The Power of the Written Word
UU Publications
Through the Unitarian Universalist Association, we support an extremely broad publications program.
It encompasses religious education curricula, magazines, pamphlets, books, and newsletters. Beacon Press, a major publishing house, operates under the auspices of the UUA to publish books that express a full range of cultural and social concerns. It is the purpose of Beacon Press to make a continuing contribution by a forthright and vigorous program of publishing that emphasizes the preeminence of the human spirit. Recent Beacon authors have included Cornell West, Mary Daly, Marian Wright Edelman, and Thich Nhat Hanh. In 1947, Beacon Press had seventeen titles on its backlist and a handful of outlets. It now has hundreds of titles and Beacon books are prominently displayed in bookstores throughout our continent and in every major city of the world.
Skinner House Books, an imprint of the UUA, publishes books to enrich the spiritual and religious lives of Unitarian Universalists and others who share the values of liberal religion. Titles address Unitarian Universalist history, biography, spirituality and inspiration, contemporary religious commentary, worship and congregational resources, and issues of social and racial justice.
The World, a bimonthly magazine, is the primary communications vehicle of the UUA. Established in 1970 as the Unitarian Universalist World, the magazine carries original articles by major authors such as Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Harvey Cox, and addresses contemporary themes such as aging and spirituality, unlearning violence, and "getting serious about the environment." Every issue also includes denominational news and opinions, and articles about UU congregations and individuals. The World is a successor to the Universalist Leader (1819) and the Christian Register, Unitarian (1821).
The UUA Bookstore distributes all the resources published by the Unitarian Universalist Association, including books, curricula, pamphlets, congregational resources, Beacon Press books, and Skinner House books. It also carries a wide variety of titles from other publishers.
