Production is set to begin this summer on what producers call the first evangelistic silent feature film since sound was added to movies. The Good Book tells the story of seven strangers whose lives are impacted by the gift of a single copy of the New Testament.

The movie is being produced by husband/wife filmmakers Fred and Sharon Wilharm. The Good Book is their fifth faith-based film, and the couple's most recent movie, Flowers for Fannie, will be distributed by VCI Entertainment on Oct. 15.

"I'd been toying with the story concept for a while, but I knew something was missing," Sharon Wilharm said. "Fred and I were talking about how important it would be to 'show not tell,' and then it hit us. Why not take it to the extreme and make a completely silent film?"

Fred Wilharm added: "We immediately realized how much more powerful the message could be if words didn't get in the way. From there, it all started falling into place."

The Good Book will begin filming in late summer, with a release date of April 2014. Jenn Gotzon (Doonby, God's Country) has signed on to play the lead role of Ruth—a church parishioner who befriends Sarah, a bag lady.

"I had the opportunity to take a class with Jenn at the Roanoke Arts and Entertainment Conference and was impressed with her not just as an actress, but as a caring individual with a heart for God," Sharon Wilharm said. "As seen in her film roles (I Am Gabriel, Nixon/Frost), she is an amazingly talented actress, and I can't wait to see what she brings to this film."

The Wilharms are not the first husband-and-wife team to make an evangelistic silent film. In the 1920s and 1930s, evangelists James and Eloyce Gist produced short films, including Hellbound Train, which was recently revived.

Another silent Christian film was Parable, a 20-minute movie produced by the Protestant Council of New York for the 1964 New York World's Fair. In 2012, it was selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress.

To learn more about The Good Book, visit www.goodbookmovie.com.

Big Idea will celebrate the 20th anniversary its popular VeggieTales brand with a birthday bash to kick off the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS), to be held June 23-26 in St. Louis.

Touted as "the ultimate celebration of faith, family and fun," the event, which will feature a ceremonial ribbon cutting, photo and autograph opportunities with VeggieTales characters and birthday cake, will be held at 7:45 a.m. CST Monday, June 24, in Hall 4 at the America's Center's main floor entrance.

Mike Nawrocki, the voice of Larry the Cucumber and VeggieTales co-founder, and Big Idea CEO Leslie Ferrell will host the birthday bash.

As part of Word Distribution's When Calls the Heart screening presentation, Big Idea will offer a free showing of its fall/holiday release, VeggieTales: Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas, at 5:30 p.m. CST June 24 in room 247 of the convention center.

Additionally, Nawrocki and VeggieTales characters will give away autographed copies of the latest VeggieTales release, MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle, 9-9:30 a.m. CST Tuesday, June 25, at Word Distribution's booth# 121.

Since 1993, Big Idea has sold 70 million videos, 15 million books and more than 7 million CDs of VeggieTales, company officials said.

Last July, DreamWorks Animation acquired Big Idea and the VeggieTales brand. The animation studio that created Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon bought Big Idea's parent company, Classic Media, from Boomerang Media Holdings.

Tyndale House Publishers has joined forces with author Sigmund Brouwer on a contest that aims to help parents keep students engaged in reading and writing this summer.

Through June 30, children (ages 7-17) can enter the Cool2Read Junior Author contest. Students can write a story about anything in 1,000 words or less and submit it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Aug. 31. Content will be judged based on enjoyment rather than the subject of the story, organizers said. Entries will be evaluated by three judges, and prizes will be awarded for each age group. Winners will see their stories posted on Cool2Read.com.

"The entire program is just a great way for Tyndale to ensure we are raising a generation of kids who appreciate story and learn to love reading," said Katara Patton, acquisitions director at Tyndale. "Students always enjoy Sigmund's presentation, and teachers can get great resources to incorporate his message into classroom learning. Parents can find good stuff on Cool2Read.com, too."

Tyndale sponsors Brouwer at a number of qualified schools each year, where he engages students in a presentation about the power of story. He encourages reluctant readers to love stories, and Brouwer helps them read more and learn to enjoy writing. At the end of each presentation, students have the opportunity to meet Brouwer and purchase books from Cool2Read.com.

For more information on the contest, visit www.cool2read.com.

Randy Singer's Dead Lawyers Tell No Tales (Tyndale House Publishers) debuted at No. 10 on the Fiction best-sellers from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), tracking sales for the week ending May 18, according to Pubtrack Christian data. The novel was released May 1.

The Top 20 ECPA General best-sellers were: 1. Jesus Calling, Sarah Young, hardcover (Thomas Nelson); 2. Happy, Happy, Happy, Phil Robertson (Howard Books); 3. Heaven Is for Real, Todd Burpo (Thomas Nelson); 4. Wild at Heart, John Eldredge (Thomas Nelson); 5. Jesus Calling, Young, women's edition (Thomas Nelson); 6. Jesus Calling, Young, large print deluxe (Thomas Nelson); 7. The 5 Love Languages, Gary Chapman (Northfield Publishing/Moody Publishers); 8. Jesus Calling, Young, deluxe (Thomas Nelson); 9. Daily Wisdom for Women, Jewell Johnson (Barbour Publishing); ; 10. Real Marriage, Mark and Grace Driscoll (Thomas Nelson); 11. The Harbinger, Jonathan Cahn (FrontLine/Charisma House Book Group); 12. The Duck Commander Family, Willie and Korie Robertson (Howard Books); 13. The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson (Zondervan); 14. 10-Second Rule, Clare De Graaf (Howard Books); 15. Unglued, Lysa TerKeurst (Zondervan); 16. One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp (Zondervan); 17. The Purpose-Driven Life: Selected Thoughts and Scriptures for the Graduate, Rick Warren, updated (Zondervan); 18. Jesus Today, Young, hardcover (Thomas Nelson); 19. Choosing Gratitude, Nancy Leigh DeMoss (Moody Publishers); and 20. Not a Fan, Kyle Idleman (Zondervan).

The Top 10 Fiction best-sellers were: 1. The Harbinger; 2. The Guardian, "Home to Hickory Hollow" No. 3, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group); 3. The Chance, Karen Kingsbury (Howard Books); 4. Jennifer, "O'Malley" No. 1, Dee Henderson (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group); 5. The Quarryman's Bride, "Land of Shining Water" No. 2, Tracie Peterson, (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group); 6. When Jesus Wept, "The Jerusalem Chronicles" No. 1, Bodie and Brock Thoene (Zondervan); 7. Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers (Multnomah Books); 8. Damascus Countdown, "The Twelfth Imam" No. 3, Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale); 9. Truth-Stained Lies, "Moonlighter" No. 1, Terri Blackstock (Zondervan); and 10. Dead Lawyers Tell No Tales.

The top five Bibles were: 1. The Story, NIV, deluxe, hardcover, New International Version (Zondervan); 2. NIV Thinline Bible, black, bonded leather (Zondervan); 3. Biblia de Premios y Regalos RVR 1960, black, imitation leather, Reina-Valera Revision 1960 (B&H Español/B&H Publishing Group); 4. The Message Remix 2.0, softcover (NavPress); and 5. NIV Thinline Bible, burgundy, bonded leather (Zondervan).

WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group is celebrating the release of the softcover edition of Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown with a Buy One, Get One promotion through June 9.

The best-selling book by journalist Eric Blehm will be matched one-for-one while supplies last (or until June 9) with no limit on the number of books that can be purchased.

Hobby Lobby has taken the next step in its abortion-pill mandate case. The Christian-owned-and-operated chain run by the David Green family asked a federal appeals court Thursday in Denver for an exemption from part of the health-care law that requires it to offer an insurance plan that covers “morning-after” and “week-after” pills.

Following the en banc hearing before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, Kyle Duncan, general counsel for The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and counsel on the case, said: “We are encouraged by today’s hearing before the full 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Being heard before all eight judges—rather than the typical three-judge panel—signifies the importance of the case and the arguments being made. We stand firm in our belief that Hobby Lobby should have the right to opt out of a provision that infringes on their religious beliefs, and we look forward to a favorable outcome.”

David C Cook plans to exit the distribution portion of its Kingsway business unit in the United Kingdom this summer. Kingsway Music operations, known as Integrity Music, will continue, as will the company’s Canadian distribution operations.

“This announcement follows much consideration of what is right for our entire organization,” said Cris Doornbos, CEO of David C Cook. “Despite our best efforts and the hard work of our team, which has built an efficient distribution operation in the U.K., it hasn’t become the sustainable business we need it to be for long-term viability and financial health. As a nonprofit ministry, a financial surplus is necessary to support our efforts around the world. While we now have an efficient operation, it is no longer profitable, and this impedes our ability to honor our mission.”