Abingdon Press (1064) is providing BEA attendees with a good look at their newest products and using the event to learn a few things themselves. “Discoverability is changing so much,” says Sonua Bohannon, senior marketing manager. “It’s great to hear from retailers how they’re reaching audiences, and to learn how we can help them.”

The Christian publisher is enthusiastic about its new book, Moving Miss Peggy: A Story of Dementia, Courage and Consolation by Robert Benson, an intimate look at the journey of helping aging parents and what dementia means for a family. Benson has published nine works on the contemplative life including Living Prayer (1999), Between the Dreaming and the Coming True: The Road Home to God (2001), and Digging In: Tending to Life in Your Own Backyard (2007).

Other featured products include The CEB Study Bible, which releases in October and is the first study edition of the proprietary Common English Bible translation, launched in 2010. Abingdon will give away a sampler containing the biblical book of Mark, complete with introduction, notes, maps, images, and sidebar articles, as well as excerpts from the Old Testament books of Leviticus and Exodus. “The CEB Study Bible is a readable, reliable, and relevant invitation to grow in God,” says Bohannon.

Another Bible resource, Consider the Birds: A Provocative Guide to Birds of the Bible by Debbie Blue, will be available as an ARC. Blue is founding pastor of House of Mercy in St. Paul, Minn., once named “the Best Church for Non-Church Goers.” Says Bohannon, “Debbie is a Bible scholar, and her scholarship and writing are interesting and provocative.”

Fiction lovers will not go away empty-handed either. ARCs of A Marriage Made in Middlebury by Anita Higman (Nov.) and The Soul of the Rose by Ruth Trippy (Oct.) and finished copies of The Threads of Hope by Christa Allen, the latest in the Quilts of Love Series, will also be given away while supplies last.

Finally, those seeking inspiration to face life’s challenges can snap up an ARC of Five Stones: Conquering Your Giants (Aug.) by pastor/author Shane Stanford and business and government leader R. Brad Martin.

“Abingdon is a Christian publisher, so we have a lot of time to engage with Christian retailers. But some of our books stand out as perfect for a broader audience, and we engage with librarians and ABA booksellers whenever we can,” says Bohannon. “We’ve been attending BEA for more than 30 years. The biggest benefit is a chance to do that.”