Bahá’í Publishers

In broad terms, any organisation which primarily or regularly publishers Bahá’í works of some sort could be termed a Bahá’í publisher.

Bahá'í World Centre

Bahá'í World Centre is the imprint used for books published directly from Haifa. This would consist solely of items published on the express decision of the Universal House of Justice, such as new translations of the Holy Word, or long essays commissioned by the Supreme Body. Examples would include Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, Selections From the Writings of the Báb, and One Common Faith. The Universal House of Justice, having published the book from the Bahá'í World Centre, does not then exercise a monopoly on the work, and allows other Publishing Trusts to issue reprints.

Bahá'í Publishing Trusts

During the time of the Guardian, National Spiritual Assemblies were encouraged to set up "Trusts", to ensure that Bahá'í Scripture and other Bahá'í works could be published. In the English language, the Bahá'í Publishing Trust of Australia, the Publishing Trust of India, the Bahá'í Publishing Trust of the United Kingdom (formerly the British Isles) and the Bahá'í Publishing Trust of the United States of America are or were among the most active. Over time, it has seemed that these Trusts, which are not commercially driven, and are subject to the Bahá'í administration, have found it difficult to be both publishers of new material and be effective distributors of books produced by other publishers. In several countries, therefore, the sales side of the work has been separated out into a Distribution Service (e.g. Australia, Canada and the United States of America), leaving the Trust as solely a publisher. In the United Kingdom, the National Spiritual Assembly came up with a different solution, by abolishing the Trust as a publisher, and changing the institution to one (Bahá'í Books U.K.) concentrating solely on sales.

Possibly because of resistance from the book trade to buying books from what sounds like an inward-looking religious publisher, some of the Trusts have experimented with "imprints". In the U.S.A., certain less formal titles have appeared under the imprint Bellwood Press. The U.K. Publishing Trust published a number of Scripture books, in a format designed to appeal to non-Bahá'í customers, under the name Nightingale Books. However, the situation has changed, and in the United States an effort has been made to design certain books in such a way that the book trade is more interested in stocking them, even carrying the word "Bahá'í".

Dedicated Bahá'í Companies

A number of individual initiatives (private companies) have been set up with the intention of publishing Bahá'í literature. As the Publishing Trusts have had the main responsibility of keeping the Sacred Word in print, these companies often concentrate on "secondary" works, which usually concern a very specific subject. This may be the biography of a particular person, the analysis of a period of Bahá'í history, exploration of one aspect of the Teachings, etc. In English, notable companies include George Ronald, Kalimát Press and Special Ideas. Special Ideas concentrates on teaching materials, and is also a distributor of other publishers' titles. Kalimát has published a number of studies of periods of Bahá'í history.

Another company specialising in Bahá’í books is Global Perspective. This small American publisher concentrates on books analysing Biblical prophecy, on books encouraging Bahá’ís to teach the Faith, and on life after death.

Publishers which include Bahá'í books in their range

There also exist a number of publishers which do not solely provide Bahá'í materials, but which have made a significant contribution to the literature. One World Publications is a company in Bahá'í ownership, and has made a big contribution, especially in publishing books which it can present to the book trade and to academic institutions. It also formerly provided a range of books for children, but the company seems to have decided to discontinue this range. Intellect Books is a company set up by a Bahá'í, which concentrated on books connected with the teaching of drama. Based in the city of Bristol, England, Intellect then began to produce volumes of Bahá'í scripture illustrated with the artwork of Corinne Randall. With the death of Masoud Yazdani in 2014, it is as yet unclear as to the direction that this project will take. As a temporary measure, an individual Bahá'í has stepped in to finance fresh reprints of these titles.

Smaller local initiatives

There are a number of smaller, local, initiatives which publish Bahá’í titles. Sapling Publications is based on the island of Mull, off the north-west coast of Scotland, This publisher specialises in inexpensive items for children, and has published a wide range of titles over the years. However, distribution has been solely within the United Kingdom. Warwick Bahá’í Bookshop is based in central England, and produces a wide range of leaflets on Bahá’í subjects. The Warwick Bookshop now also publishes a number of inexpensive books, and also the board game, Spiritual Pursuit. Brilliant Books was a small company based in Belgium, which for a number of years produced a range of brightly-coloured children's books in English. However, this publisher seems to have ceased trading. The daily readings book, "Pearls of Wisdom", is published by Century Press Publications.

Publishers of calendars and other non-book items

Selia Print, Fingerprint and Badi Publishing are three out of a number of publishers of Bahá'í calendars. The publication and distribution of calendars presents a different set of difficulties from the standard book. Every item produced has a closely-defined shelf-life (wall-life?). Sales are only made in the few months immediately before the start date of the calendar, and the distribution has to be done through sometimes reluctant intermediaries who may have lost money on calendars in previous years. Nonetheless, certain bodies can see a need for such things and calendars from new sources appear each year.

Publishers requiring information

A number of other publishers of Bahá’í books exist, including Nine Pines (Canada), Juxta Publishing, Naturegraph. Each of these must presumably fall into one of the above categories.