Thomas Nelson has won a MarCom award for its KJV400 marketing strategy, while several book publishers are celebrating their wins in The USA Best Books 2011 Awards.

Nelson’s Bible Group marketing team won the platinum MarCom award for its campaign promotions of the King James Version’s 400th anniversary. The competition, which drew more than 6,000 entries, recognizes "outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals."

“The King James Bible is an integral part of Thomas Nelson's foundation, and this team has done a great job to educate consumers about its history and cultural influence,” said Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of Thomas Nelson.

Entrants in the global competition included media conglomerates and Fortune 500 companies. Entries are judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

Nelson's campaign to share the KJV anniversary included the Bible Legacy Event at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, a worldwide satellite media tour, partnerships with the History Channel and Salem Media Group, and a promotion on the CBS Times Square jumbo screen.

A special website, www.KJV400celebration.com, launched a version of the Bible Legacy showcase so that online users also could see the ancient relics.

"The King James Version changed how the world viewed the Bible, and its legacy of language lives on today,” said Blake Aldridge, senior marketing director of Thomas Nelson's Bible group. “We wanted everyone to understand how important that Bible translation is to their everyday lives, whether they realize it or not."

The group's efforts reached close to 63 million viewers through paid promotions, and more through publicity efforts in print, online, radio and television.

In book news, USABookNews.com—an online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing houses—has announced the winners of The USA Best Books 2011 Awards.

More than 500 winners and finalists were announced in 140-plus categories covering print, e-books and audiobooks. Awards were presented for titles published in 2010 and 2011.

The Best Books 2011 awards were given to The Daughter’s Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick (WaterBrook Press) for Fiction: General; Maid to Match by Deanne Gist (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) for Fiction: Historical; Embers of Love by Tracie Peterson (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) for Fiction: Religious; Rooms by James L. Rubart (B&H Books) for Fiction: Visionary; and Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure with Darlene Schacht (B&H Books) for Health: Women’s Health.

A panel of industry judges with extensive editorial, public relations, marketing and design expertise makes the award decisions. Los Angeles-based JPX Media Group is the parent company of USABookNews.com.

In addition, Warner Press’ Hunter Brown and the Eye of Ends by The Miller Brothers has been awarded a bronze medal in the 2011 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards in the category of Pre-Teen Fiction: Fantasy. With this award, all three titles in “The Codebearers Series” have received bronze medals in this category in the Moonbeam Awards.

Founders of Lumination Studios, Christopher and Allan Miller combine their skills as authors and animators to produce faith-based stories. The two grew up watching their parents run a Christian bookstore.

The Moonbeam Awards were created by Michigan-based book marketing firm Jenkins Group to bring increased recognition to exemplary children's books and their authors, illustrators and publishers.

The awards attracted more than 800 entries, and judging panels of librarians, teachers, students and book reviewers chose the gold, silver and bronze medalists in 38 categories. 

Click here for the complete list of MarCom winners and here for a full list of USA Book News winners and finalists. For more information on the Moonbeam awards, click here. 

Editor's note: The Moonbeam award information has been added to this story since its original publication.

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