March 15, 2021 Edition

Industry News

Luis Palau, international evangelist and author, dies at age 86

After a three-year battle with lung cancer, evangelist Luis Palau died peacefully early this morning at his home in Portland, Oregon. He was 86 years old. For more than 65 years Palau played an influential role in Christian missions and worldwide evangelism as a powerful speaker, teacher, and author. His work took him to more than 80 nations and his campaigns allowed him to present a clear case for Christianity to an audience of more than 1 billion people through television, radio, print, and live events. Palau published dozens of books and booklets throughout his lifetime.

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Nicole Martin, Thom Rainer, and Walter Kim added to ECPA Leadership Summit program

The ECPA Virtual Leadership Summit begins next month on April 27 with a series of webinars and discussions on relevant issues for Christian publishers.  The May 5th session on “Serving the Church in this Cultural Moment” will feature Nicole Martin, VP of Church Engagement and Executive Director of Trauma Healing at the American Bible Society; Thom Rainer, Founder, CEO & Lead Coach of Church Answers and author of The Post Quarantine Church; and Walter Kim, NAE President.  Other speakers and topics include: author and Church Leadership Institute Director Tod Bolsinger (Leading with Resilience); NPD’s Kristen McLean (Reading is Thriving: Opportunities); CT’s Timothy Dalrymple (Being Evangelical); and more.  The event will feature practicums on growing online sales channels, global printing and distribution, and market data the first week (April 27-29) and thought leadership sessions on the church, future of publishing, and the church in the second week (May 4-6).  The final session will feature bestselling author Max Lucado headlining the ECPA Awards Celebration. View schedule.

Management teams in Christian publishing are encouraged to register this month, during early bird registration.  REGISTER

The Christy Award® accepting fiction submissions until March 31

Nominations for The Christy Award® are now being accepted through March 31 in nine fiction categories: General; Contemporary Romance; Historical Romance; Historical; Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller; Speculative/ Visionary; First Novel; Young Adult; and Short Form. After entering one of the categories above, the submitter may opt to nominate a title to also be considered for the Christy Own Voice Award on the application for no extra fee, provided that entry requirements are made. All submissions are open to works of fiction written from a Christian worldview, published traditionally or independently from March 2020 to March 2021.

Submission Information

Staff Announcements

Baker Books expands editorial team

Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, is pleased to welcome Stephanie Duncan Smith and Patnacia Goodman to their editorial team. Stephanie will serve as senior acquisitions editor and Patnacia will serve as acquisitions editor.

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Veteran literary agent Andrea Heinecke joins The Bindery Agency

The Bindery is pleased to announce they have added a new member to their team in veteran Literary Agent, Andrea Heinecke, formerly of Alive Literary. Andrea has a literary and commercial sensibility honed over years of working as both a book editor and literary agent, and representing an array of influential books and authors.

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Milestones

Jennie Allen’s “Get Out of Your Head” exceeds 500,000 copies sold

“Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts” from IF: Gathering visionary and founder Jennie Allen, has surpassed more than 500,000 copies in sales and received the ECPA Gold Sales Achievement Award for a half-million in sales of all formats including print, digital and audio. Published in January 2020 by WaterBrook, a Random House imprint, “Get Out of Your Head” was an instant national bestseller and went on to spend 31 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers List and became the top new title in the religion category for 2020.

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Outreach Magazine names four Zondervan titles Resource of the Year

Zondervan congratulates the nine authors recognized by Outreach magazine, four as Resource of the Year and five in the Also Recommended category. For 18 years, Outreach magazine has highlighted resources that “can help churches better engage in effective outreach to share the gospel and reach their communities for Christ.” This year they received over 150 submissions for resources in 12 categories, with an expert in each category evaluating and choosing the winners.

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Product News

John M. Perkins completes his legacy message in his final book

Dr. John M. Perkins is one of the leading evangelical voices to come out of the American civil rights movement, and is an author and international speaker on issues of reconciliation, leadership, and community development. Moody Publishers is privileged to publish "Count It All Joy" (September 2021), Dr. Perkins’ legacy message on the profound joy that comes from deep suffering.

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New Harvest House book explores Israel with Harvard-trained Archeologist

After a year of travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders, author Amanda Hope Haley’s latest book offers a much-needed chance to travel vicariously and visit the settings where the Bible’s greatest events took place. Join this Harvard-trained biblical archaeologist as she and her family explore the history that brings the Bible to life. The Red-Haired Archaeologist Digs Israel is here to delight and educate anyone longing to experience new places and cultures while gaining a fuller understanding of God’s Word.

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N.T. Wright's 'Simply Christian' to be published in paperback for the first time

With the release of SIMPLY CHRISTIAN in 2006, New Testament scholar and Anglican bishop N.T. Wright revived the tradition of books like C.S. Lewis's seminal work Mere Christianity. SIMPLY CHRISTIAN articulates the essence of Christianity for a new generation, written with generosity, humanity, and remarkable clarity. It quickly became Wright's best-known work. Now, fifteen years after its initial publication and as a testament to its enduring legacy, SIMPLY CHRISTIAN: Why Christianity Makes Sense (HarperOne | March 8, 2021) is available in paperback for the first time.

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Media Announcements

Female Christian leaders encourage women to pursue theology during Faithlife event

Christian authors, speakers and writers Sharon Hodde Miller, Trillia Newbell and Wendy Widder joined Faithlife, makers of integrated church technology products including Logos Bible Software, yesterday for a live discussion in honor of Women’s History Month about women, theology and the Church.

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Tim Storey on Jesus Calling Podcast: Facing life with a miracle mentality

Life coach Tim Storey recently joined the Jesus Calling Podcast to share how he is a miracle himself—raised in a low income family, Tim relied on his understanding of God from a young age, and it led him to become a leader among some of Hollywood’s most successful names. Now, Tim seeks to point others to God by unifying them through universal principles straight out of the Bible, bringing healing where there was once hurt. Storey’s book, “The Miracle Mentality,” is available from Harper Horizon.

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