Nashville, Tenn. (April 1, 2024) – Stephanie Newton, a HarperCollins Christian Publishing veteran, will become the Vice President and Publisher of the Thomas Nelson Gift and Zondervan Gift teams. Newton will report to Laura Minchew, Senior Vice President and Group Publisher of the Children’s and Gift Book Group.
In her new role, Newton will be responsible for driving publishing vision and long-range strategic planning; acquiring key authors; managing the publishing process; meeting financial goals; and maximizing the divisions’ extensive backlist. Newton’s goal will be to publish inspiring books that combine beauty and meaningful faith-based messages while facilitating business and operational strategies.
Newton joined Thomas Nelson in 2006 as a publicist, leading several major media campaigns for books such as the iconic New York Times bestselling Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent—a book that appeared on the New York Times bestsellers list for three consecutive years and was #1 for more than fifty-two consecutive weeks. In 2015 Newton became the marketing director of backlist content and crafted The Seasons Edition book line of high-designed classics. For the past four years, Newton served as Associate Publisher at W Publishing Group. In this position, she played a key role in signing authors such as Savannah Guthrie, Sarah Jakes Roberts, Kathie Lee Gifford, Demi-Leigh Tebow, Hosanna Wong, and Jinger Duggar Vuolo.
“Stephanie will be a tremendous leader of the Harper Christian Gift team,” said Minchew. “Stephanie has great experience in helping authors shape and develop bestselling books, maintaining meaningful author and agent relationships, and maximizing backlist development. She will do a great job guiding our outstanding and talented Gift team. I could not be happier to have her join us!”
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Gift team,” said Newton. “I have long admired the meaningful books this team produces and the impact they make in the lives of their readers. The unique marketplace gift books offer allows us to share Jesus’s love in an accessible way. As publisher, I’m eager to lean into this space by offering dedicated leadership to our team, publishing partners, and readers, while continuing to inspire the world with our beautiful, significant books.”
About Thomas Nelson: Thomas Nelson is a world leading publisher and provider of Christian content and has been providing readers with quality inspirational product for more than 200 years. As part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the publishing group provides multiple formats of award-winning Bibles, books, gift books, curriculum and digital content, with distribution of its products in more than 100 countries. Thomas Nelson is headquartered in Nashville, TN. For additional information visit www.thomasnelson.com.
About Zondervan: Zondervan is a HarperCollins Company and part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Zondervan is a world leading publisher and provider of Christian communications. The company’s products are sold worldwide and translated into nearly 200 languages. Zondervan offices are located in Grand Rapids, Mich. For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.
