B&H Publishing Group dominated the Spanish Evangelical Products Association (SEPA) Awards last night at the 18th annual Expolit convention in Miami, winning six trophies during the event.

Desafío del amor, the Spanish translation of The Love Dare by Fireproof movie-making brothers Stephen and Alex Kendrick (published in English by B&H Books in 2008), won the Harold Kregel 2009 Book of the Year award for "most inspiring and impactful book."

With sales of more than 300,000 copies, Desafío del amor was also named Best Nonfiction Book and took a Gold Award for lifetime sales of at least 100,000 copies. B&H Publishing Group also won the best catalog, annotated Bible and reference book categories.

Editorial Unilit won three awards, including Publisher of the Year and tying for Best Original Spanish Work in 2009 for Los 30 horrores que cometen los hombres y que toda mujer debe saber (the 30 awful mistakes men commit that every woman should know) by Norma Pantojas. Editorial Unilit also garnered a Silver Award--lifetime sales of more than 50,000--for Stormie Omartian's El poder de la esposa que ora (The Power of a Praying Wife, published in English by Harvest House Publishers in 2007).

Editorial Vida, Zondervan's Spanish imprint, was recognized for Best Original Spanish Work in 2009 for Destinado al ėxito (destined for success) by Argentine evangelist Dante Gebel. Additionally, Vida won the best advertisement and book cover categories in the art and design section.

A major award also went to Mexico's Distribuidora Ariel for Distributor of the Year.

Editorial Portavoz (Kregel Publications' Spanish imprint) won the Bible study and fiction categories. The Spanish imprint of Strang Communications--Christian Retailing's parent company--Casa Creación received a Platinum Award for Joel Osteen's Su mejor vida ahora (Your Best Life Now, published in English by FaithWords in 2004) and a Gold Award for Joyce Meyer's Controlando sus emociones (Managing Your Emotions, published in English by FaithWords in 2002).

Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas (United Bible Societies) won two awards for best text Bible and best specialized Bible, while Tyndale Español garnered the best children's book award for Mi Biblia pijama bilingüe (My Bilingual Pajama Bible).

Jim Cook, vice president of international sales for B&H Publishing Group, said the company's international division experienced growth in 2009 despite the continuing downturn in the economy. "While most publishers were down 10% to 15%, we had our best year ever," he said. "Our (Spanish) sales were up 27% from 2008."

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