GOOD TIMES on the social media front with several new entrants from the Christian book trade. Without further ado, then, a warm welcome to:
Alban Books’ first tweet brings us a reminder that a certain wedding is imminent — an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone with a special souvenir edition of the King James Bible:
Christianbits
Lorna tells me that things are going well for them in Ossett, with around 30 children plus accompanying adults attending their first Easter holiday literary activity morning: congratulations to all involved!
CLC Wholesale would like your feedback on promotions — head on over to facebook to have your say: What kind of promotion would you like to see CLC Wholesale do?
Last but not least: have you secured your facebook and twitter connections? It’s a straightforward procedure on both facebook and twitter which will make your accounts much less susceptible to hackers. If you’re not sure whether or not you’re using a secure connection, simply look at the URL in your browser’s address bar: if it begins https://, you’re secure; if it begins http:// — without the ‘s’ — you’re not.
On facebook, go to Account (top right in your facebook browser window) > Account Settings > Account Security > Change, select the “Secure browsing” checkbox shown in this screenshot, then click the Save button further down the page:
Facebook Security
It’s a similar procedure on twitter.
The balloons are out as a crowd gathers for the official opening of CLC Castle Street, Inverness
CONGRATULATIONS are in order to all involved in CLC’s official opening ceremony held on 2nd April 2011 for their new store at 23 Castle Street, Inverness, the former site of Wesley Owen and a sadly short-lived branch of Living Oasis. Colour-coordinated balloons decorated the shop front as a crowd of some 50 people gathered for well-known missionary and author Helen Roseveare to cut the ribbon and declare the shop officially open.
Once inside, Wilf Urquhart — a retired WEC missionary who served in Burkino Faso — addressed the crowd, encouraging those present to support the shop, then a celebration cake was cut by Wilf and Helen, and Helen signed copies of her books.
Wilf Urquhart and Helen Roseveare cut the cake
The opening ceremony was followed by an evening celebration held jointly with WEC at a local church. Around 250 people attended and heard about CLC’s work in the UK and internationally, with Neil Wardrope, CLC’s International Director, as one of the guest speakers.
The smaller Church Street branch is reported to be doing well and will remain open for as long as volunteers are available to run it and whilst there is sufficient demand for it.
Baker Academic move to SPCK
AS ANNOUNCED IN DECMBER LAST YEAR following their acquisition of 200 titles from Hendrickson, Baker have now moved their range of academic titles (Baker Academic and Brazos Press) from Lion Hudson to SPCK. Commenting on the move, Dwight Baker, President of Baker Publishing Group, said:
While Lion Hudson has been doing an excellent job in selling these titles into the trade, Baker felt the need to move their Academic titles to a firm that has had a long history of publishing and selling to the academy in the United Kingdom. The purchase of over 200 academic titles from Hendrickson Publishers this past October was the tipping point for this decision.
Baker’s other imprints, including Bethany House, Revell, Baker Books and Chosen, remain with Lion Hudson whilst Alban Books continue to represent all other Hendrickson lines to the UK.
Hodder titles now available from IVP
Hodder titles now available from IVP
IVP HAVE ADDED Hodder Faith to their distributed titles list, bringing NIV Bibles and top selling authors such as Tim Keller and Philip Yancey into their portfolio. The announcement was made in the March edition of their monthly e-Bookmark trade newsletter, with further details in a separate trade announcement (pdf, 2.6MB).
Adding the NIV to their list alongside the full range of the ESV from Crossway as well as the NRSV, Good News Bible and range of Greek/Hebrew texts already available via HarperCollins Religious and Bible Society respectively makes IVP an increasingly important player in UK Bible distribution.
The full range of ESV and Crossway titles are also available from STL (pdf, 3.1MB) with 90 day payment terms and higher discounts on initial orders.
The Comet 24: Letchworth bookshop celebrate The Bible with reading marathon
Letchworth Christian Bookshop hold Bible Reading Marathon
THIS SATURDAY, 9th April, sees Letchworth Christian Bookshop — winners of STL’s Golden Ticket in October last year — launch a Bible reading marathon as part of its celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible.
The project, which runs for two weeks with readings by volunteers in 15 minute slots during shop opening hours, has already made local headlines in The Comet (pictured).
Full details are available on a dedicated website, www.wordaloud.webeden.co.uk. Anyone wishing to take part is invited to check the schedule posted via Google Docs then contact the shop to book a slot.
Living Oasis Phase 2 Openings Delayed
LIVING OASIS LEEDS have apologised on facebook and in a letter posted at Network Leeds (4th April 2011) for the further delay to opening at their new location, advising prospective customers to contact the Harrogate store. Previously billed at Network Leeds as “the first Living Oasis shop to realise the full vision the Nationwide Christian Trust had when taking over 19 former Wesley Owen stores in early 2010″, the new Leeds store was originally expected to open by late January/early February this year but has run into financial difficulties.
A series of prayer meetings is being held, next meeting 14th April 2011, with a fundraising meal scheduled for 6th May 2011. The actual opening date for the new store remains unknown.
The new Liverpool store — originally expected to open within “a couple of months” of the old store’s closure (facebook announcement 29/12/2010) — appears to be facing similar difficulties with no updates to their facebook page since 22nd March when a series of weekly prayer meetings was announced. As of the date of this report, no indication of when the store will open has been given.
Unicorn Tree Books flood claim declined
CITY OF LINCOLN COUNCIL SOLICITORS, Hill Dickinson, have declined the flood claims submitted by Unicorn Tree Books and other retailers based in Lincoln Central Market following damage caused when the duty caretaker was unable to find the stop cock after a pipe burst during harsh weather in November last year (reported here 02/12/2010).
In a letter dated 25 March 2011 claiming to have “fully investigated the matter” Hill Dickinson state that “our client’s duty to maintain is one of reasonableness” and conclude that “the incident was caused solely by the extreme temperatures experienced at the time” — a conclusion that completely disregards the Council’s failure to follow its own published advice to householders who may be concerned about the possibility of burst pipes in their homes:
Preventing frozen and burst pipes
- Make sure you know where your stop tap is and that it is working.
One can only wonder quite what is going on in the mind of someone who regards such gross negligence as “reasonable”…
Web Shops for Churches
Premier Church Insight: Endis Inspire Shop
PREMIER CHRISTIAN MEDIA, publishers of Christian Marketplace magazine, have joined forces with Endis in partnership with STL Distribution to deliver online shops direct to churches via a custom-branded, fully integrated web service. Orders, returns and refunds will all be processed by STL in Carlisle — identified only by their address on the demo shop Contact Us and Returns pages — backed up by a dedicated telephone support line.
Full details of the service may be found on the Premier Church Insight > Endis Inspire Shop introductory page.
Reactions from retailers have ranged from a sense of outrage through concern about the implications for church bookstall services to cautious optimism at the possibility that the service could conceivably form the basis for a Christian version of Gardners’ Hive.
STL have emphasised that Endis are simply another trade customer and STL’s involvement with the scheme is solely order fulfilment. They are, however, currently investigating options to provide a comprehensive web solution for retailers: STL remain 100% committed to supporting and working with their retail partners, including amongst other initiatives the development of a Church Resources training programme designed to equip shop managers with the expertise needed and a sales kit that will enable them to pull local churches together and present new or existing product that will enhance church life.
Women in Christian Publishing Inaugural Event
WOMEN IN CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING, a new group created by the Publishers Association, held its inaugural event on 1st April 2011 with a visit to the Houses of Parliament hosted by the Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who was appointed as Speaker’s Chaplain in June last year.
Those present included Victoria Beech (Beech Publishing/Christian Education) and Janet Evans (Dernier Publishing), who has published some photographs of the event on facebook:
Dernier Publishing's Facebook Photos: Women in Christian Publishing Inaugural Event
