Friday, January 28, 2011

PEAK WRITING CONFERENCE

Subject: Peak Writing Conference: Standard registration prices end Jan 31st!
There is still time to register for the Peak Writing Conference to be held from 8 am - 4 pm in Colorado Springs on February 5th. Standard registration prices available through January 31st. After that they will go up.

To register, go to http://www.facebook.com/l/8b7876utaTM-tvwoZrg1h9M4VwA;www.acfwcolorado.com/peakwritingconf.

We hope to see you then!!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

LAUNCH OF WORTHY PUBLISHING ANNOUNCED

A respected team of executives with a well established record in the Christian book industry has launched Worthy Publishing, a division of Nashville, TN-based Worthy Media, Inc.

Byron Williamson, CEO and publisher, affirms "Worthy's vision to partner with remarkable authors, investing our resources, creativity, and passion into their compelling ideas." Williamson served as president of Word Publishing, the Thomas Nelson/Word Publishing Group, and founded Integrity Publishers.

Williamson has signed and published a striking number of New York Times and CBA bestsellers, including Sarah Young's top selling Christian book of 2010, Jesus Calling, as well as Beth Moore's Get Out of That Pit, Max Lucado's It's Not About Me, Newt Gingrich's Searching for God in America and Emerson Eggerichs' Love & Respect. Other celebrated authors previously published include David Jeremiah, Frank Peretti, John Townsend, Henry Cloud, Michael W. Smith and Steve Arterburn.

"Worthy is a privately-held, independent voice in Christian book publishing, not tied to a New York-based parent," says Williamson. "This responsive team will be hands-on in all phases of the publishing process -- editorial, marketing, publicity, sales, and distribution."
Worthy will focus on a boutique list of new books each year, crossing a broad spectrum of genres: inspirational, fiction, Bible study, current events, devotion, biography, leadership, specialized Bibles, spiritual and personal growth, as well as select children's titles.

UPCOMING BOOKS
First books will be released in the fall of 2011 in both digital eBook and print editions. Product will be distributed through such retailers as Barnes & Noble, LifeWay, Books-A-Million, Family Christian Stores, Amazon, Walmart, major eBook platforms and thousands of independent Christian and general booksellers in North American and worldwide.

Among Worthy's first books, reports Williamson, will be bestseller Charles Colson's The Sky Is Not Falling (September 2011). Colson delivers an insightful and optimistic vision for the future of culture, despite the trend toward overwhelming secularization of America.

Stephen Arterburn, author of the multi-million copy selling book, Every Man's Battle, pens a compelling new work, Walking Into Walls (September 2011). Arterburn addresses five enormous blind spots that block God's work in almost every one causing great pain.

Renowned songwriter and author Gloria Gaither writes A Homecoming Christmas, Making Memories of Comfort and Joy (October 2011). Gaither has created a beautiful 4-color book that will add spice to everyone's holiday season.

WORTHY'S MANAGEMENT TEAM
The launch executive team includes Rob Birkhead as Sr. Vice President of Marketing, who was a lead marketing executive at Word Publishing, Thomas Nelson and Integrity Publishers, working with such bestsellers as John Maxwell, John Eldredge and Max Lucado. Dale Wilstermann, Sr. Vice President of Sales, served as a sales and marketing executive at both Integrity Publishers and Thomas Nelson, working with such accounts as Amazon/Kindle, Barnes & Noble, LifeWay and Family Christian Stores. Jeana Ledbetter, Vice President of Planning and Author Relations, worked as a literary representative with a leading agency, Yates & Yates, representing such authors as Beth Moore. David Howell, Vice President of Finance and Operations, served as Sr. Vice President of Finance and Operations at Integrity Publishers. Prior to Integrity, he was the Sr. Vice President of Finance and Operations for Word Entertainment. At Thomas Nelson, he became the Vice President of Finance with a focus on strategic planning, operations and acquisitions.

Worthy Publishing is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee and can be contacted at info@worthypublishing.com. Connect with Worthy Publishing on Twitter @WorthyPub.

For media inquiries, please contact Brian Mayes, Nashville Publicity Group: 615-771-2040 or brian@nashvillepublicity.com.

For more information, including new title images, please visit:
worthypublishing.com/marketing/ worthypublishingpressrelease.pdf

2ND ANNUAL WESTBOW WRITING CONTEST

OC Christian Writers Conference Announces 2nd Annual WestBow Writing Contest--$4,200 in publishing packages will be awarded

OC Christian Writers Fellowship will hold its 27th annual Christian Writers Conference at Mariners Church, April 29 and 30, 2011. Keynote speakers Simon Tolkien, grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien, and Loyola Press Editor Vinita Wright spearhead a diverse panel of publishers, editors, literary agents, novelists, bloggers, screenwriters, columnists, and freelance editors. The conference features 27 workshops, and allows attendees up to two individual consultations with a faculty member of your choice.

Once again the WestBow Writers contest will award one fortunate writer will win a Bookstore Advantage Publishing Package valued at $2,799 and 2nd place will win a package valued at $1,399. All entries will be judged for quality, and the award will be announced after lunch before the entire conference. Contest is open to all paid attendees. No entrance fee required. The Bookstore Advantage package will give an author access to distribution backed by one of the most prestigious publishers in the world. For submission guidelines go www.occwf.org.

Other contests include Memoir Writing Contest and Beverly Bush Smith Aspiring Writing Award. See the website for entry rules for each contest. Go to www.occwf.org

Orange County Christian Writers Conference
April 29-30, 2011
Mariners Church
5001 Newport Coast Drive
Irvine, CA 92603
www.occwf.org
john@occwf.org

Friday, January 21, 2011

NATIONAL CATHOLOC REGISTER SOLD

EWTN Global Catholic Network has signed a letter of intent to acquire the National Catholic Register, the nation's leading Catholic newspaper.

"I am very pleased and excited that the Register will now be a part of the EWTN family," said Michael P. Warsaw, the Network's president and chief executive officer. "All of us at EWTN have great respect for the Register and the role it has played throughout its history. It's a tremendous legacy that deserves to not only be preserved, but also to grow and to flourish."

"I believe that EWTN will be able to provide the stability that the Register needs at this time as well as to give it a platform for its growth in the years ahead. We're proud to be able to step in and carry on both the Register's name and its tradition of faithful Catholic reporting on the issues of the day," noted Warsaw.

Under the terms of the transaction, no cash will be exchanged between the parties. EWTN will take over the ongoing operational expenses of the Register and will assume the paper's future subscription liabilities.

The acquisition of the Register is the latest in EWTN's efforts to expand its news presence in the global Catholic digital and multimedia market. At the start of 2010, EWTN entered into a partnership with the Catholic News Agency (CNA), a Denver-based independent Catholic news media outlet with bureaus in North and South America and Europe. Under that agreement, EWTN and CNA are sharing news resources and have created a joint news service found at www.ewtnnews.com. That arrangement was recently expanded to include a new original Spanish-language news service, EWTN Noticias, ( www.ewtnnoticias.com) launched in January 2011.

Monday, January 17, 2011

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS - WEEK OF JANUARY 23

Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson) is #1 on the paperback nonfiction list.

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #3 on the paperback advice list.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski (David C. Cook) is #4 on the paperback advice list.

Radical by David Platt (Multnomah) is #5 on the paperback advice list.

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson) is #6 on the hardcover business list.

The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick with Lawrence Kimbrough (B&H Publishing) is #12 on the paperback advice list.

The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy (Tyndale House) is #12 on the hardcover business list.

Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst (Zondervan) is #14 on the paperback advice list.

The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren (Zondervan) is #15 on the paperback advice list.

The Shack by William P. Young (Windblown Media) is #21 on the paperback trade fiction list.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson) is #23 on the paperback nonfiction list.

90 Minutes In Heaven by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey (Revell/Baker) is #26 on the paperback nonfiction list.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

NIV BIBLE FASTEST-SELLING EBOOK

Zondervan, the world's leading Bible publisher, today reported its NIV Bible eBook featuring the updated New International Version of the Bible (NIV), is the company's fastest-selling eBook, and broke into the USA Today bestsellers list spanning all books. Zondervan said the NIV ebook, which released Dec. 15, 2010 featuring the updated NIV text, sold twice as many copies compared with the same period last year.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

FILM WORKSHOP

Advent Film Group today announced its annual 3-Day Film Workshop takes place in Purcellville, VA, on June 23-25, 2011. "Film schools are no longer the best option for aspiring filmmakers, especially for Christians." George Escobar, founder of Advent Film Group explained. "A better plan is to attend an inexpensive local college, study storytelling as a literature or history major, and save $25,000 plus per year tuition by skipping film school."

Escobar added, "Learn production by volunteering on Christian film sets, and gain knowledge of all other aspects of film by attending Advent's workshops and interning for a Christian production company. Do this for four years and you'll have the credibility, crew, and cash to make your first feature film. Give that four-year $100,000 investment to yourself instead of a school."

Since its inception three years ago, Advent has trained over 200 Christian filmmakers, placing over 80 of them in professional feature length films. "I went from being a novice to a paid professional in eight months, working on a multi-million dollar movie," said Rebekah Cook, now an Advent associate.

While there are hundreds of programs, workshops, and seminars that substitute for film schools, Advent's training approach is different than most. Its students get results because Advent is also a Christian film production and distribution company with three movies under its belt. Its first production, COME WHAT MAY, is distributed by Provident Films, a unit of Sony. Advent harnesses the talents of its most promising workshop attendees, assigning them to actual film projects. Some work in story development, others in production, a few in marketing and distribution. Through Advent's network with other film organizations, the company also makes referrals for their students.

"The primary purpose for Advent's workshops is to turn a filmmaker's focus away from themselves and to put it where it belongs -- which is to tell stories that reveal God working in people's lives," said Mike Snyder, Advent's co-founder.

The workshop's first two days covers everything a filmmaker needs to know to get started. This includes story development, operations, legal, finance, sales, production, post-production, marketing, promotion, and distribution. The third day is an advanced course going deeper into key areas of fundraising, production efficiencies, and self-distribution.

Workshop costs, discounts, schedule, lodging, and directions are on the company website. "The workshop typically sells out in a few days, so we encourage early registration," Escobar advised.

Registration is at www.AdventFilmGroup.com

Monday, January 10, 2011

SOUTH CAROLINA WRITERS CONFERENCE

WHEN:
Registration Friday, March 18, 2011 1:00 – 1:30 pm
Saturday, March 19, 2011 8:00 – 8:30 am
General Sessions: Friday 1:30 – 2:00 pm
Saturday 8:30 – 9:00 am
3:50 – 4:30 pm
Break-Out Sessions: Friday 2:00 – 5:00 pm
Friday – Night Owl 7:00 – 8:50 pm
Saturday 9:45 – 3:45 pm
REGISTRATION: $125 Early Bird: by Feb. 10 $99 Ministers: $50 Students: $30

MEALS: On your own in the area
WHERE: North Anderson Baptist Church
2308 N. Main St., Anderson, SC 29621 (864) 225-2575

CONTACT: Elva Martin Director of Workshop (864) 226-7024-H ` E-Mail: elvamartinministries@charter.net
Contest/Critique deadline: February 10. See below web site for details. You must be registered for the workshop to enter.
Full Brochure: Online at www.upstatescchristianwriters.com

$1,000 PRIZE OFFERED FOR BEST NEW MANUSCRIPT

Deep River Books, www.DeepRiverBooks.com is offering a $1000 cash prize to the best non-fiction or the best fiction manuscript submitted. The $1000 cash prize will be awarded to the winner with no obligation and no strings attached. The contest ends January 31, 2011. To enter the contest, go to www.deepriverbooks.com and click on the "Contest" bar for entry rules and more details.

GRANDPARENTING STORIES NEEDED

Grandparenting through Obstacles:Overcoming Family Challenges to
Reach Your Grandkids for Christ

Writer’s Guidelines

Renee Gray-Wilburn and Dianne E. Butts are compiling a new book by, for, and about grandparents. Currently about one-third of all adults are grandparents, and we wish to provide a helpful book filled with encouragement and ideas through true stories of grandparents who have been successful in influencing their grandchildren for the Lord. Besides true stories, the book will contain resources including practical application points and personal study questions.

Grandparents, we need your stories! Stories need to show how you, as a grandparent, have overcome obstacles to influence your grandchild toward Christ. Examples of obstacles could be long-distance grandparenting, when your grandchildren’s parents are not walking with God or are divorced, and Christian children with whom you’ve been able to establish a successful partnership. Besides the obstacle(s) you’re working through, we need to see as a result of your influence some kind of spiritual fruit in the lives of your grandchildren. This doesn’t mean all problems are resolved or challenges met, but rather shows that you are walking through this journey with God. Examples of spiritual fruit may be the grandchild learning to pray, wanting to go to church, or asking about Jesus. Please don’t feel limited to these examples.

Keep in mind that these need to be stories, with a beginning, middle, and end, a point of conflict, and an encouraging resolution. It’s helpful to include practical tips for how you’ve reached your grandkids so we can encourage others who may be in your situation. If you feel you have a compelling story but cannot write it yourself, please contact us anyway. We can help bring your story to life!

Please know that writing under a pseudonym (changing names and shadowing minor details to protect family relationships) is acceptable and we will respect that should your story be chosen for publication.

We’d like each story to be around 1500 words. Each story published will pay $25 along with one contributor’s copy. Your bio will be included. We have a tight deadline of February 28, 2011. And, of course, sooner would be better!

Feel free to pass these guidelines along to anyone you think has a story to tell. This is a great opportunity for a writer to have a story published!

Submit stories as an attached Word file or questions to either Renee Gray-Wilburn at waywords@earthlink.net or Dianne E. Butts at dbwrites@juno.com.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

ANGELNOOK SEEKING TRUE ANGEL STORIES

Angelnook Publishing announces is it seeking submissions of true angel stories for its planned Angel Digest publication.

People all over the world have experienced miraculous encounters with angels. These heartwarming and often inspiring stories will be the crux of Angel Digest's content. The belief in angels crosses nearly all faiths, making this a subject of universal interest to millions of people.

Those who have a true angel story are asked to submit their story at www.AngelNook.com, a website that features divinely-inspired artists and their works. The form is easily accessed via a banner on the top of the website's home page.

Those who submit stories can remain anonymous, but publishers do reserve the right to reject a submission they feel would not be appropriate for Angel Digest. People with angel stories can also upload images, which may be included in the Angel Digest. Publishers do ask that people who submit their stories state whether the story has been published in another publication.

Submissions will be reviewed by an editorial team, and people will be informed via e-mail if their true story has been accepted for publication. Those who submit stories will not be compensated.

For more information, go to: www.angeldigest.com, or call Paul Spremulli, at (401)932-8888.

25% 0FF BIBLE STUDIES

ChristianBibleStudies.com, a website with nearly 1,000 easy-to-download Bible studies on faith, culture, and current issues, has released the most popular studies of 2010 and is offering them at 25% off for a limited time.

Understanding God and the Bible, living out genuine faith, prayer, evangelism, and the gospel dominated the topics that Bible study leaders, small group leaders, and Sunday school classes were most eager to learn about throughout the year. Knowing God and 1 Peter: Walk the Talk were the top two most-downloaded resources at ChristianBibleStudies.com. Other top downloads included The New Apostates, Going Deeper in Prayer, and Understanding and Applying the Bible.

To see the complete list of the 2010 ten-top downloads from ChristianBibleStudies.com, available at a 25% discount through March, click here.

ChristianBibleStudies.com is a ministry of Christianity Today International and offers spiritual formation through the study of God's Word. Over 100,000 leaders, students, and teachers use the nearly 1,000 Bible studies in small groups, Sunday school classes, and personal devotions. Bible study topics range from specific books of the Bible to movie discussion guides to current issues.

Monday, January 3, 2011

READER'S CHOICE AWARD CONTEST

For books published with a 2010 copyright:

"Announcing the opening of the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award contest, sponsored by the Faith, Hope, and Love chapter of Romance Writer's of America. The IRCA is a unique contest for authors of inspirational fiction, judged by readers of inspirational fiction. The 2011 Inspirational Reader's Choice Award contest is now open for entries with seven different categories: Long Contemporary, Short Contemporary, Long Historical, Short Historical, Romantic Suspense, Women's Fiction, and Novella. We will be taking entries through March 1st, 2011. The following link will lead you to our contest page if you would like to look over the rules and access the form: http://www.faithhopelove-rwa.org/irc.html"

NEW MEN'S E-MAGAZINE RELEASES

CORE12 Ministries is announcing the release of new e-zine (rather men-zine) on January 4th, 2011 at www.livebold.org called, "Live Bold." The men-focused publication is climbing the mountain of reaching men for Christ through an electronic magazine. Delivered primarily via website, "Live Bold" will feature a condensed email delivery along with auto publishing onto the mainline social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and more. Greg Arnold, founder of CORE12 Ministries states, "Men deserve to be served with meaningful information. We tore apart the idea of publishing for the male audience and discovered a powerful, useful way to attract, inform, and keep men connected to their faith and teach them to Live Bold with their faith."

Live Bold will offer articles from a core team of writers that have a vast amount of experience serving the male audience in life and ministry with monthly contributions from Greg Arnold, Steve Fandel, Robert Noland, Larry Malone, Glenn Sasscer, and Paul Coughlin. This accomplished team of men will deliver powerful, compact style of writings on various topics of interest from Food, Football, and Work to Technology, Teaching, Ministry, and more. The Live Bold e-zine is free without subscriptions or memberships and targets men of all ages. Arnold further explained the Live Bold format, "Each article is written about things guys care about. What we're doing is merging faith into those areas that exist outside of traditional religion, pushing the boundaries and extending faith into those places where men live everyday."

The e-zine, located at www.livebold.org, will also provide an online store called "The Pro Shop" where self-produced items will be sold along with other relevant books and materials. From long form books to short small group guides, the Pro Shop is offering online mail ordering for printed books along with quick access to electronic downloads. The publication also promises to offer t-shirts and other merchandise to help support this ministry effort.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS - WEEK OF JANUARY 9

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #2 on the paperback advice list.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski (David C. Cook) is #4 on the paperback advice list.

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson) is #6 on the hardcover business list.

Radical by David Platt (Multnomah) is #7 on the paperback advice list.

The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick with Lawrence Kimbrough (B&H Publishing) is #8 on the paperback advice list.

The Shack by William P. Young (Windblown Media) is #10 on the paperback trade fiction list.

Never Give Up! by Joyce Meyer (FaithWords) is #12 on the paperback advice list.

The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy (Tyndale House) is #12 on the hardcover business list.

Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson) is #13 on the paperback nonfiction list.

90 Minutes In Heaven by Don Piper with Cecil Murphey (Revell/Baker) is #25 on the paperback nonfiction list.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore (Thomas Nelson) is #26 on the paperback nonfiction list.

Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas (Nelson) is #27 on the hardcover nonfiction list.

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller (Riverhead) is #30 on the paperback nonfiction list.

RANDOM HOUSE BREAKS EBOOK RECORDS

December 25 and 26 were the two biggest ebook sales days ever for Random House, Inc., the largest U.S. English-language trade book publisher. Combined ebook sales across e-retailers on December 25th and 26th rose more than 300% over last year's sales for the same two-day period, which had been Random House's best two-day ebook sales period ever.

NOOK IS B & Ns BIGGEST BESTSELLER

Barnes & Noble, Inc. announced that with millions of NOOK eReading devices sold, the line has become the company's biggest bestseller ever in its nearly 40-year history. The new NOOKcolor Reader's Tablet, introduced just eight weeks before Christmas, is the company's number one selling gift of the holiday season. Barnes & Noble also announced that it now sells more digital books than its large and growing physical book business on BN.com, the world's second largest online bookstore. With its growth across device and NOOKbook(TM) sales over the critical holiday selling season, Barnes & Noble has successfully established itself as a leader in digital reading.