Manitoba Author Redefines Biblical Fiction

Although she’s probably not the first to do so, Betty Sawatzky‘s book I Am the Prodigal, I Am the Eldest, veers from the common path of re-configuring a classic Biblical narrative and instead uses the characters from a parable Jesus taught.

And why not? This is a great story to begin with. Think of the number of Prodigal Son sermons you’ve heard in your lifetime and you get the idea.

Publisher marketing:

When Jesus shared the story, He was speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees, leaders in the synagogues who lived strict lives in obedience to the laws of the Torah. They harshly judged others who failed to meet their strict standards and showed little grace and mercy.

By taking a closer look at the culture and traditions of the Israelites in Jesus’ day, we can dig more deeply into the meaning of this story—and yes, the story of the prodigal son is about so much more than a wayward son coming home.

In the novel, we meet Aziel, an adventurous young man whose desire to experience life at its fullest pulls him away from the security of his family and community. This beautiful rendition of the famous parable reveals just how much our heavenly Father and His Son love us.

At the author’s about page, you’ll see what I’m sure is only some of her challenge-filled personal journey followed by some Q&A about the book, including:

Q: What makes your version of the Prodigal Son story different from others?
A: I’ve always been intrigued by this parable that Jesus shared with the leaders of the Jewish faith. But in delving deeper into the culture of ancient Israel, I realized there was so much more to the story. We lose its full meaning due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of the times.

As I dug deeper, I had an Aha! moment when it all came together. But I shrugged it off for three years, wondering whether I could write the book. Still, I imagined the chapters, characters, setting, and storyline and sought to digest and sort it out.

Q: What inspired you to finally sit down and write?
A: I was listening to CHVN, a contemporary Christian radio station out of Winnipeg, when I heard about the Braun Book Awards. I thought, “Why not? Go for it!” That was in early February. My husband chuckled at my goal of writing a novel in just over a month, but I was determined to finally get this story down on paper.

Within hours of the deadline at the end of March, the book was written and in the hands of Word Alive Press! No, I didn’t win the award. However, I finished the novel I had longed to write for the past three years. It was really an incredible experience! …

Q: What’s next? Will there be a sequel? Will this turn into a series?
A: I’m already working on the next book, in which the two main characters, the prodigal and the older brother, find themselves in a disastrous situation that takes them to places they would never have envisioned…

Christian Book Shop Talk found out about this book through a recurring “Canadian Authors Spotlight” post on the Facebook page of Kennedy’s Parable bookstores — their business is very proactive in promoting homegrown writers — not through any publisher publicity. I found the title intriguing and also worked behind the scenes to get Betty’s last name — Sawatzky — spelled on the Word Alive Distribution site the same way it appears on the book’s cover! (It was wrong for over 4 months, and took two tries.)

Betty Sawatzky is a reporter and part of the sales team of Golden West Radio which operates 38 stations in rural communities across the Prairies. She is also Unit Public Affairs Rep with Cadets Canada. 

■ For more insight into the author and book, watch this 12-minute interview:

---

Trade information: 168 page paperback from Word Alive Press 9781486624805 | $12.99 US from Ingram, Anchor Distributors |$16.99 CAD in Canada through Word Alive Distribution | also available in hardcover from Ingram 9781486624829 $25.49 US  

Consumer information: Available to order wherever you buy books.

 

Hamilton Author Explores the Grieving Process

As the Pastor for 18 years at Mount Hamilton Baptist Church, Leanne Friesen had interacted with many who were dealing with loss. But when it hits home, these things tend to become personal. Her book, Grieving Room: Making Space for All the Hard Things After Death (note: not The Grieving Room) released in February in hardcover from Broadleaf Books and is already into its second printing.

Here is the publisher description:

People long to reduce the enormity of our grief. “Time heals all wounds,” they tell us, or “At least she isn’t in pain anymore.” Yet no matter how hard others try to stuff our grief into a process or a plan, grief cannot be willed away.

Leanne Friesen thought she knew a lot about bereavement. She had studied it in school and preached at memorial services. But only when her own sister died from cancer did she learn, in her very bones, what grieving people don’t need–and what they do. In Grieving Room, Friesen writes with vulnerability, wisdom, and somehow even wit about the stark and sacred lessons learned at deathbeds and funerals.

When someone dies, we need room for imperfect goodbyes, she writes, and room for a changing faith. We need room for regret and room to rage at the world. Room for hard holidays and room in our schedules. We need room for redemption and room for resurrection–and we also need room to never “get over it.”

In this poignant account of a sister’s mourning and a pastor’s journey, Friesen pushes back against a world that wants to minimize our sorrow and avoid our despair. She helps those of us walking with the grieving figure out what to say and what not to say, and she offers practical ways to create ample space for every emotion and experience. Reflection questions, practices, and prayers at the end of the book offer guidance and ideas for individuals and groups.

In a world that wants to rush toward closure and healing, Grieving Room gives us permission to let loss linger. When the very worst happens, we can learn to give ourselves and others grieving room.

The table of contents reveals that the book is organized around 15 grieving “rooms” or “spaces” that are either needed or experienced in various degrees.

For an excellent overview of the book, watch this interview Leanne did with 100 Huntley Street. (Fast-forward to the 9:47 mark; the interview runs about 12 minutes.)

From this point on, since this a trade blog, I want to ‘talk shop.’ I found it unusual that this American-published book by a Canadian author has no representation within our Christian book trade sphere. There is a Canadian distributor, Jaguar Book Group, which many of you reading this may not have dealt with before. This compounds with the American penchant for first-edition hardcovers. A straight 1.4000 conversion of its $26.99 US list — for example, if you purchase from Ingram — would make it $40.99 in Canada. The Jaguar price, $36.50 is more merciful! No representation also means there weren’t review copies in circulation, so I went with the publisher description.

That critique — which has nothing to do with the book’s content — aside, I’ve met Leanne in her other role as Executive Minister of the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ), that denomination’s top job; and have heard her speak on two occasions. I expect this book is meeting a real need right now, hence the need for a second printing. Take some time to watch the interview linked above.

Broadleaf Books| 256 pages, hardcover | 9781506492377 | 26.99 US (Ingram) 36.50 CAD (Jaguar)

Letting my Customers Behind the Scenes

This will be going out in our store newsletter this week. I’ve never done something like this before, but I thought I’d share it with all of you here as well.

How It’s Decided What to Carry and What to Skip

Why certain books end up in the store and others don’t

Each month I basically have a sales meeting with myself (!) to review two important lists. One is a complete list of all Christianity-related books from publishers big and small. It runs 850 – 1,150 items and usually consumes about 90 minutes. The other is a list of featured books from core Christian publishers. Yesterday it ran 168 items, but there was a lot more detail and more consideration that goes into looking at these new releases.  In a smaller store, approaching its sunset months, carrying something may mean only getting one or two copies, but more if it has potential and if the publisher offers promotional graphics to help us market it to our mailing list and social media.

One of the first featured titles was Pathway to Success by Joyce Meyer. We’ve noticed a serious waning in Joyce’s sales over the past year, and while we’re grateful for all the past titles — about 50 currently in stock — we decided to make this one an order item.

The next one was Are We Living in the Last Days? by respected author Bryan Chapell. I liked that it carried four balanced end-times views, but at $28.99 for 256 pages, decided that would have to be a custom order as well, and this section in our store can quickly become saturated.

We have a very price-conscious market, and the same logic had to be applied to John H. Walton’s latest in a series we currently have complete, The Lost World of the Prophets. InterVarsity Press (my former employer) has become a very inflationary publisher and I couldn’t picture our customers shelling out $31 when so many other costs are hitting hard.

Strange Religion by Nijay Gupta was a different story. I’ve noticed increased awareness of this author and listened to his podcast interview with N.T. Wright last week. The subtitle is “How the first Christians were weird, dangerous and compelling.” I added it to the list.

The kids book 365 Talks with Jesus by Amy Parker looked like something we’d stock, but I realized that people would see the “365” and think of this book of prayers as a devotional, when it’s actually a devotional supplement. To keep the focus on more substantial 365-day products, I decided to pass on this one.

Bible Prophecy Under Siege by Ron Rhodes got added to the list of titles to obtain. The subtitle is “Responding Biblically to confusion about the end times;” and Rhodes is a frequently-requested author.

The Barbour Bible Atlas got my vote because Barbour is a reasonably priced publisher and an author I admire, Christopher Hudson worked on this project. Barbour titles frequently turn up on sale though, so it gets limited placement on our shelves.

Another Barbour pair of titles to make the cut were Bedtime Devotions for Pre-Teen Girls and Bedtime Devotions for Pre-Teen Boys. This is a tricky age to find good resources for, and with the days long gone of sales reps having copies to show us, we’ll try anything for this age bracket that looks workable.

Stephen Furtick‘s latest, Do The New You didn’t make the cut. Again, my customers balk at hardcover prices and with other publishers, this would have been an International Trade Paperback Edition. Customers will wait a year for the softcover.

A new title, Squish and Snugg caught my eye because fabric books or fabric-covered books are now so rare. I figured we’d put it in the gift section with the plush toys.

Here’s one that will surprise you, I’m passing on the new edition of The Action Bible, called Faith in Action. The publisher offers no room to give relief on the $51 list price, at least not to common stores like ours who don’t do the expensive glossy flyer packages. If you want it, feel free to order.

The book Loving Adopted Children Well by Gary Chapman is based on Five Love Languages content, but I wondered if we already have this under a different title. We have very few families here who are big on adoption and fostering (which should have been worked into the book’s title) but not enough for an automatic inclusion.

Finally, 365 Prophetic Revelations from the Hebrew Calendar by Candice Smithyman (I checked her name spelling) was $31.99, but with 400 pages softcover and the option (margin) of doing an “our price” as we do with hardcovers from select publishers, I decided to go with this one.

And then a month later, I do this all over again.

Castle Quay Inks Distribution with Anchor/Word Alive

Two of the foremost imprints for Canadian Christian authors — Word Alive Press and Castle Quay Books — will soon be sharing warehousing and distribution. An announcement published Monday at Rush to Press (Evangelical Christian Publishing Association) shared the news:

Toronto/Palm Beach (June 2023) – Castle Quay Books is pleased to announce their new partnership agreement with international book distributor Anchor/Word Alive Distribution who will now provide sales, marketing and distribution services for their entire book line in the United States and Canada.

The full article quoted heads of both companies;

“We are pleased to be working with Anchor/Word Alive Distribution in both the USA and Canada,” said Larry Willard, founder and CEO of Castle Quay Books. “We were looking for a prominent, reliable, quality provider of sales and distribution services for our imprint and we feel we have found it with Anchor/Word Alive.”

Jeremy Braun, managing director for Word Alive said, “We look forward to serving the customers of Castle Quay Books in Canada and are pleased to offer our strong network of retail and trade connections to allow us to meet the needs of the entire community.”

as well as Anchor:

“We are glad to partner with Castle Quay Books to meet their distribution and fulfillment needs in North America,” said Karen Fulton, Director of Operations for Anchor Distributors. “Our location just south of the Canadian border coupled with a well-developed supply chain provides an excellent solution for Castle Quay Books to continue bringing their excellent message to the North American reader.

Click here to read the article in full.

The piece also noted that Castle Quay is no longer just Christian books, but publishes 20 different subject categories.

Ingram Christian Wholesale (formerly known as Spring Arbor) lists the Top 5 demanded titles by Castle Quay as:

1. A Devotional for Mothers and Sons – Sandee MacGregor
2. My Journey of Faith – Charles Mulli
3. Counterfeit Code – James Beverley
4. Certainty – A Place to Stand – Grant Richison
5. Save My Children – Emily Wierenga

and Top 5 for Word Alive Press as:

1. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Workbook – McLaughlin
2. Understanding the Revelation – Michael Scantlebury
3. Not Only Just a Really Good Human – Dwight Onley
4. God is That You – Tina Pitamber
5. The Real Welcoming Church – Stewart Brown

Ingram data as accessed 11/JLY/23 at 15:30

Relevant Topic; Important Resource

I usually save reviews here for Canadian authors, but this is a vital, must-carry title for retailers. Furthermore, while it’s not exactly a new release, the housing crisis has been the hot topic of conversation for this decade, and Kevin Nye has emerged as one of the foremost voices on this issue. I really wanted to read this, but on the day it arrived, I knew Ruth was better qualified reflect on its content…

Review
Grace Can Lead Us Home: A Christian Call to End Homelessness by Kevin Nye (Herald Press, 2022)

by Ruth Wilkinson

My personal experience of ministry among unhoused (see note below) people is different in scale from that of Kevin Nye, but identical in many respects. In his book Grace Can Lead Us Home I recognize friends and situations, along with societal and church dynamics that for some readers will be new, or even alien.

For example, in a smaller municipality unsheltered people tend to hide away on the far end of the rocky beach, in the forest along the river, or a friend’s backyard–very different from having a Skid Row neighbourhood, a tent city, or people sleeping on subway grates. But in both settings, these people are as ‘invisible’ as passers-by choose to make them. To be fair, street ministry is not something to which we are all called. I have sat in the sand alone with a friend who I found beaten unconscious, holding his hand and waving the flies away from the blood on his face until the emergency responders could find us. That’s part of my calling. It’s not part of everyone’s, and when people with good intentions dive in over their heads, it doesn’t end well.

But books like Grace Can Lead Us Home can open the eyes–broaden the horizons–of people who are not (maybe not yet) ready to step out into this milieu and to begin the learning of hard lessons that it entails. People who are not yet ready to have their hearts broken. Not yet ready to sit on a tree stump and receive a cup of food-bank instant coffee.

Nye’s overview of the correlation between homelessness and addiction, as well as issues like gender-based violence and discrimination, race, harm reduction, and housing-first models of assistance are informative and challenging. Some readers will dismiss his observations, but in my experience they ring true.

As a pastor and member of a local Christian community, I am sometimes asked by people how they can help when they see a tent in the woods, or when one of our unhoused neighbours comes to a church service on Sunday morning. I do my best to speak into each situation, and I’m deeply glad to hear the question asked. If you are a follower of Jesus, and you have ever asked yourself “how can I help?” this book is a good starting point for understanding the complexity of homelessness and how you might be called to support the people who experience it and/or those who walk alongside them.

**The language to describe this group of very diverse people is somewhat contentious. On one hand, a local service group this past year put on a Christmas dinner for (in one man’s words) “hoboes.” Other people get very upset at hearing the phrase “the homeless,” perceiving it as a slight. My friends who are themselves unhoused use the word “homeless” to describe themselves, but some prefer to be described as “roughing it.”

---

Ruth Wilkinson is a pastor in Ontario, Canada who has often found that big-city urban ministry and life in small towns isn’t all that different. Her writing has appeared on our sister blogs, Christianity 201 as well as Thinking Out Loud, where this first appeared.

Thanks to Herald Press for a review copy of Grace Can Lead us Home.

Joe Amaral Introduces Two New Titles

Joe Amaral has been a featured speaker throughout Canada, has led tours to Israel, hosted First Century Foundations, and is a frequent guest on 100 Huntley Street. He has three books with Faithwords/Hachette Book Group and has published these two independently. They are available from joeamaral.org, with trade terms available to bookstores.  Each of the books below is $20 retail. 

Get Off Your Ash — Ashes are all that remain after something is completely burned and destroyed by fire. For some, it’s a relationship, for others it’s your self-worth which was destroyed because of what somebody said or did to you.

In ancient times, ash was used as the international symbol for loss, pain and suffering. People would cover themselves in it to let others know what they were going through. We may not wear ash on our bodies today, but we sure do carry it around with us.

Jesusly: The Act of Being Like Jesus — As we follow Jesus through the Gospel of Luke, we discover the often hidden and deeper meaning behind many of his teachings and actions. As followers of Jesus, it’s important to know which Jesus to follow. Hollywood has portrayed him one way and modern Christianity showcases a completely different Jesus than we find in the Scriptures.

Luke shows us a Jesus who has no problem breaking barriers and going outside of the accepted social norm if it means meeting the needs of a person who has felt abandoned and rejected. Imagine a world where people loved people the way Jesus did.

The Nuts and Bolts of Christian Retailing

Eight months out of college and every job lead has evaporated. As the doorbell rings, you assume it’s one of the people from the church dropping off a home-cooked meal. Ever since you placed your plight on the church prayer request board, there’s been no shortage of food.

Instead it’s a well-dressed man you don’t recognize. He says he’s looking after some local interests of your recently deceased aunt who has lived several provinces away. She’s left you in her will, but not in a direct monetary sense. Instead, remembering your love of books she’s bequeathed you her Christian bookstore.

He’s got of lot of personal details right — yours and hers — but you protest that you know nothing of running a Christian supply shop. “Not to worry;” he says, “She’s left you a book of operating instructions; a store owner’s manual to guide you through the tough decisions.”

…I’m not the greatest writer, but I hope I’ve cast a picture of how I value a newly-released book by BC’s Lando Klassen, Successful Christian Bookselling: 169 Tips to Help You Thrive. Klassen spent a lifetime as owner of House of James — still operating in Abbotsford — starting out as a long-haired, bell-bottomed, counter-cultural hippie-type, and ending 48 years later as one of the most respected Christian retailers in all of Canada.

The book is part memoir, but all too few of the many stories he must have make it into print. Mostly it’s the nuts and bolts of retail, but retail with an eternal purpose. Some of the book reflects that mid-point between working for the bottom line and working to build God’s kingdom.

Successful Christian Bookselling is very concise. There is a bullet-point type delivery of the 169 points, though many involve a multiplicity of considerations that store owners and managers must face on an ongoing basis. I would love to have read more.

There are things here that other retailers will agree with, and others to which they might strenuously object. I found a number which wouldn’t work in my smaller town, but also many that were food for thought; things I could implement starting today.

My first objective is to start at the beginning and read the book a second time. I can see this being used as a guidebook for many, many bookstore staff meetings. Staff could debate the merits or the applicability of each suggestion for their store or their location.

For example, the book encourages prospective store owners to maintain a list price structure, even higher in the case of giftware. Yet at the same time, there are many, many suggestions that involve the use of giveaways, prizes, thank-you gifts, and free gift cards.

He also advocates not attempting to act in a role of censorship, but my experience has been that local pastors see us as ‘gatekeepers’ and appreciate how, with an eye on the bigger picture of personalities and publishing, we have steered away from certain authors and publishers. In the end, I guess we all have to draw the line at different places.

The book is also a testament that could be useful if we saw a revival of specialty faith-focused stores. Many of those who pioneered such stores in Canada have aged out of their working years or are no longer with us. With contracted staff, the number of next-generation people who really know how such a store ‘breathes’ is actually quite small. With this book, a new crop of front-liners could weigh the importance of issues with which they would have to deal.

…So what about our imaginary college graduate who just inherited his aunt’s store. His (or her) learning curve would still be steep, and I’m not sure how they would make out with the first sales rep visits. But once he (or she) has mastered the store’s climate control, security system and point of sale terminal; everything else needed in terms of operations is in this short book.

With what the author admits to be great irony, the book is available for purchase on Amazon, or direct from the author.

Note: Many of the tips provided would work for stores in the wider marketplace.

Hats Off Press | ISBN 9781738925407 | 88 pages

 

Bridge-Logos Title to Avoid at all Costs

When you’ve been doing Christian retail for 30 years and handled any given publishers’ titles throughout all of that time period, you reach a point where you trust their imprint to indicate a quality product. Unfortunately, that trust was shattered for us last month with a title which, even at half its current list price, would be priced too high.

The pricing structure with Ed Harding’s book What Will You Do When You’re Dead? is a reminder to retailers and consumers alike to always check page counts and trim sizes. This book has issues on both counts, and with its $10.99 US / $14.99 CDN suggest list price, you expect one condition but not both. The book clocks in at only 52 pages. Yes, I know CBD and Ingram state 64 pages, but the last twelve pages are all advertising of other titles. On top of that it’s a mass-market (pocket) title with a widely spaced font. The book is only 7 inches by 4 inches.

We reached out to Bridge-Logos on April 20th, and after ten days have received no response.

We’re a smaller market store, and we don’t have money to spend frivolously on products that don’t offer good value. I don’t wish to place the book on display at full price because I don’t want people to associate our store with overpriced products. But I also can’t put it out as a red-tagged sale item, because I doubt customers would believe the regular price stated. Either way, it damages our reputation.

For the same reason, I don’t want to be petty or punitive, but at the moment, I’ve suspended Bridge-Logos titles from our future orders. Their pricing on this has all the marks of a sketchy down-market self-publisher, not the Christian publishing veterans I’ve known for years.

Book buyers: Always check trim size and page count; even if you think you can trust the publisher.

The Book I Needed Right Now

A review of God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer by Pete Greig (Zondervan).

Every once in awhile I take an interest in a book, not for reasons related to the store, but because it’s something that I need in my own life at that time. To borrow from a very old advertising campaign — I think it was for electric shavers — “I don’t just own the company, I’m also a customer.”

Although the 2020 title was published “a forever ago,” especially in an industry so focused on frontlist, I decided to check it out. My interest came about because one author leads to another — if you allow that to take place — and so just as through John Mark Comer I was introduced to Tyler Station, so with Tyler I was introduced to Pete Greig.

Pete is the founder of the 24/7 Prayer Network (24-7prayer.com) defined as, “an international, interdenominational movement of prayer, mission and justice; a non-stop prayer meeting that has continued for every minute of this century so far, in over half the countries on Earth.” It’s based in the UK, and Tyler is the head of the U.S. branch. To talk about 24/7 would be an article in itself, but you can learn more at the link above, or you fully immerse yourself by downloading the Lectio 365 app for your phone.

But we’re getting off course here; back to the book.

God On Mute was originally written in 2007, and what I’m holding in my hand as I type this — which makes for some tricky keyboarding — is actually an updated edition.

The book operates on three levels.

First, the birth of the book is somewhat personal, as Pete’s wife Sammy has suffered with a chronic condition for decades now, which involves seizures, although she is doing better now than when the first edition was written. It’s so much more meaningful when the author can empathize with their readers.

Second, the book uses Holy Week as a motif for our journeys through the times God seems silent. Reading the chapter on Holy Saturday on the day it was actually Holy Saturday made this especially poignant for me.

Third, the book is a teaching on a subject that we all will need from time to time. I got the sense that instead of of just listing principles and steps — although the book does that in places — the author comes alongside those who are grieving the situations where God seems absent. In this book at least, I found a sympathetic voice on what can be a sensitive topic.

There’s also a substantial guided prayer section at the back which I am still reading, but it is very similar in style and pacing to what one finds on the Lectio app.

Finishing the book a week ago, the status of my prayers is unchanged, but I feel I have a bigger picture. I also did something I’ve never done before with any book, and as I was reading I created an index inside the front cover of some anecdotes and quotations to which I might want to return.

Learn more at Zondervan.com.

---

My review of Tyler’s book, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools is directly related, and to read that you may click here.

Thanks once again to Mark at HarperCollins Christian Publishing Canada for this great resource.

 

Wood Lake Books Ending Print and Distribution Services

Not long after celebrating a 40th Anniversary, Kelowna, B.C.-based Wood Lake Books today announced their decision to cease print operations and close their warehouse. Some products, including a few not-yet-published resources, will continue to be available online.

The publisher has long resonated with United Church of Canada leadership and laity for which they produced curriculum and small group resources, but their books enjoyed a readership across a broad spectrum. This is the full text of the announcement from publishers Patty Berube and Debra Joyal MacDonald :

After almost 41 years of publishing quality resources serving our customers in Canada and throughout the world, it is with much sadness that Wood Lake has had to make the tough decision to discontinue publishing books and curriculum.
We had hoped that following the pandemic we would see a return to sales similar to 2019, but due to a softening of the market and a less than anticipated return of orders, that hasn’t happened. We don’t have the resources to continue as we did, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to hold up the legacy of our best sellers and of our history!

Until the end of May, we will continue to sell our printed books, while quantities last, with no returns or refunds. Throughout June we will be packing up and moving to continue work, although on a much smaller scale, from home. We will continue to sell Seasons of the Spirit for the Season of Creation/Pentecost 2 season – in web-delivery version only. Wood Lake has an excellent reputation for quality customer service – and that will continue for as long as we can. We hope to continue selling ebooks and other downloadable products that do not require warehousing for the foreseeable future.

This was a very difficult decision to close our office and clear out our physical inventory. The past few years have forced all of us to examine how we live our lives, how we interact with each other, how we work and communicate, how we conduct our affairs, and how we can best meet the challenges of the future. This is how we have to move forward. All of us at Wood Lake want to thank you, our loyal customers, for supporting our endeavours over the last nearly 41 years.

On their website, Bev Milton described their humble beginnings:

Wood Lake Publishing began on the ping pong table in Ralph Milton’s Calgary home. For many, Wood Lake wasn’t just a job. It was a place that held us when we needed to be held and gave us a dream and support and encouragement when we most needed those things.

Stormie Omaritian: Praying Wife Crosses 10 Million Mark

Congratulations are in order to Stormie Omartian and Harvest House Publishers on the receipt of the ECPA Diamond Sales Award for 10 million copies sold of The Power of a Praying Wife.

The book joins a very select list of titles to reach this milestone. In addition to a number of Bibles, the books include:

• Purpose Driven Life 
• The Shack
• Prayer of Jabez 
• Heaven is for Real
• Jesus Calling
• More than a Carpenter
• The Bible Promise Book (Barbour)

Some of the books are so iconic that as dealers, we have acronyms for them such as PDL, PPW, and HiFR; and naming authors seemed rather unnecessary!

See the complete list at this link.

Christian Fiction Winners

Recently a customer asked why we had run the list of Christy Award winners in our store newsletter in previous years, but had not done so last November. I didn’t realize that our customers were tracking these things so closely. So I included it on Monday, and having typed it all up, thought we’d run it here as well.

Although several of the winners were from the broad Baker Book Group imprints, they weren’t titles we’ve carried. (She ordered one of each, so the award carries some weight in her mind.) What it reinforces to me is that critic awards are not the same as sales rankings. Not at all. And some great books get missed because as buyers, we tend to focus on the “A list” titles.

How many of these do you carry? If you’re going to expand your fiction section, better to start with titles which have at least won critical acclaim.

Book of the Year – The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery – Amanda Cox – Revell

Amplify Award – In Search of a Prince – Toni Shiloh – Bethany House

Contemporary Romance – All That Really Matters – Nicole Deese – Bethany House

First Novel – All That Is Secret – Patricia Raybon – Tyndale

General Fiction – the winner in this category also won book of the year (above)

Historical – Drawn By the Current – Jocelyn Green – Bethany House

Historical Romance – Until Leaves Fall In Paris – Sarah Sundin – Revell 

Mystery/Suspense – Aftermath – Terri Blackstock – Thomas Nelson 

Short form – Under the Texas Mistletoe – Karen Witemeyer – Bethany House 

Speculative (science fiction) – Windward Shore – Shannon Hinck – Enclave Publishing

Young Adult – Shadow – Kara Swanson – Enclave Publishing

The awards are presented through the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association (ECPA) and the full list, including nominees, and including cover images, can be seen at this link.