Despite the disappointing box-office tally of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Walden Media is looking to produce The Magician’s Nephew as the fourth film in the franchise based on C.S. Lewis’ beloved children’s fantasy novels. The sixth book in Lewis’ seven-title series, The Magician’s Nephew is a prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, telling the story of the creation of Narnia and how evil entered into the magical land.   ?

Performing rights organization Broadcast Music Inc. honored the writers and publishers of last year’s most-performed 

Christian songs on U.S. radio and TV during its annual Christian Music Awards, held April 4 in Nashville. For the second consecutive year, TobyMac (right) was recognized as Songwriter of the Year along with Southern gospel’s Rodney Griffin and Needtobreathe’s Bo Rinehart. Written by Scott Krippayne and was recorded by Kutless, “What Faith Can Do” was named Song of the Year.   ?

David Wilkerson—pastor and author of the 1963 best-seller The Cross and the Switchblade (Chosen Books/Baker Publishing Group), which helped launch the charismatic-publishing market—died in a car crash in East Texas on April 27. Wilkerson, 79, was founder and senior pastor of Times Square Church in New York City. He authored more than 30 books, but was best known for The Cross and the Switchblade, which has sold more than 15 million copies, and introduced readers to the struggles of inner-city youth recruited by gangs.  ?

Due to “significant response” to Ann Voskamp’s recently released New York Times best-selling memoir, One Thousand Gifts, Zondervan and the author have launched www.OneThousandGifts.com to give readers a place to share their everyday gifts as they count their way to 1,000. In One Thousand Gifts, Voskamp explores what it is to “fully live” —delving into Jesus’ earthly life, taking bread and giving thanks.

Pat Williams—Orlando Magic co-founder and author of numerous Christian books—has been diagnosed with bone cancer. Williams, 70, was diagnosed in January after an extensive physical the Magic require of all executives. Multiple myeloma is inoperable and incurable, but sometimes can be treated with chemotherapy to the point of inactivity. Williams has written more than 70 books, including his latest—Coach Wooden: The 7 Principles That Shaped His Life and Will Change Yours—released in February by Revell/Baker Publishing Group.    

Christian novelist Leisha Kelly was killed in a car accident Jan. 25 near Fowler, Ill. She was 47. Her 16-year-old son, Justice, also died in the accident. A resident of Clayton, Ill., Kelly authored 11 books, including The House on Malcolm Street, published by Revell/Baker Publishing Group in September 2010.    

Tyndale House Publishers will publish the novelization of Courageous—the follow-up from the makers of the hit movie Fireproof—which will release in theaters nationwide Sept. 30. Based on the screenplay by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, Courageous: A Novel—to be released in August and retail for $14.99—will be written by best-selling author Randy Alcorn. Versions of the Kendricks' The Love Dare (B&H Books/B&H Publishing Group)—a plot device in Fireproof and published in 2008—have sold more than 4 million copies.    

A division of Salem Communications Corp., Salem Consumer Products has acquired an online bookstore that specializes in a Reformed selection of evangelical books and Bibles. Evangelical Bible Book Store, ebiblebookstore.com, focuses on resources in areas such as history, Puritan writings, science and creation, as well as theology and doctrine. Salem Consumer Products also owns another online Christian bookstore—ChristianBookstore.org—with a catalog of more than 100,000 Christian products.

Veteran Christian filmmaker Ken Curtis died Jan. 3 after a long battle with cancer in Palm Harbor, Fla. He was 71. Curtis was the founder and president of Gateway Films/Vision Video and Christian History Institute. Curtis—who produced The Cross and the Switchblade, a 1970 film starring Pat Boone as inner-city minister David Wilkerson and Erik Estrada as gang member Nicky Cruz—specialized in featuring the stories of early Christian pioneers such as William Tyndale and John Wycliffe through films and videos.  

Teen sailor Abby Sunderland has signed with Thomas Nelson to write a book telling how she set out to become the youngest person in history to circumnavigate the globe alone last year. Unsinkable: A Young Woman’s Courageous Battle on the High Seas is to be released next month.   

Longtime Billy Graham Crusade soloist George Beverly Shea was to be honored for his gospel music career with a Lifetime Achievement Award from The Recording Academy. The presentation was to be made at a special ceremony Feb. 12 during GRAMMY Awards week, a few days after Shea’s 102nd birthday. Shea has recorded more than 70 albums, earning 10 GRAMMY nominations and winning once, in 1965.   ?

Heralding the release of The Four Holy Gospels—an exquisite edition of the four Gospels in the English Standard Version—Crossway hosted renowned artist Makoto Fujimura with a Jan. 21 exhibit of his work from the project. Published in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Version Bible, The Four Holy Gospels incorporates five large-scale paintings, four opening plates—one for each of the Gospels—plus 89 initial letters, each painted and many adorned with gold flecks and foil. Known for his use of traditional Japanese Nihonga techniques and his passion for reconnecting spirituality with fine art, Fujimura attended the exhibit at Crossway’s Wheaton, Ill., headquarters.

The plus-sized World War II biography of German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer made Barnes & Noble’s Best of 2010 Books. Eric Metaxas’ Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Thomas Nelson) was named among 25 titles of B&N’s Best Nonfiction Books. At more than 600 pages and nearly $30 retail, Bonhoeffer has seen unanticipated strong sales and rave reviews since its April 2010 release.   

MercyMe won the Contemporary Inspirational Favorite Artist category of the 38th annual American Music Awards (AMA), held Nov. 21 in Los Angeles. MercyMe, which also won the award in 2004, was chosen over Casting Crowns and TobyMac. For the fourth year, AMA winners were determined by online voting.   ?

Multi-platinum artists Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith were to kick off a multi-city tour this month that reunited the two iconic singer-songwriters for the first time on the road in more than two decades. The 2 Friends Tour was slated to hit approximately 20 cities across the country, including Chicago; Omaha, Neb.; Minneapolis; and Cleveland. The two, who have won nine GRAMMY Awards combined and sold more than 47 million albums, first toured together in 1982 on Grant’s Age to Age Tour.   ?

Inspirational gift pioneer Bob Siemon saw a good response to a new Seasonal Sales Program introduced as his company marked its 40th anniversary last year. Around 175 items from Bob Siemon Designs’ (BSD) inventory were discounted 60%-97% for the Back to School promotion offered to stores in August. A second Christmas discount offer gave minimum savings of 80% on around 150 items, with an Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day and graduation promotion due this month. As part of the sales program, BSD opened a warehouse showroom at its Santa Ana, Calif., headquarters, which marked a Grand Opening in November.

Well-known worship leader Darlene Zschech, 45, has left the Australian megachurch where she has served for 25 years to become senior pastor of a nearby Pentecostal church. Zschech, whose songs “Shout to the Lord,” “The Potter’s Hand,” “Glorify Your Name” and numerous others made the name of Hillsong Church in Sydney synonymous with modern worship music worldwide, will lead Church Unlimited on Australia’s Central Coast with her husband, Mark, starting Jan. 23. The Zschechs will still be involved in various Hillsong praise & worship projects.   

After six years of service, Graham Sopp stepped down at the end of last month as Biblica’s European ministries director. Sopp served in a number of roles, including U.K. national director and group vice president of Eurasia. He also provided leadership to STL Distribution’s U.K. operation following its merger with the International Bible Society in 2008.   ?

Eight Christian magazines in Eastern Europe, Asia and South America will receive free digital publishing software from FlipViewer Xpress Creator. The magazines won the prize in a Digital Publishing Platform Giveaway created by Magazine Training International (MTI) for E-Book Systems. The company donated the software as a support to MTI’s efforts to help Christian magazines in developing countries.   ?

U.S. Christian publishers reported an increase in appointments during the Oct. 12-16 Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany,which drew more than 25 Christian publishers—represented by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association through its cooperative exhibit, also known as the Christian Collective. ECPA officials said that the increased appointments was attributed to the Christian Collective unable to attend the London Book Fair last year due to the Icelandic volcanic ash forcing the closure of London’s Heathrow Airport.

The parent company of Zondervan, HarperCollins will publish the inspirational memoir of Tim Tebow, an outspoken Christian considered one of the greatest college football players of all time. Slated to be released April 19, Through My Eyes will tell the story of  the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, two-time national champion at the University of Florida and now a rookie with the Denver Broncos.   ?

Third Day’s “Follow Me There”—a song from the GRAMMY-winning band’s latest album—was selected as the theme music for Sarah Palin’s Alaska, a new documentary-style series that premiered in November on TLC. The song is from Third Day’s 11th studio release, Move, released Oct. 19 by Essential Records/Provident Label Group. TLC and Provident Label Group agreed to cross-promote the series to Third Day fans and the group to the network’s viewers.   

 A movie telling the inspirational life story of surfer Bethany Hamilton—a Christian teen who had her left arm bitten off by a tiger shark—will be released in theaters April 15. Based on Hamilton’s Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board (MTV Books), which was sold in some Christian bookstores, the film, also called Soul Surfer, stars AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany; Dennis Quaid; Helen Hunt; and Carrie Underwood as church youth leader Sarah Hill.

Drummer for Seattle-based Christian band The Myriad, Randy Miller died Nov. 5 after battling chondrosarcoma—a form of bone cancer—since 2008. He was 39. Miller founded and ran a construction company before joining The Myriad in 2006. The band—whose albums include You Can’t Trust A Ladder (Floodgate Records) and With Arrows, With Poise (Koch Records)—is currently working on its new album, to be released in early 2011. Miller is survived by his wife, Kristyn, and two children, Conner, 11, and Gillian, 9.

 Gaither Music Group has launched an exclusive fall promotion of music, DVDs and gifts at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations. The chain is offering special editions of Gaither Homecoming releases, Giving Thanks and Count Your Blessings on DVD and CD, plus the Gaither Vocal Band’s Greatly Blessed and Bill Gaither: Christmas In the Country CDs. As well as music, the partnership includes a new line of Homecoming gifts and keepsakes. Among them are a Bill Gaither rocking chair, an etched “Because He Lives” necklace, a 2011 daily planner and a journal.  

 Gospel singer Albertina Walker died Oct. 8 after battling emphysema. She was 81. Hailed the “Queen of Gospel,” Walker founded the Caravans at age 22, which helped launch the music careers of gospel legends such as Shirley Caesar, Inez Andrews, Dorothy Norwood, Bessie Griffin and the Rev. James Cleveland. Walker was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2001. The following year President George W. Bush honored Walker for her contribution to gospel music in a ceremony at the White House.   ?

 Point of Grace won Entertainer of the Year during the 16th Annual Inspirational Country Music Awards Show, held Oct. 14, at the Trinity Music City USA Auditorium in Hendersonville, Tenn. Carrie Underwood won Inspirational Video of the Year for her No. 1 hit “Temporary Home,” while Sandra Bullock’s Oscar-winning film The Blind Side was recognized with the Faith, Family and Country Movie of the Year.   ?

 LifeWay Christian Stores named Jan Watkins, who runs LifeWay Christian Store in Tukwila, Wash., as 2010 Manager of the Year. Watkins was honored Oct. 11 during the awards banquet of the National Sales Meeting, an annual event for all LifeWay store managers and leadership, held at the LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center in Ridgecrest, N.C.