Irene Hannon, best-selling author of more than 50 novels, won her third RITA Award and was inducted into the Romance Writers of America (RWA) Hall of Fame in a special presentation July 25 in New York City. The black-tie awards and induction ceremony took place before an audience of more than 2,000 publishing industry professionals from around the world.

During the 35-year history of RWA, only 16 authors have achieved Hall of Fame status. Other notable members include Nora Roberts, Julia Quinn and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. The only other inspirational author to achieve this milestone is Francine Rivers.

The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH) celebrated the dedication of its new campus in Nashville’s MetroCenter with a special ceremony Tuesday, July 28.

Keeping its long-established roots in Nashville, the company has moved to a modern and technology-rich location at 2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. Previously UMPH was located in the heart of downtown Nashville on 8th Avenue South across from Music City Center.

The audiobook industry is continuing to expand in sales as well as the number of titles being published in the format, according to the annual sales survey from the Audio Publishers Association (APA).

APA estimates that 2014 audiobook sales totaled more than $1.47 billion, up 13.5 percent over 2013, based on information from responding publishers. Unit sales were also up 19.5 percent, nearly five times the increase of the overall book trade industry (4.2 percent).

Baker Publishing Group announced two new hires today.

Louis McBride has joined the Baker Academic and Brazos Press divisions as the new publicist. Baker Academic has also recently hired Christina Jasko as a textbook specialist.

Thomas Nelson announced two senior marketing promotions July 24. Michael Aulisio has been promoted to vice president of marketing for gift books. In addition, AnnJanette Toth has been promoted to senior marketing director for children’s books and Tommy Nelson Kids.

Aulisio joined Thomas Nelson in October 2010 as director of marketing. He has led marketing campaigns for popular gift books, including the No. 1 best-seller Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, Every Day in His Presence by Charles Stanley, Hope for Each Day by Billy Graham, Savor by Shauna Niequist and 5 Minutes with Jesus by Sheila Walsh. As a result of his innovative marketing leadership, many titles have also earned from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) platinum and gold awards for sales achievements of more than 1 million and 500,000 copies sold, respectively.

Jason Crabb was recently honored with a street name, “Jason Crabb Drive,” in his hometown, Beaver Dam, Kentucky. The city surprised and honored Crabb with the sign for the road when he arrived for a hometown show two weekends ago.

It was an emotional homecoming for Crabb, who had not performed in his hometown since his grandmother died earlier this year.

Two books by Christian-market publishers have won the Southern Writers 2015 Best Covers contest.

Laura Frantz’s Love’s Reckoning (Revell/Baker Publishing Group) was featured in the magazine's article commending the cover design's "wow" factor. Lauraine Snelling’s Heaven Sent Rain (FaithWords/Hachette) also was praised for its design.

Frantz told Southern Writers that she gasped when she first saw her award-winning cover.

“Of my seven covers, this one is my personal favorite,” she said.

“Love’s Reckoning is an intensely emotional novel, per reviewers, so capturing the right feel of the book was important,” Frantz added. “‘Broody’ is the word that comes to mind. Though the book has a happily ever after, it’s a rocky road to get there! But I think that makes the ending all the sweeter and sets the stage for the next books in the series.”

Southern Writers asked readers to nominate book covers that had caught their eye and were “irresistible” on the shelves.

Both Love’s Reckoning and Heaven Sent Rain were selected as favorites by readers of the magazine. Voting ended April 30, and the winners were announced in the July issue.