• Our Publication Ethos

    Publishing for today's Traditional Christian Families

    We publish new books for families seeking to raise their children (0-18) along traditional Christian lines. We primarily look for new authors speaking to today's generation, and will seek to also re-publish older books whose time has once again come. Currently, we are looking to publish:

    1. Fiction for young (and young-at-heart readers) in several genres (and mixtures therof):
      1. Action & Adventure
      2. Bildungsroman (about growing up)
      3. Fairy Tale & Fantasy
      4. Historical
      5. Mystery & Detective
      6. Sci-Fi & Dystopian
    2. Read-Aloud Picture and Board books for smaller children
    3. Graphic Novels and Comic compilations
    4. Practical and Life Advice for teens
    5. Devotional and Biblical Exposition for teens

    * We are not publishing Horror or Gothic Fiction; not Weird or Psychological Fiction; not Romantic Fiction. Magical Realism is right out (see a note about that below). Of course, romantic, magical, weird, scary, even horrible elements might be a part of the stories, but we are not seeking to publish books in these genres.

    Content Guidelines

    We are intending our imprint to align with general Christian tradition, not any particular denomination, so much leeway will be given. Still, some areas of current concern in our Western culture are non-negotiable as shown in the list below. Books do not have to be overtly Christian, but we will not publish books that even hint at a different stance in these areas:

    • The Bible is God's Word. It is perfect, and without error. It is not outdated.
    • God Created the World in 6 literal days. No Evolution of any kind will be pushed.
    • Traditional male-female marriage and families always encouraged. No other family arrangements or living styles pushed.
    • Boys are boys, and girls are girls, and can never be altered.
    • Sex is a gift from God, reserved exclusively for marriage.
    • Human life starts at conception. Abortion, family planning, and such things as IVF never pushed.

    There are many other areas of concern that are not necessarily sinful or anti-God, but are dangerous and not in step with traditional Christianity and what our ancestors have believed. As such, we will be keeping a close eye for messaging that would encourage our children to follow the world in areas such as these:

    • To be single and not seek a spouse, or when married to not have children.
    • To date or marry a non-Christian, or even to seek a spouse on their own (without parent's help), or to purposely seek a spouse outside of their own ethnic heritage.
    • Once married, to purposely move away from family. To not care for elderly parents, even placing them in a home of some type.
    • Once married, to consider divorce or separation as a good option.
    • To mock, or dishonor parental, church or government authority.
    • To wear clothing, adorn their bodies, speak, or act in a way inappropriate to a Christian.
    • To waste time on digital entertainment like streaming services and in particular video games (beyond healthy boundaries).
    • To encourage purposefully having your children go to public or private non-Christian schooling.
    • To encourage girls to seek careers over motherhood. Especially military, or government.
    • To encourage boys to seek pleasure over family.
    • To push climate alarmism instead of dominion of and care for Creation.

    Again, we are not saying the above list is a list of "sins" against God and we cannot publish a book with them in there. In particular cases, they might be sin, but much of this list, and other things like them, require situational wisdom and discernment. We simply list them here as examples of things that the current zeitgeist encourages, and we believe are usually not good, even if sometimes they might be necessary. For example, going against several of the above list, a story might involved a young mother whose husband has been unfaithful and is seeking to harm his wife and young child. The wife, the main protagonist, may need to divorce him, put her aging mother in a home, move away from family, send her young child to a public school, and enter the workforce to build a career and provide for her single-parent family. None of that would be healthy or good, but it might be necessary, and as long it is not being lifted up as desirable, then the readers should learn what is actually best. We want to be particularly careful to not teach the values of the world to impressionable children.

    Use of "Magic"

    A word on the use of "magic" in fantasty or fairy tale books. In keeping with Scriptural prohibitions on witchcraft and magic, we are most adamantly opposed to having any of this type of thing in our books. But what about books in the fantasy or fairy tale genre? Is magic not a standard feature?

    So, yes, we are open to "magical" creatures or even entire "magical" worlds. What we do not allow is anything approaching the use of witchcraft or the attempt to produce "magic" of some type in the real world.

    As an example: books like Narnia or The Lord of the Rings are publishable, but Harry Potter would not be. Why? Two main reasons:

    First, Narnia and The Lord of the Rings are set in different worlds, which the authors have made to be separate from our world. In the case of Narnia, you can move between our world (with no magic) and the other, which is full of Magic. The Lord of the Rings is an entirely different universe. Harry Potter, on the other hand, is seemingly set in our world, but with a hidden, magical layer that only some can experience. (Unless you are a "Muggle".)

    Second, while some of the characters in the Narnia or LOTR books make use of magic, there is a very big difference between those and the wizards and witches from Harry Potter, which are celebrated as good, and the heros of the stories. In Narnia, you have Jadis, an evil witch, who is not human. You have the star, Coriakin, who is temporarily in a human form as a magician, and you have Uncle Andrew, who is a magician of sorts, though he is not shown to ever have real power, and is portrayed as evil. In LOTR, you have wizards, including Gandalf, as one of the main characters. But these wizards are not human, they are Maiar, or angelic creatures, who have taken on human form in the time of the stories. The only witches in LOTR are evil, such as the Witch-king of Angmar. In no way, do you have "good" witches in either of these series of books. They are specifically either angelic beings, or else evil. The wizards and witches from Harry Potter are very much portrayed as humans, and either good or bad, depending on how they use the powers they have and are able to learn.

    In summary, if a book portrays a magical creature that is clearly in a different world, or a different type of creature in this one that is not human, and has innate powers or abilities, not something they get from spells or incantations, then this would most likely be something we can publish. But if the book in any way would glorify an attempt at witchcraft or spells or anything in that realm, or would hint at a witch or wizard being "good" (a magician who is only doing slight-of-hand is a different matter), then we would not publish it. We recognize that this is a bit of a thin line, but we want to make sure a child never reads one of our books and thinks that he or she might want to look into magic. It should be more than clear that the setting makes it 100% fantasy, and not something in our world or with real humans. If a child is left with a fascination with witches after reading one of our books, then we would be fighting on the wrong side in this spiritual battle.

    Our Beliefs

    We are a cross-denominational imprint, believing in robust debates and respectful arguments. Our unity with all partners and current published authors can be summarized with what might be the oldest Christian statement of beliefs, the Apostle's Creed:

    I believe in God,

    the Father almighty,

    Creator of heaven and earth,

    and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

    who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

    born of the Virgin Mary,

    suffered under Pontius Pilate,

    was crucified, died and was buried;

    he descended into hell;

    on the third day he rose again from the dead;

    he ascended into heaven,

    and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

    from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

    I believe in the Holy Spirit,

    the holy catholic Church,

    the communion of saints,

    the forgiveness of sins,

    the resurrection of the body,

    and life everlasting.

    Amen.

    Please let us know if you do agree with the statements on this page, or if you have questions or concerns, we'd be happy to discuss them with you. We have been known to be wrong in the past, so please don't hesitate to point our any inconsistencies or problems in our thinking.

    Joseph Dindinger, editor at large

    This document is an addition to the Wise Path Books publication ethos.

    Revision: July 23, 2025

    Cookie Use
    We use cookies to ensure a smooth browsing experience. By continuing we assume you accept the use of cookies.
    Learn More