Nashville, Tenn. – Thomas Nelson Inc., one of the word’s oldest and largest Bible publishers, has another milestone in its yearlong celebration of the King James Version Bible’s 400th anniversary.
The company’s Bible Group Marketing Team has won the prestigious platinum MarCom award for its creative KJV400 marketing strategy. The global competition, touted as the largest of its kind in the world, recognizes “outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals.”

“What an honor to have this talented and dedicated group as part of the Thomas Nelson family,” says Mark Schoenwald, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson. “Through this campaign, our Bible Marketing Team continues to carry out the company’s mission, to inspire the world. The King James Bible is an integral part of Thomas Nelson’s foundation and this team has done a great job to educate consumers about its history and cultural influence.”

Competition entrants include media conglomerates and Fortune 500 companies. The entries are judged by the international organization Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

“Our marketing team well deserves having this spotlight shone on them,” says Gary Davidson, Thomas Nelson Senior Vice President and Bible Group Publisher. “Their exceptional creative programs are some of the best I’ve ever seen. I’m very proud of the work they do to spread God’s Word.”

It was 407 years ago that King James of England gathered 54 of the best biblical scholars and linguists of the day to create a new translation of the Bible. Thomas Nelson’s campaign to share the anniversary included the Bible Legacy Event at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, a worldwide satellite media tour, partnerships with the History Channel and Salem Media Group, and recently a promotion on the CBS Times Square Jumbo Screen. A web site dedicated to the celebration – www.KJV400celebration.com – launched an online version of the Bible Legacy showcase, encouraging millions of people to view ancient biblical relics.

“It was a lot of hours and a lot of work, but it was worth it,” says Blake Aldridge, Senior Marketing Director of Thomas Nelson’s Bible Group. “The King James Version changed how the world viewed the Bible, and its legacy of language lives on today. We wanted everyone to understand how important that Bible translation is to their everyday lives, whether they realize it or not. It was a huge challenge, but this group likes challenges.”

The group’s efforts reached close to 63 million viewers through paid promotions, and countless more through publicity efforts in print, online, radio and television. Innovative design work by Thomas Nelson’s design team brought the past and present together in beautiful products that will be kept for generations. This award recognizes the dedicated perseverance of all those who worked for months to keep this version of God’s Word in the hearts of the world.

“It has been a privilege to be a part of a campaign that celebrates such a time-honored translation as the King James Version,” says Lindsay Williams, Bible Group Marketing Specialist. “This has been the largest campaign I’ve been a part of during my time at Thomas Nelson, and it’s been exciting to work on something with such a phenomenal reach! It’s been neat to see people’s reactions as they begin to understand how this translation has stood the test of time and influenced history for 400 years.”

Thomas Nelson Inc. is the world’s largest Christian publisher, with a mission to “inspire the world.” The company provides multiple formats of Bibles, inspirational books and digital content, with distribution of its products in more than 100 countries. Thomas Nelson is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn. Visit www.ThomasNelsonBibles.com for more information.

For image files, interview opportunities and more information, contact Julie Belschner, publicist, at jbelschner@thomasnelson.com or at 615.902.2244.

Released early today from HarperCollins Publishers

NEW YORK, NY (October 31, 2011) – HarperCollins Publishers today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Thomas Nelson, Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the calendar year, is subject to regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions.

Thomas Nelson is one of the leading trade publishers in the United States.  The Company provides multiple forms of inspirational content including: books, Bibles, e-books, journals, audio, video, curriculum and digital applications available for download on “smart” electronic devices. It has published some of the bestselling books in the industry, including the current #1 bestseller Heaven Is For Real, and the books of many popular authors, such as Billy Graham, Max Lucado, and Dave Ramsey.

“Founded in 1798 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Thomas Nelson shares a long and rich heritage with both New York’s Harper Brothers and Scotland’s William Collins & Sons. It is thus with great pleasure that I look forward to welcoming Thomas Nelson to the HarperCollins family,” said Brian Murray, President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide.  “HarperCollins’ global print and digital publishing platform, which includes e-book distribution into more than 175 markets, Print-on-Demand, Digital-to-Print at Retail, and worldwide marketing reach provides an opportunity to further expand the readership of Thomas Nelson’s distinguished authors.”

“Additionally, Thomas Nelson adds further balance to our existing publishing programs. Its broad inspirational appeal is a good complement to Zondervan, which will continue to publish books consistent with its mission,” added Murray.

“We are excited to be joining HarperCollins Publishers,” said Mark Schoenwald, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson. “We believe this transaction represents an attractive strategic fit for our company. With HarperCollins’ resources and capabilities to draw on, we will capitalize on the many opportunities in this rapidly changing world of publishing.”  Thomas Nelson’s financial advisor was Peter J. Solomon Company and legal  counsel was Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

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About HarperCollins Publishers
HarperCollins, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups around the world including the HarperCollins General Books Group, HarperCollins Children’s Books Group, Zondervan, HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Australia/New Zealand and HarperCollins India. HarperCollins is a broad-based publisher with strengths in literary and commercial fiction, business books, children’s books, cookbooks, mystery, romance, reference, religious and spiritual books. With nearly 200 years of history HarperCollins has published some of the world’s foremost authors and has won numerous awards including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott. Consistently at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement HarperCollins is the first publisher to digitize its content and create a global digital warehouse to protect the rights of its authors, meet consumer demand and generate additional business opportunities. You can visit HarperCollins Publishers on the Internet at http://www.harpercollins.com. 

About Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., headquartered in Nashville, TN, is one of the leading trade publishers in the United States.  The Company is the world’s leading provider of Bibles, inspirational books and digital content, with product distribution in over 100 countries.   Live Event Management, Inc., a Thomas Nelson company, is a national leading producer of live events.  For more information, please visit www.thomasnelson.com. 

Contact:     Casey Francis

Book, Media Tour Kicks Off September 6

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—New York Times bestselling author Brenda Warner is set to release her memoir, One Call Away: Answering Life’s Challenges with Unshakable Faith (Thomas Nelson) on Sept. 6, 2011, detailing her stranger-than-fiction life circumstances both before and during her marriage to NFL quarterback Kurt Warner.

“This book started out being a way of telling my kids why I am the way I am,” said Brenda Warner. “However, I have found by sharing my story through the years that people find hope and encouragement in it, and hopefully One Call Away can help someone else get through some dark times of their own.”

In One Call Away, Warner offers real-life advice to single moms, parents of children with special needs, people who are grieving unexpected deaths, and others struggling in the face of difficult circumstances.

“In my life I went from being a Marine, living with honor, courage and integrity, to being in line with food stamps, still living with honor, courage and integrity—same person—but with food stamps,” said Warner. “I would like the reader to know that circumstances don’t determine who you are, and they are not a measure of God’s love for you.”

As Warner puts it, her faith and God’s strength enable her to face challenge after challenge: an accident that leaves her son blind and brain damaged, a crumbling marriage, a tornado that kills her parents, a new relationship with promising football player Kurt Warner, and the pressures his sudden success brings to their growing family.

Warner will kick off her book and media tour, joined by her husband, Kurt, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011. The book signing events are:

Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011 4-6 p.m.:  Book Ends—Ridgewood, NJ

Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2011 7 p.m.: Barnes & Noble–Ladue, MO

Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011  7 p.m.: Berean Christian Store–Mesa, AZ

Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011 7 p.m.: Barnes & Noble store–Scottsdale, AZ

The Warner’s will be featured on the FOX News Channels FOX & Friends, Hannity, Good Day New York, Good Day LA, Access Hollywood Live, NFL Network and various other television, radio and print outlets.

This summer and fall, Warner is also a featured speaker at Women of Faith events throughout the U.S., the nation’s largest live events for women, including:

Anaheim, Calif., Sept. 9-10, 2011

Spokane, Wash., Sept. 16-17, 2011

Phoenix, Sept. 23-24, 2011

Portland, Ore., Oct. 7-8, 2011

Kansas City, Mo., Nov 4-5, 2011.

ABOUT BRENDA WARNER:
Brenda Warner is a speaker, philanthropist, and New York Times best-selling author. She is the mother of seven children, a registered nurse, and a Marine. But most of all, she is a storyteller who candidly shares her struggles in hopes that her life experiences can help other women. Brenda is also Vice President of the First Things First Foundation, and organization she co-founded with her husband, former NFL player Kurt Warner. Follow Brenda on Twitter at: @WarnerBrenda.

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Thomas Nelson is a leading provider of Bibles, products, and live events emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes.  For more information, visit our websitewww.thomasnelson.com.

Contact: Stephanie Newton

Senior Publicist

tel: (615) 902-2320

email: snewton@thomasnelson.com

twitter: @stephnewton

Scott MacIntyre to Release Autobiography By Faith, Not By Sight in May 2012

(Nashville, Tenn.) – Thomas Nelson, Inc., is pleased to announce the acquisition of American Idol finalist and accomplished singer/songwriter Scott MacIntyre. MacIntyre has signed a one-book publishing agreement for his literary debut, By Faith, Not By Sight – an autobiography chronicling his journey as a musical prodigy, blind from birth, and the medical miracle that helped save his life in 2007. The book will be in stores May 2012.

Though only 26 years old, MacIntyre has lived a story worth telling. He has achieved more as a blind twenty-something than most do in a lifetime without physical impairments. His tale begins at the age of three when he first played the piano by ear and includes an impressive education, graduating college at age 19 and receiving his master’s in music overseas.

“Scott MacIntyre continues to inspire people all over the world with his remarkable commitment to perseverance in times of adversity and overcoming what many would consider a disability,” says Matt Baugher, Senior Vice President and Publisher at Thomas Nelson. “His appearance on American Idol is just one small part of this amazing young man’s life. I can’t wait for others to experience his character and passion. We’re thrilled to be partnering with him on this important book.”

While MacIntyre’s list of accolades is impressive—honored guest at the White House, played with musicians such as Alice Cooper and Jason Mraz, headlined concerts in the U.S. and abroad—he attributes glory and success to his Christian faith which remains central to his message.

Baugher believes in the life-changing potential of MacIntyre’s written story: “For Scott, his blindness is merely part of who he is and his much broader story will astound, challenge, and most of all inspire.”

Scott MacIntyre is represented by Frank Breeden, Managing Partner of Premiere Authors Literary Agency (Nashville & Washington, DC).

You can learn more about Scott MacIntyre online at www.scottmacintyre.com, and follow him on Twitter @ScottDMacIntyre.

SCOTT MACINTYRE AND MATT BAUGHER ARE AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS.

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Thomas Nelson is a leading provider of Bibles, products, and live events emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes.  For more information, visit our website www.thomasnelson.com

For more information, please contact:

Stephanie Newton

Publicity Manager

tel: (615)902-2320

email: snewton@thomasnelson.com

Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me to be Promoted

(Nashville, Tenn.) – Thomas Nelson, Inc. is pleased to announce that Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir…Of Sorts by Ian Morgan Cron has been selected as a featured title in the Barnes & Noble (B&N) Discover Great New Writers program.

Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me will be part of the program for the months of August, September, and October 2011 at B&N stores nationwide and online at BarnesandNoble.com.

Former authors to be selected as part of the B&N Discover Great New Writers include Cormac McCarthy, Elizabeth Gilbert, Frank McCourt, Barbara Kingsolver, Yann Martel, Alice Sebold, Michael Pollan, Patricia Cornwell, Kathryn Stockett, and Khaled Hosseini.

“One of the biggest compliments that a retailer can pay to an author or publisher is to acknowledge the inherent value of a beautifully written book,” says Matt Baugher, Vice President and Publisher at Thomas Nelson. “It’s not just a matter of promotion and not just about what might sell but rather, the recognition that a book should be highlighted simply because it is special. This is what the Discover Great New Writers program has always been about and to be included in this is a great honor. Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir…Of Sorts is an engaging memoir in every respect, and I look forward to many more people discovering Ian Morgan Cron in the days ahead.”

“I have been submitting books for consideration to the Discover Great New Writers panel for close to 25 years, and I have never been as excited about a title as I am about Jesus, My Father, The CIA, and Me: A Memoir…Of Sorts,” says Julie Jayne, Key Accounts Manager at Thomas Nelson. “I am so pleased that the panel agreed with my assessment of this wonderful book and chose it for the program. Barnes & Noble customers will be well-rewarded when they make the time to read this literary treasure.”

As part of the Discover Great New Writers program, Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir…Of Sorts will receive the following B&N promotions:

• Face-out display in each B&N bookstore
• An individual shelf-talker with a teaser line placed under each face-out
• A 20% discount for the entire promotional season
• An individual review for each title in the seasonal Discover Great New Writers brochure, available free to customers
• Promotion on bn.com for the Discover Award finalists and Discover Seasonal selections
• Special consideration for Discover-selected writers for in-store events and book group discussions

Author Ian Morgan Cron is represented by Lee Hough of Alive Communications. His speaking management is coordinated by Jim Chaffee of Chaffee Management Group.

About Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir…Of Sorts

At the age of sixteen, Ian Morgan Cron was told by his mother that his father, a former motion picture executive, worked with the CIA in Europe. This astonishing revelation, coupled with his father’s dark struggle with alcoholism, upends the world of a teenager struggling to become a man.

In this surprisingly funny and forgiving memoir Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir … of Sorts (Thomas Nelson, 978-0-8499-4610-3, $15.99, June 2011), Ian describes a childhood filled with remarkable stories and colorful characters that includes a nearly blind English nanny who teaches him what love means, a simple carpenter who leads him to faith, an irreverent New York radio personality who saves his life, a father who takes his family on a wild ride from the pinnacle of glamour and wealth to the depths of emotional and financial hardship, a beautiful and courageous mother who holds them together, and the hard won peace that comes when we surrender to the “unfinished business of grace.”

IAN MORGAN CRON IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS.
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Thomas Nelson is a leading provider of Bibles, products, and live events emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes.  For more information, visit our website www.thomasnelson.com.