Children’s picture book Heaven Is for Real for Kids has sold more than a half-million copies worldwide, according to publisher Tommy Nelson. The story of 4-year-old Colton Burpo’s trip to heaven—narrated by Colton’s father, Todd Burpo, in Heaven Is for Real—was released last November.

The picture book from the children's division of Thomas Nelson shows children what heaven is like through the eyes of Colton, now 12, who experienced a burst appendix when he was 4 and visited heaven during his emergency surgery.

A management buyout has been completed at STL Distribution North America (STL), with a new name for the Elizabethton, Tenn.-based wholesaler.

Send The Light Distribution has completed its buyout from parent company Biblica, a global Bible ministry serving 55 countries worldwide. The deal was in the works for several months after Biblica announced plans to sell STL Distribution in 2010. Full terms of the buyout were not disclosed, although it does require full payment to STL’s 600 vendors.

“We agreed to assume all the bank and vendor obligations of the old company," said Glenn Bailey, president of Send The Light Distribution. "In total, those obligations are in excess of $10 million.”

Send The Light Distribution is one of the nation’s largest distributors of Christian products and employs 130 people between its 192,000-square-foot Tennessee warehouse and its Sparks, Nev., warehouse. The company’s Great Value Books division in Waynesboro, Ga., will continue to serve international customers.

“We have been looking for a buyer for STL Distribution since we decided to streamline our organization to really focus on our Bible translation and Bible engagement ministry efforts,” said Biblica CEO Doug Lockhart. “When the management team approached us with their interest to buy, we listened and are glad to have been able to work out this deal.”

The tag line of Send The Light Distribution is: “Our name is our mission.” The new name harks back to the origins of its former owners—U.K.-based Send The Light called the company STL Distribution on buying Appalachian Distributors from owner and founder Tom Torbett in 2005.

“Going forward we want to make sure that our name is a distinct indication of what we are about,” said Bailey. “We want to clearly position ourselves as what we are, a distributor of everything Christian.”

Messianic rabbi Jonathan Cahn’s The Harbinger continues at No. 1 on the Top 10 Fiction best-sellers list, while residing at No. 4 on the Top 20 General list from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). Cahn’s prophetic vision for America, written in novel form, is followed by Frank Peretti’s new release, Illusion, on the fiction list for the week ending March 10, according to Pubtrack Christian data.

Baker Book House will break ground March 29 on a major renovation and expansion of its facility.

Founded by Herman Baker as a used bookstore in 1939, the family-owned independent store in Grand Rapids, Mich., will be expanded from 16,000 square feet to 28,166 square feet. The ground-breaking ceremony will take place at its East Paris Ave. location, which it has occupied since 1980 when its founder purchased the space from a construction supply business.

Tyndale House Publishers has launched a new imprint—Tyndale Momentum—and named its publisher. One of the company’s two nonfiction publishing groups has been officially designated as a separate imprint with Janis Long Harris, formerly associate publisher for nonfiction, named as publisher.

“While the name is new, Tyndale Momentum will have the same team that has built a very successful nonfiction program under the direction of Jan Long Harris,” said Tyndale CEO Mark Taylor. “I feel the name really captures the energy and direction of this team.”

The Assemblies of God has signed a sales and distribution agreement with Bookmasters. Through this strategic partnership, the Assemblies aims to expand the reach of its major publishing imprints—Gospel Publishing House, Influence Resources and Life Publishers—in the Christian and general markets.

Zondervan has received two regional advertising awards for The Story. The American Advertising Federation of West Michigan awarded the design team at Extra Credit Projects two Silver ADDY Awards for its work on the unique New International Version (NIV) edition in the categories of Photography, Digitally Enhanced and Cover.

“From the moment we saw it, we were captivated and fell in love with the two different images of the King’s crowns,” said Zondervan’s Bob Rogers, vice president of marketing & sales for The Story, of the cover design.