Robertsons of ‘Duck Dynasty,’ Darryl Strawberry sign books

June’s International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) offered retailers a chance to see the newest books, place orders, hear from authors and meet them face to face.

Publishers ranging from big names such as Harvest House and HarperCollins Christian Publishers to smaller houses such as Beacon Hill Press and Evergreen Press offered retailers an avenue to see upcoming books and take away signed copies.

Howard Books brought a number of top-draw authors for signings, including Karen Kingsbury (The Family of Jesus), members of Duck Dynasty’s Robertson clan (Happy, Happy, Happy and The Duck Commander Devotional); and Darryl and Tracy Strawberry (The Imperfect Marriage).

At Crossway, Shirley Dobson and daughter Danae Dobson chatted with retailers while signing Welcome to Our Table. At Baker Publishing Group, Cecil Murphey autographed the 10th-anniversary edition of 90 Minutes in Heaven (Revell). The Tyndale House Publishers’ booth was busy with signings. Susan May Warren was one of many, autographing Take a Chance on Me, her 2014 Christy Award winner. Retail group Munce brought in Robin Jones Gunn and Cindy Woodsmall.

Charisma House came to the show with a big presence—a tour bus that was used to promote its Modern English Version Bible as well as God Less America, a new FrontLine book from FOX News’ Todd Starnes, who also signed copies at the show.

Book publishers’ booths ranged in size and scope as well. Some, such as Hendrickson Publishers, brought the company’s entire line to showcase, while others, such as FaithWords/Hachette Book Group, had just a meeting room on the floor.

Many publishers had smaller booths, including David C Cook, which brought to the show best-selling author Kyle Idleman (AHA), who spoke at several events.

“People have scaled back the size of booths, which is appropriate,” said Marilyn Largent, vice president of sales at David C Cook.

Yet Largent was excited about the opportunities for retailers.

“Retailers were getting to connect with Kyle Idleman,” she said. “They now get to go back and talk to their customers about him.”

Hendrickson’s signing with women’s author Lane P. Jordan had a higher-than-expected turnout.

“ICRS is always a consistently busy show for us because we bring all of our product, and people like that,” said Meg Lynch, marketing coordinator for Hendrickson. “We write a lot of orders.” —Ann Byle

• Prev
• Next