June 9, 2025 Edition
Industry News
Died: Jennifer Lyell, former Lifeway executive, at age 47
Jennifer Lyell, editor, author, and former Lifeway executive, died on Saturday, June 7. She was 47. Jennifer served as director of book publishing and merchandising at LifeWay Christian Resources, served on the ECPA board from 2016-17, led the ECPA PubU Brain Trust in 2017, and authored “The Promises of God Storybook Bible.” Jennifer fought public perception and legal fallout after reporting abuse by a seminary professor and inspired other sexual abuse survivors with her bravery.
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Died: Walter Brueggemann, respected Bible scholar and author
Walter Brueggemann, one of the most widely respected Bible scholars of the past century, died on June 5 at his home in Michigan. He was 92. The author of more than 100 books of theology and biblical criticism, his 1978 “The Prophetic Imagination” sold more than a million copies and remains a classic that is still frequently assigned in seminaries.
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ECPA webinar this Friday on Artificial Intelligence
ECPA’s upcoming June 13 webinar on AI, will be presented in two parts. Attendees will hear from Craig Gipson (Flagler Law Group) about the evolving legal landscape of generative artificial intelligence in the publishing industry; then from Derek C. Schuurman, PhD., professor of computer science at Calvin University, on Artificial Intelligence and the Biblical Story. Registration is open for ECPA members.
Other upcoming webinars in ECPA’s summer series:
JULY 11: Building and Managing an Effective Intern Program
AUGUST 8: Communicating Appreciation in the Workplace
ICREF begins next week in Chicago; Registration is open for Bangkok rights event
Rights and Licensing professionals in Christian publishing will gather in Chicago next week for the International Christian Rights & Export Fair held at Moody Bible Institute on June 17-18. Additionally, ECPA is debuting a new event within the ECPA Global Collective. The Asia Christian Rights & Export Fair will be held in Bangkok, Thailand on September 1-2. Registration is now open for attendees and exhibitors.
Book Manufacturing Mastered returns to NYC in mid-September
The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI) is hosting the fifth iteration of its industry event, Book Manufacturing Mastered. The 2025 event will be held on Tuesday September 16th at the Thomson Reuters office at 3 Times Square. Registration is now open at bookmanufacturingmastered.com.
Staff Updates
Jerri Helms is promoted to SVP of Marketing Operations at HCCP
Jerri Helms has been promoted to SVP of marketing operations at HarperCollins Christian Publishing. In March 2024, as VP of Digital Marketing & Analytics, Jerri joined HCCP’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT).
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Brazos Press adds new Acquisitions Editor, Grace P. Cho
Brazos Press, a division of Baker Publishing Group, is pleased to announce that Grace P. Cho will join Brazos Press as senior acquisitions editor. This role will be in addition to her ongoing acquisitions responsibilities at Revell, another division of Baker Publishing Group.
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W Publishing Group promotes Madison Baird to Director of Digital Marketing
W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, announced the promotion of Madison Baird to director of digital marketing. Madison’s track record of leveraging analytics, creative campaigns, and strategic expertise has significantly contributed to the imprint’s success and revenue growth.
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Milestones
IVP titles receive Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award honors
InterVarsity Press is pleased to announce that two IVP titles have been honored with 2024 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards. These awards celebrate the outstanding books published in 2024 by small, independent, and university presses.
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One Kregel title wins 2024 Foreword INDIES Award, another receives Honorable Mention
On June 5, two Kregel fiction titles were announced in the 2024 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards. Tina Shelton’s debut novel “This Ain’t No Promised Land” won Gold in Multicultural.
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Austin LeRette honored with Awe and Wonder Award at 2025 K-LOVE Fan Awards
In a powerful and heartfelt moment at the Grand Ole Opry, Austin LeRette, the young man whose story has inspired millions, was honored with the Awe and Wonder Award at the 2025 K-LOVE Fan Awards.
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Bethany House and Revell authors win ten Selah Awards, including Fiction Book of the Year
Baker Publishing Group is proud to announce that authors from Bethany House and Revell earned ten prestigious awards at the 2025 Selah Awards with Jaime Jo Wright's "Specters in the Glass House" (Bethany House) winning the 2025 Selah Fiction Book of the Year.
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Three Kregel titles win First Place in 2025 Selah Awards
On May 29, 2025, the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference announced the winners of their annual Selah Awards. Three Kregel titles won first place.
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Leafwood Publishers’ “Trekking toward Tenacity” wins 2025 Editors’ Choice Award
“Trekking toward Tenacity” by Chris Morris has been honored with the Editors’ Choice Award for 2025. This recognition celebrates its exceptional contribution to the conversation around children’s mental and spiritual health.
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Product News
Jon Tyson returns to WaterBrook with two-book deal
Jon Tyson, award-winning author and pastor of Church of the City, New York, brings his pastoral heart and theological clarity to the problem of exhaustion and its impact on our spiritual lives to WaterBrook in a two-book deal starting with “The Antidote for Exhaustion: The Power You Need for the Life You Want.”
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Founder of Protect Young Eyes signs multi book deal with Zondervan
The founder of Protect Young Eyes, an organization equipping families to protect kids online, Chris McKenna has signed a multi-book deal with Zondervan. McKenna’s partnership with Zondervan includes the release of one adult trade, scheduled for June 2026, followed by two children’s books.
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Jen Wilkin signs with The Good Book Company for first children’s book
The Good Book Company is excited to announce it will publish best-selling author and Bible teacher Jen Wilkin’s debut book for children. Based on Genesis 2, the rhyming picture book will show kids how wonderful it is that God made them to need each other and help each other.
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Grammy®-nominated Christian rapper FLAME releases second book and dives into Church history
In his second book with Concordia Publishing House, “Because Jesus Taught It: Christianity Through the Eyes of the Church Fathers,” Grammy-nominated Christian rapper FLAME answers questions about church history from a Lutheran perspective and sheds light on just how important it is to know the history of the church.
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ACU Press releases Wilson McCoy’s “Imagining All Generations”
“Imagining All Generations” by Wilson McCoy (June 2025) features nineteen authors from around the world, providing fresh theological reflection, innovative practical wisdom, and a unified call for all churches to move into a more intergenerational future.
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Other News
INDUSTRY
PUBLISHING
- Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction in ‘ALA v. Sonderling’ IMLS Case
- U.S. Book Show: AI Looms Large Across Publishing Sectors
- U.S. Book Show: Hope Amid Political Challenges
- Penguin Random House Acquires the UK's Wonderbly
- Amazon Cuts Jobs in Book Division
- Circana Cites 'Dark Romance' Growing in US Market
- Supadu: How Subscription Services Are Redefining Reading
- Foreword Reviews Announces Winners of INDIES Book Awards
- Canadian Book Consumer Study: Pricing and More
- Rights Trading: Paris Book Market Sees Record Growth
UPCOMING WEBINARS
- June 10: (BISG) BISAC Merchandising Themes to Drive Sales
- June 12: (GBA) Sustaining Sustainability in Times of Crisis
- June 13: (ECPA) AI & Legal Landscape; AI & the Biblical Story
- June 24: (MAI) What Do You Do When Your Readers Don’t Read?
- June 24: (Bookwire) How AI impacts the audiobook market
- JULY 11: (ECPA) Building and Managing an Effective Intern Program
- AUGUST 8: (ECPA) Communicating Appreciation in the Workplace
