It is with deep sadness that UMPH announces the passing of Mary Catherine Dean Monday afternoon. Many of you will have known her as the Managing Editor/Editor-in-Chief of Abingdon Press.

A member of the UMPH staff since 1983, Mary Catherine served as editor for scores of Abingdon authors, including Jim Moore, who wrote Yes, Lord, I Have Sinned, But I Have Several Excellent Excuses and other best sellers. Having served in a variety of editorial and leadership roles, including as an associate publisher, producing materials ranging from books to church curriculum, worship resources, and music products, she most recently oversaw publication of The Advance Daily Christian Advocate, The Daily Christian Advocate, The Book Discipline, and The Book of Resolutions.

We celebrated her 35 years at UMPH with a festive retirement party on January 26, 2018. Beyond retirement, she continued to provide expert part-time counsel and helped guide the complex new United Methodist Hymnal project. Though she has courageously and valiantly battled cancer for some time, she maintained an energetic and productive schedule right up until the last few weeks.

We celebrate Mary Catherine’s abiding love for her family, her deep faith in Christ through the Roman Catholic tradition, her expert command of the English language, her thorough knowledge of the theology, polity, and history of The United Methodist Church, and her extraordinary loyal service to and through UMPH.

President and Publisher Emeritus Neil Alexander notes: “Mary Catherine’s incisive humor, expansive intellect, uncommon competence, capacity for loyalty, and easy kindness were expressed in her outstanding professionalism, love for our ministry, respect for her colleagues, and full-hearted servant’s spirit.”

Mary Catherine blessed our community with her devotion to excellence and her contagious love of life.

The United Methodist Publishing House is a publisher and distributor to Christian clergy and laity, with primary responsibilities for the publishing and distribution for The United Methodist Church. The Publishing House is a fully self-supporting agency and receives no general church funds.

Abingdon Press is the primary publishing imprint for The United Methodist Publishing House and has a tradition of crossing denominational boundaries with thought-provoking and inspirational books. Abingdon Press titles include a wide array of quality Bibles, Bible studies, small group studies, Christian living, fiction, devotional, academic, professional, and reference titles published each year to enrich church communities across the globe. Visit AbingdonPress.com.

Contact: Amy Smith, Communications Phone: 615-749-6860 Email: asmith@umpublishing.org

From Palm Pilot to iPhone X, Olive Tree Bible Software has come a long way!

(Spokane, WA) July 30, 2018—With more than 6,500,000 user installs, the Olive Tree Bible App has experienced a phenomenal decade. Since the beginning, Olive Tree has been dedicated to its mission: inspiring people to connect with God and the Bible through technology. The past ten years are a testimony to Olive Tree’s dedication for creating a missional solution via mobile Bible study with their unique app development. When the company began just eight years, previous to the launch of its iOS app, the primary connecting point was desktop computers and Palm Pilots.

In 2008, Olive Tree released BibleReader for iPhones, an app made available through Apple’s latest iOS development, the App Store. Apple, allowing third-parties to develop and distribute apps for consumers within the iPhone platform, created a paradigm shift in communications. Olive Tree jumped on the opportunity, being one of the very first Bible apps.  Now, ten years later, Olive Tree Bible App users can read and study God’s Word anytime, anywhere.

“We are extremely excited, thankful, and humbled to have been given the opportunity to serve millions through our apps over these last ten years. We hope and pray for another ten years and beyond to continue inspiring people to read and study the Bible in digital form,” commented Steven Cummings, v-p of operations at Olive Tree Bible Software.

Olive Tree users have access to 100 free resources and 12,000 purchasable commentaries, study Bibles, dictionaries, cross-references, ebooks, and more. Resources are enhanced for quick-use inside the app. For example, study Bibles may have hyperlinked verses for quick reference and commentaries can automatically scroll with a user as he or she reads the Bible. Better yet, Bibles tagged with Strong’s numbers are one of the most powerful and easy-to-use Bible study tools, providing users with Hebrew and Greek word definitions with just a tap of a finger. All tools, once downloaded to your device (now available for iPhones, iPads, Androids, Kindles, PCs or Macs) can be used without Internet connection.

Celebrate 10 years of connecting to God and the Bible through technology with Olive Tree Bible App, available in iOS and Android app stores.  For more information please visit www.olivetree.com.

About Olive Tree: Olive Tree is a leading online and mobile Christian Bible resource and e-commerce company, owned by HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Its software, The Olive Tree Bible App, is accessible on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices across all major platforms and offers a wide range of products designed to help users take their Bible Study to the next level. Olive Tree’s offices are located in Spokane, WA. Please visit Olive Tree at www.olivetree.com.

(Nashville, TN) July 26, 2018—Today, HarperCollins Christian Publishing (HCCP) announced Cristopher Garrido has joined the company as v-p and publisher for its Spanish publishing program.  HCCP’s Spanish publishing program includes product under the Grupo Nelson, Editorial Vida and CLIE imprints.

Cris Garrido comes to HCCP after developing and directing a successful Spanish publishing program at Lifeway Christian Resources.  In this role, Garrido led both B&H Espan͂ol and the Lifeway International publishing initiatives for the company. During this time, he expanded the company’s Spanish Bible business, as well as taking on the curation of the Spanish point of sale in all Lifeway’s storefronts.   He joined Lifeway as the company’s Spanish acquisitions editor with the task to launch the Spanish trade book program, B&H Libros.  Garrido also has theological training, earning his Masters of Arts in Christian Education from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Bachelors of Business Administration from the Universidad Central del Este in San Pedro, Dominican Republic.

HCCP continues to focus on expanding its reach in the global Spanish-speaking market.   The company will combine Garrido’s successful Spanish book publishing track record, as well as his professional business experience working in Latin America, with its longstanding history of being a leader in the region’s Christian market, to drive its international growth initiatives.

“The foreign-language market, specifically our Spanish business, continues to be one of our primary focus areas and we see great opportunities from both a business and mission perspective,” says Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of HarperCollins Christian Publishing.  “Our Spanish publishing program will benefit from Cris’ passion and enthusiasm for God’s Word as well as his global perspective and experience in Latin America.  We are excited to welcome him to HarperCollins Christian Publishing.”

As v-p and Spanish publisher for HCCP, Garrido will be charged with overseeing all aspects of the Spanish publishing business, including long-term strategic planning, product and marketing development oversight as well as editorial oversight.  He will also be responsible for identifying, pursuing, presenting and acquiring both domestic and international projects.  Garrido’s first day will be August 6 and he will be based in Nashville, TN at the HarperCollins Christian Publishing main office. Garrido will also be attending at Expolit 2018 from August 9^th through 12^th in Miami.

About HarperCollins Christian Publishing:  The world’s leading Christian publisher, HarperCollins Christian Publishing Inc., comprises both Thomas Nelson and Zondervan publishing groups in addition to 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 the U.S. and Mexico.  For more information visit www.HarperCollinsChristian.com.

New Growth Press is pleased to announce the addition of Audra Jennings to their team as Publicity and Social Media Manager. Jennings has more than 16 years’ experience in the Christian publishing industry having been on staff with publicity agencies, most recently Litfuse Publicity Group and as a freelancer. She has represented hundreds of authors and many Christian publishers.

“We have worked with Audra many times over the years and are very excited to have her on our staff. She has always been proactive and gotten great placements for our authors. We look forward to the new opportunities and ideas she brings to the table,” says Karen Teears, President of New Growth Press.

New Growth Press (NGP) is a growing Christian publisher, producing a wide variety of gospel-centered resources for individuals, families, and churches. NGP publishes books, minibooks, small group, and Gospel Story for Kids resources that provide churches, families, and individuals with gospel-driven publications for all ages. They specialize in helping like-minded ministries and currently publish for the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), Serge, Faith Biblical Counseling, Harvest USA, Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), Key Life Network, the World Reformed Fellowship, Joni & Friends, and Be Broken Ministries.

Washington, DC; July 20, 2018 – The Association of American Publishers (AAP) issued its 2018 StatShot Annual Report today which found, among other things, that the U.S. book publishing industry generated an estimated $26.23 billion in net revenue for 2017, representing 2.72 billion units. All figures represent publishers’ net revenue from tracked categories (trade, higher education course materials, preK-12 instructional materials, professional books, and university press), in all formats, from all distribution channels. These are not retailer/consumer sales figures.

Publisher revenue for trade books (fiction, non-fiction and religious presses) were flat (0.3%) increasing by $45 million in 2017 over 2016. Since 2013, publisher revenue for trade books increased by around $820 million.

StatShot Annual is based on a unique methodology that combines annual data submitted by publishers, along with market modeling, to estimate the total size of the U.S. publishing industry. It is a different report than AAP’s monthly statistics reports, which track publisher revenue comparatively on a month-to-month basis. Below is a top-level summary of the data, but the entire report is available for purchase.

Publisher Revenue in Billions

Some highlights from the report:

• Non-fiction books for adults is the category with the largest growth for publishers, with a 5.4% increase in publisher revenue from 2016 to 2017. Since 2013, revenue for the category has grown 28.4% to $6.18 billion. Nearly 150 million more adult non-fiction books were sold in 2017 than in 2013.
• Publisher revenue for adult fiction declined slightly, by -1.2% to $4.38 billion. From 2013 to 2017, this category saw only one year of revenue growth (2015).
• Both fiction and non-fiction books for children and young adults saw more units sold in 2017 than in 2016, up 1.1% and 4.4% respectively. Over the past five years (2013 – 2017) publisher revenue for children’s and YA fiction has grown by 11.3% to $3.67 billion and non-fiction has declined by -2.3% to $652 million.
• Downloaded audio remained the fastest growing format, with 28.8% year-over-year growth from 2016 to 2017 and 146.2% growth over the past five years (2013 – 2017).
• More than 1 billion paperback books were sold (more than any other format in 2017) comprising 36.9% of books sold in all categories.
• For the first time publisher sales to physical and online retail channels were approximately equal at $7.6 billion and $7.5 billion respectively in 2017. Within online retail channels, 43.2% were print formats, 27% were eBooks, 16.3% were instructional materials, 10.5% were downloaded audio, and 3.1% were physical audio or a different format.
• Revenue from higher education was flat (0.5%), revenue from pre-K-12 and professional books declined in 2017 by -2.9 and -0.7% respectively.

About StatShot Annual:

AAP member and non-member publishers provided data in response to a 2018 statistical survey that covers revenue and units by categories, channels, and formats. Survey participants in StatShot Annual may not be the same as those who participate in AAP’s monthly surveys. Since the annual survey does not include all known industry publishers, estimates are used for publishers who do not participate directly in data collection. These estimates are based on sales data included in company financial reports, trade and news media reporting, government filings, BooksinPrint, press releases, third party research services, and private sources.

StatShot Annual Distribution:

Participants receive a complimentary copy of the full StatShot Annual Report. Otherwise, the report is available for purchase here. For more information about the report, email Syreeta Swann at sswann@publishers.org.

About AAP

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) represents the leading book, journal, and education publishers in the United States on matters of law and policy, advocating for outcomes that incentivize the publication of creative expression, professional content, and learning solutions. As essential participants in local markets and the global economy, our members invest in and inspire the exchange of ideas, transforming the world we live in one word at a time. Find us online at www.newsroom.publishers.org or on twitter at @AmericanPublish.

Media contact: Marisa Bluestone / 202-220-4558 / mbluestone@publishers.org

July 17, 2018, Atlanta, GA—A recent nationwide study by Barna Group and author Jack Alexander concluded that 83% of Christians do NOT believe that mercy is their individual responsibility, but rather the responsibility of churches and non-profits. Yet, when surveyed, the pastors of churches overwhelmingly thought that the recipients of mercy should be the poor and victims in distress rather than people who have hurt us or society. By a factor of more than 5:1, pastors and Christians thought that those who are incarcerated and those who have wronged us personally were less deserving of their compassion. 

“The foundation of Christianity is that we are all sinners in the eyes of God,” says Alexander. “As Christians, we should have a passion for showing mercy to these people, but the data in this study is not showing that.” Alexander goes on to say, “Even in Matthew 25: 40, Jesus identifies himself with a prisoner when he said, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ As Christians, we need to have an uncompromised view of who deserves mercy.”

Releasing on July 31, Alexander’s book, The God Impulse: The Power of Mercy in an Unmerciful World (Baker) reexamines scripture, discovering a pattern of God’s impulse towards us; one that offers mercy and healing at every turn – without sacrificing the truth and no matter the circumstance.

The full findings of the Barna-Alexander study on Mercy and Forgiveness will be released in March 2019 in a new book, providing a fuller picture of Christians’ and Protestant pastors’ perspectives and practices in these areas. Meanwhile, Alexander’s book provides a realistic assessment of where our churches and our society fall short in extending true biblical mercy, and how Christians can learn and practice God’s impulse to “see, go, do and endure.”

About Jack Alexander
Businessman, entrepreneur, theology student, and author, Jack Alexander, is the chairman of The Reimagine Group with a wealth of experience in a wide variety of businesses. A previous recipient of an Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year Award, he is a regular speaker, coach, and advisor. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Atlanta. They have three grown sons and five grandchildren.

Contact:  Karen Campbell Media, Inc.  616-309-4390  www.karencampbellmedia.com

Nashville, TN (July 17, 2018) — HarperCollins Christian Publishing has shipped more than 650,000 copies in the product family of Max Lucado’s Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World (September 2017, Nelson) in just nine months. Strong sales continue as the title nears the one-year mark.

Authored by “America’s Pastor” Max Lucado, Anxious for Nothing has impacted thousands of readers over the last nine months:

• Lucado penned multiple op-eds, addressing anxiety in light of breaking news, via USA Today, Fox News, Christian Post, CBN News, and more.
• Multiple appearances on national bestseller lists including Amazon, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and CBA.

Max Lucado’s next book, Unshakable Hope: Building Our Lives on the Promises of God (Thomas Nelson) releases August 2018. The new book describes the twelve scriptural promises on which Lucado has built his life and ministry. An Unshakable Hope pre-sale campaign runs through August 7, and a special launch event is set for August 6 at the Museum of the Bible (Washington, DC). Confirmed national media interviews for the Unshakable Hope book launch include Fox & Friends, Dave Ramsey Radio, Relevant Podcast and Guideposts Magazine. More at www.UnshakableHopeBook.com.

With more than 130 million products in print, Max Lucado is America’s bestselling inspirational author. His writings have been shaped into bestselling books, videos, devotionals, songs, greeting cards, booklets, Bible studies, commentaries and theatrically-released movies. Lucado has been featured on countless national media outlets including The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, NPR’s All Things Considered and Fox & Friends. Max and his wife of over 35 years, Denalyn, call San Antonio, Texas, home. Max has served the people of Oak Hills Church since 1988. More at www.maxlucado.com

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, Tenn. For additional information visit www.thomasnelson.com.

Contact: Jana Muntsinger, MMPR  jana@mmpublicrelations.com  281-251-0480
For review copies of Anxious for Nothing and Unshakable Hope

From US Navy pilot to American hero

(Nashville, Tenn.) July 18, 2018 –W Publishing Group, an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, has acquired rights to a memoir by Captain Tammie Jo Shults, the airline pilot of Southwest Flight 1380 who made an emergency landing of her Boeing 737 after an engine exploded in midair, shattering a passenger window.

The North American rights were acquired by Daisy Blackwell Hutton, vice president and publisher of W Publishing, in a pre-empt from Mel Berger at William Morris Endeavor, along with CMG Worldwide. This book is scheduled for release in October 2019 and will be Tammie Jo’s first book. 

With nerves of steel, Captain Shults safely landed Southwest 1380 with only one engine in Philadelphia earlier this year. She will tell the story of how a young girl growing up on a ranch in New Mexico went on to become one of the first female F-18 Hornet pilots in the US Navy, braving rejection and discrimination with the strength she found in her faith. 

Captain Shults is one of a small percentage of female pilots in the commercial airline industry. According to 2016 data from the Federal Aviation Administration, just 6.33% of commercial pilots are women. The passengers of Southwest 1380 applauded Shults for her “guidance and bravery in a traumatic situation” and called her a “true American hero.”

“We believe that Tammie Jo’s inspiring story has powerful reach far beyond the headlines heralding her calm and courage during the Southwest Airlines incident,” said Hutton. “It is a deeply human story that touches broadly on questions about how the choices we make and the things we value coalesce into the people we become. Tammie Jo’s story also dovetails powerfully with the cultural conversation around women’s strength and tenacity as we pursue our dreams.”

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, 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: Becky Melvin  615.902.1211  becky.melvin@harpercollins.com

July 19, 2018 — San Diego, CA – The largest pop-culture entertainment event in the world, COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: SAN DIEGO 2018 kicked off last week with an attendance of more than 125,000 per day with hundreds of thousands more attending related events in downtown San Diego.  

The CHRISTIAN COMIC ARTS SOCIETY is honored to partner with Brentwood Studios & the Aetherlight MMO to deliver top talent, projects, and compelling events open to all Comic-Con attendees.

The Christian Comic Arts Society hosted three events as part of the official Comic-Con programming, and exhibited throughout the convention in the Small Press area #P-08.  Courtesy of Brentwood Studios and Tyndale House Publishers, Con attendees received a copy of book one in “The Delusion” Young Adult novel series by Laura Gallier available at the CCAS events while supplies last. 

Comic-Con events included:

• Friday 07/20/2018, 8:30-10:00 pm, Christian Comic Arts Society Mixer in Room 26AB

  Featured: Bryan Mero (Spirit Knight), Tim Cleary (Aetherlight MMO), Dan Lynch (“BibleForce”), Eric Jansen (Foursquare Mission Press), Geoff Strout (Faithful Creative), moderators Scott A. Shuford (FrontGate Media) and Joe Queen (Geeky Guys for God) and more.  Join the Christian Comic Arts Society as they partner again with Geeky Guys for God for the 10th annual mixer. This is an opportunity for Christian professionals, fans, artists, and writers to intermingle, socialize and network.  There will be a trivia game and prizes will be awarded to those attendees who know their geek trivia.

• Saturday 07/21/2018, 7:00-8:00 pm, Spiritual Themes in Comics in Room 4

  Featured: David Walker (Luke Cage), B. David Walters (Electropunk), Tim Cleary (Aetherlight MMO), Travis Hanson (Beanleaf Press), Buzz Dixon (Serenity), Jessica Tseang (Comic Book Historian) and Kyle Keene (Moderator). With spiritual themes central to comic book related movies such as “Black Panther” and “Wonder Woman” and animated movies like Pixar’s “Coco”, panelists will explore how the spiritual themes central to these stories reflect the reality of the spiritual beliefs of the cultures featured.  They will also explore how spiritual depictions in movies, comic books, fantasy, and science fiction impact the society. Always a lively discussion, this will mark the 21st year that the Christian Comic Arts Society has hosted the Spiritual Themes in Comics panel at San Diego.

• Sunday 07/22/2017, 10:00-11:00 am, Christian Comic Arts Society in Room 28DE

  Featured: Sergio Cariello (Action Bible), Scott Zambelli (Topps – Transformers), Jackson Fong (Baptist Church), Carmi Greene (actress), and Ralph Miley (CCAS President). Join the Christian Comic Arts Society along with Geeks4God, and Geeky Guys for God as we celebrate the Open Meeting of the CCAS on Sunday morning.  Christian professionals in the entertainment industry will discuss their faith and how it influences them in their professions, their decisions, and the creative process.

Also, as in years past, CCAS featured book signings and giveaways throughout the weekend at their booth, #P-08.

For more information on the Comic-Con International: San Diego, go to http://www.comic-con.org.

ABOUT CHRISTIAN COMIC ARTS SOCIETY
Christian Comic Arts Society (CCAS) was formed in 1984 to locate and link Christians interested or active in the comic book/graphic novel medium. CCAS sponsors comic industry activities at various comic conventions across the country, and Alpha Omega, the APA of Christian comics.  The goal and purpose of CCAS is to support Christian professionals, hopefuls and enthusiasts within the Comic Book and related industries by providing opportunities for: 1. The sharing of the Christian message and our Christian faith, primarily within and through the comic book industry and art form. 2. Mentoring, training, friendship and networking. 3. The collaboration on and creation of visual storytelling. The CCAS is governed by a volunteer board which includes Ralph Miley (New Creation,) Holly Knevelbaard (Illustrator,) Clint D. Johnson (“FaithWalker”,) Luis Serrano (“Samson The Nazirite”,) and Scott A. Shuford (FrontGate Media) along with numerous volunteers from the comic industry and the Church. For more information on the Christian Comic Arts Society, go to www.ChristianComicArts.com, Facebook.com/ChristianComicArts, or Twitter.com/ChristianComics.

ABOUT BRENTWOOD STUDIOS
Started in 2008 by former VeggieTales executives, Brentwood Studios partners with producers and content owners to develop new ideas, and manage brands that kids love and parents appreciate. Leveraging experience, creative, and strategic thinking, Brentwood Studios works with our partners to create new products and advance licensing, strategic alliances, distribution, sales, and marketing. Brentwood is led by Bob Starnes, Brock Starnes and Dan Lynch who joined the team in 2016. Dan most recently served as Publisher and Founder at B&H Kids, a division of Lifeway and prior as VP/Publisher for TommyNelson. Brentwood Studios is based in Franklin, Tennessee. http://www.brentwoodstudios.net

For more information or interviews, please contact: 
Lori Heiselman – FrontGate Media, 714-553-5181  Lori@FrontGateMedia.com