At Summer Show, Christian Publishers Look to Winter
by Lynn Garrett and Jana Riess -- Publishers Weekly, 7/9/2007 12:36:00 PM
At the pre-show events leading up to the opening of the floor today at the International Christain Retail Show (ICRS), the talk was all about CBA’s abandonment of its winter trade show (PW Daily, July 6) and plans to launch an as-yet-undefined new event in its place. Publishers expressed relief at not having to gear up for an exhibit in January—one that had become increasingly unproductive and onerous for many in recent years—as well as curiosity about what CBA might have in mind. Without a trade exhibit, how will the association draw retailers to the event? How will it motivate publishers and other suppliers to participate?
Former Thomas Nelson executive Jonathan Merkh was using ICRS to talk up plans for Guidepost Books, where he is now v-p of book publishing. On Sunday night Merkh said that Guideposts has conducted extensive research this year into its direct mail database "to get a better understanding and connection with our core customers. We want to find ways to extend our brand at retail with proprietary products," including its Daily Guideposts devotional, which has sold over 20 million copies as a total series. Merkh said that the house would also be reaching into its "vault" of fiction backlist titles that were sold through the company’s direct mail program, but "have never seen the light of day at retail." The bulk of the publisher’s growth, Merkh predicts, will be "organic from our existing content and our direct mail."
Also expanding its fiction offerings is Steeple Hill, whose Love Inspired Historical line will launch in February with Catherine Palmer’s medieval novel The Briton. Executive editor Joan Marlow Golan said that the line will feature two titles a month set in different historical periods: Regency, Western, Victorian, and WWII, among others. Also new at Steeple Hill, which is part of the Harlequin family, is a corporate-wide initiative to publish women’s non-fiction as well as fiction. "We’re looking for devotionals, Christian living, anything that will appeal to large numbers of Christian women," Golan said. "At first, we’ll probably do no more than two a year, but if it sells well we could expand our vision."
Bethany House, one of the pioneering houses in Christian fiction, formally announced that Gary and Carol Johnson will be transitioning to part-time starting in March 2008. At the Baker author dinner on Sunday evening, CEO Dwight Baker lauded the Johnsons for their nearly 30 years of service in Christian publishing and said that while the Johnsons will be continuing part-time for the foreseeable future, a new leadership team will be announced shortly for Bethany House, which is now part of the Baker Publishing Group.
Tickle Gets Lifetime Award
On Saturday night at the Christy Awards banquet, Phyllis Tickle, PW’s former religion editor, came out of an exceptionally active "retirement" for what she thought would be an evening of introducing the Christy Awards’ keynote speaker, Lauren Winner (also a PW contributor). But Tickle was in for a surprise: a standing ovation and the organization’s first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award for her enthusiastic and sustained support of Christian fiction. An audience of over 250 people expressed their appreciation to the surprised Tickle, who also presented this year’s eight Christys to the winners. Bethany House went home with three awards, with previous winner Jamie Langston Turner taking the Contemporary (Stand Alone) category for Winter Birds, bestselling novelist Beverly Lewis topping the Contemporary (series, sequels and novellas) category for the Amish-themed story The Brethren, and former winner Deeanne Gist sweeping romance once again, this time with The Measure of a Lady.
One of the great surprises of the night was Moody’s close second in the awards race; its relatively new fiction program, spearheaded by editor Andy McGuire, brought home awards for historical (Madman by Tracy Groot) and the new category young adult fiction (William Henry is a Fine Name by Cathy Gohlke). Center Street and Thomas Nelson each got one award, for suspense (Plague Maker by Tim Downs) and first novel (Where Mercy Flows by Karen Harter), respectively. The winner in the newly-created "lits" category, encompassing chick lit, mom lit, lad lit and other lighter fare, was an elated Robin Jones Gunn for Sisterchicks in Gondolas (Multnomah).
