August 27, 2018 Edition

Obituary for Carie Freimuth, former VP and Associate Publisher, WaterBrook Multnomah

(Publishers Weekly) Carie Freimuth, whose more than 25-year career in books saw her hold top spots at some of the country’s largest publishers, died August 19 after an 18-month bout with cancer.

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Christian Book Award® program adds Audio category; Submissions in 12 categories accepted September 1-30, 2018

While most book publishing categories and formats are showing slow or no growth, there is one segment that is surpassing all others in year-to-year growth: downloaded audio books. Since 2013, audio has grown by 146.2 percent.  In light of this significant development, ECPA is excited to announce that Audio is being introduced as a new category for the Christian Book Award® program.

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Last week for Top Shelf Book Cover Award entries

ECPA created the Top Shelf Book Cover Awards to celebrate the year’s best book designs in Christian publishing.  Covers are judged by top designers in the industry for their merits in appropriateness for the market, level of conceptual thinking, and quality of execution. The nomination period for the 2018 program is open until August 31 for titles published between June 2017 and August 2018.  Winners will be announced at PubU on November 6.

Submit online by August 31…

ECPA PubU Editorial sessions to equip and encourage industry editors to go deeper

Led by Melinda Bouma, Publisher of  Zondervan Bibles Group, the ECPA PubU Editorial Track is nearly complete. “These sessions will feature a blend of theory and application, which makes this a great mix for publishers and editors of every kind: acquiring editors, substantive editors, copy editors, and managing editors,” says Bouma.  Sessions and speakers already include:

• How to Have Tough Conversations with Your Authors with Ami McConnell, NYT bestselling editor
• What Editors Need to Know to Publish More Reader-Friendly Books with Klaus Krogh, 2K DENMARK
• How Editors and Publishers Can Compete with the Indie Author Revolution with Rob Eagar, Wildfire Book
• Things Every Editor Can Start Doing to Help Authors Market their Book with Bob DeMoss, veteran publisher
• More sessions announced soon

ECPA PubU will be held November 6 and 7 on the campus of Lipscomb University in Nashville.  It draws nearly 250 publishing professionals for training, connection, and inspiration.  Nearly 45 sessions will be offered in Editorial, Marketing/Publicity, Rights, Design, Reader Engagement, and Data, Delivery & Workflow.  Keynotes will be delivered by NYT bestselling author and StoryBrand CEO Donald Miller and NPD Book’s Kristen McLean.

Immediately following PubU at Lipscomb University the afternoon and evening of November 7, publishers and writers will convene for the Art of Writing conference and Dinner Gala of The Christy Awards®, celebrating the year’s best in Christian fiction.  Presenters for both events include Donald Miller, Francine Rivers, Charles Martin, Jerry Jenkins, Sarah Arthur, Carla Laureano, Cynthia Ruchti, JoAnne Bischof, Amy Green, Beth Adams, and more.

Save the most by registering before September 12. 
Register for all three events at bundle pricing at ECPAPubU.org

Bible Gateway interviews Michelle Van Loon, author of “Born to Wander”

Why are we so restless? We don’t like how it feels to be unsettled and uprooted, navigating a season of transition, dealing with the fallout of broken relationships, or wrestling with a deep sense of unease. And we do whatever we can to numb the feelings of unbelonging and powerlessness that come with it. Bible Gateway interviewed Michelle Van Loon (@michellevanloon) about her book, Born to Wander: Recovering the Value of Our Pilgrim Identity (Moody Publishers, 2016).

Read this interview.

Interview with Nabeel Qureshi, author of Christian Book Award® winner “Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus,” on Bible Gateway

How does a committed and passionate follower of Islam reconsider his faith and become an outspoken apologist for Christianity? Bible Gateway features a conversation between the late Nabeel Qureshi (@NAQureshi), author of Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, 3rd edition (Zondervan, 2018)—the first book to win ECPA Christian Book Awards® in both New Author and Non-Fiction categories—and his friend David Wood, who led Nabeel to consider the veracity of the claims of Jesus Christ.

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Interview with Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton on finding purpose after cancer

After losing his mother to cancer, then becoming a survivor himself, Scott Hamilton recently joined Jesus Calling podcast to talk about his journey to skating stardom, how his wife led him to a close relationship with God, and how surviving cancer gave him purpose. Scott’s new book, Finish First: Winning Changes Everything (Thomas Nelson) is available now.  More at facebook.com/jesuscalling.