How to Find Christian Fiction at Second-Hand Stores

Author Thoughts / Brodeur Writes Blog / Reading List

Have you ever gone into a thrift store or a second-hand book store and pulled a book off the shelf, intrigued by the back cover copy, only to find it’s full of content you don’t like?

I can’t count the number of times I’ve done this. I’ve found a book that sounds so interesting only to read the first chapter and place it in my DO NOT FINISH pile.

So, instead of taking a chance on books and authors I’m not familiar with, I’ve developed my own little vetting system that I hope you’ll find helpful.

How I Find Christian Fiction on Second-Hand Bookshelves

I don’t have a sophisticated method, it’s quite simple: I scan the spines for publisher logos I trust. That’s it.

But how do you know which publishers publish clean and/or Christian Fiction?

Having been a book reviewer since 2018, I’ve become familiar with the content published by various publishers and I’m happy to share the names (and logos) of publishers to look for. I can’t vouch for the authors they contract, but the content will generally be clean – especially their older releases.

stack of books showing publisher logos at the bottom of the spine; thomas nelson, barbour, bethany, revell
Most publisher logos are found at the bottom of the spine; some are at the top.

A List of Christian Fiction Publishers

To make it helpful for you, I’ve compiled a list of publishers to look for while scouring those second-hand bookshelves, and where possible, the genres they publish.

Here’s a list of not-so-well-known publishers in the CBA market:

And then, of course, there are the well-known publishers:

See? I told you my method was quite simple. Scan the spines to find a publisher logo you can trust.

Now, go have some fun looking for new-to-you-reads!

Am I missing any publishers from the list?

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