Christian retail channel ministry exclusive, best-seller acquisition and a new imprint emphasize opportunities in core categories While there was a lot of talk at ICRS about the industry’s changing face, there was also an emphasis on its unchanging foundation. Panel discussion participant Jason Green, president of Mardel Christian & Education, said that while new technology and retail practices needed to be explored, it was important to remember that Christian publishing’s core product was 2,000 years old. As part of the event’s theme, ICRS featured a Celebrate the Word Bible Legacy Exhibit of artifacts in recognition of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. The ribbon-cutting ceremony saw Thomas Nelson unveil its God’s Word in Action “Buy a Bible, Help a Child” promotion that will see donations made to World Vision for each of the company’s Bibles bought at Christian stores through March 31, 2012. With a minimum donation of $75,000 pledged, a higher goal set by Nelson’s Bible team and matching funds could see the Christian retail channel-exclusive campaign raise more than $1.4 million to help needy children around the world through the effort, said Gary Davidson, Nelson’s senior vice president and Bible group publisher. Meanwhile, the newest Bible version had a positive reception at the show, according to Paul Franklyn, associate publisher of Abingdon Press’ Common English Bible (CEB)—launched with a 70,000-copy print run. “We’re very pleased,” he said, adding that demand had required a second print run of 50,000 copies. Speaking at a press conference about Bible translation approaches, Franklyn said that a third of the 120 scholars who had worked on the CEB were wom+en. “With most Bibles being bought by women—between 75% and 85%—they deserve a place at the table, since all translation is interpretative,” he said. Zondervan announced the purchase of longtime best-seller The Beginner’s Bible from Mission City Press, for which it has published the title since 2004. Zondervan President and CEO Scott Macdonald said that the acquisition was reflective of the renewed focus on the company’s core publishing. The children’s edition was “a great brand, and we have a great opportunity to exploit and expand it with digital technology,” he added. Since releasing 177 new SKUs with the updated New International Version (NIV) earlier this year—with another 180 to follow soon—Zondervan has seen a 5% increase in sales, Macdonald said. At Baker Publishing Group, President Dwight Baker said that the company had strong expectations for its forthcoming Names of God Bible, drawing from author Ann Spangler’s books and featuring the publisher’s God’s Word Translation. Fiction was another focus at ICRS, with Moody Publishers unveiling its new imprint, River North Fiction. It launches with the September release of A Marriage Carol by Gary Chapman and Chris Fabry. The renewed focus on fiction is part of a reorganizing of the company’s publishing teams, said Sales Administrative Coordinator Michele Forrider. Tyndale House Publishers was giving away advance copies of novella The Touch, a September release from filmmaker Randall Wallace, marking the Braveheart scriptwriter and Secretariat director’s debut in the Christian marketplace. Wallace spoke of his inspiration in writing stories about courage and honor during the 12th annual Christy Awards, honoring the best in Christian fiction. Christian retailing’s core constituency—those identified as “active Christians,” by their personal devotional habits and church activity—account for more than half of all Christian fiction sales, according to data from R.R. Bowker’s Pubtrack Consumer analysis of book readers’ habits. The statistics were presented at a press conference spotlighting Christian fiction, which saw leading novelists Randy Alcorn, DiAnn Mills and Terri Blackstock talk about how they were able to share spiritual truths through their stories. Christian novelists were farmers because “we plant seeds,” Mills said. The finalists for this year’s American Christian Fiction Writers’ (ACFW) Carol Awards also were announced during ICRS. The winners are to be named at ACFW’s annual conference, to be held Sept. 22-25 in St. Louis. Reporting a busy debut at the show was Influence, the new imprint created under the umbrella of the Assemblies of God’s Gospel Publishing House (GPH). Officially launching Aug. 1 with 25 releases in print and digital format, the first books and comic books had seen a “phenomenal” response, said Publisher Susan Blount. Influence was launched after GPH realized that with its sales going down at a time when the denomination itself was growing, something needed to be done, said Blount. “What we are finding is that there is a place in the market for someone who is willing to do things in a new way,” she added.
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