Arkansas-based pastor and author Ronnie Floyd will be nominated to be the next Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president at the SBC annual meeting in June. The announcement was made Feb. 20 by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr.

First-time author Allison Pataki’s The Traitor’s Wife (Howard Books) is set to debut at No. 5 New York Times Trade Paperback Fiction best-seller list. Pataki was a writer for ABCNews.com and FoxNews.com, and is the daughter of former New York Governor George E. Pataki.

Abingdon Press author and pastor Adam Hamilton has claimed five slots on the March CBA Top 50 best-sellers list. Hamilton’s award-winning The Way: Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus took the No. 10 spot, with Final Words From the Cross (No. 34); 24 Hours That Changed the World (No. 35); The Way: 40 Days of Reflection (No. 36); and Love to Stay: Sex, Grace and Commitment (No. 45) also making the list.

The Audio Publishers Association (APA) has announced the finalists for its 2014 Audie Awards competition, the only awards program in the United States devoted entirely to honoring spoken word entertainment. Winners will be announced at the May 29 Audies Gala at the New York Academy of Medicine in New York City.

“Excitement for the 2014 Audies abounds as we congratulate the many finalists on distinguishing themselves this year,” said Michele Cobb, president of APA. “Our success and growth as an industry continues to give rise to excellence in production and we look forward to celebrating together.”

The Parable Group and its family of retail partner stores have joined with Lifewater International, a Christian nonprofit water development organization, in a ministry-minded effort to eliminate water-borne disease and inadequate access to water across the globe.

“Every day, more than 1,800 children die due to preventable water-borne diseases,” said Steve Potratz, Parable’s founder and president. “Remarkably, in the course of bringing water, sanitation and hygiene to communities, Lifewater has been able to save lives as they work to restore physical health, engage in planting churches, teach micro-finance, improve nutrition, provide general education and ultimately bring the lost to Christ. We couldn’t be more privileged to partner with them in this great work.”

The Robertson clan of Duck Dynasty fame helped drive CBS Corporation’s fourth-quarter profits to record levels. In an interview with Publishers Marketplace, Carolyn Reidy, CEO Simon & Schuster, which is part of CBS Corp., pointed to the best-selling Duck Commander books—including Si-Cology 1 by Si Robertson, Happy, Happy, Happy by Phil Robertson and The Duck Commander Family by Willie and Korie Robertson (all published by Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster)—as one of two key major properties that drove heavier than normal sales in print.

In CBS’ 2013 earnings release, Simon & Schuster reported fourth-quarter sales of $225 million, an increase of $10 million from the last quarter of 2012. The publisher’s 2013 total sales tally was $809 million, up $19 million versus the year before. The release said that the higher sales “reflect growth in print book sales.”

Sheryl Lynn Thomsen, wife of former CBA Chairman George Thomsen, died Monday, Feb. 17 at age 60. Surrounded by family, she passed peacefully after a four-year battle with cancer.

Born Jan. 23, 1954 in Las Cruces, N.M., Thomsen was a resident of Riverside, Calif., for many years. She also enjoyed the experience of having lived in 14 states throughout her lifetime. 

Having earned a master’s degree in education, she was an elementary school teacher for more than 25 years and was recognized as District New Teacher of the Year in her first year of teaching.