Ambassadors International

What Ambassadors International does

Ambassador International is a Christian trade publishing house founded in 1980 by Dr. Samuel Lowry in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and expanded to Greenville, South Carolina in 1995. The company operates as the primary imprint of Emerald House Group, Incorporated and maintains dual offices in Belfast and Greenville with a team of six full-time employees supplemented by dozens of freelance contributors and over 35 returning authors. It publishes dozens of titles annually across more than 14 genres including Bible study, devotionals, biography, fiction, children's literature, cooking, history, theology, and inspirational works, with a backlist of thousands of titles built over four decades.

The business operates a traditional royalty-based publishing model. Authors submit manuscripts via an online form, email, or mail, and accepted works are produced as both print and digital books formatted for all major e-reading devices through the Ambassador Digital division. End-to-end publishing services include manuscript review, editorial support, cover design, sales strategy, and global distribution through wholesale partners (Ingram/Spring Arbor, Baker & Taylor), major retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Lifeway, Books-A-Million, CBD/ChristianBook.com), digital platforms (Apple iBooks, Kobo, Overdrive, Hoopla), and international distributors across the UK, Australia/New Zealand, and Singapore. A specialized Ambassador Classics imprint focuses on reprinting classic Christian literature and biographies.

The company serves two primary segments: Christian authors seeking traditional royalty-based publishing (with a requirement for an established social media platform prior to submission) and Christian book readers across diverse demographics including individual consumers, churches, libraries, and ministry organizations. Marketing is conducted through a multi-channel approach spanning social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn), a company blog, email newsletters, an author blogger review team, and event sponsorships including the Allume Conference for Women. The company is founder-led, privately held under Emerald House Group with no external institutional investment, and operates with a stable, mature posture rather than a growth-funding trajectory.

Name

Ambassadors International

Legal name

Emerald House Group, Incorporated

Website

https://ambassador-international.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ambassador International is a Christian trade publishing house founded in 1980, operating as the primary imprint of Emerald House Group with offices in Greenville, SC and Belfast, Northern Ireland. The company publishes dozens of titles annually across 14+ Christian genres, distributed globally through major print and digital channels under royalty-based author contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Christian Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Religious & Specialty Publishing Distribution (CRAOALAD)

Keywords

• Christian book publishing
• Religious literature distribution
• Royalty-based author contracts
• Christian ebook publishing
• Christian classics reprinting

Headquarters

HQ city

Greenville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales (Print and Digital): Ambassador International generates revenue through the sale of print and digital books across all major retail and online channels. Books are offered on retail shelves, in online stores, and on digital devices. Authors receive royalties under a royalty-based publishing contract.
2. Royalty-Based Author Contracts: Upon acceptance of a manuscript proposal, Ambassador International discusses a royalty structure with the author along with a completed manuscript delivery date. The publisher offers royalty-based publishing contracts on works it decides to advance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels14 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Ambassador International is a Christian trade publishing house that selects and publishes manuscripts from authors under royalty-based publishing contracts, producing both print books and ebooks across genres such as Bible study, devotionals, biography, fiction, children's literature, and theology. The company edits, designs, and distributes these titles globally through major wholesale, retail, and digital partners in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and library platforms, while also offering an own e-commerce storefront. It operates three lines: the core Ambassador International imprint, the Ambassador Digital ebook line, and the Ambassador Classics reprint series.

Product overview

Ambassador International is a Christian trade publishing company and the primary imprint of Emerald House Group, founded in 1980 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with US operations based in Greenville, South Carolina. The company operates a multi-product portfolio consisting of its core publishing division (Ambassador International), a digital publishing line (Ambassador Digital) for ebook distribution across iPad, Nook, Kindle and other devices, and a classics reprint imprint (Ambassador Classics). The company publishes books across diverse genres including Bible study and devotionals, biography, business and finance, children's and young adult, Christian living, cooking and lifestyle, end time, fiction, grief, history, inspirational, ministry, mission, reference, and theology. Publishing services follow a partner-publish-promote model, guiding authors from manuscript submission through editorial, design, production, and global distribution across retail and digital channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ambassador International (Core Trade Imprint) Core Christian trade publishing imprint of Emerald House Group, offering royalty-based publishing contracts to Christian authors and publishing books across genres including Bible study, devotionals, biography, business and finance, children's and young adult, Christian living, cooking and lifestyle, end time, fiction, grief, history, inspirational, ministry, mission, reference, and theology, with distribution to retail, wholesale, and digital channels worldwide.
• Ambassador Digital Digital publishing line of Ambassador International that formats and distributes Ambassador titles as ebooks across all major e-reading devices including iPad, Nook, and Kindle, with dedicated staff, an ebook library, and sales, marketing, and promotional support for the digital market.
• Ambassador Classics Specialized imprint under Ambassador International dedicated to reprinting classic Christian literature and biographies, building and extending the company's backlist of enduring Christian titles.
• Author Submission and Publishing Services End-to-end publishing services for Christian authors covering manuscript intake and review, editorial support, cover design, sales strategy, and global retail and digital distribution, with the company offering a royalty-based contract upon acceptance of a proposal and guiding authors from manuscript to retail shelf under a partner-publish-promote model.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Ingram/Spring ArborcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary US wholesale distributor handling print book distribution to retail and library channels nationwide. Enables Ambassador International titles to reach physical bookstores and libraries across the United States.
• Baker & TaylorcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS wholesale distributor serving retail, library, and institutional channels. Complements Ingram/Spring Arbor in distributing Ambassador titles throughout the US market.
• Amazon.comcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary online retail platform for Ambassador International books. Enables direct consumer sales in the US market through Amazon's marketplace and fulfillment infrastructure.
• Barnes & NoblecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor US book retailer with physical store presence and BN.com online platform. Stocks Ambassador titles in stores and online for US consumers.
• ChristianBook.com (CBD)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSpecialty online Christian retailer stocking Ambassador International's Christian titles for faith-based consumers and church buyers.
• LifewaymajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS Christian bookstore chain with physical locations serving churches and Christian consumers. Provides retail shelf placement for Ambassador titles.
• Books-A-MillionmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUS book retailer chain with physical stores operating in shopping centers across the southeastern United States.
• OverdrivemajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDigital content distribution platform serving public libraries and schools. Enables Ambassador titles to be borrowed digitally by library patrons.
• KoorongmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor Christian book retailer and distributor in Australia and New Zealand. Handles Ambassador International's sales and distribution in the ANZ region.
• CLC Wholesale (UK)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUK-based Christian book wholesaler and distributor. Part of Ambassador's UK and Ireland distribution network.
• Christian Indie Publishers Association (CIPA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmbassador International is a proud member of the Christian Indie Publishers Association, a trade organization supporting independent Christian publishers.
• Evangelical Church Library Association (ECLA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmbassador International maintains membership in the Evangelical Church Library Association, supporting church library access to its titles.
• ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmbassador International maintains membership in ACFW, connecting with the Christian fiction writing community and supporting author development.
• Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmbassador International is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, a trade organization supporting independent publishers.
• CWIMA (Christian Writers Institute & Marketing Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmbassador International maintains membership in CWIMA, supporting Christian writers and the Christian writing community.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Baker Publishing Group: Multi-imprint Christian publisher (Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books, Brazos Press) overlapping Ambassador's fiction, biography, and theological publishing; comparable royalty-based author model and similar retail channels.
• Tyndale House Publishers: Independent, family-owned Christian book publisher operating at a larger scale than Ambassador; competes for the same authors, genres (fiction, devotionals, Bibles, children's), and retail distribution slots.
• Zondervan (HarperCollins Christian Publishing): A major Christian trade publisher competing with Ambassador on theological, academic, and trade Christian titles across the same retail and digital channels; broader portfolio and resources make it the closest broad-incumbent analogue.
• Thomas Nelson (HarperCollins Christian Publishing): One of the largest Christian trade publishers in the US and a direct competitor to Ambassador International across fiction, nonfiction, Bible study, and devotionals; comparable in genre and audience but orders of magnitude larger in scale, author rosters, and marketing budgets.
• B&H Publishing Group (LifeWay): Christian trade imprint of LifeWay Christian Resources; overlaps Ambassador's Bible study, Christian living, and fiction genres and shares shelf placement at Lifeway and ChristianBook.com.
• WaterBrook & Multnomah (Penguin Random House): Christian trade imprint of Penguin Random House publishing Christian fiction and nonfiction with broader marketing resources and access to traditional bookstore channels that overlap with Ambassador's distribution.

Direct peers

• Crossway: Christian publisher known for the ESV Bible and trade titles; competes with Ambassador for Christian nonfiction, theology, and Bible-study authors, with overlapping retail and digital distribution.
• Harvest House Publishers: Independent Christian trade publisher of comparable size and model to Ambassador International, publishing across fiction, prophecy, Christian living, and self-help through similar retail/wholesale channels.
• Moody Publishers: Christian trade publisher with a similar royalty-based contracting model and overlap on discipleship, Bible study, biography, and children's titles, competing for a shared author pool.

Regional players

• Koorong: Australia/NZ Christian book retailer and distributor that both stocks Ambassador titles and operates as a competing ANZ-region channel partner; useful regional analogue for the ANZ side of Ambassador's business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/AmbassadorIntl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/Ambassador-international
• Facebookfacebook.com/AmbassadorIntl
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ambassador-international
• Instagraminstagram.com/ambassadorintl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ambassadors International