Sue Brower

HarperCollins' new Christian division, comprised of Zondervan and the newly acquired Thomas Nelson, has announced the creation of a single fiction team, featuring books from both publishers and headed by Daisy Hutton, formerly vice president and publisher of fiction at Thomas Nelson.

"This is an era of unprecedented challenge and opportunity for fiction publishing," Hutton said. "The Thomas Nelson and Zondervan brands each have a rich heritage. We intend to build on that heritage by developing more distinctive, stronger identities for each brand."

Zondervan has announced Zondervan First, a new direct-to-digital publishing imprint. The new imprint launches today with the acquisition of the first fiction title, Love in Three-Quarter Time by Dina Sleiman. Zondervan First will provide fresh and relevant content across all reading devices. Authors who publish under this model will have the same access to the Zondervan editorial and marketing teams as those published traditionally, which sets this program apart from other direct-to-digital publishers.