Nine 'Best Awards' for HarperCollins Christian Publishing

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 27, 2013 -- HarperCollins Christian Publishing won a total of nine 2013 Christian Retailing's Best Awards at this year's annual International Christian Retailing Sales conference in St. Louis, Mo.

In the Bible category, the Company was honored with three of the four awards: "Story for Children Bible" in the NIrV translation (Zondervan) in Children's; "NIV Women's Devotional Bible" (Zondervan) in Devotional/Study; and "Extreme Teen Study Bible" (Thomas Nelson) in Teen.

"It is an honor to have three Bibles published by Zondervan and Thomas Nelson receive Christian Retailing's Best Awards," said Chip Brown, senior vice president and publisher for the Bible team. "We strive to provide resources that inspire Christians everywhere and assist them in their daily study of God's Word. It is truly humbling to have so many resources recognized by our industry."

"Grace Happens Here" by Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson) won an award in two separate categories-Christian Living: Spiritual Growth and Gift books.

"Christian Retailing is such an important part of the Christian publishing community," commented Laura Minchew, senior vice president and publisher of the Specialty team. "We are grateful for the excellence they portray in the magazine and for their recognition on behalf of our books."

Other award winning titles for HarperCollins Christian Publishing were:

• "Jesus Calling Bible Storybook" by Sarah Young (Tommy Nelson) in Children's Nonfiction
• "Unglued" by Lysa TerKeurst (Zondervan) in Women's Nonfiction
• "Real Marriage" by Mark and Grace Driscoll (Thomas Nelson) in Relationships
• "Jesus Today" by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson) in Devotionals

According to the official rules page on www.christianretailingbest.com, "products nominated for the 2013 Christian Retailing's Best Awards must have been released in 2012 and on sale in stores, with the exception of nominations in the Backlist category." All works must have a Christian perspective or inspirational in theme. This year, authors, publishers, literary agents, book packagers and other members of the industry were invited to vote on the nominees, along with Christian retailers.

Mark Schoenwald, president and CEO of HarperCollins Christian Publishing stated, "These awards represent the powerful messages our authors use to reach an audience for a purpose that is greater than the books themselves. Our publishing teams across the organization work to fulfill our mission and ensure that these messages are delivered into the hands that need them."

About HarperCollins Christian Publishing

HarperCollins Christian Publishing is comprised of both Thomas Nelson Inc. and Zondervan. The two publishing groups provide bestselling Bibles, inspirational books, academic resources, curriculum, audio and digital content, including BibleGateway.com, and live events for the Christian market space. HarperCollins Christian Publishing is committed to inspiring the world with content that honors God. For more information please visit www.harpercollinschristian.com.