Authors on the Air; New Top Editor at Liturgical; More Catholic Product from STL/Appalachian; New Christian Fiction Speakers Bureau

by Lynn Garrett, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 12/13/2006

Two authors from the Christian publishing division of Hachette Book Group USA will be getting national media attention in the coming weeks: Kristin Armstrong, author of Happily Ever After: Walking with Peace and Courage Through a Year of Divorce (FaithWords, Jan.) will be on ABC's Good Morning America on January 5. Tommy Tenney, author of The Ultimate Comeback: How To Turn a Bad Night Into a Good Day (FaithWords, Jan.) will be on the American Family Radio program Today's Issues on January 2.

Hans Christoffersen, will serve as editorial director of Collegeville, Minn.-based Liturgical Press, effective December 11, 2006. Christoffersen was previously editorial director at Liguori Publications in Liguori, Missouri. "Hans brings a great combination of theological training, pastoral experience and editorial leadership to this position," said Peter Dwyer, director of Liturgical Press.

CBA-focused STL/Appalachian Distributors will now offer products from more Catholic publishers. In recent years many CBA stores have added merchandise for Catholics into their product mix, seeking to serve a broader Christian market. STL/Appalachian now carries product from Catholic Book Publishing, Ave Maria Press, Regina Press, St. Anthony Messenger/Servant, Marian Press, New City Press, Crossroads Publishing, Ascension Press, Ignatius Press, Our Sunday Visitor, In the Arms of Mary, Troubadour for the Lord, St. Mary's Press, and Word Among Us. With its Catholic Merchandise Inventory Program, STL/Appalachian provides a monthly list of new and core Catholic product. To sign up or to check stock availability, retailers can visit www.appalink.com.

In January, Nashville, Tenn.-based Glass Road Public Relations is launching a speakers bureau for Christian novelists. Bureau members will be booked in a range of venues, including churches, civic organizations, themed events, and professional seminars. According to Glass Road president Rebeca Seitz, instead of taking a percentage of the fee for each engagement, GRPR will charge bureau members a flat annual fee. Speakers will keep all of the proceeds from their engagements. GRPR will book the engagement and, if it is open to the public, seek media coverage of the event. "If the client desires, GRPR will also coordinate the presence of a bookseller at the engagement," Seitz said in a statement. "We want to ensure we're not taking business from booksellers by having our clients sell their own books at speaking engagements." To be considered for membership, novelists must send in a tape or CD of themselves speaking in a public setting, along with an application, available at www.glassroadpr.com. GRPR represents novelists from Zondervan, Tyndale, Harvest House, Howard Books, NavPress, Barbour Publishing, FaithWords and WaterBrook Multnomah.