Recently launched film company LightWorx Entertainment has signed multi-picture deals with JC Films and Collective Development Inc. (CDI) as well as a marketing deal with Red Entertainment Group for the theatrical release of the much-anticipated upcoming film, Caged No More. With a goal of providing consumers with clean, quality entertainment they can trust, the partnerships with these companies also provide faith and family-based filmmakers with profitable solutions for delivering their products to the consumer.

“We are thrilled—and humbled—that JC Films, CDI and Red Entertainment Group have entrusted their ‘babies’ to our team,” said Randy Maricle, LightWorx Entertainment’s managing partner. “Filmmakers invest their lives and savings into each project they create, and we do not take it lightly that they are counting on us to take their films to the masses. We are excited to make an impact on the faith and family-based entertainment market.”

Biblica has announced its renewed license with Zondervan for the newly updated New International Reader's Version (NIrV) translation. The license grants Zondervan the exclusive commercial and non-exclusive non-commercial rights to publish the Anglicized edition of the NIrV, in addition to the Americanized edition. With this contract, Zondervan becomes the exclusive commercial publisher of the NIrV of American and British editions for North America, the United Kingdom (U.K.), the European Union (E.U.) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

First published in 1995, the NIrV is an English Bible translation based on the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV was developed for those who read at a lower level, using simpler words and shorter sentences.

Elisabeth Elliot Gren, esteemed missionary, influential speaker and best-selling author, died Monday, June 15, at her home in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She was 88.

Known to many simply as Elisabeth Elliot, she suffered from dementia, which took her out of public ministry soon after being diagnosed a decade ago. Her daughter, Valerie Elliot Shepard, said that Elliot had recently experienced multiple mini-strokes, according to a Baptist Press report.

EnGendered: God’s Gift of Gender Difference in Relationship by Sam A. Andreades (Weaver Book Company) has won WORLD Magazine’s 2015 Book of the Year award for the Accessible Theology category. EnGendered aims to offer a winsome theology of gender in an increasingly gender-confused society.

In his former pastorate in New York City, Andreades found himself at a loss while striving to offer helpful counsel to individuals struggling with gender issues. This realization catalyzed a 10-year search for answers to how God directs us in close relationships—and why. This meant getting involved in the messy lives of people he encountered, guided by intense biblical study. Andreades’ new book is the fruit of that 10-year journey.

BroadStreet Publishing has announced that Kelly Tough: Live Courageously by Faith (May) by Erin Kelly with Jill Kelly is a New York Times best-seller appearing on the June monthly Sports list. The book is in its second printing.

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly’s fight against cancer has been a public battle, garnering widespread support and attention from both media and football fans. In Kelly Tough, Jim’s oldest daughter, Erin Kelly, shares the not-so-public ups and downs of the family’s journey as they watched their father and husband fight the toughest opponent of his life—cancer.

Hiding in the Light: Why I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus by Rifqa Bary (WaterBrook Press) has landed at No. 9 on the New York Times Religion, Spirituality and Faith best-seller list for June. Bary, who as a teenager made headlines in 2009 for running away from home in fear for her life after converting from Islam to Christianity, has chronicled her journey of faith that led to the high-profile, multistate custody case in her memoir. 

Since the book’s May 19 release, Bary has appeared on such national television and radio programs as Fox & Friends, Justice with Judge Jeanine Pirro, The 700 Club, Sean Hannity Radio Show, Eric Metaxas Show and dozens of others.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Arch Books series, Concordia Publishing House has released the Arch Books Treasury: Vintage Collection: 1964–1965. This collection brings together the 12 original Arch Books into one volume.

Since 1965, generations of families and educators have used Arch Books to teach important truths of the Bible. Each book retells part of the Scripture in engaging rhyme, creating a memorable way to explore the Bible.