Zondervan and Center Street have announced plans for rush-to-press books about NBA superstar Jeremy Lin, the New York Knicks point guard—and Christian—who is experiencing a meteoric rise to fame.

With an adult and youth edition, Zondervan’s Linspired is scheduled to hit stores in April. Written by best-selling sports author and journalist Mike Yorkey, it will reveal the inside story and the remarkable rise of Lin, the first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA.

Integrity Music is giving Christian retailers a three-week exclusive sale period on The Same Love, the new release from best-selling modern worship leader Paul Baloche.

Co-produced with Ben Gowell and Michael Rossback, The Same Love, Baloche’s 12th recording with Integrity, releases to Christian retail March 13. April 3 marks the album’s digital release and its release to the mainstream market through Sony.

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) today announced the 43rd Annual GMA Dove Awards nominees at a press conference in Atlanta, which was streamed live at www.hearitfirst.com.

Artist of the Year nominees are Casting Crowns, Jason Crabb, Laura Story, LeCrae and The Isaacs. New Artist of the Year nominees are Jamie-Grace, Dara Maclean, Royal Tailor, Beyond The Ashes and The City Harmonic.

Munce Group’s January CPE (Christian Product Expo) is to return to its longtime venue in Hershey, Pa., next year.

The decision was made after this year’s switch to the Lancaster Convention Center in Lancaster, Pa. The Jan. 29-31 event there drew 219 retailers and 128 vendors to the newly opened center.

LifeWay Christian Resources is to continue selling the updated New International Version (NIV) Bible in its LifeWay stores, despite an appeal to stop doing so.

Trustees of the Southern Baptist organization voted last week not to comply with a non-binding resolution approved by the denomination’s 2011 convention requesting LifeWay consider not selling the 2011 NIV. The resolution argued that the revised NIV, brought out last year, indicated the updated version was “inaccurate” and used “gender neutral methods of translation.”

Retailers and suppliers are assessing sales to see whether an anticipated Valentine's Day spending hike—seen as an indication of a rebounding economy—hit registers at Christian stores.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the average person celebrating Feb. 14 was set to spend slightly more than $125—up 8% over last year and the highest amount in the 10 years that Valentine's day spending has been tracked.

Zondervan has captured all five spots in the weekly Bible best-sellers list from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) tracking sales for the week ending Feb. 11, according to Pubtrack Christian data.

The top five Bibles are: 1. The Story, New International Version, hardcover (Zondervan); 2. NIV Thinline Bible, bonded leather, navy (Zondervan); 3. NIV True Images Bible, updated edition, softcover (Zondervan); 4. NIV Quest Study Bible, Italian Duo-Tone, coral (Zondervan); and 5. NIV Adventure Bible, hardcover (Zondervan).