I'd like to apply to become Chief Executive. The Bible
Society is a mission agency respected across the main denominations and with
around one hundred staff, and I quickly felt that this job was what I'd been
waiting and praying for. Within ten days, I'd been approached, interviewed and
received an offer. I've now been with the charity just over a year and love
every minute of my work. I very much sense that the Lord is with us as we try
to re-connect the Bible with today's culture.
GILL
How did you hear about ACW and what contact have you had with us?
JAMES
I think it was Christine Leonard who first asked me to speak at a Writers' Conference
in 1994, probably at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. Although
there were some years when I was working too hard to speak at the course again,
I kept with it and squeezed phone calls to big authors in between sessions.
I have grown to love ACW, its members and its vision. I'm hugely flattered at
being asked to become Patron. Thank you!