InterVarsity Press has named former Christianity Today executive editor Ted Olsen to a newly created position as associate publisher and editorial director for media and trade books.
Cindy Bunch, IVP editorial v-p, called Olsen an "ideal hire" for the post, which includes acquiring trade books and supporting new editorial initiatives. “His theological context and long CT tenure further suggest his compatibility with the vision and work of Christian publishing. And his media background will add depth to the editorial team as we expand into some new publishing areas that will complement our books." She added that IVP has been "dabbling in webinars and (is) interested in making more video companions to our books available."
The IVP announcement described Olsen as an innovative religion journalist who started at CT as an intern 27 years ago, launched the nation's first religion blogs, and moved up the editorial ranks at the magazine to eventually spearhead overall editorial strategy. He started at IVP (July 10 and he rejoins working with Terumi Echols, the former executive v-p and chief publishing officer for CT, who became InterVarsity Press president and publisher in August 2021.
Olsen told PW he was drawn to IVP's "editorial energy. They already have a great innovation team. They're doing podcasts, the Seminary Now partnership (for streaming seminary courses), and good video and audio. There are a lot of opportunities for more media initiatives and for developing new tools. I have an open door to be creative."
