Gaza Strip's only Christian bookstore was recently hit by a missile caused by the fighting between Israel and the Islamic militant organization Hamas.

The Teacher's Bookshop is a ministry of the Palestinian Bible Society (PBS) and the Gaza Baptist Church. "The missile hit the fourth floor of the building," PBS told the Christian organization Open Doors USA. "The bookshop and community center did not suffer any damage. ... No casualties or injuries were reported."

A memorial service was held Jan. 10 at Vista Community Church in Orlando, Fla., for Murray Fisher, a veteran of the Christian publishing world who died Jan. 6. He was 75.

A former retail manager who turned to Christian publishing more than 40 years ago, Fisher headed circulation, marketing and publishing efforts at three leading Christian companies before founding his own business, Longwood Communications, in 1992.

Not Easily Broken, a faith-based drama based on a 2006 FaithWords novel by pastor T.D. Jakes, debuted at No. 9 at the weekend.

Starring Morris Chestnut and Taraji Henson as a couple with a struggling marriage, the movie drew $5.3 million from around 780 screens at 724 theaters nationwide. The drama-with a largely African-American cast-was marketed in a similar vein as the Tyler Perry movies, and distributor Sony Pictures reported a production budget of just $5 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

Become a Better You by Joel Osteen (Free Press) had the longest run at the top spot of Publishers Weekly's 2008 top religion best-sellers.

Become a Better You topped the hardcover charts five times, followed by Mistaken Identity by Don & Susie Van Ryn, and Newell, Colleen & Whitney Cerak with Mark Tabb (Howard Books) with two months at No. 1.

Doug Lockhart and Scott Bolinder appointed to executive positions of not-for-profit organization

International Bible Society-Send the Light (IBS-STL) Global has appointed Christian publishing industry veterans Doug Lockhart and Scott Bolinder as president and CEO of its North American operations and president of global publishing, respectively.

Effective Jan. 1, Lockhart replaced David Passman, who was to retire in early 2009.  Lockhart served in the last year as vice president of communications and external affairs for the Hope Network, a Grand Rapids, Mich., based Christian human services organization. Lockhart previously served for five years at Zondervan, including two as president and CEO.

Lockhart will oversee IBS-STL’s Distribution North America, publishing, outreach, development and administrative divisions—based in Johnson City, Tenn., and Colorado Springs, Colo.

IBS-STL Global President and CEO Keith Danby said Lockhart was “God’s person to take us to the next stage of our development.”
Passman added that he had admired Lockhart’s “humility and determination as a leader for quite some time.”

Bolinder joined IBS-STL following more than 20 years as executive vice president of publishing for Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Zondervan.

Danby said Bolinder was “one of the most respected Christian publishers in the industry.” Bolinder’s work with leading authors Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Philip Yancey, John Ortberg, Karen Kingsbury and Lee Strobel “makes him uniquely qualified to lead our global publishing efforts,” he added.

“In addition, Scott is one of the main catalysts for the commercial success of the New International Version (NIV) and getting it in the hands of more than 400 million people worldwide,” Danby said.

In the November announcement for the appointment of Lockhart and Bolinder, IBS-STL also appointed Steve Johnson to the new position of vice president of Communication and New Media. Johnson is a veteran of IBS, holding numerous leadership positions within the organization and most recently serving as global publisher.

IBS-STL officially merged in March 2007 to form one of the largest not-for-profit literature organizations in the world—a move that company officials said would maximize Bible distribution around the world.

IBS is one of the world’s largest translators and distributors of Scripture, and is the copyright holder of the NIV—the world’s most widely read contemporary English translation of the Bible. Zondervan holds exclusive North American rights to the NIV.

‘No doom and gloom’ from publishers, distributors and booksellers

The global economic turmoil was the topic of conversation during the fifth annual Spanish Evangelical Products Associa tion (SEPA) Summit.

A record number of publishers, distributors and booksellers from across the U. S. and Latin America attended the event, held Nov. 20-22 in Nashville, which was hosted by B&H International.

Spanish Evangelical Products Association (SEPA) Executive Director and Editorial Unilit President David Ecklebarger said the 71 attendees were surprisingly optimistic.
“For the most part everyone seemed to be upbeat yet conservative and watching expenses,” he told Christian Retailing. “Not that the industry is seriously hurting yet, but we’re all fearful the economic problems … will have an impact.

“The credit crunch (in the U.S.) may not be felt in Latin America for three or four months,” he added. “Some people mentioned being slightly down, but sales remain steady, and we’re not deeply concerned at the moment.”
SEPA Treasurer and Editorial Portavoz Publisher Tito Mantilla said “there was no feeling of doom and gloom.”

“Everyone was still pretty positive,” he told Christian Retailing. “They mentioned the crisis and appreciating U.S. dollar, but they were more concerned about learning how to better operate their business.”

SEPA Vice President and B&H International Vice President of International Sales Jim Cook said “a lot” of the Spanish publishing houses were either restructuring because of the economic downturn or in anticipation of a looming crisis. “There’s a little bit of nervousness,” he said.

Ebett Rivera-Kading, owner of Pan de Vida, a Chicago-based Christian bookstore that specializes in Spanish products, said she was concerned about the sliding economy.
“I’m buying very carefully—and I’m not normally a frugal buyer,” she told Christian Retailing. “Now I’m thinking three times before I buy anything.”

The summit featured workshops on topics such as branding, ethics and business, reaching pastors, developing a business plan, and tips on opening a bookstore.
The gathering also allowed publishers to present their latest products “in a less hectic setting than Expolit”—the largest trade fair in the U.S. for the Spanish-language Christian literature and music world, Cook said.

“The camaraderie was high,” he added. “What happens in our industry is special. I don’t see that existing on the English side.
“We sit in on each others’ presentations,” Cook added. “We’re not threatened by that. We’re in this together.”

SEPA President and Vida Publishers Senior Director of Sales, Marketing and Client Services Peter Cerra added: “Our industry still has a lot of room for growth.”
SEPA’s 17th annual Expolit convention is set for May 14-19 at the Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel and Convention Center in Miami.

‘Much greater interest’ in Christian titles about president-elect since his historic defeat of Republican rival John McCain

Books about Barack Obama by Christian publishers have “gained steam” since the Illinois senator made history by becoming the first African-American to be elected president.

Curt Harding, senior publicist for Thomas Nelson’s Business and Culture line, told Christian Retailing that The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield “started out just so-so, but has gained steam since the election.”

“We printed 80,000 and 50,000 are still out there averaging 500-700 sales per week,” he said. “What we hope is now that he is the president, people will be curious about what influences will frame his policies.”

Evelyn Curtiss—owner of Word of Life Christian Bookstores, which has two locations in Los Angeles—said The Faith of Barack Obama had been her “biggest seller” of titles about the president-elect, even outselling Obama’s The Audacity of Hope (Three Rivers Press).

“There has been a much greater interest in the Obama books since the election,” Curtiss, president of Christian African-American Booksellers Association (ABA), told Christian Retailing. “More and more people who didn’t vote for him are coming in the store saying, ‘I need to read more about him.’ It’s more of a historic thing.”
STL Distribution North America officials said The Faith of Barack Obama—released in August—was a modest seller before the election, but was now selling more rapidly. STL also distributes The Faith of Barack Obama audiobook (Oasis Audio) and Barack Obama: An American Story by Bob Carlton and Ariele Gentiles (Zondervan/Youth Specialties) to Christian bookstores.

Released in November, An American Story had a first printing of 160,000. The biography—which made the New York Times’ best-seller list in the Paperback Nonfiction category—was written specifically to inspire teens and empower them to change the world regardless of their circumstances, Zondervan officials said.
“We’re very happy with how it’s selling,” Zondervan Director of Public Relations Karen Campbell told Christian Retailing. “We are now in our fourth printing. It is continuing to sell at a very good pace.”

Youth Specialties Vice President of Marketing David Palmer added: “We have had strong support from ABA accounts from the start, and select CBA accounts have expressed excitement and support. We are hoping that as stores understand better the content of the book and its relevance and appeal to students of all stripes, that we’ll expand that base of support.”

Capitalizing on growing interest in the 44th president, Hachette Book Group USA was selling The American Journey of Barack Obama by the editors of Life magazine—released in October by Little, Brown and Company—in the Christian retail channel.

Curtiss said besides the Obama books, her store was carrying gift items bearing the president-elect’s likeness, including calendars, T-shirts and framed picture artwork. She added that Obama’s inauguration and presidency was significant for African-American Christian bookstores.

“I think this is an opportunity for the stores to really feature Black History Month in February,” Curtiss said. “I call it a defining moment to highlight it.”

Meanwhile, sales of biographies by Christian publishers about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the unexpected running mate chosen by Republican presidential candidate John McCain, slowed after Obama’s victory.

Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down by Kaylene Johnson (Epicenter Press/Tyndale House Publishers) reached the New York Times’, Publishers Weekly’s and CBA’s Top 50 best-sellers lists.

“It’s still early, but we estimate our sell-through will end up around 115,000 units from three separate printings,” Mavis Sanders, Tyndale’s corporate publicist, told Christian Retailing. “Since the election, book sales have slowed down, (but) there is still some movement with the book.”

Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader by Joe Hilley (Zondervan)—which had a first printing of 160,000 copies—also reached the New York Times’ best-seller list in the Paperback Nonfiction category.

“With an aggressive first printing, we remain satisfied with book sales,” said Zondervan Vice President of Marketing for Trade Books Ginia Hairston.

Meanwhile, media outlets have reported that Palin was interested in signing a book deal of her own in the near future.