The History Of The Celestine Series
Within days, Redfield heard about a publishing consultant from New York, who had just moved into the area. Driven by intuition to seek him out, the two met, and the coincidences began again. Redfield quickly decided to self-publish the book. Just as he went to print, he met Salle Merrill, who brought with her a timely emphasis on the importance of giving. Now husband and wife, James and Salle filled the trunk of their car with copies of The Celestine Prophecy and drove to bookstores, meeting readers and talking about the book. “Of the first 3,000 copies we printed, we mailed or personally gave away 1,500 to small bookshops and individuals in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia. James recalls in The Celestine Vision, ” Word-of-mouth recommendations took care of everything else.” In six months, the book had over 100,000 copies in print in all 50 states and was appearing in countries around the world. “It sold not because of any publicity I did, but because others began to give it to their friends everywhere.”
After the self-published book was brought to the attention of Warner Books through a perceptive sales rep, Warner bought the rights and published the hardcover edition in March 1994, propelling the book to became one of modern publishing’s greatest success stories. According to Publishing Trends, in 1995 and 1996 The Celestine Prophecy was the #1 American book in the world and the #1 international bestseller of 1996 (#2 in 1995). This phenomenal novel spent over 3 years on the New York Times best sellers list. In 1996, an eagerly awaited sequel, The Tenth Insight: Holding The Vision, also became an instant bestseller. The two books spent a combined 74 weeks on the New York Times list.
James joined co-author Carol Adrienne to write Experiential Guides for The Celestine Prophecy and The Tenth Insight. These companion books help readers expand knowledge from the Insights as they offered explanations and exercises for further revelations, fostering personal growth by putting readers in touch with evidence from their own experience.
The Celestine series continued in 1999 with the publication of The Secret of Shambhala: In Search of the Eleventh Insight (Warner Books). Set in modern day Tibet, Redfield continued the inspiring journey of The Celestine Prophecy and The Tenth Insight — carrying readers to a new adventure in a sacred place where truths, that can affect all of humanity, await. In 2002, James joined author Michael Murphy and filmmaker Sylvia Timbers in a collaborative work entitled God and the Evolving Universe (J.P. Tarcher).
The Celestine Prophecy Movie was released in 2006 and is available on DVD. James Redfield co-wrote and produced the film, which starred Matthew Settle, Thomas Kretschmann, Sarah Wayne Callies, Annabeth Gish and Hector Elizondo.
Redfield’s fourth and final book in the Celestine series, The Twelfth Insight: The Hour of Decision, was published by Grand Central Publishing (formerly Warner Books) in February 2011.
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