Where is good Catholic fiction? Lots of places online

Compiled by Ann Margaret Lewis

Catholic Reads (catholicreads.com):

Catholic Reads is the “Catholic BookBub.” If you are not familiar with BookBub, it is registration-required service that sends e-mail blasts with a list of titles offered at sale prices at online retailers like Amazon. Catholic Reads does the same for Catholic books, and their web site also provides reviews as well as a semi-regular video blog with authors. For so young an enterprise they have already covered an impressive list of titles.
 

Catholic Teen Books (catholicteenbooks.com):

This is another new site with a good collection of titles. Many teen parents will tell you that it is almost impossible to find edifying young adult fiction today. Much of it is quite dark, featuring graphic situations, sexual content and language. Teen and young adult fiction does not have to be that way to present an engaging story. All the titles listed on Catholic Teen Books are written by decent writers and include a variety of genres young people really like. For educators, there’s a list of learning materials and names of authors who’ll visit your classroom.
 

Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval List (catholicwritersguild.org/seal-approval):

The Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval is a service the Catholic Writers Guild (CWG) provides for Catholic bookstores, in which trained volunteers read content for its faithfulness to Catholic teaching. Many of the titles read and approved by CWG readers are listed on the guild’s web site.
 

Cath-Lit Live (cutt.ly/cath-lit-live)

Young adult author A.J. Cattapan hosts this regular 10-minute long live Facebook/YouTube video cast in which she interviews Catholic authors with new releases.
 

Good News! Book Fair (goodnewsbookfair.com):

A Catholic competitor to the Scholastic book fairs, Good News! Book Fair offers a slew of titles for young people. They bring their show to Catholic (and Christian) schools the same way Scholastic does. They recently launched a general online bookstore called goodnewsbookshop.com which is adding more products every day. Worth keeping an eye on this one.
 

Ignatius Press print catalog and web store (ignatius.com):

While Ignatius Press is the largest Catholic publisher in the United States, it publishes only a smattering of fiction. Its print catalog and web store, however, offer Catholic fiction for children and adults from other publishers, as well as the few fiction titles it publishes in-house.
 

Tumblar House (tumblarhouse.com):

Tumblar House is a sizeable online Catholic retailer that carries a thorough collection of Catholic fiction books classic and new, all chosen for quality and faithfulness.
 

Independent or small presses that produce Catholic fiction:

Many small or “indie” presses offer titles worth reading that are available through their web sites as well as Amazon:
 

Angelico Press (angelicopress.org):

Angelico offers classic Catholic fiction as well as new literature in that vein.
 

Full Quiver Publishing (fullquiverpublishing.com):

Full Quiver publishes fiction and non-fiction with a Theology of the Body theme.
 

Raven Crest Publishing (ravencrestpublishingandproduction.com):

Raven Crest offers stories that communicate a powerful, life-changing and redemptive message.
 

Scepter Publishers (scepterpublishers.org):

An outgrowth of Opus Dei, a personal prelature in the Church around the world made up largely of lay Catholics, Scepter publishes works to lead readers to find Christ in everyday life
 

Silver Empire (silverempire.org):

A Catholic-owned publisher of edgy (PG-13) suspense, horror, urban fantasy and science fiction with Christian and Catholic themes and characters, Silver Empire offers a book club in which users purchase credits to have works delivered to them regularly at a discount.
 

Sophia Press Institute Press (www.sophiainstitute.com):

Sophia Institute Press is one offering of Sophia Institute, a non-profit organization “that nurtures the spiritual, moral and cultural life of souls and spreads the Gospel of Christ in conformity with the authentic teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.” They offer fiction and non-fiction books for adults and children. 
 

Wiseblood Books (wisebloodbooks.com):

Inspired by Catholic writer Flannery O’Conner, Wiseblood offers fiction, poetry, and philosophic works that focus on finding redemption in uncanny places and people.
 

Short fiction: These literary journals offer Catholic short stories as well as poetry:

Dappled Things (dappledthings.org):

A magazine “committed to quality writing that takes advantage of the religious, theological, philosophical, artistic, cultural and literary heritage of the Catholic Church in order to inform and enrich contemporary literary culture.”
 

Ever Eden Literary Journal (everedenpublishing.com):

A magazine featuring the writing of Catholic women intended for all readers.

 

Related story: Go forth and read: Catholic fiction and where to find it