August 5, 2019 Edition

Industry News

ECPA releases August bestseller lists: Top 6 dominate

The top 6 books in ECPA’s Top 50 bestsellers list for August are the same titles in the same order as the top 6 books in July. In fact, books by these authors account for 30 percent of the titles in the Top 50. Five titles in the Top 50 are new releases.
View the month’s bestseller lists in several categories

New session at C-Suite Symposium will discuss counterfeiting and third-party sellers

ECPA will host a conversation at the upcoming C-Suite Symposium, held September 22-24 in Boston, that will explore book counterfeiting and the rise of third-party sellers. The panel includes Liu Simpson, VP of Global Policy for AAP; Fran Toolen, President of Firebrand Technologies; Brittyne Lewis, Product Development Director for LSC Communications; Brian O’Leary, President of BISG; and Jeff Crosby, Publisher of InterVarsity Press. The event, designed for ECPA member C-level executives, will also feature sessions and speakers on ways publishers can innovate now in order to prepare for a future of change.

Full program at ECPACSuite.org
Registration is open.

ECPA welcomes new members

ECPA is pleased to welcome the following organizations as new members:

Leafwood Publishers is the trade imprint of Abilene Christian University Press.
PrayerShop Publishing produces resources on prayer.
Inter-Varsity Press UK produces quality, evangelical books for the digital age.
POIEMA Publications is an editorial house based in Medellin, Colombia.
Global Bridgebuilders offers programs to prepare your enterprise to release the full power of inclusion.
Book Partners is the digital book manufacturing division of HF Group.

Top Shelf Book Cover Award program encourages multiple entries from each publisher

The Top Shelf Book Cover Award program is currently accepting submissions for the 2019 program until August 31. Each nomination is $59 so that publishers can submit as many of their top book cover designs as possible. ECPA encourages all member publishers to submit several of their top book designs by the deadline, August 31.

More at TopShelfAward.org

PubU Track Spotlight

Digital Marketing sessions announced

ECPA PubU, held November 5-6 in Nashville for Christian publishing practitioners, will feature more than 40 sessions in six tracks. In addition to keynote sessions by LYSA TERKEURST and ANDREW PETERSON, sessions will be offered in tracks for Emerging Leaders, and in the topics of Reader Engagement & Publicity, Data, Delivery & Workflow, Design, Editorial, and Digital Marketing. Here is a spotlight on the sessions in the Digital Marketing track, curated by JamieLyn Heim (Marketing Manager, David C Cook) and Jerri Helms (Sr Director of Digital Marketing Initiatives, HCCP):

The Podcasting Puzzle: Whether you are thinking of starting a show or want to learn how to promote using podcasts, this session will fill in the missing piece of your marketing puzzle. Presented by Eric Nevins, host & story curator of Halfway There podcast and founder of Get Curious Media.

Keeping Up with Social Media will discuss the shifts and strategies to be aware of in order to more effectively leverage the use of these powerful platforms. Presented by Mark Glesne, Marketing Director, HarperCollins Christian Publishing.

How to Build a Better Marketing Website will cover 5 key considerations when building a marketing site to help your next project succeed. Led by Brian and Robb Erickson, co-founders of King Grizzly.

Design Thinking: Join Nick Lee (Art Director at David C Cook) as he guides you through the framework of Design Thinking, and learn the practical ways this discipline can start paying immediate dividends from UX to content marketing strategy and beyond.

SEO in 2020: a crash course on how to get more traffic from search engines in 2020. Presented by Jeffrey Kranz, co-founder, Overthink Group.

Get Inspired to Move Your Backlist: Join digital marketing and publishing expert Joan Begitschke (Verve Marketing Group) for “easy” ways to promote backlist and increase sales with a little intentionality and often minimal effort.

Building and Engaging a Community: Lysa TerKeurst will share valuable wisdom about engaging hundreds of thousands of followers. Attendees will learn how they and their authors can be most effective building their own communities.

View all sessions at ECPAPubU.org.
REGISTER SOON! Final month for early bird pricing.

Milestones

Tyndale author Carla Laureano wins 2019 RITA® Award

Tyndale House Publishers is pleased to announce that Carla Laureano won the 2019 RITA® Award in the category of Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements for her novel, The Saturday Night Supper Club.

IVP senior sales and marketing director recognized by PW Star Watch

Justin Paul Lawrence, IVP’s recently promoted senior sales and marketing director, has been recognized by Publishers Weekly (PW) in their annual Star Watch program.

Media Announcements

Bestselling author Sharon Garlough Brown debuts newest novel at Baker Book House

Sharon Garlough Brown, author of the bestselling Sensible Shoes series, debuts her much-anticipated new novel "Shades of Light" at 7 PM Tuesday, Aug. 20, at Baker Book House in Grand Rapids. Brown explores themes of mental illness, treatment, and spiritual formation in this novel.

Adventurer Bear Grylls discusses Soul Fuel on podcast

This week on the Jesus Calling podcast, adventurer Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild) shares his love for spending time in the world God created, and the highs and lows of his spiritual journey—which formed the inspiration behind his new devotional book, “Soul Fuel: A Daily Devotional” (Zondervan).

Bible Gateway interviews Dr. John Byron, author of “A Week in the Life of a Slave”

The New Testament book of Philemon is the ancient brief letter by the apostle Paul concerning the welfare of Philemon’s slave, Onesimus. What did the institution of slavery mean in the Roman empire? How does the Bible handle the issue of slavery? And what does it mean when Christians are exhorted to be slaves of Christ? Bible Gateway interviewed Dr. John Byron (@jlbyron) about his book, “A Week in the Life of a Slave” (InterVarsity Press, 2019).

Read this interview.

Bible Gateway interviews Dr. Ralph E. Enlow, Jr., author of “Servant of All”

What did Jesus really mean when he said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, the servant of all” (Mark 9:35)? How radical is the “all” in that statement? Bible Gateway interviewed Dr. Ralph Enlow, author of “Servant of All: Reframing Greatness and Leadership Through the Teachings of Jesus” (Lexham Press, 2019).

Read this interview.

Other News

Submit a News Item

Submit industry related news releases to rushtopress @ecpa .org for consideration. Rush to Press is sent every Monday and eligible releases must be received by end of day Friday prior to the Monday’s publication.

Career Posts

To announce a job opening in Rush to Press, post it first at the ECPA Career Center and your announcement will appear in the next issue.

To receive Rush to Press, along with other industry updates from ECPA, please follow the instructions here to create or modify your ECPA community profile. To subscribe to Rush to Press without using a profile, subscribe here.

Unsubscribe

If you would like to be removed from the Rush to Press distribution list, please edit your ECPA profile preferences or email info @ecpa .org.

Advertise

If you would like to reach over 3,300 industry subscribers and media contacts each week, consider advertising in Rush to Press. Contact sponsorship @ecpa .org for more information.