Amazon recently named Todd Burpo’s Heaven Is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back (Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins Christian Publishing) one of Amazon’s Top 20 Best-Selling Books of All Time. The book came in at No. 17.

Since its 2010 release, Heaven Is for Real has reached No. 1 on a number of best-seller lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, National Public Radio, The Globe and Mail, CBA and Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

Warner Press will be releasing new adult-coloring books that feature Scripture-based designs and pages that allow room for journaling, reflection and prayer. Coloring has gained popularity among adult consumers as a way to relieve stress and express creativity.

Peaceful Reflections: Creative Coloring Pages for Prayer & Journaling and Beloved Scriptures: Creative Coloring Pages for Peace & Inspiration feature detailed designs for coloring based on Bible verses. In Peaceful Reflections, all of the verses involve the theme of peace, while the art in Beloved Scriptures uses some of the most familiar verses of the Bible. A journaling page opposite each coloring page includes a “thought-starter” and space to jot down thoughts or prayers that may come to mind while coloring.

Baker Publishing Group announced Monday that the company hired Bryan Dyer as New Testament acquisitions editor for the Baker Academic division, Jeremy Wells as marketing director, and Eric Salo as project editor.

Dyer previously served as marketing director for Baker Academic and Brazos Press. He received his Ph.D. from McMaster Divinity College and earned his degrees from Denver Seminary and Calvin College.

M2T (Made to Thrive) Records launched earlier this month and announced Monday the signing of the label's first artist, Hannah Kerr. M2T Records was created by Casting Crowns’ Mark Hall, veteran producer Mark Miller and music industry executive Gordon Kerr. The label is an imprint under Black River Entertainment and is distributed through Provident Label Group (Provident Distribution).

“M2T Records is committed to spreading the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through artists who are committed to ministry through music,” Miller said.

The Tyndale House Publishers fiction team hosted Transformed Through Story: An Evening With Francine Rivers and Friends on Friday, Sept. 18, at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas. The event allowed best-selling Christian fiction authors, including Francine Rivers, Candace Calvert and Janice Cantore, to interact with their readers.

At the event, Rivers spoke about her writing life and inspiration for her stories, among other topics. Rivers is the author of numerous best-selling novels, including Redeeming Love and A Voice in the Wind.

Known for her work in establishing religion as a significant publishing category, Phyllis Tickle died Tuesday, Sept. 22, at her home outside of Memphis, Tennessee. She was 81. Having announced in May that she had inoperable stage 4 lung cancer, Tickle had recently entered hospice care.

An authority on religion in America, Tickle was the retired founding editor of the religion department at Publishers Weekly. She changed the way religion publishing was covered by the magazine and thus how it was perceived by the mainstream media.

Our Daily Bread Ministries announced Sept. 18 that two new staff members have joined the publishing team.

Ken Petersen assumes the position of vice president and publisher of the USA region, taking over for the retiring Carol Holquist who was key in the founding of Discovery House Publishers in 1988. Joyce Dinkins becomes executive editor of Our Daily Bread and Our Daily Journey, filling the post now occupied by Judith Markham, who is also retiring.