Iron Stream Media is thrilled to welcome Paul Shepherd as our national key account representative. An industry veteran, Shepherd has worked in the Christian publishing industry for more than thirty years, including at Thomas Nelson, Hachette, Standard Publishing, R. H. Boyd Publishing, Random House, and World Publishing. He began his publishing career with Thomas Nelson and saw the explosion of independent retail bookstores and chains in the 1980s and1990s, first as a field rep and later as national account manager. Since beginning at Thomas Nelson, Shepherd has worked with many other publishers in sales as well as launching new imprints and managing acquisitions. This breadth of industry knowledge helped him open Shepherd Literary Services, a full-service literary agency. His most notable titles are Lee Greenwood’s Proud to Be an American and award-winning author Jenny Cote’s The Epic Order of Seven.

For Iron Stream Media, Shepherd will work with retail accounts to help them select books that will touch the hearts of their customers. He enjoys helping people tell their story through books and seeing others being blessed by those books, so getting these books into the hands of our retail partners brings him joy.

When not working, Shepherd enjoys sports, including golf and biking, and has even run half marathons. Prior to entering the publishing world, Shepherd taught high school and coached high school football in Texas. He remains in touch with many of his students through social media. He and his wife, Irma, live in Franklin, TN, and love their dogs. They attend church at Grace Chapel, southwest of Franklin.

CHARLOTTE, NC– The Good Book Company is pleased to announce that Brian Thomasson has been appointed as Vice President of Editorial. Brian will oversee the continued development of TGBC’s publishing line-up, focusing particularly on the acquisition of key adult trade books and inputting into the strategic vision and priorities for the company’s editorial approach.

“We are thrilled that Brian has chosen to join TGBC,” said Carl Laferton, EVP Publishing at The Good Book Company. “He will be a key part of continuing our trajectory of rapid growth as we seek to serve the church worldwide with biblical, accessible, and relevant titles. Brian brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in finding and acquiring faithful, impactful books. I’m excited to have him join our team.”

Brian has twenty years of experience in acquisitions and concept development and has worked on books with best-selling authors in the general and Christian markets across a broad range of genres. He served at Waterbrook Multnomah and NavPress before most recently working as Executive Editor at Baker Publishing.

Brian said, “Ministry-minded and mission-driven, The Good Book Company’s focus centers with my own, and with the heart of God for our world. I am deeply honored to join the leadership team at TGBC in their good work going forward.”

Brian starts at TGBC on February 1, 2021, and will work remotely from his home office in Monument, Colorado. He can be reached at brian.thomasson@thegoodbook.com.

ABOUT THE GOOD BOOK COMPANY
Founded in 1991, The Good Book Company (TGBC) is an international Christian publisher. Their Bible studies, books, devotionals, videos, tracts, evangelistic courses, and training materials are used throughout the English-speaking world, and in translation in over 35 languages worldwide. Everyone at TGBC is passionate about the Lord Jesus, His word, His church, and His gospel of grace. They create and publish biblical, relevant, and accessible resources that will encourage Christians to keep going, keep growing, and keep sharing their faith.

For more information please contact publicity@thegoodbook.com or (866) 244-2165.

(Nashville, Tenn.)—W Publishing Group, and imprint of Thomas Nelson, today announced Chasity Edwards as its new publicity manager. Edwards brings more than eight years of publicity and marketing expertise to the team, across multiple industries including sports, entertainment and live events.

Most recently Edwards was a publicist with Herschend Family Entertainment, where she developed and implemented strategic local media plans for more than 350 Harlem Globetrotters games in the U.S. and Canada. Here, she also developed high-impact media strategies for Halo Outpost Discovery’s real-world gaming experiences. Prior experience included positions with UniverSoul Circus, Disney World and the Barjon PR Agency in Atlanta, Georgia.

As publicity manager for W Publishing Group, Edwards will focus on developing targeted publicity campaigns for select titles, writing creative pitches and news releases for dissemination, booking media coverage for authors, identifying ongoing opportunities for backlist titles, and innovating new publicity coverage strategies across social media and traditional media platforms.

“We are thrilled to have Chasity join our team and look forward to her applying her knowledge and experience in entertainment media to our W Publishing campaigns,” said Caren Wolfe, VP of marketing for W Publishing Group.

“Chasity’s strong background in booking entertainment media will be a great asset to our team,” said Allison Carter, director of publicity for W Publishing Group. “Having the ability to pivot with changing headlines, package media interviews that encourage the public to immediately act on timely opportunities, and managing multiple projects is a direct parallel to her new role in the publishing industry. We look forward to her work positively impacting our team and furthering our corporate mission.”

Thomas Nelson is a world leading publisher and provider of Christian content and has been providing readers with quality inspirational product for more than 200 years. As part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the publishing group provides multiple formats of award-winning Bibles, books, gift books, cookbooks, curriculum and digital content, with distribution of its products in more than 100 countries. Thomas Nelson is headquartered in Nashville, TN. For additional information visit www.thomasnelson.com.

Contact: Allison Carter, Publicity Director, W Publishing Group, Allison.carter@harpercollins.com

Ada, Mich. (Jan. 19, 2021)— Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, recently signed a two-book deal for Rachel Kang’s first published books.

“It has been my dream, my deepest desire—to partner with a publishing house like Revell Books,” said Kang. “I believe that the forging of words in books is an unearthing of work and of wonder. And so—here I am—ready to spin sentences into stories that will unfold into chapters bound in two books that will soon deliver hope and help into the hands of those I strive to serve. I especially want to thank Kelsey Bowen, who not only saw beauty in my words, but saw art that belonged and books to become.”

Her first book, scheduled for a fall 2022 release, will focus on the purpose and calling of creativity in women. Instead of settling for a less-than life, listening to whispered lies about their true wants and worth, the book will offer women a creative and cathartic alternative—revealing to them the keys to confidence they need to embrace their deepest desires, dismantle the lies, see their work as worthy, and unearth the grace to share their art and hearts with the world.

“Rachel’s work as founder of Indelible Ink Writers and her continual work to inspire women to see creativity as part of their calling made her the perfect voice to come alongside and promote to an even wider audience,” says  Revell Editorial Director Andrea Doering. “Her voice is fresh, poetic, and purposeful, and we can’t wait to bring her books to market.”

Revell Acquisitions Editor, Kelsey Bowen, says, “People find a safe place of welcome and warmth for their voices and their art in every interaction with Rachel. Her work in furthering the Kingdom through the creative outlets that connect us to each other and to God is making a powerful impact everywhere she goes. We knew right away she belonged with us at Revell, offering our readers her magical prose and inspiring, practical guidance.”

A New York native, Rachel Kang brings a voice as diverse as her readers to the conversation of creativity and calling. A mixed-race woman of African American, Native American, Irish, and Dutch descent, she is the founder of Indelible Ink Writers, an online community prompting creatives through soulful art and writing journeys. Her writing has been featured on Christianity Today, {in}courage, Charlotte Magazine, and My Influence Circle. Kang also serves on the Board of Advisors for Fashion & Compassion and is regularly included in their e-commerce newsletter.

Revell Books provides books that inspire and equip readers, offering them hope and help for daily life. Learn more at www.RevellBooks.com.

Contact: Kelli B. Smith (616) 676-9185 x394  ksmith@bakerpublishing

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company has announced the completion of the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT).

TDOT is the English edition of the Theologisches Wörterbuch zum Alten Testament, published in German between 1973 and 2000. The encyclopedic volumes present in-depth discussions of the key Hebrew and Aramaic words in the Old Testament. Leading scholars of various religious traditions and from many parts of the world were carefully selected for each article by series editors G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry.

The illustrious series is now complete with the publication of an index to all sixteen previous volumes. Compiled by Ronald E. Pitkin, the volume comprises indexes of Hebrew words, Aramaic words, and references to the Old Testament and several other corpora of related literature.

“Eerdmans is delighted that TDOT is now fully available to the English-speaking world, and also easy to navigate and search owing to the arrival of the index,” says Eerdmans senior acquisitions editor Andrew Knapp. “TDOT has already served a generation of scholars, and we look forward to its continued use and impact on biblical studies for decades to come.”

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company is an independent publisher of religious books, from academic works in theology, biblical studies, religious history and reference to popular titles in spirituality, social and cultural criticism, and literature. Founded in 1911, the company has developed a reputation for publishing excellent literary and intellectual works that offer a myriad of responsible viewpoints from across the religious spectrum. For more information visit www.eerdmans.com.

Carol Stream, Ill. (January 22, 2021) — Tyndale House Publishers (@tyndalehouse) announced today that Dr. Derwin L. Gray, author of The Good Life and the founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church (www.TransformationChurch.tc), will publish his next book (yet untitled) with Tyndale Momentum.

In this groundbreaking book, Derwin will address what the Bible says about healing racial divides. He will take readers on a grand tour of the Bible, showing how God has always desired a multiethnic and diverse family that serves as a sign and foretaste of his Kingdom on earth by being communities of reconciliation, mission, and love. The gospel is bigger and better than we often realize. God not only forgives our sins, but he creates a family with different color skins to reflect the new heavens and new earth. It is a beautiful and compelling vision of a multicolored, multiethnic church that is characterized by humility, a good story, peace, and worship of the living God.

“We could not be more delighted to publish Dr. Gray,” said Jon Farrar, senior acquisitions director for Tyndale Momentum. “We desperately need a thorough exploration of what the Bible says about persistent racial divides, and Derwin delivers that in his next book. Dr. Gray is not only an influential and empathetic Bible teacher, he also founded a multiethnic church. He knows how to put these biblical truths into practice. We are thrilled to partner with Derwin on this seminal book.”

“I have watched the racial divide in our country widen,” said Derwin Gray. “I was not planning to write this book, but the critical nature of this historic moment would not let me escape its calling. I am excited to be writing this book so I can share with others the practical tools of how Jesus and his gospel-vision of love, grace, and reconciliation can heal our racial divide. I am thankful to Tyndale for giving me this opportunity, and I am eager to begin our partnership.”

Derwin Gray is represented by Alex Field at The Bindery.
For more information or for media inquiries, please contact Katie Dodillet, katiedodillet@tyndale.com.  

TyndaleMomentum.com | Since its founding in 1962, Tyndale House Publishers has been a voice to trust for generations of readers. Today, Tyndale is one of the largest independent Christian publishers in the world. Tyndale’s mission is to make the Bible accessible to as many people as possible in language that they can relate and respond to. Tyndale publishes the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT) and offers nonfiction books that equip readers with Christ-centered insight, counsel, and life-improving stories. In addition, Tyndale publishes fiction from fresh new voices and celebrated authors alike, capturing the imagination of millions of readers. With a deep understanding of the importance of nurturing future generations, Tyndale also publishes children’s products that make God’s Word and wisdom come alive. Tyndale’s independent status allows it to follow its founding model, giving a majority of annual revenue—more than $110 million throughout its history—to charitable missions. With every book purchased, Tyndale readers help meet the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world.

 

(Nashville, Tenn.)—W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, today announced The Rock, the Road and the Rabbi: My Journey into the Heart of Scriptural Faith and the Land Where It All Began by Kathie Lee Gifford with Rabbi Jason Sobel, has sold more than 500,000 copies in print, audio and digital formats.

“The journey of faith Kathie Lee Gifford shares in The Rock, the Road and the Rabbi and the revelatory insight into Hebrew language, culture, and heritage shared by Rabbi Jason Sobel have opened many readers’ eyes to a deeper understanding of God and the Bible,” said Damon Reiss, vice president and publisher of W Publishing Group. “It’s fantastic to see this story continue to resonate and inspire new readers every day.”

The Rock, the Road and the Rabbi, released in March 2018 was an instant New York Times bestseller. As a lifelong student of Scripture, Gifford has always desired a deeper understanding of God’s Word and a deeper knowledge of God Himself. But it wasn’t until she began studying the biblical texts in their original Hebrew and Greek—along with actually hiking the ancient paths of Israel, guided by Rabbi Jason Sobel—that she found the fulfillment of those desires. The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi chronicles this journey through Israel.

“It’s deeply humbling to see this book get into the hands of those who may have never been to the Holy Land and who may never get a chance to walk where Jesus walked,” said Gifford. “I pray this book continues to ignite readers to start their own Rabbinical studies of the Bible.”

“I am honored to have written this book with Kathie Lee and humbled that so many people have been impacted by it,” said Rabbi Sobel. “My hope for those who have or will read The Rock, the Road, & the Rabbi is that by seeing the Bible in HD, they would fall more in love with Jesus and the Bible. I also hope that seeing the amazing connections between the Old and New Testament will spark a deeper hunger for the Word and a desire to delve deeper into the Hebraic roots of our faith.”

W Publishing Group released Kathie Lee Gifford’s most recent book, It’s Never Too Late: Make the Next Act of Your Life the Best Act of Your Life in December 2020. The imprint will release Rabbi Jason Sobel’s Mysteries of the Messiah: Unveiling Divine Connections from Genesis to Today in March.

Thomas Nelson is a world leading publisher and provider of Christian content and has been providing readers with quality inspirational product for more than 200 years. As part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the publishing group provides multiple formats of award-winning Bibles, books, gift books, cookbooks, curriculum and digital content, with distribution of its products in more than 100 countries. Thomas Nelson is headquartered in Nashville, TN. For additional information visit www.thomasnelson.com.

Contact: Allison Carter, Director of Publicity, W Publishing, 615-902-2143 Allison.Carter@harpercollins.com

 

JOYCE MEYER TAKES US ON A JOURNEY THROUGH THE WISDOM OF PROVERBS THAT LEAVES US TRANSFORMED IN HER NEW BOOK, IN SEARCH OF WISDOM: Life-Changing Truths in the Book of Proverbs

The book of Proverbs is a treasure trove of spiritual and practical wisdom that equips us to live our best lives. Knowledge is important, but if it isn’t converted into action, it fails to create transformational change in our lives. It is important to gain a thoughtful and practical understanding of the seven foundational principles in the book of Proverbs:

• Wisdom,
• Understanding,
• Prudence,
• Knowledge,
• Discretion,
• Discernment, and
• Fear of the Lord

If we desire to possess these qualities, we must make a commitment to a deeper understanding and implementation of these values in our daily lives.

Featuring inspiring questions to promote thoughtful reflection, In Search of Wisdom will enlighten you with God’s understanding and teach you the foundational principles and secure God’s help in practicing them.

Joyce Meyer is one of the world’s leading practical Bible teachers. Her daily broadcast, Enjoying Everyday Life, airs on hundreds of television networks and radio stations worldwide.

Joyce has written nearly 100 inspirational books. Her bestsellers include Power Thoughts; The Confident Woman; Look Great, Feel Great; Starting Your Day Right; Ending Your Day Right; Approval Addiction; How to Hear from God; Beauty for Ashes; and Battlefield of the Mind.

Joyce travels extensively, holding conferences throughout the year, speaking to thousands around the world. Joyce resides in St. Louis, MO.

On Sale Date: JAN 19 2021
US/Can: $24.00 / $30.00
Format/Sub: HARDCOVER BOOK
ISBN-13: 978-1-5460-1764-6

Critically-Acclaimed Series “Every Moment Holy” to Release Volume II: Death, Grief, & Hope on February 12th for the Lenten Season

Nashville, TN – Rabbit Room Press is releasing a brand new volume of EVERY MOMENT HOLY, titled Death, Grief, & Hope. This new book of prayers and liturgies releasing in February is written for seasons of dying and grieving. The book contains over 100 prayers including those for “the Scattering of Ashes,” “the Loss of a Spouse,” “the Wake of a National Tragedy,” “Embracing Both Joy & Sorrow,” and many more.

EVERY MOMENT HOLY was written as a series of liturgies and prayers for the ordinary events of daily life. Authored by Douglas McKelvey and illustrated by Ned Bustard, the project began as a single hardcover volume, released in 2017, and a pocket edition of that same volume, released in 2020. On February 12, Rabbit Room Press is releasing EVERY MOMENT HOLY VOLUME II: Death, Grief, & Hope. This new book of prayers and liturgies are written for seasons of dying and grieving and will arrive in time for the Lenten season.

“These prayers are ways of reminding us that our lives are filled with sacred purpose and eternal hopes even when, especially when, suffering and pain threaten to overwhelm us,” says Rabbit Room Executive Director Pete Peterson. “It’s hoped that the liturgies in the Every Moment Holy series will serve as prayers to encourage readers in practicing mindfulness of the constant presence of God and draw them toward greater recognition of the eternal echoes resounding in every moment of our lives.”

Featured in a 2-part series on FamilyLife Today, Every Moment Holy author Douglas McKelvey says of the book, “These prayers and liturgies are offered in light of eternal hope—encouraging us to give ourselves more fully to the experience of our present sorrows in light of those unshakeable joys to come, to better learn what it means to nurture, serve, encourage, and carry one another, and ultimately to reclaim a greater sense that these journeys of dying, caretaking, and grieving are holy moments to be experienced in communion with God, and in fellowship with one another, just as any other facet of our discipleship.”

Every Moment Holy will be available February 12th, 2021 through Rabbit Room Press and www.EveryMomentHoly.com.

To schedule an interview with author Douglas McKelvey, please contact: Leslie E. Thompson – Rogue Creative Marketing & Media, Leslie@roguecreativemarketing.com  OR Lori Heiselman – Biscuit Media Group, 714-553-5181, Lori@BiscuitMediaGroup.com

EVERY MOMENT HOLY LINKS:

• Media Kit
• Online: Official Website
• Buy: Rabbit Room Store | Amazon | Liturgy Prints
• Other Content: Liturgy Downloads | Photos | Liturgy Videos

BELLINGHAM, Wash., Jan. 11, 2021 – Data compiled by Faithlife, makers of integrated church technology products including Logos Bible Software, in the Year-End Song & Sermon Report provides insight into the worship songs, sermon topics and Scriptures most prevalent in churches across North America throughout 2020 and during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The 2020 Faithlife data highlights the relevancy of church leaders in meeting the needs of their congregants and community during a difficult year,” said Bob Pritchett, co-founder and CEO of Faithlife. “The words of the top worship songs and most used topics of the sermons were speaking to the issues of the day in order to offer comfort among the chaos.”

Worship Song Trends

The most popular worship song in 2020 was “Way Maker” by Nigerian gospel singer Sinach, according to the data from Faithlife Proclaim, Faithlife’s church presentation software.

“Way Maker” reached its peak popularity with Proclaim users the weekend of March 22, 2020, when almost 7% of all worship presentations included the song. “Build My Life” by Pat Barrett (the top song in 2019) was the second most popular, followed by “10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)” by Matt Redman.

An analysis of songs bringing comfort to churches during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic shows an interesting mix of modern and historic hymns such as “It is Well with My Soul” and “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” as well as “His Mercy Is More,” by Matt Boswell and Matt Papa. Other new songs on the list include “Goodness of God,” released in early 2019 by Bethel Music and Jenn Johnson, “King of Kings” by Hillsong Worship, and “See a Victory” by Elevation Worship.

Sermon Topic Trends

According to data from ​Faithlife Sermons,​ there were nearly 200 different topics, including ​loneliness,​ ​friendship​, ​fear,​ ​contentment or ​leadership, represented in at least 100 sermons throughout 2020.​ The most common topics included ​God,​ ​Jesus,​ ​love,​ ​faith,​ ​power​ and​ glory​.

Early in April, during the beginning stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and in anticipation of Easter, topics of ​fear, prayer, faith, suffering, comfort, grief, stress, and church ​were all trending.

Government, justice, freedom, anger, ​and ​judgment peaked in the summer months when there was a wave of civil unrest, including protests and riots following the death of George Floyd. By fall, church fellowship, service, church leadership, work, a​nd ​election w​ere most trending with peace a​nd ​hope having the largest overall sermon trend of the year with peak popularity in December, the season of Advent.

Data Information

Worship music trends are based on data from Faithlife Proclaim​ Church Presentation Software across the over 2.2 million times churches sang 7,000-plus songs together in more than 568,000 services. Insight into what topics and Scriptures pastors preached about in 2020 were compiled using data from over 60,000 sermons posted to ​Faithlife Sermons of which 75% included topic tags created by the author that describe an idea, person, or theological concept covered.

Additional data in the report includes songs that gained popularity in accordance with key calendar dates, including Easter. Father’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and the top 10 most-preached Scriptures in 2020.

To download the full Year-End Song & Sermon Report from Faithlife, visit Faithlife.com/songs.

About Faithlife:  Faithlife, based in Bellingham, Washington, with offices in Arizona and Mexico, has been using technology to equip the Church to grow in the light of the Bible for more than 25 years. Since 1992, Faithlife has developed a full suite of church management tools, academic study resources, smart digital books, and Logos Bible Software, all part of its integrated ministry platform that automates tasks and simplifies workflows. For more information, visit Faithlife.com.

Media Contact:  Melany Ethridge, 972-267-1111  melany@alarryross.com