The Next Chapter for R. L. Allan: A guest post by Ian Metcalfe
Next week the offices of R. L. Allan will be up and running in the new London digs. To mark the occasion, Ian Metcalfe shares a few words with Bible Design Blog readers about the transition, his own experiences in Bible publishing, and the next generation. -- JMB It is an immense privilege to be taking over the fine Bibles publishing business R.L. Allan from my uncle Nicholas Gray. It was my great-grandfather, John Gray, who first dealt with R.L. Allan––licensing hymnbook rights from them for the family publishing business, Pickering & Inglis. Then in the 1960s my grandfather, Andrew Gray, bought the company itself when he was at the helm of P&I’s in his turn.
Andrew Gray commanded considerable respect within Plymouth Brethren circles in Glasgow and beyond––I certainly remember hearing the great publishing stories when visiting Glasgow as a young child in the 1970s. The 1980s were a more tumultuous time for the business, but when I landed at HarperCollins in the mid-90s I was proud to have the opportunity to work on books that had been acquired by him 30 years before, perhaps most notably Joni Eareckson Tada’s memoir, which was still a bestseller.
I cut my teeth in the Production Department at HarperCollins Religious, as it was then, quickly getting to grips with the challenges of producing quality Bibles and Liturgical products. Moving on to Editorial, I took overall responsibility for the Bibles list just as we launched the ESV Anglicised in the UK back in 2002, as well as overseeing the publishing of the King James Version, New Revised Standard Version, Good News Bible (a bestseller in the UK, especially for schools), J.B. Phillips New Testament and Contemporary English Version.
This experience stood me in good stead for the move to Hodder & Stoughton, where the NIV was in great need of reinvigoration. With new ultra-readable typesettings, and now a revised text that reflects much more accurately the original writers’ intentions, we now have the UK’s widest range of Bibles, all created with a clarity of purpose to help people engage with the Bible more effectively.
Dominique and I are delighted to have the opportunity of taking R.L. Allan on into this new chapter in its 150th year, as its own list of translations burgeons. Our aim is to build on its fine tradition of beautiful, handcrafted Bibles and to remain focused on offering the highest possible levels of personal service to our loyal customers.
We are thrilled to be continuing the family tradition of Bible publishing into the fourth generation.
-- Ian Metcalfe
R L Allan & Son Publishers Ltd Unit 3, Thorogood House Tolworth Close Tolworth Surrey KT6 7EW tel +44 (0) 208 399 2352 www.bibles-direct.co.uk
J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.
Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.
Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.