Slingshot Publishing has seen a change in ownership, effective Sept. 20. Founded by Mike Clark in 2004, the Ontario, Canada-based supplier of posters, magnets, T-shirts, laptop skins and more saw its business grow “from nothing into the largest Christian poster designer in North America,” new owner Adam Brodrecht said. 

The company changed hands with Brodrecht and another investor who already was involved with the company assuming ownership. A company of “about 10,” Slingshot has been restructured and uses “a whole bunch of contractors,” he said.

Award-winning singer-songwriter Gary Chapman returns with The Truth, due Nov. 5 from Merf Music Group and distribution partners Elevate Entertainment and Syntax Distribution. The collection of songs is the first studio album from Chapman since 2002.

The Truth features 16 new songs with special vocal appearances from some of Chapman’s friends and family. Allison Krauss joins him on “If God Had a Front Porch,” John Rich and Tanya Tucker show up on “The Rough Crowd,” and Rebecca Lynn Howard sits in on “When I Say.” Chapman’s daughter Sarah sings on “Put It in His Hands,” and his wife, Cassie, sings with Chapman on a duet on the Christmas-themed “All About a Baby.”

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) has announced the winners of the Top Shelf Book Cover Award program, honoring the year's best designs in Christian publishing. Crossway came out on top with four of the 10 best designs.

Winners were officially announced and presented with their awards Oct. 22 at ECPA's annual PUBu event.

Five-time GRAMMY winner and multi-Platinum singer-songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman took home the Christmas Album of the Year GMA Dove Award last week for his album JOY. This marks Chapman’s 58th career Dove Award, more than any other artist to date.

The award comes on the heels of Chapman’s first full-length studio album release in seven years, The Glorious Unfolding. The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. 

Free-shipping offers from online retailers will not be hard to find this holiday season.

According to Shop.org’s eHoliday survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 16.3% of retailers will offer their first holiday free shipping offer by the week of Oct. 28; more than one-third (34.9%) said they already offer year-round free-shipping, compared to 23.1% last year. Additionally, more than half (51.2%) of online retailers surveyed plan to start their online holiday marketing promotions by Halloween.

Mandisa’s No. 1 hit “Overcomer” has again been featured on ABC's Good Morning America (GMA), this time in a new series. In August, the nation’s No. 1 morning show had the singer on to perform the track, and also world-premiered the song’s music video.

This week, GMA launched its “Overcomers” series with co-host Robin Roberts using the song in its national TV and web spots. In the series, viewers are asked to share their story with Roberts, telling about a dream they fulfilled with the chance for their story to be shared on GMA.

The recent renovation of Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, Mich. has resulted in tremendous growth. The store’s previous quarter sales jumped more than 50% over the same period last year, according to Sue Smith, store manager and CBA chairwoman.

The renovation, designed by Integrated Architecture, also received an Honorable Mention in the small commercial design category from the American Institute of Architects Grand Rapids Chapter 2013 Awards Program. The Honorable Mention was the only award distributed in the category.