Tyndale House’s The Hour That Matters Most by Les and Leslie Parrott, with Dream Dinners founders Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna, debuted at #1 on The New York Times Advice, How-to and Miscellaneous paperback list this past Sunday, September 25. Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna founded Dream Dinners to “help time starved people serve 700,000 homemade dinners every month in America.” A $170 million-dollar meal assembly company, Dream Dinners develops monthly menus and holds “assembly sessions” at more than 100 Dream Dinners franchise locations throughout the U.S. The company has issued a 90-day Dinner Time Challenge to families, encouraging them to have dinner together on a regular basis to cement bonds and improve communication. Says Allen, “The data shows, relationships do change-for the better." In The Hour that Matters Most, Allen and Kuna tell stories and anecdotes; the Parrotts, a husband and wife psychologist team, add supporting data and practical suggestions for conversation starters, meal planning, dinner-time stories, and devotions. Allen and Kuna are embarking on a 12-city book tour. Also, Tyndale will publish The Christian Writer’s Market Guide 2012 next January. Previously written by Sally E. Stuart, rights to the The Christian Writer’s Market Guide have been purchased by Jerry B. Jenkins, who will now write the guide and partner with Tyndale in publishing it. Jenkins, coauthor of the Left Behind series, also owns the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild, which offers college-credit courses, a critique service, literary registration services, and writing contests, as well as an annual conference.
Thomas Nelson author Marcus Buckingham’s new business book, StandOut: The Groundbreaking New Strengths Assessment from the Leader of the Strengths Revolution, debuted at #3 on The Wall Street Journal’s Hardcover Business bestsellers list, and at #67 on the USA Today Top 150 list, based on sales through Sunday, September 18th. As of October 2, StandOut will take the #11 spot on the Hardcover Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous list of the New York Times.Buckingham’s books, including Now Discover Your Strengths, have sold more than four million copies.
Zondervan author John Townsend will launch his latest book, Beyond Boundaries: Learning How to Trust Again in Relationships (Sept.) via a live Webcast at 8 p.m. Eastern on October 4. Filmed before a live audience, the Webcast will feature Townsend presenting the principles of Beyond Boundaries and answering questions from audience members. The 30-minute Webcast will be hosted at Townsend’s Facebook page, where viewers can pre-register for the free Webcast. Townsend, with coauthor Henry Cloud, wrote Boundaries in 1992; it has sold more than three million copies. The entire line of Boundaries titles has sold 4.4 million units.
The Nautilus Book Awards are now accepting submissions. The awards recognize books and audio books “that inspire and connect our lives as individuals, communities and global citizens.” For entry guidelines, a list of categories, a downloadable entry form, and more information, go to http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/Guidelines_for_Entering.htm
Kregel has hired a marketing manager for its Academic and Ministry Resources division. Laura Bartlett will be overseeing the marketing efforts for all titles published with Kregel Academic, Kregel Ministry Resources, and Kregel Classics, in addition to coordinating the development and promotion of Kregel Digital Editions. Bartlett holds an M.A. in theology from Wheaton. College. She was previously marketing manager for Bibles and reference books at Tyndale House Publishers.
The Korea Christian Publishers Association (KCPA), a member of ChristianTrade Korea, held the Korea Christian Rights Fair in Seoul August 25-26. Hosung Maeng of rMaeng2 and Kim Pettit of ChristianTrade Association International served as advisors for the event, which took place the week before the Beijing International Book Fair. Six foreign publishers and three agencies exhibited, including Baker Publishing Group, Beacon Hill Press, F.J. Rudy and Associates, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), the Korea Copyrights Center, Riggins International Rights Service, Scandinavia Publishing, Tyndale House, and Zondervan. Ten other publishers sent catalogues and samples for display at a booth staffed by KCPA-appointed translator Shin-Hee Yim. Said Kim Seungtae of Jeyoung Communications, who serves as a ChristianTrade board member and as KCPA’s international coordinator and v-p, “Even though some small and medium-sized publishers have given up high-cost translations in this gloomy publishing environment, most of the publishers who are still actively involved in translation publishing came to the event.” This year’s Fair saw attendance by 37 Korean publishers interested in obtaining translation rights, down slightly from last year. KCPA has 150 member publishers.
New Leaf author Gary Smalley (4 Days to a Forever Marriage, Oct.) has been selected to receive the 25th Anniversary American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC) Silver Award for Outstanding Influence and Leadership in the Development and Advancement of Christian Counseling Around the World. The award will be presented to Smalley on September 30th during a ceremony at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. Smalley has appeared on television shows including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, and the Today Show.
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