Author and counselor June Hunt receives honor for lifetime achievement

The Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA) announced the 12th annual Golden Scroll Awards at a banquet of the group’s members Sunday just as ICRS was starting. 

June Hunt was the keynote speaker at the event, held at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla. A best-selling author and radio personality, Hunt also was this year’s recipient of the Golden Scroll Lifetime Achievement Award. 

“What an anchor is to a ship, hope is to a soul,” Hunt said as she displayed various types of anchors. The theme of hope is close to her heart, as she is founder and CEO of Hope for the Heart, a biblical counseling ministry with radio programs “Hope for the Heart” and “Hope in the Night,” heard on 1,000 outlets worldwide.

The AWSA Member of the Year was presented to Pam Farrel, author of 30 books, including Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti with more than 300,000 sold. 

Jeanette Windle received the Beyond Me Award as a tribute for her “selfless” life, said presenter Kathi Macias. 

Other Golden Scroll Awards were given to Harvest House Publishers, honored as Publisher of the Year for outstanding ministry partnerships with their authors. Editor of the Year went to Kim Bangs, now of Regal Books, while Fiction Editor of the Year was presented to Julee Schwarzburg of Schwarzburg Editorial.

Nonfiction Book of the Year was awarded to Poppy Smith for Why Can’t He Be More Like Me (Harvest House); Novel of the Year went to Susan May Warren for Heiress (Summerside Press); and Inspiration and Gift Book of the Year was presented to Mary Tatem for The Quilt of Life (Barbour Publishing).

Allen Arnold keynotes the annual Christian fiction event

Lynn Austin tops the Christy Award winners of all time, winning her eighth in Monday evening’s event at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Fla. In accepting her award for Wonderland Creek (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) in the Historical category, Austin said that “God is able to do above all we could ask or imagine.”

Anne Elisabeth Stengl took home the Visionary award for Veiled Rose (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) after winning the First Novel category last year—a first in Christy Award history.

Ginny Yttrup’s Words (B&H Books), which she said told her “very personal story,” was a finalist in two categories and won in First Novel. 

The other winners named were: Promises to Keep, Ann Tatlock (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group); The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, Julie Klassen (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group); The Queen, Steven James (Revell/Baker Publishing Group); Waterfall, Lisa T. Bergren (David C Cook; Wolfsbane, Ronie Kendig (Barbour Publishing); and The Amish Midwife, Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould (Harvest House Publishers).

Christy-winning author Liz Curtis Higgs emceed, while Allen Arnold, formerly fiction publisher with Thomas Nelson, gave the keynote address, “Captured by Story: Unpublished Thoughts on Finding True North in a Changing Landscape.”

“The trends are never the secret to success,” Arnold said. Encouraging writers to look to God for creativity, he exhorted: “Quit being fear-based. Quit bowing at the altar of statistics.”

Gary Chapman celebration among many book-centered show events

Anniversaries were celebrated, books were signed and awards were presented in the usual flurry around books at ICRS. 

At Moody Publishers’ booth, cake was served Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the 20th anniversary this October of The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. Led by John Hinkley, marketing manager of the Chapman brand, the event saw about 40 people joining Moody and imprint Northfield Publishing honoring the work of Dr. Chapman as writer, speaker and counselor.  

Hinkley presented the New York Times best-selling author with a gift engraved with: “Celebrating 20 years, 7 million copies, 48 foreign languages, The 5 Love Languages, Changing Lives Around the Globe.” Chapman expressed his appreciation to Moody for publishing the book and to retailers for their part in helping make those sales numbers possible, said Janis Backing, Moody’s publicity manager.

Among the other events built around books were “The Blackaby Publishing Legacy,” highlighting four generations of the Blackaby family authors (Russell Media); Christian Authors Network presentations to demonstrate how retailers can partner with the group for store events; and panels with American Christian Fiction Women authors addressing topics related to the sales and impact of Christian fiction.

Chapman signed copies of The 5 Love Languages of Children and A Perfect Pet for Peyton at the Love Languages event. Other signings at the show included Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson signing Winning Balance (Tyndale Momentum); Jim and Jill Kelly, The Playbook for Dads and Etched...Upon My Heart (both Faithwords); Riva Tims, When It All Falls Apart (Charisma House); and Os Guinness, A Free People’s Suicide (IVP Books).

Along with the Christy Awards, Retailers Choice Awards and Golden Scroll Awards, the American Christian Fiction Writers announced finalists for the Carol Awards.

Convention screenings of ‘The Bible’ mini-series, VeggieTales superhero release draws rousing receptions

Touting the inaugural Resonate Film Festival as “a celebration of creativity,” CBA launched the competition to highlight new faith- and family-friendly films and DVDs. 

“In years past, we’ve had many films screened at ICRS for retailers and show attendees,” CBA Executive Director Curtis Riskey said during the festival press conference, adding that this year, “our aspiration was to create a festival that’s a celebration of creativity that aims to reach the culture with thought-provoking, redemptive messages.”

Rick Eldridge—founder of Charlotte, N.C.-based ReelWorks Studios, which produces “Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends” series—announced the winners in three categories, judged by 19 well-known individuals in the movie industry, including Ralph Winter, Dick Rolfe and Ted Baehr. 

“It’s phenomenal to see the quality and caliber of films,” Eldridge said.

 Produced by Impact Productions, Home Run, about an alcoholic baseball hotshot who finds redemption in an unlikely place, won the Best Feature Film and Best Inspirational Film categories. The movie is set for a nationwide theatrical release in spring 2013, coinciding with the release of a novelization with the same title by David C Cook.

Hatikvah Film Trust’s Blessing, Curse or Co-incidence? Volume 1: Israel, the Womb of the Kingdom of God on Earth, which examines the Lord’s purpose for the redemption of mankind and the eradication of evil, was awarded the Best Documentary. The DVD is available from Casscom Media  and
Vision Video.

The festival featured 14 films, including Undaunted, The Early Life of Josh McDowell; God’s Not Dead: The Movie; Heaven’s Rain; The Land Cries Out for the Blood That was Shed; 25 Hill; Journey to Jamaa; and VeggieTales: The League of Incredible Vegetables. 

A 10-hour mini-series based on the stories in the Bible arguably received the most rousing reception. Best known for producing the TV shows Survivor, The Voice and The Apprentice, Mark Burnett and his actress wife, Roma Downey, of Touched by an Angel fame, gave attendees a first-look at The Bible, an adaptation of the Scriptures to air on the History Channel, starting Easter 2013.

Riskey introduced the project, which Burnett and Downey, who are both Christians, have been working to produce for the past two years.

“The basis of what we do in the Christian product industry is God’s Word,” he said. “That is why this project is so exciting because it is bringing the Bible in written form more to life.”

Burnett said the couple recently returned from five months of shooting in Morocco to complete filming of the docudrama, which chronicles well-known characters and events in the Bible.

“This is a passion project for Mark and I,” Downey told a capacity crowd, noting that the production was bathed in prayer. “We hope that this will to go to all corners of the world to bring the Word of God alive to people.”

Burnett, who showed several clips, admitted that the mini-series was “very dark” in its portrayals of characters and events, but also “intensely light” in its redemptive parts.

“From what I’ve seen, it’s going to be amazing,” Riskey told Christian Retailing after the dessert reception, sponsored by the History Channel and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

FaithWords plans a novelization of The Bible and ancillary products, and Twentieth Century Fox will distribute the DVDs.

“I believe this project is going to be a cultural event and seismic in the entertainment world,” Simon Swart, executive vice president and general manager North America of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, told the audience.

 Elsewhere, The League of Incredible Vegetables wowed fans of the VeggieTales franchise. A standing-room-only crowd attended Big Idea’s latest release, which introduces four new superheroes played by Bob the Tomato (ThingamaBob), Petunia Rhubarb (Vogue), Junior Asparagus (Richochet) and Mr. Lunt (S-Cape)—all with humorous superhero abilities.

Set for release Oct. 13 and Oct. 16 in Christian and general markets, respectively, League is the fourth “LarryBoy” title.

The video includes a theme song by Dove Award-winning group Newsboys. The screening was introduced with a surprise appearance by lead vocalist Michael Tait and drummer Duncan Phillips.

Big Idea will release an extensive line of products in conjunction with the DVD.

Destructive blaze brought the community together in ‘a special way’

Several Christian publishers and companies in Colorado Springs, Colo., rallied around wildfire victims devastated by the most destructive blaze in the state’s history.

During the Waldo Canyon Fire’s 17-day burn, which broke out June 23, nearly 350 homes burned to the ground, and it has cost an estimated $15 million in damage, Associated Press (AP) reported. More than 30,000 were evacuated at the peak of the fire, which killed two people and wasn’t fully contained until July 11, AP reported.

The mandatory evacuation of The Navigators and NavPress building, which was closed June 23 by city officials due to the wildfire, was lifted July 3, company officials said. The Navigators’ Eagle Lake Camp’s programs were canceled for the rest of the summer. 

“While many of our losses will be covered by insurance, we anticipate uncovered needs among our staff and impacted facilities, including some whose homes have been lost,” said a posting on NavPress’ Facebook page. “We have established a special fund to help us respond quickly to the needs created by this crisis. We trust fully in our God and His power to use these circumstances to help us advance the gospel as we press on to live and disciple among the lost.”

David C Cook Senior Publicity Manager Lisa Beech told Christian Retailing that two Cook employees lost their homes and nine others were evacuated. 

“Employees are rallying together, and Cook is collecting gift cards from employees and giving gift cards to those [displaced] employees,” she said. “The community, in general, has overloaded the evacuation centers with food, water and other items for evacuees. We know that God is at work and bringing this city together in a very special way.”

Meanwhile, Focus on the Family co-sponsored the Wildfire Relief Benefit Concert at World Arena in Colorado Springs on July 4, to support victims of the fire, and recognize and honor the firefighters and emergency response teams. Featuring the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, along with appearances by the Flying W Wranglers, Michael Martin Murphey and Flash Cadillac, the free concert raised funds for fire relief efforts.

In a joint statement with John Weiss, publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent, Focus President and CEO Jim Daly said: “Fighting this fire, we are one community—together. ... We are united in reaching out to fire victims in their time of need and also honoring those risking their lives fighting this devastating tragedy.”

WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group President Steve Cobb said four staff members were evacuated from their homes. 

“Staff members have opened their homes for evacuees and their animals. It is a period of time where everyone has pitched in, as well as prayed a lot.”

Rick Christian, founder of Alive Communications, said two employees and an intern at his literary agency were evacuated, but were allowed back in their homes. “Three of the four displaced families who were staying at our home in Colorado Springs were also allowed back in their homes and are fine,” he said. “The fourth family had a home in the heavily devastated burn zone, but discovered their home is intact.”

Healthcare plan law would ‘ignore religious freedom and conscience’

Christian retailers have expressed concern and retail groups have condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in June upholding ObamaCare as constitutional. 

The court upheld the law, formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, including its mandate requiring individuals to buy health insurance and employers with 50 employees or more to provide insurance to their workers, Associated Press (AP) reported.  

ObamaCare will punish businesses of all sizes, the National Retail Federation (NRF) said. 

“The court missed an opportunity to redress the many shortcomings of the law,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As it stands, the law wrongly focuses more on penalizing employers and the private sector than reducing health costs.”

Curtis Riskey, CBA executive director, told Christian Retailing that the implications of the healthcare plan on small businesses are “uncertain because no meaningful guidelines for employers exist that would enable them to make business plans or budget for changes.”

“We are also concerned that the law ignores religious freedom and conscience, and many could be penalized for standing up for their faith if they don’t provide specific health services,” he said. 

Andrew Criswell, owner and CEO of Pee Dee Christian Book & Supply in Florence, S.C., was also unhappy with the ruling. 

“Medical insurance is the single-largest recurring line item in our monthly budget,” said Criswell, a CBA board member. “It is breaking our back, but I’d hate to lose the staff members who are covered by it if I drop it. 

Berean Christian Stores Chief Operation Officer Bill Nielsen said it’s too early to say what the impact of the ObamaCare ruling what be on the 18-outlet chain.

Berean will “seek the advice of insurance specialists to help us navigate any regulation issues, especially knowing that the upcoming elections and sequential congressional bills that could result may have as much or more effect than recent court rulings on the future of healthcare in our country,” he said. 

Munce Group President Kirk Blank said the ObamaCare decision should not be the focus for Christian retailers.  

“While we are certain that many in our group are not happy regarding the ruling, we know that our job is to impact the kingdom of God by putting Christian products into the hands of people as quickly and efficiently as possible,” he said. 

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) criticized the ruling. 

“President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that if they liked their health insurance, they could keep it,” said RILA President Sandy Kennedy. “However, with just 17 months until the law takes effect, and no meaningful implementation guidelines available for employers, those assurances are in doubt. While retailers are committed to continuing to provide health coverage to their employees, over-regulation jeopardizes their ability to do so.”

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins also said new federal regulations will “toss aside the constitutional right to religious freedom by forcing religious institutions and employers to pay for abortion-causing drugs, contraceptives and sterilizations,” he said.

Zondervan and Nelson now owned by the same parent company with each to maintain own editorial focus

HarperCollins Publishers has finalized the acquisition of Thomas Nelson. The takeover was announced last October when HarperCollins—a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. that is also the parent company of Zondervan—had agreed to acquire the Nashville-based publisher “for an undisclosed sum.”

Thomas Nelson will continue to operate as an independent company with its unique editorial focus on inspirational and Christian content. Details, such as how Nelson will benefit from HarperCollins global print and digital platform, were said to be forthcoming.

Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of Thomas Nelson, said earlier that the transaction represented “an attractive strategic fit for our company,” adding that Nelson intended to “capitalize on the many opportunities” presented by association with HarperCollins.

Between Nelson and Zondervan, now siblings, they account for almost half of all book sales in the Christian market and, as publishers of the King James and New International Versions, the majority of Bible sales.

With the closing announced July 11, “HarperCollins is focused on evaluating all activities in North America and how it can best work to serve its authors and customers,” said Casey Harrell, director of corporate communications at Thomas Nelson. “HarperCollins has stated that they intend to continue to publish under both the Thomas Nelson and Zondervan brands each with its own unique editorial focus. The two companies have different, though complementary missions, and they will continue to keep those missions intact.”

Retail operation capitalizes on gifts, decreases music and book inventory

When Lowe’s wanted to expand its footprint, the home improvement store asked The Master’s Parable Christian Store to consider moving. It took some time, but the Parable member store did change locations, landing in a former grocery store that is part of a 60,000-square-foot building. 

Several investors who believed in the ministry of the Clovis, N.M., store bought the large building, made some improvements and asked Master’s to be an anchor store. Along with owner Tammy Garner’s Parable franchise, part of the building is owned by Big Lots and part by another of Garner’s businesses, a coffee shop called Java Loft. 

“I’d always wanted a coffee shop with the bookstore,” she told Christian Retailing, “but I really didn’t want it to be within the bookstore because I know me and cutting corners, because I didn’t want someone who was a barista that had a dirty apron to feel like they had to go over to the Bible counter and sell.”

The nearly 10,000-square-foot location Master’s Parable occupies includes a 5,500-square-foot sales floor and a 1,200-square-foot conference room to use or rent out to the community.

Garner sells real estate full time now to help supplement the store’s ministry. This year she’s had to depend on her staff to run the store for the most part, but is still aware of what’s happening there.

Making it her store’s mission to provide “a haven of Christ’s love for our customers and our community,” Garner told the staff in a recent meeting: “When you open our double front doors in the morning, I want there to be a vacuum. What’s going to draw people in? Is it our customer service? Is it our marketing? Is it our products? And I think it’s got to be all of it.”

Garner also doesn’t want anyone in the community feeling left out in the cold.

“At a Christian store, you don’t want to isolate anyone,” she said, recognizing that in lowering price points so much through the years, they may have lost some more affluent customers. “We’ve actually isolated a part of our demographic that can and do buy the more expensive [items] and we didn’t have it for them to buy, and so it’s hard to be all things to all people.”

But in the area of jewelry, “that is something we’re going to try to do,” she said. “We want to have all price points for that. Now when we say all price points, we’re not going to be like the local diamond jewelry store.”

With moderately high-priced jewelry from Spirit and Truth, it has been “very, very hard to keep the spinner full,” gift buyer Teresa Teune said.

The gift department is going gangbusters, and the store also has seen success with apparel from NOTW, Know Him and Kerusso, and personalized items sold through its P. Graham Dunn laser center, which was up for the year 58%, doubling in sales from last year. 

 “A lot of the experiments I’ve done in the store by bringing in different lines and different price points have proven to be successful across the board, from high-end to low-end,” Teune said. 

The store was soon to bring in Halle Joy items, including higher-priced handbags, as well as Fair Trade items from Exotic World Gifts.

 Decreasing the store’s music section—something Garner acknowledges should have been done long ago—and limiting books mainly to best-sellers, the store is ramping up its gift and children’s inventory, including higher-end rocking horses and a line recycled from plastic milk jugs—from trucks to teapots. The store was looking for more “wood toys and more imagination things instead of electronics,” Teune said.

The store also a number of events, including an annual pastors’ breakfast and free VeggieTales screenings. 

Its annual Master’s Ambassadors dinner for the store’s top 50 customers for the year, is a “very special dinner with lots of perks,” Garner said. “If they’re our top customers, then they’re out telling other people about us. The dinner is not only to honor them, but to make sure that each one of them is aware of what we do and what we carry.”

A special luncheon to come will cater to the top 100 female customers so the store can introduce them to some new lines it will carry.

Garner knows that in reinventing the store, they’ve got to get the word out about what’s different. 

“It’s got to be about the experience that people have when they come into our store,” she said. “Everything, from the cleanliness of the store to the customer service to the products you sell, it’s all got to create that experience.”

Marilyn Hickey's 'Dinner With Muhammad' aims to 'open the hearts of Christians'

Longtime televangelist and charismatic Bible teacher Marilyn Hickey has written a new book that aims to help Christians bridge the cultural divide with Muslims, while overcoming fear and stereotypes in a post-9/11 world.

Released last month by Franklin Green Publishing, Dinner With Muhammad reflects on Marilyn Hickey's experience of building bridges with the Muslim community for more than 30 years and how God calls Christians to “love our neighbor as ourselves”—even if the neighbor is Muslim.

“You may agree or not agree with Marilyn’s theological position, but this book isn’t about doctrine,” said Lee Gessner, publisher of Franklin Green Publishing. “This book is about reaching people for Christ. This is a critical message for our time. Statistically, there are more American Muslims than ever before, making up one-fifth of the world’s population.”

Subtitled “A Surprising Look at a Beautiful Friendship,” the book features a foreword by Imam Elahi, founder of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights, Mich.

“I can’t think of a better way to spend a Friday night than having a potluck with a Muslim family along with some of my close friends,” said Hickey, whose evangelistic meeting in Karachi, Pakistan in January 2012 drew more than 200,000 Muslims to hear the gospel. “Chicken casserole alongside Tandoori chicken makes the miles in our hearts come together faster than any other platform I know. The discussions are always lively, and the burdens of life along with the celebrations are very much the same.”

Gessner told Christian Retailing that there are no other Christian books similar to Dinner With Muhammad.

“This is the story of a woman who would not let fear deter her from what she felt God had called her to do,” he said. “Simply, she extended her hand in friendship and allowed God’s love to be displayed through her words and deeds. … I do not expect it to be controversial due to its topic. On the contrary, I believe most Western Christians yearn to minister to the Islamic world, and will be encouraged by the example of the author.”

Hickey believes Dinner With Muhammad will “open the hearts of Christians all over the world to pray for Muslims rather than hating them.”

“I have Bible studies with them, and several of them now come to my church,” said Hickey, who co-pastors Orchard Road Christian Center in Greenwood Village, Colo., with husband Wallace. “It is really a blessing to reach out to a people who I think are sometimes shocked by us.”

Hickey is friends with Jehan Sadat, widow of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated in 1981 by Islamic radicals. Other books by Hickey, 81, include The Names of God (Whitaker House), Breaking Free From Fear (Harrison House) and Blessing the Next Generation (FaithWords).

WaterBrook picked up self-published best-seller earlier this year

To Heaven and Back by Dr. Mary C. Neal, a book recently acquired by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group that has become a national word-of-mouth phenomenon since it was self-published in November 2011. At press time, it has spent 12 weeks on the New York Times Advice & Miscellaneous Paperback best-seller list, including nine weeks on the top spot.

The book is a firsthand account of the orthopedic spinal surgeon's death after a kayak accident in South America, visit to heaven and return to life.

On May 29, imprint WaterBrook Press released the e-book and the softcover edition with a first printing of 200,000 copies—based on initial orders from booksellers for more than 185,000 copies. To date, there are 440,000 copies in print.

“We are thrilled to see To Heaven and Back climb up the New York Times best-seller list,” said Steve Cobb, president and publisher of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. “When this book first came on our radar, we were confident that it would find an audience, and we’re happy that within a few weeks of releasing our edition, more than 250,000 copies are in print.”

Consumer demand for the book was spurred by strong national media interest in Dr. Neal’s story. She has appeared on NBC’s Today show, FOX News Channel’s Fox and Friends and America Live with Megyn Kelly. She was also a subject in Jay Leno’s monologue on The Tonight Show, when he made a reference to Neal’s book and the possibility of life after death for NBC.

The book has also received high rankings on the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists.