Bibliotheca: A Multi-Volume Reader's Bible on Kickstarter
Adam Lewis Greene made history over the weekend by launching a Kickstarter project to fund a beautifully designed four-volume edition of the Bible optimized for reading. I backed the project before I'd even watched the video (below), having been tipped off by Crossway's creative director Josh Dennis. In a little over 24 hours, the project, Bibliotheca, had reached its $37,000 funding goal, and as of this writing (Sunday night) it's hovering at just over $54,000. If anyone in Bible publishing still thinks there's no demand for reader-friendly, novel-formatted Bibles in multiple volumes to allow for opaque paper, well ... this is the wakeup call. When I first imagined writing this post the support level was still just a few thousand dollars and I was planning to end with a plea: "Let's make this happen!" I had no idea just how quickly Adam's project would go viral. Now it's going to happen, the only question is on what scale. The more money he raises, the more ambitious the project can become. If you have any doubts, take a look:
If you've watched the video, you know Bibliotheca is a project after my own heart. With elegant simplicity Adam makes the case for Bibles that look like they're meant to be read, not just referenced. His attention to detail -- which extends to creating new typefaces for the project, determining the books' proportion, and much more -- is inspiring.
For the curious among you, I backed at the $240 level, the Deluxe Package including the four-volume hardcover set, a walnut slipcase, and a personalized library emboss. I could not resist that slipcase, and I am in love with Adam's san serif typeface, so the thought of having an embosser in that typeface ... well, I had to do it.
Adam and I have been in touch, and he's agreed to an interview about Bibliotheca later this week. Meanwhile, check out Bibliotheca. You'll be hearing a lot more about it on Bible Design Blog.
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.