Abingdon Press has hired Julie Solomon Backman as associate publicity manager. Backman was previously a publicist for the specialty products division at Thomas Nelson, where she worked on campaigns for Max Lucado, Sarah Young, and other best-selling authors. At Abingdon she will manage publicity for books on relationships, marriage, parenting, personal growth and prayer, ministry resources, and Christian living. She will also work with the rest of the marketing team on Abingdon Press fiction titles, as well as academic and professional titles for ministers. In other news at Abingdon, the press has released an interactive Advent calendar app based on Adam Hamilton’s The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem. Priced at $2.99, the app is available on iTunes, the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad, as well as at the Android Market. As with the traditional paper Advent calendar, beginning December 1, a new activity is revealed each day until Christmas. Activities include videos featuring Hamilton, games, puzzles, art projects, and quizzes.
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing has announced that Josh Dykstra has been promoted to the position of inside sales representative. He was previously marketing associate at the house. Dykstra will manage independent trade bookstore, art gallery and museum, and special market accounts. This is Dykstra's second promotion since he started at Eerdmans two years ago.
The Munce Group, a marketing company serving more than 430 independent Christian retailers nationwide, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The company produces more than 15 direct mail consumer catalogues each year and offers other programs and services, including e-mail and online promotions, in-store merchandising, business insurance, and credit card processing. Munce also hosts the Christian Product Expo, a regional trade show held each January; the show is free to retailers and offers an expense reimbursement program for those who buy there. This year’s CPE, held January 29-31, will move to the Lancaster Convention Center in Lancaster, Penn. It had previously been held in Hershey, Penn. For more information on the trade show, go to www.cpeshow.com.
Baker Publishing Group titles from its Revell and Bethany House imprints--The Queen by Steven James and Lion of Babylon by Davis Bunn--have been selected by Library Journal for its Best Book Award in the Christian Fiction category. The Queen (Revell, Sept.) is the fifth in the Patrick Bowers thriller series. Publishers Weekly called author Steven James a “master storyteller at the peak of his game.” PW said Lion of Babylon (Bethany House, July) is “rich not only with adventure but also with visual details.” LJ will announce the winning titles in its December issue.
InterVarsity Press (IVP) has been recognized by the Village of Westmont with its Commercial Recycling Award. In 2010, IVP recycled 12,000 pounds of paper and provides recycling dumpsters in its parking lot for anyone to drop off their recycling. The Village of Westmont, along with DuPage County and Waste Management, launched the community recycling program this past spring. More than 200 local businesses have participated, and awards were given this month in three categories. In addition to receiving the big business award, IVP has won free garbage pick-up for one month from Waste Management. In other news at IVP, best-selling author and Renovaré founder Richard J. Foster spoke about his newest book, Sanctuary of the Soul: Journey into Meditative Prayer, at Wheaton College November 3. The event drew 225 people. Sanctuary of the Soul is in IVP’s Formatio line, which comprises books on spiritual formation. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline (HarperOne; originally published in 1988) has sold more than two million copies worldwide.
Worthy Publishing has signed best-selling author John Hagee for The Power of the Prophetic Blessing: An Astonishing Revelation for the Next Generation, set for August 2012 release. Noted Worthy president Byron Williamson, “(Hagee’s) weekly television program reaches 99 million homes and online he touches over a million followers via email, Facebook and Twitter.” Hagee’s New York Times best-selling books include Jerusalem Countdown (Charisma House), with more than 1 million copies sold, and Can America Survive? (Howard/S&S, 2010). Promotional plans include a 12-week television message reaching 10 million viewers, a national radio campaign, consumer advertising in major magazines, and a multi-city tour.
The 2012 Christy Awards for Christian fiction are now accepting submissions. Guidelines and entry forms are available at www.christyawards.com ; entries are due by December 5, 2011. Named in honor of Catherine Marshall’s groundbreaking novel, Christy, the awards were established in 1999 to “encourage, recognize, and promote excellence in Christian fiction.”
The Pilgrim Press has announced the appointment of Ann E. Poston as director of the Publishing, Identity, and Communication Ministry of the United Church of Christ, effective December 1. She also becomes publisher of Pilgrim Press, the oldest press in North America. Poston previously was senior manager of communication design for the Cleveland Orchestra, overseeing the orchestra’s branding, marketing, and communications functions.
Zondervan yesterday (Nov. 22) released a free mobile app based on Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, which has sold 250,000 copies since its February release. The book’s focus on gratitude inspired the release just before Thanksgiving, according to Zondervan. The app “allows users to work their way up to 1,000 gifts through capturing images and text notes.” Users can share these gifts instantaneously on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter (#1000gifts). The app is available for the iPhone, iPad, and Android platform.
Concordia Publishing House, the publishing arm of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, has been named a 2011 recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award by U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson. Established in 1987, the Baldrige Award recognizes excellence in organizational performance; the evaluation process includes about 1,000 hours of review and an on-site visit by a team of examiners. “It is with God’s grace that CPH has achieved a level of excellence that few major corporations realize,” Concordia Publishing House’s President and CEO Bruce G. Kintz said in a statement.
Master Books author Craig Froman has won the 2011 USA Book News Award in the Children’s Religious category for his Passport to the World: Your A to Z Guided Language Tour. Another Master Books title, Dragons, Legends & Lore of Dinosaurs by Laura Welch and Bodie Hodge was a finalist in the same category. Winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print, e-books, and audio books. USABookNews.com is an online publication providing online coverage for books from mainstream and independent publishers. Master Books, an imprint of New Leaf Publishing Group, is the world’s largest publisher of creation-based material for all ages.
