Minneapolis (January 30, 2018) – Children’s book publisher Sparkhouse Family has rebranded as Beaming Books. A business unit of 1517 Media, Sparkhouse Family was launched in 2014 as a publisher of Bibles and religious books for children. Under the new name, Beaming Books will publish high-quality books for children in both religious and non-religious categories.

“Beaming Books is dedicated to helping kids thrive socially, emotionally, and spiritually,” says Andrew DeYoung, managing editor for the imprint. “We’re looking to tackle a broad range of topics related to kids’ social and emotional well-being, including kindness, ethics, self-esteem, and faith.”

Forthcoming titles from Beaming books include Laura Renauld’s Porcupine’s Pie, a charming picture book about sharing and community spirit; Caryn Rivadeneira’s Generous Kids series, which helps kids of all ages live with generosity and abundance; and Sarah Raymond Cunningham’s May God Bless You and Keep You, a faith-inflected book of welcoming and encouragement for young children in the style of The Wonderful Things You Will Be.

The following previously-announced children’s books and parenting titles will be published under the new Beaming Books imprint:

• Porcupine’s Pie by Laura Renauld (Fall 2018)
• Little Steps, Big Faith by Dawn Rundman (Fall 2018)
• Mine! by Caryn Rivadeneira (Fall 2018)
• It’s Not Fair! by Caryn Rivadeneira (Fall 2018)
• The Wrong Shoes by Caryn Rivadeneira (Fall 2018)
• Lift-the-Flap Bible Stories for Young Children by Andrew J. DeYoung and Naomi Joy Krueger (Fall 2018)
• The Very Best Story Ever Told by Robin Currie (Fall 2018)
• May God Bless and Keep You by Sarah Raymond Cunningham (Fall 2018)
• The Star in the Christmas Play by Lynne Marie (Fall 2018)
• All the Best Questions by Jeremy Steele (Fall 2018)
• When Day Is Done by Natalee Creech (Spring 2019)
• The Fabulous World that God Made by Joyce K. Ellis (Spring 2019)
• Antonino’s Impossible Dream by Tim McGlen (Spring 2019)
• God’s Protection Covers Me by Amy Houts (Spring 2019)
• Precious Baby by Della Ross Ferreri (Spring 2019)
• Huggle Wuggle Bedtime Snuggle by Della Ross Ferreri (Fall 2019)

All book titles previously released by Sparkhouse Family will remain in print and available. All titles set to publish in Spring 2018 will be published under the Sparkhouse Family name.

About Beaming Books
Beaming Books publishes high-quality children’s books that help kids thrive emotionally, socially, and spiritually. With topics ranging from self-esteem to kindness, ethics, and faith, our books are designed to spark the imagination and equip kids and families to live full and flourishing lives, together. More details about the award-winning books for children and Beaming Books can be found at www.beamingbooks.com.

About 1517 Media
1517 Media creates multimedia resources and distinctive books for Christian communities, students, scholars, and the general reader. 1517 Media’s imprints include Augsburg Fortress, Fortress Press, Sparkhouse, and Beaming Books.

Media Contact: Emily Benz, Publicity & Marketing Manager Beaming Books 612-330-3117 | benze@beamingbooks.com

“Jenkins is a consummate novelist; his plotting is nicely sneaky, his dialogue crackling.” – Publishers Weekly

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) February 1, 2018 – Jerry B. Jenkins’ books have sold more than 70 million copies, including the phenomenal Left Behind series, minting him as one of the best-selling novelists of his generation. Now, Worthy Publishing is pleased to announce he will be releasing a new fiction series slated for this fall.

Jenkins’ literary contribution to the world of publishing is remarkable – having penned more than 190 books, two-thirds of those novels, including 21 New York Times bestsellers with seven debuting at #1. He is one of the most creative and commercially successful writers of our time.

“Jerry’s influence on Christian publishing can’t be exaggerated,” says Byron Williamson, President and Publisher, Worthy Publishing. “We’re extremely honored to have the opportunity to partner with Jerry at this point in his distinguished career, sharing this inventive new series of books with the world.”

The new series, The Dead Sea Chronicles, tells captivating stories combining provocative current events with ancient adventure, spiritual warfare, and biblical archeology with Da Vinci Code-like flair. The first book in the series, titled Dead Sea Rising, introduces readers to a female New York-based PhD in ancient Near East history, who uncovers antiquities mysteriously tied to biblical patriarch Abraham. Her explosive find threatens to upend everything ever thought about Jewish and Arab relations.

Jenkins owns the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild coaching thousands of aspiring writers in both fiction and nonfiction.

Jerry B. Jenkins’ books have sold more than 70 million copies. Twenty-one of his titles have reached the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal best-seller lists. The phenomenally best-selling Left Behind series inspired a movie starring Nicolas Cage. Jenkins has been featured on the cover of Newsweek and his writing has appeared in Time, Reader’s Digest, Guideposts, and dozens of other periodicals. He and his wife, Dianna, have three grown sons and live in Colorado. He owns the Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild (www.JerryJenkins.com).

Worthy Publishing Group is a privately held, independent voice in inspirational publishing, based in Nashville, TN. Worthy includes five distinct imprints: Worthy Books publishes inspirational works addressing faith and culture, spiritual growth, biblical study, fiction, and specialty Bibles; Museum of the Bible Books is a partnership between Worthy and the Museum, publishing books that reveal the history, narrative, and impact of the Bible; Ellie Claire produces beautifully crafted journals, gifts, and paper expressions; Worthy Inspired publishes felt-need, inspirational and devotional books; and WorthyKids/Ideals creates colorful, interactive children’s books, including VeggieTales and Berenstain Bears, for ages 2 to 10.

Hall-of-Fame Coach and New York Times #1–Bestselling Author Will Publish First Leadership Fable

CAROL STREAM, ILL. (February 1, 2018) – Tyndale House Publishers (@tyndalehouse) announced today that Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy), who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016, will publish his first leadership fable, The Soul of a Team (ISBN 978-1-4964-1376-5, $26.99, HC), with Tyndale Momentum. The book’s release, scheduled for early 2019, will include a significant marketing budget as well as a national book-signing and media tour.

Dungy led the Indianapolis Colts to Super Bowl victory in 2007, the first such win for an African American head coach. He retired from coaching in 2009 and now serves as a studio analyst for NBC’s “Football Night in America.” He and his wife, Lauren, with whom he coauthored Uncommon Marriage, are the parents of ten children.

“I can’t think of anyone who is more qualified to write a book on teamwork than Tony Dungy,” said Jan Long Harris, executive publisher of nonfiction. “Whether on the field, in the television studio, or in his own home, he has brought out passion and excellence, empowering and maximizing the strengths of everyone around him. Tony knows how to jump-start a winning organization, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with him to share his team-building wisdom.”’

In The Soul of a Team, Dungy tells the story of a fictional NFL team looking for a turnaround. Written from a first-person perspective with Dungy in the role of a consultant brought in during the off-season, the fable identifies some of the most common issues that hold a team back and lays out a game plan for winning teamwork.

Nathan Whitaker is the writing collaborator for The Soul of a Team. D.J. Snell, president, Legacy, LLC, is the literary agent.

Dungy has had a remarkable run of success as a Tyndale author. Quiet Strength, the memoir he released with Whitaker in 2007, reached No. 1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List in 2007. It has sold more than one million copies and has become one of the bestselling sports-related books in history.Uncommon: Finding Your Path to Significance (2009) and The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently (2010) followed and also achieved New York Times Best Seller status. Those books were followed by The One Year Uncommon Life Daily Challenge, a devotional that released in 2011. In all, Dungy products with Tyndale easily exceed the three-million mark in unit sales.

Tony Dungy is a #1 New York Times bestselling author whose books include Quiet Strength and Uncommon. He led the Indianapolis Colts to Super Bowl victory in 2007, the first such win for an African American head coach. He retired from coaching in 2009 and now serves as a studio analyst for NBC’s “Football Night in America.” He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Tyndale House Publishers, founded in 1962, is one of the largest privately held Christian publishers of books, Bibles, and digital media in the world. Tyndale Momentum, Tyndale’s nonfiction imprint, is the publisher of many New York Times bestsellers and is known for integrity in building lasting personal relationships with authors and agents. Tyndale extends the ministry of its authors by contributing most of its profits to the nonprofit Tyndale House Foundation, which makes grants to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world. Originally founded to publish The Living Bible, a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible that became a global publishing phenomenon, Tyndale now publishes the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), the translation of choice for millions of people.

February 5, 2018, Newburyport, MA– Firebrand Technologies, a leader in market intelligence and technology services for the publishing industry, announced today that they have partnered with Kadaxis as the exclusive reseller and advocate of the innovative Audience Analysis and Keyword Creation services.

The Keywords service is available to publishers of any size, for single titles or groups of titles, across any genre or topic. Pay-as-you-go and subscription options are available, as well as premium services that are ideal for pre-pub and frontlist titles, including launch campaigns and other marketing efforts.

This partnership builds on the growing relationship between the two companies over the last few years, which included an extensive research project to track the impact audience-driven keywords have on book sales. The research revealed that titles with Kadaxis-created keywords drive increased discovery and improved sales for both new and backlist titles, across multiple genres.

Despite the impressive impact keywords have proven to have on sales, a surprisingly small number of publishers (only about 25%) are actually applying keywords in a strategic manner. Firebrand and Kadaxis now offer a simple workflow and high impact results to publishers.

“The joint research project conducted by Firebrand and Kadaxis has clearly revealed that the best way to enhance discovery and reach audiences is to understand how they themselves speak about books, in their own language,” said Firebrand President, Doug Lessing. “The Kadaxis service is a perfect fit with Firebrand’s Metadata and Marketing solutions, and we look forward to expanding the reach of the Kadaxis service globally.”

Chris Sim, Kadaxis founder and CEO, explains, “We’ve found a way to create keywords that work, and have helped many publishers increase book sales through keyword optimization. Our partnership with Firebrand will help us to scale operations and meet the increasing demand for our keyword product. Firebrand has served the publishing industry for over thirty years, and their expertise and track record for delivery are well regarded.”

For more information, please visit www.firebrandtech.com/keywords.

To learn more about Firebrand Technologies, please visit: www.firebrandtech.com, or email info@firebrandtech.com.

About Firebrand Technologies
Firebrand Technologies (www.firebrandtech.com) is dedicated to providing leading software and services to help publishers achieve success. Firebrand provides steadfast leadership and seamless information flow throughout the publishing process. Title Management™ Enterprise Software tracks titles from pre-acquisition through post-production, marketing and sales; our Eloquence on Demand™ service is the industry gold standard for implementing ONIX and maximizing control of how data and content reach the marketplace. Direct2Reader™ provides a platform for publishers to efficiently deliver secure ebook files for direct sales, bulk sales, digital exam copies, and promotions. FlightDeck™ offers the most powerful EPUB Quality Assurance and validation tool available. NetGalley™ is a premier pre-publication marketing and publicity service, which delivers secure digital galleys to professional readers. Follow us on Twitter @firebrandtech. 

About Kadaxis
Kadaxis uses data science to improve book discovery across the publishing value chain. The company is based in New York, and counts many of the top publishing companies as clients. Our flagship Audience Analysis Keyword product improves the visibility of books in retailer search engines like Amazon search, leading to increased sales. Learn more about us at kadaxis.com or follow us on Twitter @kadaxis.

Contact:  Steve Rutberg, Director of Sales and Marketing, Firebrand Technologies at steve.rutberg@firebrandtech.com

Introductory Novel in New Series, Releasing from Tyndale House Publishers on February 6, 2018

Carol Stream, Ill.—February 2, 2018—Award-winning author of contemporary inspirational romance Carla Laureano releases the first novel in the Supper Club series, a deliciously enticing romance with a foodie twist that reminds readers that nothing is wasted—not with God. The Saturday Night Supper Club is a charming story of friendship, second chances, and the power of God using our circumstances to lead us back to Him, releasing on February 6, 2018, from Tyndale House Publishers.

Denver chef Rachel Bishop has accomplished everything she’s dreamed—and some things she never dared hope, like winning a James Beard Award and heading up her own fine-dining restaurant. But when a targeted smear campaign causes her to be pushed out of the business by her partners, she vows to do whatever it takes to get her life back . . .even if that means joining forces with the man who inadvertently set the disaster in motion.

Essayist Alex Kanin never imagined his pointed editorial would go viral. Ironically, his attempt to highlight the pitfalls of online criticism has the opposite effect: it revives his own flagging career by destroying that of a perfect stranger. Plagued by guilt-fueled writer’s block, Alex vows to do whatever he can to repair the damage. He just doesn’t expect his interest in the beautiful chef to turn personal.

Alex agrees to help rebuild Rachel’s tarnished image by offering his connections and his home to host an exclusive pop-up dinner party targeted to Denver’s most influential citizens: the Saturday Night Supper Club. As they work together to make the project a success, Rachel begins to realize Alex is not the unfeeling opportunist she once thought he was, and that perhaps there’s life—and love—outside the pressure-cooker of her chosen career. But can she give up her lifelong goals without losing her identity as well?

When asked what she hopes readers take away from The Saturday Night Supper Club, Laureano shares, “I hope they realize that small, heartfelt offerings, like cooking a meal for a friend, are just as important as grand gestures. I hope they are inspired to build strong friendships like the ones Rachel has with Ana and Melody—an absolute necessity in buffering us from the hardships of modern life. And most of all, I hope readers realize that however distant they might feel from God, it’s never too late to come back to Him.”

Trade reviews of The Saturday Night Supper Club have been consistently strong. Booklist said, “Writing charmingly about faith, love, friendship, and food, Laureano will leave readers hungry for the next installment in the Supper Club series.” In a starred review, Library Journal added, “Romance aficionados and fans of stories about overcoming obstacles and the role of faith in everyday life will eagerly await the next entry in this sweet, food-centered series.” Publishers Weekly concurred in its own starred review, saying, “Bright, jovial, and peppered with romance and delectable cuisine, this is a sweet and lively love story.” Romantic Times designated The Saturday Night Supper Club as a Top Pick, saying, “Laureano’s latest novel, the first in her Supper Club series, is a delight for foodies! There’s a delectable amount of behind-the-scenes restaurant and cooking detail, as well as some amazing descriptions of food that will literally have readers’ mouths watering for a taste.”

Carla Laureano is the RITA® Award–winning author of contemporary inspirational romance and Celtic fantasy (as C. E. Laureano). A graduate of Pepperdine University, she worked as a sales and marketing executive for nearly a decade before leaving corporate life behind to write fiction full-time. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two sons, where she writes during the day and cooks things at night.

The Saturday Night Supper Club by Carla Laureano
ISBN: 978-1-4964-2024-4 | Softcover: $14.99
ISBN: 978-1-4964-2827-1 | Hardcover: $24.99
February 6, 2018

Tyndale House Publishers, founded in 1962, is the world’s largest privately held Christian publisher of books, Bibles, and digital media. Tyndale has published many New York Times bestsellers. The largest portion of its profit goes to the nonprofit Tyndale House Foundation, which makes grants to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world. Tyndale was founded to publish Living Letters, which later comprised part of The Living Bible, a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible that became a global publishing phenomenon. Tyndale now publishes the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), the translation of choice for millions of people.

(Nashville, TN) February 1, 2018—Today HarperCollins Christian Publishing (HCCP) announced a few key promotions within the Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Bible publishing groups that reflect the company’s continued focus on the Bible.

John, Kramp, who joined HCCP in September 2014 as senior v-p of Bible Resources, has been named senior v-p and group publisher for Bibles. Additionally, Doug Lockhart who joined the company as senior v-p for Bible marketing and outreach in October 2014 has been named senior v-p for Bible marketing and new initiatives.  Lockhart came to HCCP from Biblica as president and CEO, owners of the New International Version translation of the Bible. Lockhart will continue to work with Kramp to lead Bible marketing, champion innovative strategies, and develop pivotal partnerships across the industry to enhance visibility for the New International Version (NIV), the King James Version (KJV), and the New King James Version (NKJV) translations.

For Zondervan Bibles, Melinda Bouma is being promoted to publisher. During her 10-plus year tenure with Zondervan Bibles, Bouma’s innovation, industry knowledge, and leadership have been essential to the success of the Zondervan Bible business. As publisher, she will build on her proven success of award winning product develop, acquisition, and publishing leadership by expanding the publishing portfolio of the NIV, the New American Standard Version (NASB), the Amplified Version (AMP) and other translations.

HCCP also announced the promotion of Daniel Marrs to publisher of Thomas Nelson Bibles. Marrs joined the Thomas Nelson Bible team in November 2015 as senior editor and was named associate publisher for the group in June 2016. With a strong theological background and editorial expertise, Marrs will lead the group as publisher, continuing to oversee acquisitions, author and title development, product ideation, and editorial development to grow the NKJV, KJV, and other translations.

About HarperCollins Christian Publishing:
The world’s leading Christian publisher, HarperCollins Christian Publishing Inc., comprising both Thomas Nelson and Zondervan publishing groups and Olive Tree Bible Software. The Company produces bestselling Bibles, inspirational books, academic resources, curriculum, audio and digital content for the Christian market space. Also home to BibleGateway.com, the world’s largest Christian website, and FaithGateway.com, an online community dedicated to helping people grow in their faith. HarperCollins Christian Publishing is headquartered in Nashville, TN with additional offices in Grand Rapids, MI, Miami, FL and Spokane, WA. For more information visit www.HarperCollinsChristian.com

Beginning in January 2018, the Nazarene Publishing House commenced doing business in North America as The Foundry Publishing. The rebranding, which was introduced in phases beginning in June 2017, will allow NPH to expand its market reach in order to impact a broader audience with the Wesleyan-Holiness message, according to CEO Mark D. Brown. Internationally, the Nazarene Publishing House brand will remain in place.

“The primary focus of our company will be the Wesleyan market, particularly the Church of the Nazarene,” said Brown. “But just as Saul’s name became Paul in order to evangelize the Gentiles, we also feel some changes are necessary in order to reach beyond our denominational borders. Adopting his Roman name was typical of Paul’s missionary strategy. His method was to put people at ease and to approach them in a language and style they could relate to. Our market research is telling us that it is time for a new brand that opens the door to new audiences.”

The Foundry name was chosen because it harkens back to John Wesley’s first chapel, The Foundry Church, established in 1739 in London. The Foundry Church was the cradle of a new holiness theology as Wesley led congregants in a commitment to embrace justice and compassion as central to the gospel of Christ. “We are leaning into our rich holiness heritage to inform our strategic plan,” Brown said. “We believe ‘The Foundry’ is a powerful metaphor that keeps us anchored in our past and yet propels us into the future.”

Brown describes a future that includes innovative products, a more responsive posture, and more collaboration with partners in ministry.  “In the midst of change, we will continue to provide the resources local congregations depend on weekly for ministry,” Brown said.  The Foundry Publishing will focus on theology, spiritual formation, pastoral resources, and youth and children’s ministry.  Brown said there are plans to release a brand new suite of media-rich Adult Sunday School and small group resources in March 2018, as well as all-new children’s, youth, and young adult curriculum in 2019.”

“We thank God for these days of opportunity,” Brown said. “We ask our industry partners to join us in prayer as we embark on this exciting season of innovation.”

For more information and to view a video on The Foundry story, visit The FoundryPublishing.com.

This year, Riggins International Rights Service celebrates their 15th anniversary serving as the rights department for several inspirational publishers.  They have issued over 5,000 licensing agreements and helped clients reach millions of people around the world with books and Bibles in their own language or preferred reading format.

In celebration and commemoration of their phenomenal growth, reach and diversity, they have changed their name to reflect the current scope of the company.  They will now be known as Mosaic Rights Management.

This name was chosen for the following reasons:

• They represent a mosaic of Christian publishers with diverse theological thought that adheres to the Basic Christian Tenets of Faith.
• They currently license to a variety of publishers in 55 languages, reaching a human mosaic of cultures and colors.
• When placing all the pieces together (similarly to the glass, stone, or golden fragments of beautiful mosaics that adorned some of the very first Christian churches), the finished result is a global mosaic that serves the inspirational publishing community.

Clients and partners of Mosaic Rights Management had this to say about the company:

“Mosaic has extended B&H’s global reach to over 2 million more lives.  Cindy and her team are invaluable to our global reach, we could not be in as many countries and languages as we are without her expert help and hard work.  We are strong, ministry driven partners.” —  Jennifer Lyell, Vice President of Book Publishing, B&H Publishing Group.

“During the years Abingdon Press has been represented by Mosaic Rights Management, our books have been translated into 36 languages and have touched nearly one million lives across the globe. Mosaic Rights has helped us in our efforts to reach more people in more places; and we value the experience, the relationships, and the high degree of professionalism of the Mosaic Rights staff.” — Mary Catherine Dean, Associate Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Abingdon Press

The overall mission and focus of the company will remain the same — to reach people around the globe with products, in various formats and in their respective language, which positively impacts their life and faith.

ABOUT MOSAIC RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
Mosaic Rights Management, a division of Riggins International Rights Services, serves as the rights department for several inspirational publishers.   For our clients, we offer professional multi-platform marketing, licensing sales and management for a successful global rights program.  For organizations seeking to acquire rights, Mosaic offers the convenience of having one source for rights to many products.

Mosaic Rights Management is the largest inspirational rights service organization, representing nineteen publishers and a global team of experienced publishing professionals. Visit us at www.mosaicrights.com.

Contact: Cindy Riggins, President  email: cindy@mosaicrights.com  phone: 931-216-0760

 

 

Ada, Mich. (January 23, 2018)—Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, is pleased to announce that they have signed a new two-book contract with New York Times bestselling author Jentezen Franklin.

Releasing over the next few years, these two new books will focus on two very timely, and very personal, topics for Franklin. In the first book, Love Like You’ve Never Been Hurt: Hope, Healing and the Power of an Open Heart, he shares his own story of personal pain and shows readers how to find the strength, courage and motivation to love like they’ve never been hurt. Through biblical and modern-day stories, he discusses different types of relational disappointment and heartache, and answers questions such as Why should I trust again? and How can I ever really forgive?

Love Like You’ve Never Been Hurt will release on March 6, 2018 and will be promoted on Jentezen Franklin’s Kingdom Connection broadcast, which reaches as many as 2.3 billion viewers in 249 countries around the world.

Book two is slated for release in Fall 2019.

“Pastor Jentezen Franklin has done it again! His words speak to the heart both literally and metaphorically.  Your life and relationships will change for the better when you read his new book Love Like You’ve Never Been Hurt.”—Joel Osteen, pastor; New York Times bestselling author

“Pastor Jentezen has given us the tools to love through our pain. This is an inspired word from God that will enrich your life.”—Mark Batterson, pastor; New York Times bestselling author

“A profound message on the power of unconditional love. A must-read.”—Lisa Bevere, New York Times bestselling author; co-founder, Messenger International

“This could be the most powerful book you read. It will strengthen your faith and renew your hope that you can love again.”—Craig Groeschel, senior pastor, Life.Church; bestselling author

Jentezen Franklin is the senior pastor of Free Chapel, a multi-campus church with a global reach. His messages impact generations through various outreaches and through his televised broadcast, Kingdom Connection. Jentezen Franklin is also a New York Times bestselling author who speaks at conferences worldwide. He and his wife, Cherise, live near Gainesville, Georgia, and have five children. Find out more at JentezenFranklin.org.

Focusing on what God is doing around the world, Chosen Books aims to publish well-crafted books that recognize the gifts and ministry of the Holy Spirit and help the reader live a more empowered and effective life for Jesus Christ. Learn more at ChosenBooks.com.

Baker Publishing Group publishes high-quality writings that represent historic Christianity and serve the diverse interests and concerns of evangelical readers.

Contact: Lynnae Lubbers (616)676-9185 x193  llubbers@bakerpublishinggroup.com

Releasing from Tyndale House Publishers on February 6, 2018

Carol Stream, Ill.—January 24, 2018—Beloved and bestselling author Francine Rivers returns to her romance roots with a probing tale that reminds us that mercy can shape even the most broken among us into an imperfect yet stunning masterpeice.  The Masterpiece is a riveting and highly anticipated story of redemption, grace, and love, releasing on February 6, 2018, from Tyndale House Publishers.

In her new novel, the widely acclaimed Rivers delivers big-canvas storytelling at its finest, inspired by Ephesians 2:10—“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” In bringing this promise to life, Rivers employs two broken characters with gritty and difficult pasts to demonstrate the healing work of a Savior.

Successful LA artist Roman Velasco appears to have everything he could possibly want—money, women, fame. Only Grace Moore, his reluctant, newly hired personal assistant, knows how little he truly has. The demons of Roman’s past seem to echo through the halls of his empty mansion. But Grace doesn’t know how her boss secretly wrestles with those demons: by tagging buildings as the Bird, a notorious but unidentified graffiti artist—an alter ego that could destroy his career and land him in prison.

Like Roman, Grace is wrestling with ghosts and secrets of her own. After a disastrous marriage threw her life completely off course, she vowed never to let love steal her dreams again. But as she gets to know the enigmatic man behind the reputation, it’s as if the jagged pieces of both of their pasts slowly begin to fit together . . . until something so unexpected happens that it changes the course of their relationship—and both their lives—forever.

Consistent with her body of work, brokenness, healing, and redemption are prevalent themes of the story. Rivers shares that her goal in writing this novel is for “readers to know that no matter who you are, where you come from, [or] what you’ve done, when you accept Jesus, God will make you into His masterpiece.”

Trade reviews of The Masterpiece have been consistently strong. Booklist said, “Readers will marvel at Rivers’s storytelling arc encompassing the reconciliation of gritty past misdeeds with the work in progress of a life of forgiveness.” Kirkus added that Rivers “. . . deftly threads Roman’s and Grace’s lives together as they tiptoe around their emotional scars,” assuring that “fans of Christian romance will delight in this tale of salvation through love.”  Publishers Weekly concurred, saying, “The tale will have her long-standing fans hooked. And the fully formed Roman will likely garner her new ones.” Romantic Times designated The Masterpiece as a Top Pick, calling it “. . . an amazing, beautifully written tale to be savored and pondered and shared with others.”

New York Times bestselling author Francine Rivers has published numerous novels—all bestsellers—and she has continued to win both industry acclaim and reader loyalty around the globe. Her Christian novels have been awarded or nominated for many honors, and in 1997, after winning her third RITA Award for inspirational fiction, Francine was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. In 2015, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Francine’s novels have been translated into over 30 different languages, and she enjoys bestseller status in many foreign countries. She and her husband, Rick, enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren. Visit Francine’s website at www.francinerivers.com.

The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers
ISBN: 978-1-4964-0790-0 | Hardcover: $25.99 | February 6, 2018 

Tyndale House Publishers, founded in 1962, is the world’s largest privately held Christian publisher of books, Bibles, and digital media. Tyndale has published many New York Times bestsellers. The largest portion of its profit goes to the nonprofit Tyndale House Foundation, which makes grants to help meet the physical and spiritual needs of people around the world. Tyndale was founded to publish Living Letters, which later comprised part of The Living Bible, a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible that became a global publishing phenomenon. Tyndale now publishes the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), the translation of choice for millions of people.

Contact: Katie Dodillet, katiedodillet@tyndale.com, 630.784.5275