Eugene, OR (May 22, 2014)—Robert Orlando, director of the provocative and popular documentary Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe will publish a book with Wipf and Stock Publishers this summer exploring the same ideas presented in the film.
Both the film and the book investigate how thirty years after the death of Christ, the future of the Christian church teetered on faulty ground. There were two factions, Apostle Paul’s Gentile churches and the Judean Church lead by Jesus’ brother James. Both groups had clearly emerged with very different visions for the mission, and were headed toward a final showdown: a mutually destructive fracture that would have ended the church in its infancy, if not for one man—the Apostle Paul. Now for the first time, we can learn how one man’s vision kept the early Christian movement together. How one man defied the very followers of Jesus himself, and in the end left his homeland to conquer an Empire. Hear the story the church would never tell: a polite bribe. “If Oliver Stone ever became a Bible scholar, he might turn out a movie a bit like A Polite Bribe” says Amy Longsdorf of “The Morning Call.” Was there really a bribe? Apostle Paul: A Polite Bribe says emphatically yes. It will be made available summer 2014 from Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers.
James Stock, director of marketing, says “Wipf and Stock is excited to partner with Rob Orlando in bringing his groundbreaking film to print.” For more information on both the film and the book, please visit www.apolitebribe.com
For 20 years Robert Orlando has brought his cinematic vision to the screen, beginning with his mesmerizing 1988 film See Her Run, going on to represent New York University at the Tel Aviv Film Festival. For several years after that he worked as a freelance editor, cinematographer, and director in New York City, eventually starting Nexus Media. Orlando also completed numerous scripts that were contracted, optioned, or purchased. In 2001, Orlando wrote and directed his debut feature Moment In Time, winning several awards and earning him a chance to work as a writer and director on the black comedy Choose Life with Peter Dobson and several other notables. He has also adapted the works of writers like Mark Helprin, Jonathan Lethem, and Charles Ardai.
Wipf and Stock Publishers is a small-but-growing publisher located in the Pacific Northwest. Committed to good ideas and developing relationships across boundaries, our list is unconventionally diverse and multi-disciplinary. We are inspired by writing that honors the imagination, intellect, and heart; and for that reason, we publish based on the merits of content. Innovative and service-oriented, we are one of few publishers who handle every step of the publication process in-house, from acquisitions to printing to customer service. Our unique model means our books will always be in-print and available for ordering. We work hard to bring relationships back to the focus of publishing, because we believe in the value of voice.
