New World Library’s Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic's Quest by Michael Krasny, the host of KQED's Forum, has sold through a first print run of 8,500 and gone back to press for an additional 5,000 copies, “thanks to Michael's appearance on ‘Talk of the Nation’ [Oct. 6],” according to publisher Munro Magruder. “We have plenty of good publicity still to come, including a front-page feature article in the San Francisco Chronicle this week and an interview and review on the Daily Beast at the end of this week.”
LifeWay Christian Resources, parent company of B&H Publishing Group, has launched MyStudyBible.com, an online service for reading and studying the Bible. The public beta site offers the features and content of the print version of the HCSB Study Bible, which released this month. The complete HCSB Study Bible and commentary notes, as well as select content from books like the Holman New Testament Commentary and references from Strong’s Greek and Hebrew Dictionary, are available on the site. LifeWay is also publishing the HCSB Study Bible in e-book form for Kindle, Nook, iBook, and other readers, and releasing the HCSB Study Bible app for iPhone and iPad. LifeWay has sold more than six million Holman Christian Standard Bibles since the translation launched in 2004.
A World Alliance of Interfaith Clergy is holding its annual conference November 12-14, 2010, at the Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center in Litchfield, Conn. The professional organization supports the work of ordained interfaith ministers, as well as lay leaders and clergy of other faiths. The group’s mission statement says, “We celebrate the Interfaith perspective and philosophy as a way to create harmony and understanding among the world’s religions and peoples.” For more information on the conference and to register, go to http://www.worldinterfaithclergy.org/Retreats-Conferences.asp.
Christian Trade Association for India was formed on September 14, 2010, at the Bible Society of India’s offices in Bangalore. “About 65 booksellers and publishers from across India—but mostly from the more Christian south” formed the association, according to Jim Powell, president of ChristianTrade Association International. The group’s mission is “to unify and represent Christian retailers, distributors, and suppliers in this vast nation,” which is only 2.3% Christian, according to census figures. CTI stated: “the industry has unique challenges in reaching readers and equipping the Church for its vital mission.”
The Sam Hill Group and Glass Road Public Relations have formed a partnership to provide management and promotional services to authors described as “cinematic storytellers and writers of story-centric nonfiction” for the Christian market. The partnership between companies with experience in film and in publishing will help authors “take their stories into the motion picture industry,” said Rebeca Seitz, president of Glass Road, in a statement. Glass Road will provide clients with publicity and marketing campaigns for each project, as well as ongoing branding campaigns, Seitz said. “Publicity and marketing budgets are tight these days, so we created a way to keep those services on the table while removing the need for the publishing house or author to fund them outright.” The Sam Hill Group, owned by Emmy Award-winner Steve Feldman, will consider each project for film development as well as produce author videos and book trailers. Projects can either be produced in house or shopped to other producers. Feldman has worked with Bill Maher, Linda Ellerbee, Bill Nye, and Elmo on networks that include PBS, CBS, Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, MSNBC, and Discovery.
McClure Muntsinger Public Relations for the first time had three author clients on the New York Times bestseller lists in the same week. Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson), Without a Word by Jill Kelly (FaithWords), and Crazy Love by Francis Chan (David C. Cook) were all on the NYT lists the week of October 3, 2010. Each author is donating mostof the royalties to charities that benefit children, families, orphans, and widows around the world. To honor their efforts, MMPR is making a special donation to each of these authors’ charities—including World Vision, the Hunters Hope Foundation, and the Isaiah 58 Fund—during October.
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