February 5, 2018 Edition
Industry News
U.S. Chaplains slated to open both days of the ECPA Leadership Summit
Barry C. Black, the current and 62nd chaplain of the U.S. Senate, will officially open the ECPA Leadership Summit on Tuesday, May 1st at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC. Former senior Army chaplain for the Pentagon Charles Causey will open the second day of programming on May 2nd. The 2-day event, held at the newly opened state of the art museum devoted to the global influence of the Bible, will also feature The Becket Fund’s Montse Alvarado, Mart Green, YouVersion’s Bobby Gruenewald, professor Alan Jacobs, NPD’s Kristen McLean, pastor Bryan Loritts, Michele Sanchez, and more.
Early bird registration is now open. Save $200 off each registration by registering before March 15. Additional discounts are available to ECPA members and multi-attendees from the same company. Your Leadership Summit registration automatically grants you admission into the Museum of the Bible, but you will want to plan early for other museums you may want to visit while in DC. For instance, timed entry passes for the new National Museum of African American History and Culture will be released this Wednesday, February 7th at 9 am ET for May — and they go fast!
HarperCollins Christian Publishing’s Bible Group expands publishing efforts and new initiatives
HarperCollins Christian Publishing (HCCP) has 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.
Read More...Announcing February's bestselling Christian books and Bibles
It’s human nature to desire new beginnings, especially at the beginning of the year. That principle is reflected in ECPA’s Top 50 Bestsellers list for February, showing POS sales for January as compiled by NPD BookScan. Six of the Top 10 books in the overall Top 50 list could be classified as “fresh start.”
Sparkhouse Family, children’s book publisher, renames as Beaming Books
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.
Read More...Firebrand becomes exclusive reseller of Kadaxis Audience Analysis and Keyword Creation services
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.
Read More...Free ECPA member webinar held Wednesday on automating royalties
MetaComet Systems, the pioneering provider of royalty management solutions for the publishing industry, will host a new webinar hosted by company President David Marlin on Wednesday February 7 at 1pm EST. The webinar will show publishers in the ECPA community how MetaComet’s services can make their royalty processes simpler, faster and more accurate.
Media Announcements
Sparkhouse author Ruth Goring interviewed on WBEZ Chicago
Ruth Goring grew up in Colombia within a Christian missionary family. She left as a young adult but Goring still frequents Colombia to advocate for human and civil rights for Colombians. She recently returned from a cathartic trip to Colombia with her siblings. It was their first time together in Southern Colombia since their childhoods. Goring’s new children’s book, Adriana’s Angels, is part auto-biographical. It’s the story of a little girl who benefits from Godly intervention as her family heads to Chicago, forced to flee Colombia as refugees from violence, oppression and war. Listen to the full interview here.
Sadie Robertson “Lives Fearless” by finding her authenticity in Christ
Star of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars and A&E’s Duck Dynasty, Sadie Robertson joins the Jesus Calling podcast to share her journey of finding freedom through being real and vulnerable to God and to others. Her newest book, Live Fearless: A Call to Power, Passion, and Purpose (Thomas Nelson) releases in February 2018. Listen at jesuscalling.com/podcast.
Touré Roberts finds Wholeness in Christ
Pastor of The Potter’s House in Los Angeles and Denver, Touré Roberts joins the Jesus Calling podcast to talk about his background growing up with a single mom in an at-risk area of Los Angeles and how we can overcome our limitations and begin the journey to being whole in Christ. Roberts’ new book, Wholeness: Winning in Life from the Inside Out (Zondervan) releases in February 2018. Listen at jesuscalling.com/podcast.
Bible Gateway interviews Pete Scazzero, author of "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Updated Edition"
What does healthy spirituality look like? How is it achieved? How can you slow down to develop a truly transformational relationship with Christ? Pete Scazzero says Christians cannot grow spiritually while remaining emotionally immature because our souls and psyches are inextricably linked. Bible Gateway interviewed Pete Scazzero (@petescazzero) about his book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, Updated Edition (Zondervan, 2017). Read this interview.
Bible Gateway interviews Esther Fleece, author of "No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending"
If you’ve ever been given empty clichés during challenging times, you know how painful it can feel to be misunderstood by well-meaning people. Far too often, it seems the response we get to our hurt and disappointment is to suck it up, or pray it away. But Scripture reveals a God who meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. Bible Gateway interviewed Esther Fleece (@EstherFleece) about her book, No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending (Zondervan, 2017). Read this interview.
Product News
Tony Dungy to publish “The Soul of a Team” with Tyndale Momentum in 2019
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 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.
Read More...New York Times bestselling author Jerry Jenkins to release new Fiction series with Worthy Publishing in Fall 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.
Read More...Barbour Publishing releases new “Come Away” devotional in time for Frances J. Roberts’ centennial birthday
February 4, 2018 marks what would have been the 100th birthday of beloved author, poet, songwriter, and Moody Bible Institute alumni, Frances J. Roberts (1918–2009). Born on February 4, 1918, Roberts is best known for her classic devotional, "Come Away My Beloved" (Barbour Publishing). Roberts also authored eight other books, selling over 1.5 million copies, and published 88 hymns during her lifetime.
Read More...RITA Award–winning author Carla Laureano releases “The Saturday Night Supper Club”
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.
Read More...Ligonier Ministries encourages Christians around the world to pray for awakening
In God’s providence, Dr. R.C. Sproul’s last monthly letter to friends of Ligonier Ministries was an encouragement to pray earnestly for awakening. Ligonier has published a free prayer guide to encourage Christians everywhere to pray for the Holy Spirit to bring revival in response to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word in their families, churches, and communities.
Read More...Other News
INDUSTRY
PUBLISHING
- Judith Curr Out at Simon & Schuster
- HMH Taps Kwame Alexander to Head New Imprint
- CBS and Viacom exploring merger
- Research: What Kids Are Reading
- Amazon Sales Soared in 2017
- Walmart, Apple and Google go up against Amazon in a fight for readers (and listeners)
- Apple is reportedly renaming iBooks to ‘Books’ and overhauling its bookstore
- OpenBook Managing Director Cites 14.55 Percent Growth in Chinese Book Market
- Advice on selling rights into China