About
Jump into the life of Audacious Ignatius.
Through his conversion...
The development of the Spiritual Exercises...
And the growth of the Society of Jesus...
This will be the first in a series of books of this style. Our goal is to build a small publishing company to share books that are deep, clear, and shot through with the joy of the Gospel.
Who would love this book? (We will ship in time for Christmas.)
- Your kids!
- Your godchildren!
- Your grandchildren!
- You!
- Religious Education classes!
- Middle / High School classes!
Timeline
- Writing and Illustration: January 2016 - July 2018
- Kickstarter Campaign: August 2018
- Printing: September - November 2018
- Shipping to you: December 2018 (In time for Christmas!)
The Team
Katie and Paul are siblings and have been working together their whole lives. Phonics, block towers, household chores, homework. We know each other pretty well.
Now with young families, we want books that do not compromise theological depth in order to be understandable. And so we are onto our next project!
We plan to begin a small publishing company, Corde Press, with your support on this campaign. We chose the name for two reasons. First, 'corde' is Latin for heart, and we want to share books like this because our Catholic faith is close to our hearts. Second, our grandmother, Katherine Cordes Mitchell, passed away this year. We know she is a big reason why our Catholic faith is dear to us, and so we want the books to recall her maiden name.
The Author
Paul Mitchell cares full-time for his young son, writes things in the service of lay formation, and creates web apps for schools and churches. He taught writing, reading, and formation at Chicago Jesuit Academy and studied theology at the University of Notre Dame and the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.
The Illustrator
Katie Broussard is a stay at home mom, artist, and children's book illustrator. She is a science teacher at heart, though currently all of her science experiments happen in her garden or at the kitchen counter with her sons. She taught science at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago. She studied biology, theology, and education at the University of Notre Dame.
Risks and challenges
We are excited by the challenge to launch our own book series. Since we wanted creative control over the product, we decided to independently publish our first book.
We have sent out the book to trusted friends for feedback, and the text and illustrations have gone through multiple revisions. We are making the final revisions to the final two pages.
It is difficult to do justice to the lives of saints in children’s books. That is, to be engaging and joyful while not flippant, reverent while not overly pious, and distilled while not simplistic. This rendition of the life of St. Ignatius, though, is a valiant attempt! The book describes the basic arc of the life of the founder of the Society of Jesus, while revealing the texture of his Spiritual Exercises, and playfully inviting the reader to encounter Ignatian Spirituality more deeply.
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