Standard to return to children’s books, while Crossway to unveil new name ‘to strengthen outreach’

While most publishers are scaling back their presence at this month’s International Christian Retail Show (ICRS), two companies are using the event to launch major initiatives.

Standard Publishing will announce a return to children’s books, while Crossway Books & Bibles will unveil a new name and image at the July 12-15 show in Denver.

“For many years, Standard was well-known for their children’s books,” Bob Wallace, marketing director, told Christian Retailing. “The past couple of years, we took a break. Now we’re back in.”

Wallace said the return to children’s books came at the urging of new Standard President Larry Carpenter, who brought trade experience from his previous position with Thomas Nelson as vice president of marketing.

Standard will begin the new push with the revised “Baby Blessings” line, releasing seven newly revised and updated titles in September—followed by more new titles in the future. The Ohio-based publisher will also premiere new 380-page giant coloring books priced at $4.99 and up.

Additionally, Standard will debut at ICRS its 2010 Vacation Bible School program, “Hero Headquarters,” which plays off the comic book superheroes trend—but instead focuses on nameless heroes found in the Bible.

“It’s a great theme because it takes five Bible stories of unnamed heroes and how God used them in one day to make a difference,” Wallace said. “The big focus is that so many times you hear about the big things people do, but these are stories about people who do everyday things to make a difference.”

Meanwhile, Crossway Books & Bibles’ new corporate identity will include a new logo, advertising brand and Web site. Doing business to date as Crossway Books & Bibles and Good News for its evangelistic tracts, the company will change its name to Crossway. The move is to avoid confusion and capitalize on a really good year for the company, said Geoff Dennis, executive vice president, sales and marketing.

“This last year across the industry, most publishers were down about 20%, (but) Crossway has seen about a 35% increase,” he told Christian Retailing. “We feel like we’re positioned in the right way at the right time to strengthen our outreach.”

Much of the company’s growth has come from the ESV (English Standard Version) Study Bible, which was previewed at last year’s ICRS in Orlando, Fla. Dennis said the company intends to again showcase the Bible at the Denver show, which took the top honors of Christian Book of the Year and Bible of the Year at the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association’s Christian Book Awards earlier this year.

To date, the ESV Study Bible has sold more than 225,000 copies and two additional print runs are scheduled. “Our goal is to provide resources that will build the body of Christ, not necessarily be the biggest blockbuster book in the marketplace,” Dennis said. “The customer base we’re serving—the young, restless and reformed group—they have a real hunger for content.”

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