May 08, 2012

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Featured in this main issue: Mark Batterson, Mike Fisher, Randy Frazee, Karen Kingsbury, Karen Davis Hill, Max Lucado, Glen Scorgie, DeForest B. Soaries, Chris Spielman, Tim Tebow, Nancy Tillman, Desmond Tutu, and Mike Yorkey.

1. Church leader’s mission: To eradicate America’s culture of debt

   

   « In partnership with financial services company Sun Life Financial, DeForest B. Soaries has launched a public awareness and education campaign aimed at eradicating what he calls the "culture of debt." He’s kicking off the program, called dFree, with a challenge to eradicate $1 billion of the country’s consumer debts. Participants can log on to billiondollarpaydown.com to create and track their personal debt repayment goals and form support groups.… »

   

    NY Daily News

   See Also:
   • Sun Life Financial & dFree galvanize Americans to break free from crippling culture of debt via Businesswire
   • Preaching away debt via Barrons

   

2. Zondervan wins two ECPA Christian Book Awards

   

   « Zondervan has announced that two books, The Story for Children, a Storybook Bible by Max Lucado, Randy Frazee and Karen Davis Hill and the Dictionary of Christian Spirituality, edited by Glen G. Scorgie, won Christian Book Awards during a ceremony on Monday, April 30, during ECPA’s annual Executive Leadership Summit near Chicago.… »

   

    PRWeb

   See Also:
   • Christian Book Expo: Christian Book Award winners for 2012 via Christian Book Expo

   

3. Karen Kingsbury achieves high marks

   

   « Author Karen Kingsbury has reached the top of the April 15 New York Times Trade Fiction list for the first time—and character Bailey Flanigan from her latest best-selling series helped put her there. Loving, the final installment of the “Bailey Flanigan” series debuted on the list at #1, tracking sales for the week ending March 31.… »

   

    Christian Retailing

   

4. South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu to create picture book with Zondervan

   

   « Christian publishing house Zondervan has signed Nobel Peace Prize-winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu to collaborate with bestselling author and illustrator Nancy Tillman to produce a picture book telling the creation story from Tutu’s Children of God Storybook Bible. The Grand Rapids Christian publishing house will release Tutu’s book in 2014.… »

   

    MLive

   See Also:
   • Gonzaga to graduate 10th-straight record large class in 119th commencement via Gonzaga Univ.
   • Desmond Tutu: “We need to be able to listen” via Washington Post

   

5. The Story again tops the Bibles best-seller list

   

   « The Story has once again topped the weekly Bibles top five best-sellers. The list from Evangelical Christian Publishers Association tracks sales for the week ending April 21, according to Pubtrack Christian data.… »

   

    Christian Retailing

   

6. Interview: Chris Spielman tackles cancer

   

   

   

    Fox News

   See Also:
   • Interview: Wall to Wall Sports via Channel 10 TV
   • Interview: Chris Spielman on Good Day Columbus via Channel 28 Fox, Columbus
   • Panel picks Spielman book for literacy program via CantonRep

   

7. New York & Christianity

   

   « When Tim Tebow was traded from the Denver Broncos to the New York Jets, media reports focused on two issues: first, how would the trade affect starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez? And second, how would the unapologetically evangelical Tebow do in New York City? More than one Christian writer has even referred to my hometown as "Babylon"…… »

   

    The Christian Post

   See Also:
   • Chick-Fil-A Leadercast: Tim Tebow, former coach talk qualities of a good leader via The Christian Post
   • Teen takes Tebow cutout to prom via Channel 19 WOIO
   • “We Will Wait” students rise in response to the bounty put on Tim Tebow’s virginity via PR Web
   • Capital Christian Center youths pledge abstinence, thank Tim Tebow via Rosemont Patch
   • Life-sized Tebow cutout accompanies Iowan to her senior prom via First Coast News

   

8. Mike Yorkey on Jeremy Lin—How the Christian basketball star deals with temptations

   

   « In an interview a year ago following his rookie season with the Golden State Warriors, Jeremy Lin told me that his mom and dad, Shirley and Gie-Ming, warned him about the temptations found in the NBA. "They said, ‘Be smart. There are going to be girls throwing themselves at you, so be smart.’ Typical parent stuff," Jeremy said. "They also reminded me to make sure that I took care of my relationship with God first."… »

   

    The Huffington Post

   

9. Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher a finalist for NHL Foundation Player Award

   

   « Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher, Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman John-Michael Liles and New York Islanders forward Matt Moulson are the finalists for the 2011-12 NHL Foundation Player Award, the National Hockey League announced today. The award recognizes an NHL player who applies the core values of hockey—commitment, perseverance and teamwork – to enrich the lives of people in his community.… »

   

    Clarksville, TN, Online

   See Also:
   • Fisher, Liles, Moulson up for Foundation Award via National Hockey League News

   

10. Interview: Mark Batterson on The Today Show

    

    

    

     MarkBatterson.com

    See Also:
    • Mark Batterson’s guest bio on CBN.com via CBN
    • Interview: The Circle Maker on the 700 Club via CBN

    

11. More Authors in the News…

    

    « Featured in this extra issue: Mike Berenstain, Darrell Bock, Mark Buchanan, Ben Carson, Francis Chan, Rachel Coker, Alton Gansky, Kate Gosselin, Billy Graham, cliff graham, Bear Grylls, David Jeremiah, Scot McKnight, Shauna Niequist, Haddon Robinson, Tim Shoemaker, Shane Stanford, Lois Tverberg, Kay Warren, and Rick Warren.… »

    

     Z Authors in the News

    

Note: This is a collection of recent stories and news items mentioning authors who have published with Zondervan. This list is not comprehensive, it is not always ‘positive,’ and the order of the stories is arbitrary. The views and opinions expressed in this content do not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of Zondervan, its authors, agents, employees, or leadership.

May 01, 2012

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Featuring: Ben Carson, Chuck Colson, Cathleen Falsani, Craig Groeschel, Jeremy Lin, Max Lucado, Joel Manby, Nancy Tillman, Desmond Tutu, Ann Voskamp, Ben Witherington III and Mike Yorkey.

1. Zondervan Signs Tutu for new children’s book

   

   « Zondervan has signed Nobel Peace Prize-winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu to collaborate with bestselling author and illustrator Nancy Tillman to produce a picture book telling the creation story from Tutu’s Children of God Storybook Bible, which he published with Zondervan in 2010. Tillman will illustrate Tutu’s narrative. Zondervan holds world rights and plans to release the book in spring 2014.… »

   

    Publishers Weekly

   See Also:
   • Zondervan announces children’s book collaboration between Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu & NY Times bestselling author Nancy Tillman

   

2. Which Charles Colson died last week?

   

   « Some stories that reported the death of Charles Colson last week explained him as the hatchet man for President Richard Nixon in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Colson wound up going to prison for Watergate-related crimes. Other stories noted him as a criminal justice reformer who befriended prisoners and thought many inmates didn’t need to be behind bars.… »

   

    WORLDmag

   See Also:
   • Chuck Colson never left prison via The Christian Post
   • Statement about Chuck Colson via Ravi Zacharias
   • Charles Colson’s "ecumenism of the trenches" via the National Catholic Register

   

3. Ann Voskamp: farm wife & publishing phenom

   

   « Voskamp is a writer for DaySpring, Hallmark’s inspirational division, and a farmer’s wife who has always kept journals. She began a blog on a friend’s dare as a way of working out fears, including agoraphobia, by counting blessings–a thousand of them. “It was no comments, no site meter,” Voskamp says. “I wasn’t trying to get a platform at all.” The blog eventually attracted the attention of an agent, Bill Jensen. She wasn’t even sure it was a book; she calls her writing style “idiosyncratic” and offers the word “prosetry” in describing it.… »

   

    Publishers Weekly

   See Also:
   • Never enough time via Religion News Service
   • Poet/writer Ann Voskamp plants a purposeful life via The Rapdian

   

4. Blackbeard & Ben Carson: elementary students hone speech-making skills

   

   « Ben Carson may be a famous neurosurgeon today, but as a child he didn’t do so well in school. Then one day Carson realized he was smarter than he thought he was… “He inspires people,” said Nadia, who won a speech-making contest Wednesday for her report on Carson’s life. “To save lives, keep dreaming, try to finish your goals.”… »

   

    JournalNow

   See Also:
   • Obamacare, says author and medical pioneer Ben Carson, is not the right prescription for America via World Magazine
   • BCPS students receive Carson scholarships via Battle Creek Enquirer
   • Two students at King middle school named Ben Carson Scholars via Baltimore Sun
   • Humanitarian Ben Carson to be speaker for Emory graduates via Emory Univesity
   • Letter to the editor: Ben Carson’s outright rejection of evolution is against emory’s ideals via The Emory Wheel
   • Carson letter sparks dialogue via The Emory Wheel
   • We all could benefit from doctor’s example via Duluth News Tribune

   

5. Death brings belief home

   

   « But never until this year has Witherington, 60, felt so viscerally the convictions he has tried to pass on to others — nor his opposition to theologies of pain and prosperity that he says come up empty in such moments. On Jan. 11, Witherington received a phone call with news that his daughter, Christy, 32, had been found dead in her North Carolina home.… »

   

    The Courier-Journal

   

6. Zondervan looks to be first to marketplace with adult & youth bios on NBA sensation, Jeremy Lin

   

   « “I’m not exactly sure how it is all going to turn out, but I know for a fact that God has called me to be here now in the NBA. And this is the assignment that He has given me. I know I wouldn’t be here if that wasn’t the case. Just looking back, though, it’s been a huge miracle. I can see His fingerprints everywhere,” Jeremy Lin said in an interview with author Mike Yorkey in Linspired. … »

   

    Trend Ape

   See Also:
   • New Jeremy Lin book promises insider’s look into "Linsanity" via Huffington Post
   • Jeremy Lin books may come too late for book publishers to market via Huffington Post

   

7. Craig Groeschel urges generations to set aside resentment

   

   « “Every single thing that I am doing today in ministry is the result of those in the previous generation that invested in me,” he said during the second day of the 3-day event that ended Friday. “Everything that I am able to do to make a difference for the glory of God and for the name of the risen son Jesus is the result of those who went before me and invested in me.” Groeschel implored the older generation of Christians to believe in the younger generation and set aside “a whole lot of resentment and misunderstanding.”… »

   

    The Christian Post

   

8. Spiritual life: App offers Max Lucado to followers

   

   « For the hundreds of thousands of Max Lucado followers who just can’t get enough of the prolific writer — there’s an app for that. The ubiquitous Lucado is now available for free at the iTunes app store. Who better than Lucado for Thomas Nelson Inc., his publisher, to launch as its first app, or application, to download on portable devices.… »

   

    Abilene Reporter-News

   

9. "The Big Lebowski" religion founder talks "The High Holiday" of dudeism

   

   « Cathleen Falsani is a good friend of ours and actually has been bestowed the title “Dudey-Sattvah.” But aside from being a Dudeist, Cathleen is also a devout Catholic, and her audience is primarily Christian. So it makes sense that she’d employ more Judeo-Christian cognates when trying to dissect the Dude. And that’s cool, that’s cool.… »

   

    International Business Times

   

10. Cover design: "Love Works"

    

    « Extra Credit Projects – Newly released titling and cover design project we did for our friends at Zondervan. Simple title and no-nonsense cover for Author Joel Manby of Undercover Boss fame.… »

    

     Facebook

    

11. May 01, 2012 – More News

    

    « Featuring: Jan and Mike Berenstain, Shane Claiborne, Craig Groeschel, Tim Keller, Sally Lloyd-Jones, Aaron Reynolds, Gina and Michael Spehn, Andy Stanley, and Ravi Zacharias.… »

    

     Zondervan Authors in the News

    

Note: This is a collection of recent stories and news items mentioning authors who have published with Zondervan. This list is not comprehensive, it is not always ‘positive,’ and the order of the stories is arbitrary. The views and opinions expressed in this content do not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of Zondervan, its authors, agents, employees, or leadership.

April 17, 2012

1. Featuring: Gregg Allison, Karl Bacon, Mark Batterson, Terri Blackstock, Craig Blaising, Ben Carson, Chris Castaldo, Shane Claiborne, Chuck Colson, Melanie Dickerson, Anne Graham Lotz, Rachel Held Evans, Kyle Idleman, Karen Kingsbury, E.B. Lewis, Max Lucado, Frederica Mathewes-Green, DiAnn Mills, Frank Peretti, Julie Stiegemeyer, Tim Tebow, John Townsend, Ann Voskamp, and Walter Wangerin Jr.

2. Tim Tebow says football comes after faith & family

   « While Tebow loves the game and vows to give his “heart and soul” to every single play, it’s the moments off the field that matter more, such as the time he gets to spend with a sick child.… »

   

   Via ABC News

   
   
   See Also:
   • Tebow Changes Date of Gwinnett Visit

3. Chuck Colson talking, showing slow progress after surgery

   « Two weeks after brain surgery, evangelical leader Chuck Colson is able to talk to family members and continues to show progress, but he remains in the Intensive Care Unit, according to the latest update.… »

   

   Via The Christian Post

4. Journals of gratitude prepare women for Easter

   « Voskamp’s story of writing down 1,000 things she was grateful for has earned her a spot on The New York Times bestsellers list for more than eight months and has inspired countless others to take note of their own gifts and to trust the giver.… »

   

   Via Democrat & Chronicle

5. 2012 Christy Award nominees announced

   « First Novel: An Eye for Glory by Karl Bacon; Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson.… »

   

   Via ECPA

   
   
   See Also:
   • ChristyAward on Twitter
   • ChristyAward on Facebook

6. 2012 Retailers Choice Awards

   « Finalists: NIV Youth Quest Study Bible; Heaven: God’s Promise for Me by Anne Graham Lotz; The Story for Children: A Storybook Bible by Max Lucado; Ocean Adventures: The Nature of God; One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp; Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman; Leaving by Karen Kingsbury; Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock; The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson; Beyond Boundaries by John Townsend; The Story: Teen Edition; and Through My Eyes: Young Readers Edition by Tim Tebow.… »

   

   Via Christian Retailing

7. Festival of Faith & Writing 2012

   « This year’s plenary speakers, for which the public can purchase tickets, will include Marilynne Robinson, author of the 2005 Pultizer Prize winning book Gilead, as well as Jonathan Safran Foer and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, both of whom were featured in the New Yorker’s 2010 “20 Under 40” issue. Additionally, Calvin’s own Newbery Honor Award-winning professor Gary Schmidt and prominent activist Shane Claiborne will lead plenary sessions. … And on stage, the Calvin Theatre Company will present The Book of the Dun Cow, by Festival author Walter Wangerin Jr.… »

   

   Via Calvin College

8. Under the Baobab Tree, starred review

   « From the opening full-bleed, full-spread watercolor illustration of a young boy greeting the dawn in front of his grass-roofed hut with arms stretched wide toward heaven, to the final spread of a community gathered to praise God under a baobab tree’s encompassing branches, a spirit of quiet joy and wonder reverberates through this tale.… »

   

   Via Publishers Weekly

9. Wheaton college hosts ‘Journeys of Faith’ Evangelicals becoming Catholic

   « Subtitled “Evangelicals Becoming Catholic: A Response,” evangelical leaders Gregg Allison, Craig Blaising and Chris Castaldo will discuss the growing number of Protestant Christians converting to Catholicism. All three participants are contributors to the book Journeys of Faith: Evangelicalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Anglicanism (Zondervan, 2012).… »

   

   Via Chicago Daily Herald

10. Texas Reads: Lori Wilde series set in cutting horse country

    « Abilene’s Karen Witemeyer has a new historical romance due out in June from inspirational publisher Bethany House, “Short-Straw Bride” ($14.99). Other Christian/inspirational romances due this spring from Texas authors include “My Stubborn Heart” by Becky Wade of Dallas (Bethany House, $13.99), “The Chase” by Diane [sic] Mills of Houston (Zondervan, $14.99), and “A Flight of Fancy” by Laurie Alice Eakes of Laredo (Revell, $14.99).… »

    

    Via Abilene Reporter-News

11. Christian author explains pro-life stance

    « Mathewes-Green is the author of nine books. Her work also has appeared in major publications such as the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times and Christianity Today.… »

    

    Via The Jackson Sun

    
    
    See Also:
    • From the pulpit: Easter is worthy of a grand celebration

12. Guest blogger: Why we can all opt out of the ‘war on women’

    « Rachel Held Evans is a popular blogger and the author of Evolving in Monkey Town (Zondervan 2010) and the forthcoming A Year of Biblical Womanhood (Thomas Nelson, 2012). She always has a lively conversation going on at rachelheldevans.com.… »

    

    Via Her.meneutics

13. It’s all about love at the Strongsville Library this week

    « Illusion: a Novel By Frank Peretti. (Howard Books) March 2012, 498 pages. Christian author Peretti turns his hand to a time travel romance when Dane and Mandy, a popular magic act for forty years, are tragically separated by a car wreck that claims Mandy’s life-or so everyone thinks. Then Dane discovers a nineteen year young woman who is identical to his Mandy performing illusions that he can’t explain. Fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife should definitely try this one.… »

    

    Via Strongsville, OH Patch

14. New York Times best sellers

    « April 15, 2012: #30 in combined print nonfiction, America the Beautiful, by Ben Carson; #31 in combined print fiction, Loving, by Karen Kingsbury.… »

    

    Via New York Times

Note: This is a collection of recent stories and news items mentioning authors who have published with Zondervan. This list is not comprehensive, it is not always ‘positive,’ and the order of the stories is arbitrary. The views and opinions expressed in this content do not necessarily reflect the positions or opinions of Zondervan, its authors, agents, employees, or leadership.