Two WaterBrook Titles Earn Top Frontlist Spots on ECPA’s 2020 Bestsellers List

WaterBrook, an imprint of Random House, is celebrating the announcement of ECPA’s (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) Top 100 Bestsellers of 2020, having secured two of the top three spots with Jennie Allen’s GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts and Michael Todd’s RELATIONSHIP GOALS: How to Win at Dating, Marriage, and Sex, respectively. Of the top three bestsellers, Allen’s and Todd’s titles were the only two that were newly published in 2020.

In addition, three other WaterBrook titles earned their place within the Top 25 ECPA bestsellers of 2020: WHATEVER IS LOVELY: A Coloring Book for Reflection and Worship, RELATIONSHIP GOALS STUDY GUIDE by Michael Todd, and THE RUTHLESS ELIMINATION OF HURRY: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Mark Comer.

Recent initiatives to grow the market share for its children’s publishing program also propelled several WaterBrook titles onto ECPA’s Top 25 Juvenile Bestsellers of 2020 list: the middle grade fantasy novel ON THE EDGE OF THE DARK SEA OF DARKNESS by Andrew Peterson along with three titles from Lisa Tawn Bergren, including GOD GAVE US YOU and GOD GAVE US EASTER (hardcover and board book); and GOD GAVE US CHRISTMAS (board book).

ECPA’s bestsellers lists are based on sales of books through approximately 400 Christian retail stores nationwide, and they represent the best selection of titles published by companies with active Evangelical publishing programs. Drawing their data from NPD BookScan, GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD sold the most units in the religion category for 2020, and RELATIONSHIP GOALS was a close second.

Jennie Allen

GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD by Jennie Allen— the visionary behind the million-strong IF:Gathering—immediately captured attention in the market upon its January 2020 release and remained a leading religion title throughout the year. Edited by Laura Barker, Vice President and Publisher, WaterBrook and Multnomah, the book challenges readers to exercise their God-given power to shift negative thinking patterns and take back control of their thoughts and emotions.

Michael Todd

Michael Todd, the lead pastor of Transformation Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, also took the Christian publishing world by storm in 2020 with the release of his debut book RELATIONSHIP GOALS, edited by Andrew Stoddard, Editorial Director, WaterBrook and Multnomah. Based on the viral, multi-million-view sermon series about dating, marriage, and sex, Relationship Goals is a candid and inspiring guide to finding lasting love and sustaining a healthy relationship by getting real about your goals. An additional book, RELATIONSHIP GOALS STUDY GUIDE, made its own splash in the market, ranking #17 on ECPA’s 2020 bestsellers list.

Tina Constable, Executive Vice President, Christian Publishing/Forum at Random House, congratulated the WaterBrook and Multnomah team, saying, “For the past five years our teams at WaterBrook and Multnomah have worked hard to build a trove of new voices and an overall publishing program based on data and trends to serve a changing Christian marketplace. These 2020 bestsellers, during a pandemic year, are the fruits of those efforts to bring content that is serving deeply felt needs in our community. I am proud of what the team has accomplished together to get to this moment and am excited about new projects we have in the upcoming pipeline as we build upon these successes.”

Below is a complete list of WaterBrook and Multnomah’s ECPA bestsellers of 2020 and their rankings:

Top 100

#2 – Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen (WaterBrook)

#3 – Relationship Goals: How to Win at Dating, Marriage, and Sex by Michael Todd (WaterBrook)

#14 – Whatever is Lovely: A Coloring Book for Reflection and Worship (WaterBrook)

#17 – Relationship Goals Study Guide by Michael Todd (WaterBrook)

#21 – The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Mark Comer (WaterBrook)

#40 – Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (Multnomah)

#47 – Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation by Latasha Morrison (WaterBrook)

#49 – Midnight Mom Devotional: 365 Prayers to Put Your Momma Heart to Rest by Becky Thompson and Susan K. Pitts (WaterBrook)

#60 – Everything Beautiful: A Coloring Book for Reflection and Inspiration (WaterBrook)

Top 25 Juvenile

#2— God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren (WaterBrook)

#7— God Gave Us Easter (hardcover) by Lisa Tawn Bergren (WaterBrook)

#12— On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (WaterBrook)

#19—God Gave Us Easter (board book) by Lisa Tawn Bergren (WaterBrook)

#21—God Gave Us Christmas (board book) by Lisa Tawn Bergren (WaterBrook)

For more information, visit www.ecpa.org or www.waterbrookmultnomah.com.