THE CHARITY COMMISSION has at last published its long awaited report into the mismanagement of the former SPCK Bookshops, offering a damning indictment of the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust and Company’s trustees and their handling of the organisation’s affairs. The nine page report provides a close scrutiny of the organisation’s activities and finds … Continue reading
CHRISTIAN BOOKSELLERS, DISTRIBUTORS, PUBLISHERS, SUPPLIERS AND WRITERS — in short, anyone and everyone involved with the Christian trade — are being called upon to stand together in prayer today, Thursday 7th April. The call has gone out via Together magazine: Steve Briars, the magazine’s publisher and managing editor, explains: Thursday 7 April 2016 has been … Continue reading
MANY READERS will no doubt be aware that Wesley Owen, once the UK’s largest chain of Christian bookshops, is now no more. This post is simply for the sake of completion, drawing a line under what has been a prolonged and, for many, painful saga.
The closure of wesleyowen.com took place quietly earlier this year as part of a larger decision to transfer Authentic’s distribution services to Marston Book Services. All that now remains of the company is a notice, referring customers to Authentic. Continue reading
IVP’S PARTNERSHIP DISTRIBUTION is set to cease operations at Christmas this year with all distribution services relocating to Macmillan (MDL) thereafter, but retailers are being reassured that it’s “business as usual for the trade in the run up to Christmas”, according to a press release issued this morning by Steve Apted, IVP UK’s Interim General Manager. … Continue reading
AUTUMN LEAVES? Yes indeed: no matter how many you sweep up, there are always some that get away; and in this news roundup I present some of the stories — all good news, I’m delighted to say — that managed to get away from me over the last couple of months, including the launch of CLC Wholesale’s trade website and Eden’s commitment to the Living Wage. Continue reading
IN A PRESS RELEASE issued on Wednesday afternoon, 7 October 2015, two of the UK’s leading Christian publishers, the respected conservative evangelical IVP and the much-loved champions of theological diversity SPCK, announced that they were joining forces with immediate effect.
Whilst some in the trade were aware that IVP was experiencing some financial difficulties, this development — which has significant implications for the wider trade as well as for the two publishers and their staff — appears to have taken everyone completely by surprise.
My thanks, therefore, to Sam Richardson, SPCK’s CEO, who has very kindly offered to answer some questions fielded from members of the Christian Authors, Booksellers and Publishers facebook group about the agreement. Some issues can’t be addressed as freely as some might wish at this stage due to legal constraints and staff consultations that are still in progress, but I hope that all readers will accept Sam’s assurances in the spirit of openness and respect for due process with which they are intended and, even more importantly, heed the call for patience, prayer and continued trade commitment with which he concludes. As always, all comments welcome. Continue reading
KINGSWAY TRUST DISTRIBUTION have stepped further into the breach in the Christian supply chain left by the loss of Joining the Dots by taking on a number of lines formerly distributed by JTD, including 1AProductions, Classic Fox (previously noted), Grenville Media and Timeless International Christian Media, with more agreements in the pipeline. The announcement came in a press release issued yesterday evening which also announces the appointment of Neil Povey as new Sales & Marketing Manager, previously a member of the Joining The Dots team and, before that, with Kingsway Communications. Continue reading
CONGRATULATIONS to The Book Well, Belfast, Christian Bookshop, Ossett, Manna Christian Bookshop, Streatham and Unicorn Tree Books, Lincoln, each set to receive funding in the latest round of awards to support children’s bookselling from James Patterson, as reported by the Booksellers Association yesterday. Continue reading
AUTUMN IS UPON US and with it an opportunity to look back over the changes this summer has wrought across the trade’s distribution channels. Whilst less dramatic than last year, this year’s changes have still been enough to disrupt supply and rock the boat for many. To summarise: Authentic Media have switched from in-house distribution to Marston; CLC Wholesale have relocated to Chester and are now wholesaling Premier magazines; Joining the Dots have (as previously reported) ceased trading; and Malcolm Down Publishing has moved to Booksource. Continue reading
FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, please note that all posts on this site which refer to the Nationwide Christian Trust refer specifically to that Nationwide Christian Trust (Company No. 04479539, Reg Charity No. 1096840) which traded as Living Oasis and ceased to exist following the company’s insolvency in 2011. They have no bearing upon or relevance … Continue reading
