Sales and marketing veteran Chris Robinette is to head up Covenant Media Resources (CMR), a new sales and distribution service for the Christian book world founded as a division of Midpoint Trade Books.

Serving more than 250 independent publishers mostly in general market independent and mass market channels, Midpoint currently handles titles by WND Books and Kerygma Publishing. Authors include Ray Comfort, Greg Laurie and Josh McDowell.

CMR will look to tap into the growing area of self-publishing, as well as making available to Christian stores some of the general market titles Midpoint handles that could be of interest, Robinette said.

Midpoint President Eric Kampmann said that he had wanted to expand into the Christian book marketplace for many years, but had not found the right person to fill the position. "My 40 years in book sales and distribution and my 16 years running Midpoint has taught me several valuable lessons, but one of the most important is finding the right person who brings to the table a combination of entrepreneurial passion and managerial skill," he said. Robinette "will build a credible and effective operation that will serve the Christian book publishing and book-selling communities extremely well."

A 29-year veteran of the industry, Robinette has been president of his own Inspirational Marketing Resources for the past four years, providing contract sales representation for ministries and small and mid-sized Christian publishers. Prior to that, he was part of the Inspirational Publishers Group, a subsidiary of Gospel Light's GL Services. Before that, Robinette was director of sales for David C. Cook.

He said that Midpoint's services "will be appealing to many independent Christian book publishers. In addition to reaching the traditional CBA marketplace through my own background and experience, we will be able to offer first-rate exposure through a wide range of secular bookstores and wholesalers who successfully sell Christian titles."

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