The Association of Catholic Publishers (ACP) has elected three new directors to its board: Tom Hawley, v-p of operations at GIA Publications, Inc.; Tom Shumate, COO of Franciscan Media and current ACP treasurer; and John Thomas, director of Liturgy Training Publications, who served on the ACP Board during much of the 1990s, including one term as president. The appointments were announced by acting ACP president Bret Thomas.
Barbour Publishing’s Hawk by Ronie Kendig was cited as a must-read inspirational romance by USA Today’s “Happy Ever After” blog. Kendig’s Raptor 6 also has been awarded the 2014 Lime Award for Excellence in Fiction in the Mystery, Suspense, and Thrillers category by The Christian Manifesto, a website that reviews books, movies, television shows, and music. More Lime Award winners.
Max Lucado’s Before Amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer (Thomas Nelson) has been named 2015 Book of the Year by Family Christian Ministries, parent of Family Christian Stores. Family will promote Before Amen in all of its stores, in print catalogs, and online for all of calendar year 2015. Family Christian and Thomas Nelson also will partner in social media promotions, author video production, and custom blogs beginning in January. Family has named Lucado titles Book of the Year three times before – Next Door Savior in 2004; 3:16—The Numbers of Hope in 2008; and Fearless in 2010.
Zondervan author John Dickson will do a four-city U.S. book tour Feb. 5-16 to promote A Doubter’s Guide to the Bible: Inside History’s Bestseller for Believers and Skeptics (Feb.). Dickson is an Australian pastor, honorary fellow at Macquarie University, Sydney, and founding director of the Centre for Public Christianity in Sydney. Tour stops include New York City; Atlanta, Ga.; Dallas, Tex.; and Grand Rapids, Mich. Tour dates and locations are here.
InterVarsity Press has been certified a Best Christian Workplace for the sixth straight year by The Best Christian Workplaces Institute (BCWI), an organizational and human resources consulting firm. To achieve certification, company employees answer survey questions that “measure employee satisfaction in terms of organizational commitment, Christian witness, supervisory effectiveness, opportunities for personal growth and development, customer/supporter satisfaction, teamwork, communication and fairness of pay and benefits.” The survey results showed that 97 percent of the 89 people working at IVP rated the press “an exceptional place to work.”
