Lionsgate/Roadside Attraction's Grace Unplugged took in about $1 million on approximately 500 screens in its Oct. 4 debut weekend, making it the fourth-highest-grossing new film to hit theaters.

The movie also received an “A-” CinemaScore rating. The filmgoer survey rating matched the mark audiences gave Gravity, which set a box-office record for an October opening last weekend.

Big Book of Earth & Sky (Masters Books) took home the first-place gold medal in the “Best Activity Book—Educational, Science or History” category at the 2013 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards on Oct. 3.

There were 165 medalists in all, chosen from over 1,200 total entries. The winners represent 35 U.S. states, five Canadian provinces and seven overseas countries.

Abingdon Press has hired Victoria Cumbow as marketing manager of leadership, theology and the Covenant Bible Study.

Prior to joining Abingdon, Cumbow worked at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala. as a communications specialist. In this role she handled the company’s social media presence, including blogging and aggregation across the web. Prior to that, she served as a staff writer and a part of the web team at The Huntsville Times where she was responsible for researching and writing stories for online and print.

The Book Industry Study Group (BISG) presented its inaugural Industry Awards at its Annual Meeting of Members on Sept. 27.

Winners included Edelweiss (Above the Treeline) for the Industry Innovation Award; Laurie Stark, vice president of publishing operations support, Penguin Random House, for Most Valuable Committee Participant; Phil Madans, director of publishing standards and best practices, Hachette Book Group USA, for the Friend of the Industry award; and Allen Lau, CEO and founder, Wattpad, for the Disruptor Award. Wendell Lotz, vice president of metadata for Ingram Book Group was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding work on behalf of BISG throughout his career.

Family Christian Ministries (FCM) announced a new digital platform, iDisciple, at Catalyst Atlanta last week. Billed as a one-stop shop for sermons, devotionals and other digital content, iDisciple aims to be “the iTunes of Christian content” according to FCM—the nonprofit parent of Family Christian Stores.

The subscription-based app will be available on mobile devices, tablets and PCs, and will offer a variety of content in text, audio and video formats. Daily devotionals, sermons and podcasts from Christian leaders and pastors, e-books and several translations of the Bible will be available through the app.

More than 500 people came to the Grand Opening of Blessings new store in Chilliwack, British Columbia, on Saturday, Sept. 28. The event also drew Canadian dignitaries: Sharon Gaetz, mayor of the city of Chilliwack, and Laurie Throness and John Martin, members of the Legislative Assembly in British Columbia.

Blessings President Mark Hutchinson came up with a strategy to establish the new location, starting with a soft opening Aug 1.

Zondervan will be showcasing Messiah: Origin at the upcoming New York Comic Con (NYCC), the East Coast’s biggest popular culture convention. Held Oct. 10-13 at the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan, NYCC has been ranked by Crain’s New York Business as the second-largest event in New York City, with more than 116,000 people attending the convention in 2012.

Origin, the debut graphic novel in Zondervan’s new “Messiah” series will release to retail and online Oct. 9.