Banner shows B16-Ratzinger books published by Ignatius in 2009-2010 alone.
When the Pope speaks,
this Napa resident publishes
by JENNIFER HUFFMAN
December 16, 2010
Not many business people can say they have the Pope as a client, but Mark Brumley of Napa can.
Brumley is chief executive officer of Ignatius Press of San Francisco, the English-language publisher of Pope Benedict XVI’s books, including the pope’s most recent,
Light of the World.
Ignatius Press has been publishing books by the pope since 1983, when he was known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and before he became leader of the Roman Catholic church in 2005.
While it’s an honor to work with the pope, “There is a kind of humility in Joseph Ratzinger that makes you feel like this is no big deal,” Brumley said. “He’s very shy, but human and gentlemanly.”
Old-fashioned connections made the publishing relationship possible. The Rev. Joseph Fessio, founder of Ignatius Press, was Ratzinger’s student in the early 1970s.
“When (Ratzinger) became pope, we continued to publish his books,” Brumley said. Ignatius Press has published about four dozen books by Ratzinger. They include scholarly and theological works, official teachings of the Catholic church, personal opinions and devotional works.
“Obviously, his books have sold very well since he became Pope,” he said.
The way the Pope and publisher work together is a bit different than the relationship between most other authors and their editors. When the Pope has a new book to release, “The Vatican contacts us to see if we are interested. As you can suppose, we usually are,” Brumley said.
“Popes usually don’t write books per se,” Brumley said. “The vast majority of (Ratzinger’s) books since he became Pope are collections of his homilies and talks,” he explained.
The Pope’s latest book made headlines when it came out Nov. 24. Compiled from a week-long series of interviews with journalist Peter Seewald,
Light of the World tackles some controversial issues including clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic church, dialogue with Islam, and condom use.
“This is the first time in the history of the Catholic church that the Pope has done an interview book like this,” Brumley noted.
He describes the book as a glimpse inside the papacy. “To hear him talk about topics like the global environmental crisis or the financial crisis or Islam is fascinating. People may think they know what he thinks, but they haven’t necessarily read what he’s written. I think this book challenges people’s preconceptions,” Brumley said.
The 249-page book has been a best-seller for the small publishing house, selling 40,000 copies in the first two weeks of release. “That’s a lot for any publishing company within two weeks. For us, that’s very good,” Brumley said. The publisher makes 8 percent of the revenues from the book, he said.
So how does a publisher edit the Pope? It turns out much of the heavy lifting has already been done by the Vatican’s own publishing house.
“Most of what we do is just take the translation provided and match it to our house style and format it,” Brumley said.
The CEO has lived in Napa for the past 14 years. He has taught at Catholic schools and worked for Catholic organizations in St. Louis and San Diego for the past 25 years.
Brumley, 49, is married with five children, all of whom attended Trinity Grammar and Prep in Napa.
The publisher said he has met the Pope three times in different meetings at the Vatican. “There is an odd mixture of feeling that you are in the presence of someone who is great, but you recognize he is just like the rest of us human beings,” he said.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 16/12/2010 14:23]