March 25, 2020 – After several months reading and discussing sixty-three outstanding entries, judges Mark S. Burrows, Luci Shaw, and Jon M. Sweeney are pleased to announce the winners of the First Paraclete Poetry Prize.

First Prize winner is Laura Reece Hogan of Calabasas, California, for her manuscript, Litany of Flights. In addition to being a talented poet, Hogan holds both J.D. and M.A. degrees. She is also a Third Order Carmelite.

Second Prize winner is Amy Bornman of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for her manuscript, There Is a Future: A Year of Daily Midrash. Bornman is a small business owner and a new poet, aged 26.

Judge Luci Shaw, an award-winning poet herself of many decades, says: “It was a pleasure to read and review so much profoundly good poetry. This gives me hope for the world, that we can express ourselves through poetry in a way that heals the disjuncture we are experiencing. ‘Distancing’ can be overcome, and hope and beauty can be celebrated.”

Both winners will be published by Paraclete Poetry – Laura Reece Hogan in Fall 2020, and Amy Bornman early in 2021.

Scroll down to read the title poem from the First Prize-winning manuscript.

For more information, please contact Publicist Rachel McKendree at  rachelm@paracletepress.com or 1-800-451-5006, ext. 301.

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Litany of Flights
by Laura Reece Hogan, from the forthcoming collection Litany of Flights

First, the winged movement, steady, forward. Scrub jays in flitting

progress, hawks in predator glide, a ringing up, a knife-sharp slope

 

down. Second, the effortless type, wind-splayed, motionless pinions

in thermal recline, as the Psalmist says, blessings breeze his love even

 

in sleep. Third, the hungry, against the gale, the destination singular

and the sun dipping crimson. Fourth, the metallic, business or pleasure.

 

Fifth, the whirring kind, all hummingbird. A picnic, apples and chocolate

in the garden with roses, both flower and child. You miss it when it’s gone.

 

Sixth, a baffling flight of stairs, winding upward, passage and yet vehicle,

spiraling to unseen landings—hope courses in the kaleidoscopic lights.

 

Seventh, soar to the sun. Eighth, melt in bitter hubris. You know the story.

Ninth, escape. A flight out of Egypt, a path through the sea cleared by

 

divine hand. The times you ran, the times you were left behind in lament.

Tenth, only rotting in the belly of a whale tames your stubborn turn from

 

Nineveh. Eleventh, flights of despair and of yearning, two sides of one

letting go, hard-earned release back into the wild, unbound by expectation,

 

featherlike. Twelfth, in a moment, caught up high by the Beloved, the one

making all things work together, wings, body, arch, air—caught up, like the

 

Shulamite bride, to regions beyond aeronautical wisdom, transported in joy.

See, he says, the painful paring of your hollow bones has made you light.

Grand Rapids, Mich., March 2020 – Today, Zondervan Bible Group, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, announced the Adventure Bible brand has surpassed 10 million units sold.

Created in 1989 by Dr. Larry Richards, The Adventure Bible is the best-selling children’s Bible in the country. Materials are written at a 3^rd grade reading level for developing readers, so that all children can share and understand God’s Word. Its features bring the stories and concepts of Scripture to life.

“Zondervan has worked hard to make this special Bible friendly for early readers. The quality and trustworthiness of the features are of the highest standard, scholarship and creativity,” said Sue Richards, wife of Adventure Bible creator, Dr. Larry Richards. “Each volume is so colorful and attractive. Kids are excited to dig in and learn that the Bible is fascinating and speaks to all people whatever their age!”

Adventure Bible milestones include:

• June 1989 – The Adventure Bible releases for the first time in full NIV text.
• August 1994 –Adventure Bible is updated to The New Adventure Bible.
• July 2000 – The New Adventure Bible receives an update and the NIrV translation is added.
• July 2008 – The New Adventure Bible is updated to its current edition.
• February 2010 – It is released in Spanish for the first time.
• July 2014 – It is released in the NKJV translation.
• September 2018 – The first Adventure Bible Polar Exploration Edition is released.
• May 2020 – The Adventure Bible will release for the first time in the NRSV translation.

“As the current stewards of this important brand, we love to see kids get excited about reading their Bible regularly creating a lifelong love for God’s Word,” says Kevin Traub, senior marketing director, Zondervan. “One of my favorite aspects of this is hearing from current ministry leaders who read the Adventure Bible as a child and now use it in their ministry to teach the next generation.”

The Adventure Bible brand was expanded in 2013 and now includes Bibles, devotionals, Bible stories, I Can Read (early reader books) and apps. It is recommended more than any other Bible for kids by Christian schools, churches, and families.

“Our core commitment is to offer beautiful Bibles, in multiple translations, for all ages and stages. We are thrilled to fulfill that vision by publishing the Adventure Bible in multiple translations (NIV, NIrV, NKJV, with the NRSV arriving soon and an additional translation offering to be announced soon),” said Melinda Bouma, vice president and publisher of Zondervan Bibles. “With our ability to expand the Adventure Bible audience to more families by providing it in their translation of choice, we celebrate the ten million lives changed and eagerly anticipate millions more young lives impacted for years to come.”

Zondervan is a world leading Bible publisher and provider of Christian communications.  Zondervan, part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., delivers transformational Christian experiences through its bestselling Bibles, books, curriculum, academic resources and digital products. The Company’s products are sold worldwide and translated into nearly 200 languages. Zondervan offices are located in Grand Rapids, Mich. For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.

Contact: Amy Bigler, Senior Manager of Publicity, 616-698-3514 amy.bigler@harpercollins.com

 

WESTMONT, IL — The Center for Disability and Ministry (CDM) at Western Theological Seminary and IVP Academic have announced that they will be partnering together to cobrand a series of books about disability and practical theology. Dr. Benjamin T. Conner and Dr. John Swinton, internationally renowned leaders in disability studies, will serve as coeditors for the series. 

Jon Boyd, editorial director for IVP Academic, said, “We were privileged to publish Ben Conner’s own book Disabling  Mission, Enabling Witness with IVP Academic in 2018. The more I learned about the research, teaching, and community outreach programs he and Western Theological Seminary have been building, the more interested I’ve been to deepen our partnership. The chance to collaborate on books about disability and practical theology is a perfect fit.”

Western Theological Seminary has been on the front end of the conversation about disability and ministry for many years. The seminary developed the first Friendship House, a residence where young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities shared life with seminary students. They also initiated a graduate certificate in disability and ministry, and a disability and ministry doctor of ministry program.

Conner said, “The time seemed right to pursue a publishing partnership to amplify the work done through and stimulated by the CDM, and both John and I felt that IVP Academic would be the best partner because of their commitment to the academic conversation and their capacity to distribute the work.”

The cobranded series provides a platform to share the research and conversations generated by the CDM and the related work of other scholars and authors. Using practical theology as a basic framework for understanding in addition to being targeted to congregations, this book series will seek to initiate a series of conversations around key issues in disability theology with a view to increasing knowledge, creatively and faithfully impacting Christian practice.

Boyd said, “Our new partnership puts us on a really exciting road, I think, allowing both the Center for Disability and Ministry and IVP Academic to do what we each do best, but to envision greater things than we could on our own.”

Conner added, “We hope that this partnership between the CDM and IVP Academic will provide the perspectives and resources necessary for supporting churches to become more inclusive of both the gifts and challenges that the human experience of disability can bring for shaping congregations for faithful ministry to all people.” 

Contact:  Krista Clayton | 630.734.4013 | kclayton@ivpress.com

Dr. John Townsend, a nationally-known leadership consultant, psychologist, and New York Times bestselling author of Boundaries and People Fuel, has launched a weekly Facebook Live event called “Tools for Living in Crisis.” The first event aired Thursday, March 26. Townsend is answering questions and providing practical tips and helpful solutions to help others make it through these challenging days. Future events will be held over the next several weeks on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. The events can be accessed at www.facebook.com/events/230794464971305/.

Townsend also recorded an interview with Jen Hatmaker on maintaining boundaries with those you love, which will air on Jen’s For the Love Podcast on Monday, March 30, as part of her Quarantine Queens (and Kings!) bonus series. This series is meant to provide people with tactical ways to care for themselves and their families through the pandemic.

Nashville, Tenn. (March 27, 2020) – Thomas Nelson today announced the company has hired Shannon Marchese to lead Tommy Nelson, the children’s imprint for Thomas Nelson, as v-p, publisher. She will join the organization on April 13 and will report to Laura Minchew, senior v-p, Children’s and Gift Group publisher for HarperCollins Christian Publishing.

In this role, Marchese will be responsible for the long-range strategic plan, leading the team and meeting divisional goals for Tommy Nelson.  She will work to acquire new authors and brands, manage the publishing process, and maximize the extensive backlist. In addition, Marchese will develop and facilitate business and operational strategies throughout the Tommy Nelson portfolio to effectively grow the division and to ensure financial strength and operational excellence.

Marchese has worked in editorial for 18 years, most recently as executive editor at the Christian publishing imprints within Penguin Random House, WaterBrook & Multnomah and Convergent. In this role she led the growth of their children’s publishing division, as well as the acquisition and editorial direction for many of their top authors. Before working in editorial, Marchese spent seven years in publicity, making her a dynamic and strategic communicator.

“What a need our world has for messages that deliver comfort, hope, and reassurance to our youngest readers! I am very excited about joining the incredible Tommy Nelson team and look forward to making meaningful books together,” said Marchese.

 “We can’t wait for Shannon to join us and lead the amazing Tommy Nelson team,” said Laura Minchew. “Shannon has tremendous talent in acquisitions and great experience working with leading authors, developing new products and maintaining strong author and agent relationships. She is passionate about inspirational children’s publishing, and we are delighted to have her lead Tommy Nelson in this important time.”

About Thomas Nelson: 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, 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.

ATLANTA, GA — Terence Lester is the author of I See You: How Love Opens Our Eyes to Invisible People and founder of Love Beyond Walls, a not-for-profit organization focused on poverty awareness and community mobilization. Out of a deep concern for the homeless during the Coronavirus, Love Beyond Walls has created portable hand-washing stations for those living on the streets. The initiative is called Love Sinks In. In an article for Sojourners, Lester wrote, “It sounds basic, but we wanted to ensure that people had access to this basic human right as a preventative measure against contracting or spreading the COVID-19 virus.” 

The inspiring story has become one of hope amid fear and uncertainty, catching the attention of media outlets like CNN, Good Morning America, Disney, The Weather Channel, International Business Times, NY Daily News, USA News Hub, MSN, Readers Digest and others.

“As the world was talking about sanitizing and washing your hands, I knew there was an entire community of people experiencing homelessness who couldn’t do any of those things,” Lester told Good Morning America.

Lester says that the idea came from listening to a story of suffering from one of their community members named Dmitry. He is in his late 40s and is experiencing homelessness. “He expressed to us his fears about contracting the virus because he did not have a safe place to wash his hands without being put out of a public space,” Lester said. “His story prompted us to think about an entire community of people experiencing homeless who can’t do any of the basic things the news anchors were advising us to do, like wash our hands. A teammate, Johnny Taylor, and I decided that we could do more as an organization.

“That’s when I got a call from my friend Lecrae, a Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist, who wanted to know what we could do. He rose to the occasion and we combined our efforts to create Atlanta’s first-ever homeless sink installation crisis campaign.”

Lester’s heart for the overlooked was penned in I See You, in which he calls people to see the invisible people around us. He writes about personal encounters and real-life stories in an effort to challenge others to become more informed about poverty and homelessness, and to see the poor as Jesus does. Al Hsu, senior editor at IVP, said, “When the world is paralyzed, Terence Lester acts. And his creative and compassionate actions inspire the rest of us to follow his lead.”

Lester said, “Every single woman, man, and child experiencing homelessness has a story and they matter to God. If we truly believe that God has created us all, that means that we should care for the whole community — including people living on the streets.”

The goal of the current “Love Sinks In” campaign is to install as many portable wash stations as possible in the next 2-3 months. Love Beyond Walls wants to continue the initiative through focused collaboration with local stakeholders, governors, mayors, private sector and philanthropic partners. 

He told Good Morning America, “Recognizing those experiencing homelessness as ‘people’ and not ‘problems’ is important. I hope this leads us to think about how we can adequately address this issue nationally.”

Contact:  Krista Clayton | 630.734.4013 | kclayton@ivpress.com

Zonderkidz, the children’s division of Zondervan, has several free resources and downloads for families to enrich their time together at home.  Over the weekend, thousands downloaded free activity kits, curriculum guides and more from the website at https://www.zonderkidz.com/resources/freebies/.  More resources will be added weekly.

The Jesus Storybook Bible (Sally Lloyd-Jones), The Beginner’s Bible and others such as popular picture books like Love is Kind (Laura Sassi) and One Big Heart (Linsey Davis) all have supplemental materials that parents and caregivers can use to encourage the minds of children and keep little ones busy. Several of these resources feature Easter-related activities.

Zonderkidz inspires young lives through imagination and innovation. As the leader in Christian children’s communications, it creates products that awaken the hearts and touch the souls of kids.  For more information, please visit www.zonderkidz.com

After BMI’s webinar last week on how the industry was coping with COVID-19, several people asked if BMI could do more webinars as things develop. We will be holding more candid conversation webinars in coming weeks, but wanted to put something together that could be a resource at all times. In response, BMI is launching http://bookmanufacturers.org/.

This simple online forum will be a place that all people in the book manufacturing industry can do to share resources, ask questions and help each other during this unprecedented time. This site is open to the public, but does require you complete the free site registration. This is a completely stand alone site from the BMI website, so your login will not carry over.

This crisis is affecting all parts of the book industry. It is important now more than ever, that we as an industry band together to help each other and the industry. Please share any resources that you have found valuable. Discuss what steps your business is taking to ensure the lights stay on. Let’s be the rising tide that lifts all boats.

If you have any feedback or questions regarding the website, please contact Matt Baehr at mbaehr@bmibook.com.

ECPA issued a statement last week extending the deadline for submissions to the Christy Award program:

“During this time of crisis, we want to first and foremost extend our prayers that each of you stay well.  This is a season of great disruption and ECPA is prepared to revise our programs accordingly. We continue to believe and support our industry’s mission to create God inspired content and redemptive stories that spread hope and grow faith.  Thus, we are still taking Christy Award submissions but will extend the deadline another month, until April 30.”

“The Christy Award celebration event and writing conference on November 11th in Nashville are still planned, with the hope that we will have much more to celebrate at that time.  Of course, we will always keep you updated of any changes.”

To receive the latest news on the Christy Award program, sign up for updates in the top right corner at ChristyAwards.com.

“Reading Hope in Trying Times”

Writing for Your Life has made the difficult decision to reschedule or cancel all of their conferences planned for this Spring, including Publishing in Color conferences and The Business of Being a Spiritual Writer seminars. Details can be found on the Writing for Your Life and Publishing in Color websites.

But also some good news!  They are launching a new online video series called “Reading Hope in Trying Times” (https://writingforyourlife.com/reading-hope-in-trying-times/) where they feature many of their author partners, each discussing some of their books that might be helpful during the challenging times we currently face. They also welcome publishing house participation!

The series starts this coming Monday, March 23 at 11 AM Eastern and continues on subsequent weekdays at the same time.

Here is the schedule.

• Monday, Mar 23: Diana Butler Bass
• Tuesday, Mar 24: Patricia Raybon 
• Wednesday, Mar 25: Philip Yancey
• Thursday, Mar 26: Amy Julia Becker
• Friday, Mar 27: Jennifer Grant

Week two:

• Monday, Mar 30: Carol Howard Merritt
• Tuesday, Mar 31: Lori Erickson
• Wednesday, Apr 1: Niki Hardy
• Thursday, Apr 2: Natasha Sistrunk Robinson
• Friday, Apr 3: Brian McLaren

Week three:

• Monday, Apr 6: Kathy Khang
• Tuesday, Apr 7: Kate Rademacher
• Wednesday, Apr 8: Kathy Izard
• Thursday, Apr 9: Lisa Crayton
• Friday, Apr 10: Carrie Newcomer “Singing Hope in Trying Times”

Week four:

• Monday, Apr 13: Michelle Van Loon