Educational Media Foundation (EMF), which owns K-LOVE and Air1 radio networks as well as WTA Media, is expanding into the book business with the March launch of EMF Publishing.
The publishing unit will be comprised of the K-LOVE and Air1 imprints, which will publish four to five titles between them per year within the Christian living, memoir, and children’s categories. Brian Mitchell, president of WTA Media, will lead the imprints, while Dave Schroeder, formerly v-p of marketing at B&H, will serve as publishing director. EMF is partnering with Dexterity, a community of more than 70 publishing professionals, for editing services, research, packaging design, as well as distribution. Through this partnership, EMF will hire different editors to scale for each project.
“Our partnership with Dexterity allows for us to team up with some of the best editors in the book publishing,” Mitchell told PW. “We believe we should tailor the editorial team to the needs of the individual author and book project.”
EMF will acquire titles, oversee the editorial and marketing process with authors, writers, and literary agents, and manage the majority of a book’s marketing through its radio and social media platforms and email lists. (K-LOVE and Air1 networks are broadcast on more than 1,000 signals across all 50 states and have more than 13 million weekly listeners, according to a press release.) Other members of EMF’s editorial team have not been announced, but the company plans to build a dedicated editorial staff.
Inaugural titles under the K-LOVE imprint include Out of the Dark by American Idol alum Mandisa (March 16) and a yet-to-be-titled book by singer Michael W. Smith slated for publication in May. Initial titles under the Air1 imprint were not yet available.
“Adding book imprints will help EMF continue to improve its reach to an audience that is looking for tools to encourage and grow their faith," said EMF's CEO, Bill Reeves. "EMF Publishing will allow us to bring life-changing content to even more audiences."
