HarperCollins Christian Publishing (HCCP) announced Monday the recent promotion of Damon Reiss to director of Bible sales.

In his new role, Reiss will seek to create synergies across the sales channels and increase the company’s focus on Bible sales. He will also act as a liaison between the multiple Bible sales channels and the HCCP Bible groups.

It's time to vote in the Christian Retailing's Best awards. Christian Retailing invites anyone involved in the Christian trade to help us name the top products of 2015 in the Christian Retailing's Best awards. The voting period runs today through March 31.

Click here to vote in this year's more than 35 product categories.

B&H Publishing Group announced Tuesday that Dr. Thom S. Rainer’s I Am a Church Member has sold over 1 million copies. Hundreds of thousands of pastors, church

Hundreds of thousands of pastors, church leaders and members have studied the book in small groups, Sunday school classes and home fellowships. The book has also been a regular feature in the No. 1 spot on the CBA and ECPA best-seller lists.

Beth Moore, best-selling author and Bible teacher, has written her debut novel, The Undoing of Saint Silvanus. Tyndale House Publishers will release the book Sept. 20.

Moore, who leads Living Proof Ministries, has seen her videotaped Bible studies and conferences reach millions around the world. Her first title with Tyndale, So Long, Insecurity, reached the New York Times best-sellers list with over 1 million copies of the book and associated products in print since 2010.

Pope Francis’ The Name of God Is Mercy (Random House) and Priscilla Shirer’s Fervent (B&H Books) were No. 1 and 2, respectively, on Christian Retailing’s most recent Nielsen BookScan best-seller list. Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling (Thomas Nelson), the Kendrick brothers' The Battle Plan for Prayer (B&H Books) and Joel Osteen’s Fresh Start (FaithWords) rounded out the list's top five entries.

Augsburg Fortress (AF), headquartered in Minneapolis, announced Tuesday the sale of its Canadian distribution division to David C Cook Distribution Canada (DCCDC). This news follows the Feb. 29 management buyout of DCCDC by Executive Director Greg Tombs and Financial Director Hardy Willms.

The Canadian distribution division has been resourcing Christian and general market resellers and the church for over 30 years, and it will continue to provide a national, full-service sales, marketing and fulfillment operation. David C Cook’s resources will continue to be represented along with the other partners in Christian publishing, music, media, cards and gifts the organization already serves.

Religious presses improved in October 2015 compared to October 2014, according to the latest available Association of American Publishers’ StatShot report. While total industry sales were down 5.2 percent year over year, religious presses posted an 11 percent rise—the second-highest rise of the month. K-12 instructional materials (up 3 percent), children & young adult books (up 8.1 percent) and “all other” (up 11.5 percent) also improved this month, while every other category posted a decline relative to October 2014.

The increase is a very good sign for Christian retailers. The strong October improvement means that overall year-to-date religious sales have broken even with last year, after lagging behind for the first nine months. Religious presses have accrued $449.9 million in revenue to date in 2015. This trend defies the overall industry, which has declined by 2.8 percent in year-to-date statistics.