Society may be trying to banish bullying, but it’s big business in the publishing industry. According to World Cat, which serves as a database of sorts for books in libraries around the world, there are 1,891 books that are linked to the key word bullying, an increase of 500 in the past 10 years. Dozens more hit the shelves every year, and several publishing outfits have built anti-bullying campaigns around some of their products. This August, a conference specifically for authors of bullying will be held in Missouri. “Bullying always has been a popular topic,” says Elizabeth Bird, who tracks trends for the New York Public Library, “but this year we are seeing bullying titles coming out as never before; and there is no end in sight.” (New York Times)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.