The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association's (ECPA) information and education director for the past five years, Covington will report to Cook Chief Publishing Officer Dan Rich, while developing and implementing a digital strategy for the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based nonprofit.

Covington will help "extend our reach to the church by using emerging digital technologies," Rich said. "His ability to envision the scope of possibilities that technology provides for content publishing, and his commitment to improving the industry make him the perfect fit for our team at Cook in these times of change and uncharted territory."

Awarded the Jim Carlson Bookstore Manager of the Year in 2001, Covington served as general manager at The Master's, a Parable Christian Store in Clovis, N.M. He also served as a member of the CBA board of directors before joining the ECPA in 2006.

"I am excited about what lies ahead for the industry and for Cook, in terms of digital-content creation and distribution," said Covington. "Cook is investing in the future to make sure the church can access the resources it needs to reach the world with the gospel."

Cook's move to create a new digital position follows Eric Shanfelt starting his new position as Thomas Nelson's senior vice president of e-media, earlier this month. A veteran digital and online media strategist, Shanfelt is be responsible for developing and implementing an electronic strategy that integrates Nelson's publishing and live events segments, company officials said.

B&H Publishing Group launches online book-rental service

B&H Publishing Group (B&H) has launched an online book “rental” service that the company hopes could help brick-and-mortar stores promote one of their categories.

The Southern Baptist publisher has added a store to the free Web site for its HCSB Study Bible, which offers users access to books for a 24-hour period for 99 cents. The titles are also available for a 30-day period for $4.99 or for an unlimited time for prices from $9.99 up.

Believed to be the first publisher’s-loan program of its kind, the service was launched as part of Mystudybible.com’s effort to get more people to study the Bible deeply, said Aaron Linne, executive producer of digital marketing for B&H. 

Though the academic, reference, devotional and Christian Living titles may be of particular interest to academic and ministry users, Linne said that he believed they would be of interest to general readers, too.

“There are lots of opportunities for us to be partners with brick-and-mortar stores in this program,” said Linne. “We are hopeful that there will be people that will say that now that have spent 99 cents and got a taste of the depth of the products they have to get the physical copy.”

The new service took note of the way people used study materials. “Unlike a novel where you read from the front to the back, a lot of Bible study materials are where you just dip into it at one point for the detail you need and then come out of it,” he said.

Titles available for “hire”—which are not downloadable—are listed in the search results available at the site, which includes all contents of the 2,000-plus-page HCSB Study Bible. The free online site went live in September 2010, ahead of the print debut the following month.

Event for Catholic, Episcopal products industry sees good retailer turnout

Organizers of the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit (RBTE) convention reported a good turnout among retailers and steady sales for vendors for the 20th annual gathering, held May 31-June 3 at the Pheasant Run Resort in the Chicago suburb of St. Charles, Ill.

As in 2010, RBTE drew more than 200 book and gift buyers and 100-plus exhibitors. Total attendance was 520—down from last year’s 550 attendees, organizers said.

Evangelical suppliers who exhibited at RBTE included Baker Publishing Group, InterVarsity Press, Kregel Publications and Thomas Nelson. 

Noelle Pedersen—manager of Lion Hudson Distribution, whose products are distributed to the North American religious market by Kregel Publications—told Christian Retailing that RBTE was “great.”

“The booksellers I talked to were all doing well,” she said. “Every year the goal is to reach new stores that haven’t ordered directly from Kregel before. … The number of orders compared to last year was very slightly down. However, the sales were stronger this year.”

InterVarsity Press Marketing Manager Deborah Gonzalez said that the convention was “a great show.”  It was clear that retailers, vendors and dealers were happy to be there, and a lot of valuable connections were made, she added. 

“We did well in terms of orders, and increased our sales significantly compared to last year," Gonzalez said. "With plenty of visitors to our booth and two of our authors at the autographing session, our goals were definitely accomplished.”

Smartphone applications tied to new and popular titles from Francis Chan and Rob Bell offer ‘new level of accessibility’

Capitalizing on the latest technology, several Christian publishers have launched mobile applications tied to new and best-selling titles.

In conjunction with the 
July 5 release of best-selling author Francis Chan’s latest book, Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity, and the Things We Make Up, David C. Cook has created its first interactive mobile site, francischan.mobi.

Accessible from any smartphone using QR (quick response) codes, the site provides visitors an audio excerpt from Chan’s third book read by co-author Preston Sprinkle, as well as Chan’s first two books from Cook—Crazy Love and Forgotten God. Visitors can also learn about Chan’s “Basic” film series, watch a video introduction to Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity and the Things We Make Up, connect with the author via social networking or purchase any of the products. 

“The uniqueness of a mobile site like this is that a customer … can instantly access Francis’ entire ‘library’ in one convenient place,” said Cook’s Vice President of Trade Marketing Ginia Hairston.

Meanwhile, Thomas Nelson has launched a line of mobile apps for Sarah Young’s best-selling devotional Jesus Calling and Max Lucado’s newest devotional, Live Loved. Priced at $9.99 each, the apps are for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, with apps for Droid phones and tablets available this fall. 

Each app includes all of the devotions and scripture from the books as well as the ability to interact on social media platforms. “Apps offer a new level of accessibility for this devotional content,” said Nelson gift books publisher Laura Minchew. “I especially love the ease of sharing content via Facebook or Twitter and the immediate giftability of the apps.”

Elsewhere, Zondervan has launched a mobile app of Rob Bell’s popular “Nooma” video series, which has sold more than 2 million units since it was released nearly 10 years ago. Available on iPhone/iPad and Android  smartphones, the first and most popular title of the 24 short films, Rain, is free with each download of the app. 

“It has always been the goal of Nooma to be available in accessible, relevant formats,” said John Raymond, vice president and publisher of curriculum at Zondervan. “Creating an app for use on personal devices like the iPhone, iPad and Android keeps in line with the mission to have Nooma with you, ready to experience them by yourself or with others.”

All 23 additional Nooma films—in high definition—can be downloaded within the app for $2.99. 

Nooma is the first mobile purchase app developed by Zondervan, and the first app launched for Android by the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based publisher and its parent company, HarperCollins.