August 6, 2018 Edition
Industry News
ECPA releases Christian bestseller lists for August, based on NPD data
Book publishers may be focused on fall releases, but it is summertime for book buyers and readers. The ECPA Top 50 overall bestsellers list for August, reflecting July POS data compiled by NPD BookScan, reveals that readers are focusing on familiar titles in the summer months.
Correction to July’s bestseller list for Top 50 Spanish: Barbour titles were inadvertently left off last month’s Top 50 Spanish bestsellers. The corrected list is available here.
Potratz selects new leader of The Parable Group
After nearly five decades in Christian retailing and consumer marketing, Steve Potratz has selected a new leader for The Parable Group, the multi-service Christian marketing agency based in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Read More...LSC Communications announces strategic equity investment in content logistics company MAZ
LSC Communications, Inc., a leader in traditional and digital printing solutions, announced an equity investment and the signing of a definitive reseller agreement with MAZ Systems Incorporated.
Read More...Morning Star joins Bible Society Australia publishing arm
A publisher nimble enough to bring out both a new book on Martin Luther and the Catholic Worship Book II for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has joined the Bible Society Australia publishing arm.
Read More...ICON Media Group adds partner, expands services
ICON Media Group announces it will now operate as a full-service marketing agency. Launched in 2013, ICON is well known in the faith-based entertainment and publishing industries for media relations, having led efforts around numerous box office hits and New York Times bestsellers.
Read More...PubU data sessions will cover metadata, audio, artificial intelligence, retail data tracking, and digital technologies
Seven sessions offered at the upcoming ECPA PubU will focus on the latest developments impacting how content gets to market, and what it looks like when it gets there. Kristen McLean (NPD) and Joshua Tallent (Firebrand) have again paired up to develop the Data, Delivery & Workflow track for content managers, analysts, metadata managers, production managers, and anyone whose role would benefit from learning about the latest trends in data, format, and technology.
Exploring everything from the latest metadata standards, to innovations in retail data tracking, new tools, services and technologies, and the emerging opportunities in the re-invented audio space — session speakers include industry leaders Brian O’Leary (BISG), Joshua Tallent (Firebrand), Kristen McLean and Michial Miller (NPD), Jens Tröger (Bookalope), Brittyne Lewis and Mike LoRusso (LSC).
ECPA PubU will be held November 6-7 at Lipscomb University in Nashville for Christian publishing professionals. Nearly 45 sessions will be offered in marketing, editorial, rights, design, production/data, and reader engagement, including keynote session by Donald Miller (StoryBrand), and a plenary session with Kristen McLean (NPD) on the future of faith and retail.
Early bird registration is now open at ECPAPubU.org
Milestones
Baker authors win RWA Awards
Romance Writers of America (RWA) recently announced the winners of several contests, and five Baker Publishing Group authors received awards. Tracie Peterson received a centennial award for authoring over 100 romance novels.
Read More...On 25th Anniversary, Bible Gateway has been viewed more than 14 billion times
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the world’s most visited Christian website, Bible Gateway (BibleGateway.com; @BibleGateway) has been viewed more than 14 billion times by people using more than one billion devices.
Read More...Media Announcements
Max Lucado featured in media on upcoming book, “Unshakable Hope”
Jesus Calling podcast: New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado recently joined the Jesus Calling podcast to talk about his latest book, Unshakeable Hope: Building Our Lives On the Promises of God, in which he offers encouraging guidance for overcoming sadness and despair, renewing a sense of purpose, and triumphantly facing our fears of the future. Unshakeable Hope is available in August 2018. More at facebook.com/JesusCalling.
Bible Gateway: In this Q&A, Max Lucado (@MaxLucado) talks about his book releasing this week, Unshakable Hope: Building Our Lives on the Promises of God (Thomas Nelson, 2018). Read this interview.
Bible Gateway interviews Joanne J. Jung on “The Lost Discipline of Conversation”
What practices of the Puritans, who lived centuries ago, can inform modern Christians in their spiritual lives of reading the Bible, praying, and meditating? What have we forgotten from the past that we need to reclaim for the health of our spiritual formation? Bible Gateway interviewed Joanne J. Jung about her book, The Lost Discipline of Conversation: Surprising Lessons in Spiritual Formation Drawn from the English Puritans (Zondervan, 2018).
Product News
Emanate Books announces first book by internationally renowned, award-winning Christian music icon Don Moen
Emanate Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, announced today the forthcoming publication of "God Will Make a Way: Discovering His Hope in Your Story" (October 16, 2018) by Don Moen, an internationally renowned, multi award-winning worship artist and writer whose albums have sold more than 5 million units.
Read More...Tyndale House to release diverse devotionals this fall to cultivate spiritual disciplines
This fall, Tyndale House Publishers is releasing seven new devotional products to grow readers’ faith daily. This varied collection features titles to instill spiritual confidence and provide encouragement. These practical needs-based devotionals are organized by topic for easy reference and include themed guides based on the One Year Bible® reading plan.
Read More...Creators of the YouVersion Bible App celebrate launch of new app, Bible Lens
This week, the creators of the YouVersion Bible App are celebrating the release of their newest app called Bible Lens. The free app matches relevant Bible verses with a person's photos and automatically creates visually appealing, sharable artwork. Bible Lens launched Saturday, Aug. 4.
Read More...Other News
INDUSTRY
- IVP Honored as a 'Certified Best Christian Workplaces'
- “Get It Local” Set for September Launch
- CBA releases State of the Industry Report
- CBA releases June bestsellers from Christian bookstores
- Dr. Tony Evans’ YouTube video on sudden death of niece goes viral
- 'The Case for Christ' Takes Top Prize at Christian Visual Media Awards
- Netflix Hoping to Offer 700 Faith and Family-based Shows in 2018
- 'The Billy Graham Channel' Will Become Permanent on SiriusXM
- Pew: Why Americans Go to Church or Stay Home
PUBLISHING
- TOMORROW: Free BISG webinar on Paper Market Update
- Walmart and Kobo Are Launching Their Joint eBookstore on 21 August
- AAP Sales: April Up 4.4%
- Publishing Sales Rise 5.5% in First Four Months of 2018
- S&S Posts Gains in Sales, Profits in Q2
- HMH Trade Sales Down 15% in Q2
- BookExpo, NYRF Will Run in Late May at the Javits Center
- Too Many Printers—Too Little Paper (subscription)
- U.S. trims tariffs for most Canadian newsprint producers
- Canadian Book Sales Stable So Far in 2018
- What Authors and Editors Wish They Could Say to One Another
- Uncertain times have seen a renewed interest in serious nonfiction
- What next for influencer marketing in books? (subscription)
- Voice Control Forces Marketers to Think Differently
- Study: Gen Z Favors Magazines, Newspapers
- Publishers Can’t Compete with Google, Amazon & Facebook – So They Should Complement Their Commerce
- WSJ: A new survey of America’s favorite novels shows that storytelling moves us far more than literary quality (subscription)