Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed A.R.K. Watson via phone call on June 30th, 2025. We have rearranged and edited some of the questions. This provides the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.
What inspired you to launch Catholic Reads?
When I converted to Catholicism (from the Church of Christ) in college, I was taking a diversity in literature class. My professor said things in the class that seemed prejudiced against Catholics. I talked to the professor and she mentioned that she was actually Catholic herself. I then realized that I had projected my own anti-Catholic bias onto her.
And I was awoken to how literature can help in your spiritual growth through literature. I grew up in Tennessee (less than 3% of the population is Catholic) so I was surrounded by a lot of anti-Catholic bias.
In Flannery O’Connor book’s Wiseblood, I was provoked by how she portrays the South. I didn’t realize as a Protestant that her book was a dry satire. Once I became Catholic I found the jokes and learned how laughter and story can be tools to fight against prejudice.
Converting was like walking around with those old fashioned 3D glasses with one lens red and the other blue. I had my gut-Protestant reaction but also saw things from the Catholic perspective.
In your experience, what sets Catholic fiction apart from other genres?
I don’t think Catholic fiction is a genre. I think Catholicism is a worldview. And I wrote a science fiction murder mystery story that explores this question. At the end of the story, two characters (one Muslim and one Catholic) both see the mystery/event differently. Their worldviews shape the way their imagination works. It’s my Catholic detective’s Catholic imagination that helps him solve the mystery and put all the clues together.
I believe that Catholicism is true because it reflects reality. Catholicism is the lens to make and discover things.
Why do you think it’s often overlooked?
It’s overlooked because we are an ex-British colony founded around the time of the Cold and Hot Wars of Spain. Back in that time, Spain was the enemy of England (kind of like how Russia is the enemy of the United States today). That heritage has colored a lot of how Americans think and talk about Catholics.
I do think it’s getting better. In the past, I think it was more difficult to get published in science fiction as a Catholic. I have attended some conferences that focus on literary and contemporary fiction. Those conferences have shown more hostility toward religion in general. Whereas now I frequently see panels on scifi and religion at secular publishing conferences.
You mention vetting books for both quality and theology—what does that review process look like behind the scenes?
For quality it is making sure it’s well written and properly edited. It’s important to have editors who have experience with the genre they are reading in. This job has taught me which areas are my weaknesses and when to lean on my team.
Fantasy and science fiction is chock-full of symbolism and one must be aware of the various historical meanings. For example, robots became a way for Japanese writers/artists dealing with the trauma of war in the aftermath of WWII. This symbolism influenced the United States’ meaning of robots. If a reader new to the genre reviews a book that draws upon this history they might miss some of the deeper themes at play. If a writer goes into the genre without understanding the the associations readers will have they risk making themselves overly confusing. Evangelion is a good example of this. The Japanese author used a lot of biblical names and references simply because they sounded cool to him. Western fans often struggle with his series because he uses symbolic names like “Eve vs Lilith” without understanding them.
Dragons are another symbol often misunderstood. Many people point to the western tradition of dragons meaning demons. However, they remain unaware that dragons have an even longer history as symbols for angels in general, whether good angels or evil ones (demons). So there is a western Christian tradition in fantasy of good dragons but they are still terrifying and dangerous much like the angels in the Bible are. Add to the mix the way that eastern story traditions are mixing with the west. Eastern dragons are not even the same concept as western ones.
Western dragons are giant lizards but eastern dragons are more akin to our western ideas of a chimera and are a composite of snake, deer, eagle and tiger. They are less moral figures or villains or heroes than they are amoral nature spirits. I think really eastern dragons should be called by a different name entirely. All this to say that seeing a book with a dragon on a cover doesn’t automatically make a book anti-Catholic. It largely depends upon what story telling heritage the author chooses to draw from and also how they apply it to their fantasy world. I don’t think for example that our eastern catholic brothers and sisters should have to sacrifice their chimera-nature spirits for our western storytelling. There are ways to Christianize fairy tales from all around the world.
When I bring a new member on the team, we have long conversations. It’s very much a discernment process both spiritually and craft-wise. For fiction, you must have an understanding of the historical context of the symbolism in the genre you are reading along with a familiarity with Catholicism.
For theology, we keep our rejections of books private.
Books can take all sorts of stances but books agree against beliefs that contradict the catechism or that argue that the Church takes a definitive stance on something she hasn’t spoken on, these are rejected. You can, for example, argue that you think we should not use modern psychology, but you cannot say that the Church supports you on a topic she hasn’t spoken definitively on.
Stories can show evil actions in a story without affirming they are good. The use of stories in themselves is to take moral absolutes and show how they can be applied in specific situations, even if those situations are highly unrealistic. This trains our brains to help us apply morals to the specific situations in our own lives.
For non-fiction if we reject it, it is usually because it is not well-written. It’s even more important to have good prose and precision in non-fiction. Having a mastery in prose is key to non-fiction writing to eliminate any potential theological error.
How do you strike a balance between supporting indie authors and ensuring theological soundness and literary excellence?
There’s not a lot of Catholic publishing houses. So for Catholic writers, often their only choice is to go indie. We hold both types of books to the same standards. Sometimes Catholic tradition has the temptation to lose the heart of the story in order to make the book to be a sermon. This is a flaw both indie and traditionally published books can fall prey to. Also the traditional publishing industry is so strained and its employees often over-worked so having a traditional publisher no longer ensures a book will be properly edited. In addition a lot of excellent editors now choose to work freelance so they can dictate their hours and charge for their services what they know they are worth, so Indie authors have more access to good editing than they did before. The differences in quality between indie and traditional books are not so different nowadays.
At the end of the day, Catholic literature is very much an indie and small press driven industry, so if you aren’t supporting indie and small press writers you aren’t supporting Catholic literature.
What trends have you noticed in Catholic fiction in recent years—are there any genres or themes gaining traction among readers?
I think there’s real traction in reclaiming both horror and fairy tales. A lot of the traditional monsters and magical fairy tales have roots in Catholic culture that later when they became influenced by Prostantism or secularism these characters lost their meaning.
Flannery O’Connor and Graham Greene laid the groundwork for this reclaiming realism in storytelling, that it’s not all a happy/hallmarky ending.
The most popular genres though, remain the usual. Historical fiction, mystery and YA are evergreen genres. Historical fiction among Catholic readers often displays a sense of rediscovering our history, but that probably occurs because we are an American company and USA schools often ignore or defame us in the history they teach.
For Catholic readers who feel overwhelmed by choices, where’s a good place to start exploring Catholic fiction today?
I would say look for the genre you read in the secular space. For example, if you like comic books, look for Catholic comic books. Or if you are interested in the romance genre, find a Catholic romance.
You don’t have to sacrifice entertainment. Finding space to rest your heart and mind in reading is important. I think finding a good book is very much an Ignatian discernment process. What type of book do you need at this moment of time?
Your spiritual needs may change and certain genres will be more or less edifying.
I think the horror genre is gaining traction because that’s the genre where Catholicism is most welcome. I was at a publishing conference/workshop and the horror publisher of a secular press was telling everyone not to submit anything with a nihilistic plot. It was overdone for him.
If you are a Catholic writer who seeks to be published in the secular world, you can be more explicit in your faith in the horror genre.
What has been the most surprising or rewarding moment since starting Catholic Reads?
There’s no one moment above all the others. For me, the thing that has made it worthwhile, kept the job from becoming stale is when I open up a book with a bad cover and awkward back text and I find something wonderful in the book. Finding those hidden gems has been rewarding. And leading people to these books that they might overlook is exciting (it’s like finding buried treasure). I feel like I’m helping these authors out too when I convince them to change the book covers and do other things to help get the book noticed more.
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About A.R.K. Watson
Watson is a science fiction author and a convert to Catholicism from the Church of Christ. In between teaching O.C.I.A., Watson typically reviews science fiction and mystery novels where she obsesses over robots, strange aliens and anything related to cyborgs or questions about the nature of humans and souls. As for non-Catholic books, anything that compares Catholic Theology of the Body ethics with another worldview would be fascinating. Also, a space haj or other various comparative pilgrimages would be fantastic! Basically, if you have big ideas or philosophy in your fiction she’ll probably want to read it.
