A Real Page Turner: Industry Leader Joins Church Publishing

Meet new Senior Editor Carl Bromley, who brings more than two decades of publishing experience and an exciting outlook for the future of the academic program at Church Publishing Incorporated as well as books for general readers. Here, Carl shares what drew him to CPI and his thoughts on the opportunities ahead.

How does your role at CPI compare to your previous experience?

In graduate school, I read a lot of theology, political theory, and post-colonial theory and studies. Working at CPI is a continuation of that—with books on religion and theology. I enjoy helping scholars translate their intellectual ideas into a more digestible language.

Throughout my career, I worked with mostly nonfiction authors, many of them New York Times bestselling, award-winning authors, who have had a strong impact on public discourse, such as Gore Vidal, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Ibram X. Kendi, and Rebecca Solnit. Religion and politics have been central to my work. If you imagine the publishing world as a campus, I feel like I’ve been working a block down from the theology department. Now, I get to play a central role and bring in authors of magnitude.

What excites you most about the future of the academic program at CPI?

Our academic imprint has published seminal books on post-colonial theory, liturgy, religious history, queer studies, and other relevant topics. I’m excited to build on this storied history. For example, Michael Battle is editing a paradigm-shifting series about the global Anglican communion. Our authors have an important role to play in forming theological discourse. I’m excited about publishing the best thinking in religion and theology in a broader sense.

What are some books that you’re particularly excited about?

The first book I acquired for CPI’s Morehouse imprint is by theologist and journalist Brandon Ambrosino, who writes for Commonweal and The Christian Century, and was a religion reporter for The Atlantic and Politico. One of his articles sparked me to reach out to him, and the result is a book we’ll be publishing in our Morehouse Publishing list this fall, Is It God’s Will? Making Sense of Tragedy, Luck, and Hope in a World Gone Wrong.

Currently I’m working on A Queer Lectionary, edited by Peter Carlson. Each sermon is spurred by a set of lectionary readings for that week or a feast day. I love how he identifies certain thematics and brings it all together.

Leadership in a Shrinking Church, by William Harrison, can help church leaders negotiate this era of dwindling church attendance. This is an issue we will be returning to because it reflects continuing debates within the church. Discussions about liturgy are also ongoing. These are things that, as an editor, I will be attentive to and mindful of. And like any editor, I’ll have to stay a bit ahead of the curve.

Pictured above: Carl Bromley, Senior Editor, Church Publishing Inc. | © 2025, used with permission of Carl Bromley. All rights reserved.