Deseret Book () is an American publishing company headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that also operates a chain of 38 bookstores throughout the United States which includes: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation (DMC), the holding company for business firms owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Deseret Book is a for-profit corporation registered in Utah. Deseret Book publishes under four imprints with media ranging from works explaining Latter-day Saint theology and doctrine, fiction, electronic resources, and sound recordings such, as The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square albums.

History

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The Deseret Book Company was created in 1919 from a merger of the Deseret News Bookstore and the Deseret Sunday School Union Bookstore.

Deseret Book established new corporate offices and downtown Salt Lake City retail space during the redevelopment of the Crossroads Plaza Mall into City Creek Center. In 2007, the corporate headquarters, with around 160 employees, moved into the top seven floors of the Utah Woolen Mills Clothiers building across the street from Temple Square. In April 2010 Deseret Book opened its "Flagship" store in the City Creek Center. This new store sits almost exactly on the same location as the first Deseret Book Location.

Acquisitions

Bookcraft

In early 1999, Bookcraft was acquired by Deseret Book. This allowed them to expand in the larger "values-oriented" publishing market. The merger also brought more writings by general authorities under the church's ownership, allowing for electronic and print collaborations with other DMC entities (the Deseret News, and Bonneville International) and church entities (such as BYU and the Church Educational System).

Excel Entertainment Group

On November 15, 2004, Deseret Book announced that it had acquired Excel Entertainment Group, a 10-year-old company based in Salt Lake City which was known for its Latter-day Saint cinema productions as well as its record labels, including Highway Records, Joyspring Records, and Embryo Records (later renamed to Lumen Records). Jeff Simpson, the founder and president of Excel, became the new executive vice president of the merged company. Both companies are privately held, so terms of the deal were not publicly released. Although some Excel employees were relocated to Shadow Mountain music at Deseret Book headquarters, most remained at the separate Excel headquarters in Salt Lake City.

List of feature releases

  • God's Army (2000)
  • Brigham City (2001)
  • The Other Side of Heaven (2001)
  • Charly (2002)
  • Pride and Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy (2003)
  • Saints and Soldiers (2003)
  • The Work and The Glory (2004)
  • American Mormon (2005)
  • The Work and The Glory II: American Zion (2005)
  • Down and Derby (2005)
  • The Work and The Glory III: A House Divided (2006)
  • Outlaw Trail: The Treasure of Butch Cassidy (2006)
  • Stalking Santa (2006)
  • American Mormon in Europe (2006)
  • Return with Honor: A Missionary Homecoming (2007)
  • Anxiously Engaged: A Piccadilly Romance (2008)
  • Only a Stonecutter (2008)
  • Forever Strong (2008)
  • The Errand of Angels (2008)
  • Scout Camp (2009)
  • Unitards (2010)
  • Midway to Heaven (2011)
  • Boys of Bonneville (2011)
  • 17 Miracles (2011)
  • The Making of Jimmer: The Story of Jimmer Fredette's Journey from the Playground to the Pros (2012)
  • Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed (2012)
  • Ephraim's Rescue (2013)
  • Us and Them (2013)
  • Saints and Soldiers: The Void (2014)
  • Meet the Mormons (2014)
  • The Christmas Dragon (2014)
  • Once I Was a Beehive (2015)
  • Freetown (2015)
  • The Cokeville Miracle (2015)
  • Just Let Go (2015)
  • The Last Descent (2016)
  • Love, Kennedy (2017)
  • Trek: The Movie (2018)
  • Jane and Emma (2018)
  • The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith (2019)
  • The Santa Box (2020)
  • Once I Was Engaged (2021)

Subsidiaries

  • Lumen Records (formerly Embryo Records)
  • Joyspring Records
  • Highway Records (formerly Lightwave Records)
  • Little Stream Records
  • Excel Motion Picture Distribution
  • Excel Retail Distribution

Seagull Book and Covenant Communications

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200px|thumb|Covenant Communications logo|right

In July 2006, Deseret Book threatened to discontinue sales with another Latter-day Saint bookstore chain, Seagull Book & Tape, citing marketing differences. Seagull claimed that their discounted prices on Deseret Book's products was the reason for the threat. On December 28, 2006, it was announced that Deseret Book was buying both Seagull Book & Tape and the publisher Covenant Communications, from Lewis Kofford. Company officials said they intended to continue running all three businesses as separate entities.

In April 2025, Deseret Book announced it would close all Seagull Book stores by the end of 2025 and make Covenant a Deseret Book brand.

Deseret Book imprints

After Deseret Book acquired Bookcraft in 1999, it divided its publishing into four differently marketed imprints: Deseret Book for history and doctrine; Bookcraft for self-help, family, children, women's interests, and Latter-day Saint fiction; Eagle Gate for art, niche markets, library editions, and teaching aides; and Shadow Mountain for "values-based" publications for a national audience. A decade later, the only imprints that remained in use were Deseret Book and Shadow Mountain. In 2012, the Ensign Peak imprint was created for Latter-day Saint religious writings for a national audience.

After acquiring Covenant Communications in 2006, Deseret Book Company did not make it an additional imprint, but continued its independent operations as a publisher alongside Deseret Book Publishing. Releases by Shadow Mountain Records have ranked in top spots on the Billboard charts, including violinist Jenny Oaks Baker, and pianist Josh Wright.

Artists

The following artists have released albums on Shadow Mountain Records:

<!-- Alphabetize individuals by surname -->

  • Julie de Azevedo
  • Jenny Oaks Baker
  • Dallyn Vail Bayles
  • Kurt Bestor
  • Alex Boyé
  • Paul Cardall
  • Kenneth Cope
  • Eclipse 6
  • Gladys Knight
  • Jericho Road
  • Michael McLean
  • Mercy River
  • David Osmond
  • Jenny Phillips
  • Hilary Weeks
  • Josh Wright
  • Emma Nissen

Other business

Deseret Book operates further business units in addition to its publishing and retail activities. Under the name Zion's Mercantile it produces home decor and religious art and holds events such as women's conferences in the United States and Canada. LDS Living is an LDS lifestyle magazine in print and online. Deseret Book Direct sells publications through catalogs, e-mail, and the DeseretBook.com website. From 2000 to 2009 it also operated an auctions website for Latter-day Saint books. Crafts and other handmade items are sold under the name of Mormon Handicraft (a brand purchased from the LDS Church's Relief Society in 1986) and food is sold through The Lion House Pantry brand. It also provides the texts of many of its books online with paid subscriptions at GospeLink.com.

In 2009, selected Deseret Book locations partnered with the LDS Church's Distribution Center and began selling official church items, such as temple garments, which had originally been available only in church distribution centers. That working relationship has expanded and now half of Deseret Book's 39 stores have been "integrated" and are half Deseret Book and half Distribution Centers.

References

Further reading

  • Salt Lake Tribune article on Excel
  • DeseretBook.com
  • GospeLink - Deseret Book's online publication library
  • Deseret Book's profile from its parent company, Deseret Management Corporation
  • Excel Entertainment Official website
  • LDSfilm.com corporate bio
  • Merger may help Deseret Book 'Excel' with films—Deseret Morning News