Christopher Beetham has joined Zondervan as senior editor of biblical languages, textbooks and reference tools. In this new role, Beetham will be handling the editorial responsibilities that were once assigned to longtime editor Verlyn Verbrugge, who died in June.

“Even though we continue to mourn and feel the loss of Verlyn, we are excited to have Chris as our new senior editor,” said Stan Gundry, Zondervan’s senior vice president and publisher. “I know that his rich background in the biblical languages, biblical studies in general and theology will be an excellent addition for our editorial team.”

Before joining Zondervan, Beetham and his family served as missionaries in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he taught at The Evangelical Theological College and The Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology. He has published two titles on biblical scholarship, Colossians and Philemon and Echoes of Scripture in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians.

Beetham holds a B.A. in Ancient Languages and Biblical Studies from Wheaton College, two Master of Arts degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and has also earned a Ph.D. in Biblical Theology—New Testament from Wheaton.

Beetham will be located at Zondervan’s Grand Rapids, Michigan, office and will report directly to Gundry.

Rose Publishing/Aspire Press has announced the hiring of Jean Christen as publisher for children’s products, including for the newly acquired Rainbow Publishers/Legacy Press line of children’s devotions, Bible lessons and fiction titles. She started in this position July 14.

Worthy Publishing Group has hired Wayne Hastings as senior vice president of marketing and research & development.

Hastings served as a senior vice president of marketing at Thomas Nelson, after which he was promoted to senior vice president and publisher of Bibles, reference & curriculum. In that role, he led the development of several best-selling and award-winning products and campaigns, including the Chronological Study Bible, The Word of Promise Audio Bible and the Million Bible Challenge campaign. 

Nelson Books, a nonfiction imprint of Thomas Nelson, has announced the hiring of its new vice president of marketing, Jeff James. Effective June 29, James will fill the role previously held by Chad Cannon. 

Prior to joining Nelson Books, James was the CEO and founder of Mythology LLC, a marketing consulting practice that designed marketing strategies and management systems for Fortune 500, mid-market, startup and nonprofit organizations. His team pioneered effective digital marketing and social content development processes that helped deliver improvements in brand, revenue and relationships for such diverse clients as Aetna Insurance, CSC, CA Technologies, Boy Scouts of America and International Justice Mission.

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company announced June 18 the hiring of Andrew Knapp as development editor in biblical studies.

Knapp brings both practical knowledge and experience to his new position at Eerdmans, having working most recently as acquisitions editor and marketing director at Eisenbrauns, an international academic publisher specializing in the ancient Near East and biblical studies. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University, a master of theological studies from the University of Notre Dame and a doctorate in Near Eastern Studies with a concentration in Hebrew Bible from Johns Hopkins University. He is also proficient in a wide variety of ancient languages, and his forthcoming book, Royal Apologetic in the Ancient Near East, is to be published by SBL Press.

Worthy Publishing announced two promotions June 5. David Howell is now executive vice president, and Debbie Felt has stepped into the position of vice president of sales.

Formerly senior vice president of finance and operations for Worthy, Howell joined the company in 2009. Prior to Worthy, Howell served as senior vice president of finance and operations at Integrity Publishers under current Worthy President and CEO Byron Williamson, and as senior vice president of finance and operations for Word Entertainment.

Felt, who was sales director of Christian and trade accounts for Ideals and Guideposts, will oversee international accounts and children’s products for Worthy in the CBA market. A veteran with more than 20 years in the retail environment, Felt has been a buyer for notable department stores, conducting catalog/direct mail, online sales and business-to-business ventures, and has worked for a distributor for the warehouse clubs. She has been involved with the publishing industry in various capacities since 1990.

“David has been one of the integral individuals in the launch of Worthy Publishing, and with our incredible growth over the past few years, to see him promoted is a well-deserved honor from our board,” Williamson said. “We are also thrilled to have Debbie on board at Worthy. As a recent addition to our company with the Ideals acquisition from Guideposts, we are pleased to recognize Debbie and the vital role she has already fulfilled in our sales force.”

Chriscynethia Floyd will join David C Cook as vice president of sales and marketing for books and new media, effective July 6. In her new role, Floyd will be responsible for strategic planning, resource development and project acquisitions for the books and new media unit, reporting to Executive Publisher Verne Kenney.

“Chriscynethia has an incredible background in in the publishing industry and has held key positions in marketing, sales and product creation," Kenney said. "She brings a fresh look to our work of creating disciple-shaping content for local churches around the world. I’ve had the privilege of working with her in the past and know her to be a person that brings unique insights along with really strong leadership skills.”