Media research leader Nielsen ranked Heaven Is for Real (Thomas Nelson) at No. 1 on its Top 10 Print Book Sales: Adult Nonfiction for 2011, while Day of War by Cliff Graham (Zondervan) topped the 2011 Lime Awards in fiction from The Christian Manifesto, an online review site.

Todd Burpo’s account of son Colton’s visit to heaven beat out such books as former CNN Chairman Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography and Seabiscuit writer Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken. Nielsen Bookscan published multiple top 10 lists for 2011, including print fiction and print children's/YA, whose data excluded some outlets such as Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.

The Lime Awards named the historical novel Fairer Than Morning by Rosslyn Elliott (Thomas Nelson) at No. 2 and the “edgy Amish fiction” title Lilly’s Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long (Thomas Nelson) at No. 3. Other publishers who received awards were Revell/Baker Publishing Group and Barbour Publishing.

Another publisher success last year was Concordia Publishing House’s “God, I Need to Talk to You About…” children’s series, reaching the 1 million-copy sales milestone. Launched in 1984, the series is for children ages 4-7. Grown from the original eight titles, the series’ current 20 titles feature topics such as video games, bad manners and whining. Four more titles are scheduled for July publication.

Click here for a complete list of Lime Award winners.

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