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21st-Century Tanakh Debuts
American Jews have been among the most enthusiastic adapters of the latest technology. Now comes a new Web site designed to serve as a collaborative platform for commentary on the Jewish Bible, or Tanakh. The Tagged Tanakh is the brainchild of the Jewish Publication Society.
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August 2010 Christian Bestsellers
Sarah Young, James C. Dobson, and Beth Moore top the hardcover list, while Karen Kingsbury and Francis Chan are atop the paperback list -- Kingsbury has four books on the paperback list, and Chan has two.
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Self-publishing: Changing Model, Getting Respect
Self-publishing was once the uninvited guest at the publishing table. But as technology advances and authors develop marketing savvy, first-time and even some experienced authors are turning more often to what many in the industry are calling custom publishing. In religion publishing, this has particular appeal for religious leaders who already have an audience.
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Musical Chairs: Major Authors Change Publishers In Acquisitions Flurry
In the religion category, evangelical Christian authors dominate as moneymakers, racking up impressive sales and commanding top dollar. Lately, in the midst of a faltering economy, many top evangelical authors have been in play, leaving their longtime publishers for new houses.
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Digital Publishing: Adapt, Proceed
Steeped in ancient cautionary tales, publishers of religious books are preparing for the great flood that is the digital revolution. They're building arks—lots of them—in the form of e-publishing investments. Leaders in the religion category agree on at least one thing: future growth depends on selling boatloads of e-books.
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Counting on Data: What Religion Sales Numbers Say, and Don't
Counting religion book sales is an exercise in balancing data and definition. No one source has all the numbers; the category "religion" can contain everything from fiction and history to memoir and self-help, and more. But because publishing is a numbers-driven game, everyone would love better data for these changing economic times, preferably with good news. A few signs point in a positive direction.
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In Profile
Young writers report, reflect
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Immortal Subject: Near-Death, Afterlife in Vogue
After a decade of terror attacks, wars, and economic disasters, publishers have a hunch that weary readers are looking ahead—far ahead—to better times and wondering what the afterlife might hold.
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Catholic Bestsellers, July 2010
Matthew Kelly predominates on the hardcover list (with four titles), C.S. Lewis the paperback list (with three titles), while handbooks for youth and teens predominate on the list for children and young people.
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Religion in Review, July 2010
Original Religion BookLine reviews include The Edge of the Divine by Sandi Patty; How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers by Toni Bernhard; The Day Metallica Came to Church: Searching for the Everywhere God in Everything by John Van Sloten; Women, Sex, and the Church: A Case for Catholic Teaching, edited by Erika Bachiochi; When Christians Get It Wrong by Adam Hamilton; and a new contemporary Amish novel by Beth Wiseman, Seek Me with All Your Heart. Also a sneak peek at religion reviews coming in the August 9 issue of PW: Tamam Kahn’s Untold: A History of the Wives of Prophet Muhammad and Mary Beth Chapman’s Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope, as well as a first look at starred reviews: Michael Coogan’s God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says and Joseph Telushkin’s Hillel: If Not Now, When?
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Answering St. Teresa's Call
In the midst of illness, Claudia Mair Burney discovered the writings of St. Teresa of Avila, and it was a wakeup call for her soul. Heeding that call, Burney wrote God Alone Is Enough: A Spirited Journey with Teresa of Avila (Paraclete Press, July), part spiritual biography (Teresa's), spiritual memoir (Burney's), and contemplative prayer how-to.
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Short Takes
EP Books and Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service have formed a nonprofit company to distribute English-language Christian books in the U.S. and Canada, as well as books in English, French, and Russian in Africa, Russia, and other eastern European countries.... WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, Random House’s Christian publishing division, has added two publicity staffers in its Colorado Springs, Colo., offices.... CBA Executive Director Curtis Riskey has closed his store, B.A.S.I.C. Books and Cafe, in Oshkosh, Wis..... Rev. Lawrence Boadt, a leading Catholic biblical scholar and longtime president of Paulist Press, died in Mahwah, N.J., on July 24, 2010....
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Barry Schwartz, New Jewish Publication Society Head, a Teacher at Heart
When Barry L. Schwartz began his first job in the publishing industry on July 1, he started at the top: CEO of the 122-year-old Jewish Publication Society. At 52, Schwartz brings an unusual yet relevant résumé to an institution known for producing scholarly as well as popular Jewish titles. A Reform rabbi, he’s served on JPS’s rabbinic advisory board as well as its editorial committee.
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The 'Mockingbird' Book That Could
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, a key book in the canon of American literature, and that anniversary is being marked in various ways. Now Christian publisher Tyndale House is hurrying out a book that treats the spiritual themes of the classic from a Christian perspective, a book that almost didn’t make it to market.
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Editor's Note, July 2010
Here's the good news: an Above the Treeline report saw a 1% uptick in sales for large indie bookstores in the first half of 2010. Many religion specialty retailers are among the 51 stores that reported. That increase, though small, still moves religion books in the right direction.
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Zondervan Delays Palin Bio for Kids Indefinitely
Speaking Up: The Sarah Palin Story, a biography of Sarah Palin aimed at 9-12 year olds and written by Kim Washburn was slated to pub in October, but has been delayed "indefinitely."
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News Briefs
Author Mosab Hassan Yousef attracted long lines for a signing of his bestselling memoir Son of Hamas; debuting at ICRS was Somersault, a consulting and publishing services company formed by five Zondervan veterans; ECPA, which was left holding a $250,000 debt following an innovative but unsuccessful consumer-focused book show in 2009, has economized and trimmed debt; former CBA president-CEO Bill Anderson was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award; WinePress Publishing was among the growing self-publishing presence in the Christian market; big books coming this fall include The Faith and Values of Sarah Palin: What She Believes and What It Means for America by Stephen Mansfield and David A. Holland (at left).
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Religion in Review
Original RBL reviews include Sharon L. Baker’s Razing Hell (Westminster John Knox), Michael Brenner’s A Short History of the Jews (Princeton Univ.), and Anne Jackson’s Permission to Speak Freely: Essays and Art on Fear, Confession, and Grace (Thomas Nelson). A sneak peek at starred reviews coming in PW’s July 12 issue: Newman’s Unquiet Grave: The Reluctant Saint by John Cornwell (Continuum) and The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam by Eliza Griswold (FSG).
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