November 30, 2020 Edition

Industry News

HCCP and Urban Ministries announce new partnership

HarperCollins Christian Publishing and Urban Ministries Incorporated have announced a partnership for two of the most well-known organizations in the Christian publishing industry. UMI will help HCCP identify, publish and promote prominent and emerging voices; and distribute more resources, relevant to UMI’s loyal customer-base of African American, and African churches, denominations, and consumers.

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Hachette Nashville to relaunch Worthy Publishing

Publishers Weekly — Two years after acquiring Worthy Publishing, Hachette Book Group’s Hachette Nashville division is relaunching its Worthy imprint with the goal of reaching new, and younger, readers. The imprint is led by Daisy Blackwell Hutton, who says: “Expect to see books from a diverse author base that combine faith, creativity, and culture while establishing the next generation of voices who believe that living faith can transform the world.”

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PRH owner Bertelsmann buys Simon & Schuster for $2.2 billion

Publishers Weekly — Bertelsmann has emerged as the winning bidder for Simon & Schuster. In an announcement Wednesday, the parent company of Penguin Random House said it had reached an agreement to buy S&S from ViacomCBS for $2.175 billion.

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William B. Eerdmans Jr. dies at 97

William B. Eerdmans Jr. died on November 13. He led the Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company for more than fifty years, and started work at the company when he was thirteen. He became president of the Eerdmans Publishing Co. in 1963, taking over from his father, Bill Eerdmans Sr., who founded the company in 1911.

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Jill Kinnaman dies; wife of Barna president Dave Kinnaman

From Dave Kinnaman — “On October 28, my wife, Jill, passed away from brain cancer. As you may know, it’s been more than a three-year journey for her—and for all of us who were consistently buoyed by her kindness, love and resilience. We knew that her cancer was terminal, and we’ve had 41 months to prepare ourselves, but the loss is extremely difficult.”

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FREE WEBINAR

MetaComet, Firebrand, & IPG to present webinar: Optimizing Your Publishing Operations

MetaComet, Firebrand, and IPG are pleased to present an exclusive free webinar on Dec. 8 at 1 pm (Eastern), packed with expert guidance on using readily-available resources and technology to improve your publishing operations. From acquisition planning to post-publication analysis, this webinar will map key stages of the publishing process and share advice on increasing revenue while reducing effort, time, and cost spent on each. The panelists will cover important tasks including contract management, metadata development, distribution, and royalty tracking, with recommendations for digital tools to support them. Metacomet and Firebrand will also discuss their ECPA member programs.

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STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS

Jerri Helms named VP of digital marketing & analytics for HCCP and HarperCollins Focus

HarperCollins Christian Publishing (HCCP) and HarperCollins Focus (HCF) announce Jerri Helm’s promotion to v-p of digital marketing and analytics. Helms has led digital marketing efforts in various roles for HCCP for more than 12 years.

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Kimberly Orr named publisher of The Upper Room

The Rev. Kimberly C. Orr, a teacher, pastor, scholar and writer in diverse ministry settings for over 25 years, will lead The Upper Room’s global ministry beginning January 1 when she becomes Associate General Secretary of Discipleship Ministries (UMC) and Publisher of The Upper Room.

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Clark Christian named marketing director for Thomas Nelson Bibles

Thomas Nelson recently announced Clark Christian as the marketing director for the Thomas Nelson Bible group. Christian brings over 16 years of publishing and marketing experience, most recently working in product marketing for healthcare education company, PESI.

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Milestones

Harvest House author Stormie Omartian receives ECPA Pinnacle Award

Stormie Omartian is only the third recipient to receive the prestigious Pinnacle Award presented by the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association. This high honor recognizes the impact of Omartian’s The Power of a Praying® (Harvest House Publishers) series on the Christian publishing industry and society as a whole.

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ECPA presents Stan Gundry with the industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award

ECPA presented the Kenneth N. Taylor Lifetime Achievement Award to Stan Gundry, SVP & Publisher and Editor-in-Chief for HarperCollins Christian Publishing, for his 40+ year impact on Christian publishing. The award was presented online on November 18 during the ECPA Industry Awards Celebration webcast that concluded the ECPA C-Suite Connect conference.

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WORLD Magazine selects "Gentle and Lowly" as Accessible Theology Book of the Year

Crossway is pleased to announce that "Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers" has won the 2020 WORLD Magazine Accessible Theology Book of the Year.

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NIV Thinline Bible, Comfort Print®, surpasses 250k Milestone

Zondervan has announced that the NIV Thinline Bible, in Zondervan’s exclusive NIV Comfort Print typeface, has sold more than 250,000 copies.

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“The Painted Castle” wins 2020 Christy Award

Thomas Nelson today announced "The Painted Castle" by Kristy Cambron is a Christy Award winner in the Historical Fiction category. The company also recognized three additional finalists.

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Product News

Nancy and Samantha Beach sign contract with IVP

InterVarsity Press has signed a contract with Nancy Beach and her daughter, Samantha Beach Kiley, for the spring 2022 release of their coauthored book tentatively titled “Next Sunday: A Mother/Daughter Dialogue on the Future of the Church.”

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Jay Y. Kim signs contract with IVP for follow-up to “Analog Church”

Jay Y. Kim, author of “Analog Church,” has signed a contract with InterVarsity Press to release a second book, “Analog Christian,” in Spring 2022.

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Rosie Rivera signs book contract with W Publishing Group

Thomas Nelson has announced that Rosie Rivera signed a one-book contract with W Publishing Group for “God Is Your Defender: Learning to Stand After Life Has Knocked You Down.”

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Experienced industry freelancers offer help for working at home

Four experienced freelance writers, who have each worked at home for years, offer their best advice on navigating this new way to work in a new ebook from Credo: “The Joy of Working at Home: Embracing the Freedom, Avoiding the Pitfalls.”

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IPG announces specials ahead of holiday shopping season

Independent Publishers Group (IPG) is launching several marketing campaigns and sales specials to support bookstores and readers ahead of the holiday shopping season.

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Media Announcements

John Piper recommends new Advent Devotional by David Mathis

In a recent video on Desiring God, John Piper offered encouragement and the recommendation that "The Christmas We Didn't Expect" by David Mathis is a wonderful resource for renewing awe and wonder during Advent.

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Author Rebecca Alonzo on Jesus Calling podcast

Author Rebecca Alonzo recently joined the Jesus Calling Podcast to share how her childhood was tainted by a member of her parents’ church who terrorized their family, ultimately leading to the tragic death of her mother and father. Rebecca’s book, “The Devil in Pew Number Seven,” is available from Tyndale Momentum.

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Bible Gateway interviews Lecrae, author of “I Am Restored”

Two-time GRAMMY winning hip-hop artist and bestselling author Lecrae had inspired millions with his redemptive and gut-honest art. But when his personal life spun into chaos, he was forced to face the buried impact of the unhealed wounds—sexual abuse, physical trauma, addiction, and depression—that threatened to tear it all apart. Bible Gateway interviewed him about his new book, “I Am Restored” (Zondervan).

Read this interview.

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