Happy New Year!

When re-branding NewSeason Books and Media last year, I was adamant that our tagline be simple yet powerful. I landed on this: “Creating Stories that Transform.” Yet, many, many times, I’ve had people ask me what that means exactly. They ask, “What does it mean to be transformed after reading a book or watching a film? Do these mediums really have that kind of power?”

I believe they do.

Words have power. Images have power. Words and images can bypass our intellectual understandings of life, of ourselves, and reach deep into our soul. This is the reason why that thing that kid said to you in sixth grade is still fresh in your mind 40 years later. This is the reason why we cry or scream or become otherwise emotionally involved with the fictional characters of our favorite TV shows. We are moved. We are changed by the stories. Those stories resonate with us in some way. Many times, they are a mirror reflecting our own stories back to us.

Stories heal. Stories change us.

That’s what we hope to do here at NewSeason Books and Media. We are small. We are under-resourced. We are growing and changing and building. But in all of that, we hope that every book you read, film or video you watch, merch you buy, event you attend will somehow bring you closer to your own story, to your authentic, beautiful, whole self.

Mark Batterson, in his 40-day prayer devotional, Draw the Circle, said it best:

The right book [story] in the right hands at the right time can save a marriage, avert a mistake, demand a decision, plant a seed, conceive a dream, solve a problem, and prompt a prayer. That’s why I write. And that’s why, for me, a book sold is not a book sold; a book sold is a prayer answered. I don’t know the name and situation of every reader, but God does, and that’s all that matters.

This is how I will lead NSBM. This will be our driving mantra for 2018. We pray you’ll join us on this journey!

Tracey

Chief Creator, New Season Books and Media