Chosen Books Names Kim Bangs Editorial Director
Chosen Books acquisitions editor Kim Bangs will step up to editorial director for the division of Baker Publishing Group, the company announced Tuesday. Bangs, with nearly 30 years of publishing experience, takes the chair from Jane Campbell, who will retire in early June.
“Kim has proven herself as an exceptionally talented editor with a deep passion for serving the Spirit-empowered community,” said Jennifer Leep, executive v-p, trade publishing for BPG.
Bangs said, “I am grateful for the opportunity to continue the rich heritage of Chosen Books as we enter our fiftieth year of serving the interests of evangelical readers.”
Bangs joined BPG when the company acquired Regal Books, where Bangs was publishing director, in 2014. In her new role, she’ll work with authors, manage the acquisitions team and collaborate with management on strategic planning.
In announcing her retirement, Campbell, who first began working in Christian publishing in 1978, called Chosen Books “part of my heart.” She joined the imprint in 1984, moving with it as it shifted from Zondervan to Guideposts, to Baker Publishing in 1992. “I cherish the decades of partnership with authors and colleagues who are hearing what the Spirit is saying to the church."
“Preparing Christian books with Jane Campbell during the past three decades has been a unique blessing for all her companions in this business,” stated Dwight Baker, president of BPG.
HCCP Bibles Teams Gain New Marketing V-Ps
HarperCollins Christian Publishing (HCCP) has announced the promotions of Nikki Getman to marketing v-p for the Thomas Nelson Bibles team and Bob Gaudet to marketing v-p for the Zondervan Bibles team. Each will lead their respective marketing teams and shape the overall strategies for Bible products, building partnerships and developing new ways to reach consumers.
Getman, who joined the Thomas Nelson Bibles team four years ago, led the marketing strategies for major projects including the NET Bible line, the Comfort Print® initiative, the Abide Bible line, and Catholic Bible Press. Gaudet, in his five years with Zondervan, was involved with the audience-centric strategy for publishing the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) and New American Standard Bible (NASB) Bible translations and stewarded the successful launch of the NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition.
Loyola Press Marks Jesuit’s 500th Anniversary
Five centuries ago, the man who became St. Ignatius was wounded by a cannonball as a soldier and during his recovering found his faith. On the May anniversary of that near-fatal shot, the Jesuits begin an Ignatian Year of prayer, study and devotion. And June 21, Loyola Press, a Chicago-based Catholic publisher and Jesuit ministry, will publish a new book by Superior General of the Jesuits Fr. Arturo Sosa, focusing readers on St. Ignatius’ example of a life drawn closer to Christ. Walking with Ignatius, which was written with journalist Darío Menor, is based on wide-ranging weekly interviews he held with Sosa and reflects on Ignatius’s life, spiritual practices and legacy. Sosa will also lead prayers to mark the beginning of the Ignatian Year on May 23, Pentecost Sunday in a live broadcast from the Vatican.
