The stores included Vine & Branches in Lodi, Calif.; Family Bible Center in Turlock, Calif.; Jireh's Christian Bookstore in Placerville, Calif.; Praises Book Store in New Boston, Ohio; The Olive Branch in New Hyde Park, N.Y.; and Bible Superstore in Fort Collins, Colo.

"My wife and I are very excited to be working with a company that seems to understand the way the industry is headed as we do," said Dan Panella, owner of Vine & Branches. "The data and analysis provided are of great value, not to mention the quality catalogs with fewer items and better selection than other catalogs out there."

Parable Member Store Advisor Jim Clark added: "The Parable Group was built on the group membership program. Even though much of our focus for the last few years has been on building the franchise option, our member stores are as important and vital as ever."

Held Sept. 17-20 at the Denver Marriott Tech Center in Denver, the annual event featured discussion and training in Christian fiction. Among the winners were: Donita K. Paul for Mentor of the Year; John B. Olson for Membership Service Award; Thomas Nelson's Ami McConnell for Editor of the Year; and Steve Laube for Agent of the Year.

Yet to be titled, the first novel in a three-part romantic series about one woman's growing awareness of the presence of angels--developed by Walsh along with novelist Kathryn Cushman--is slated for publication in August 2010.

Citing that Origin of Species is available in the public domain, evangelist, author and speaker Ray Comfort is producing 100,000 copies of the 1859 book--with a 50-page introduction refuting Darwin's theory--to distribute at secular college campuses Nov. 24. In the introduction, Comfort also details Darwin's racism and mistreatment of women.

Commenting on the news at Christian Retailing's Web site, industry observers expressed concern that the decision would make it harder for Christian bookstores to compete with the retail giant.

The month's sales for religious books were $42.4 million, with the category's sales down by 8.1% for the year. Sales of religious books have been on the decline, decreasing 22%, 12%, 7.1%, 11.4%, 19% and 9% in June, May, April, March, February and January, respectively.