A new biography, titled Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader by Joe Hilley (Zondervan 2008), will explore themes from her career in politics, her life as a hockey mom, and her strongly held Christian faith, explaining how they influence her new style of leadership and align with our changing economy in the information age. The book is scheduled for release nationwide on October 10, 2008…. Read More
The Audio Publishers Association (APA) presented its Audies Award to the most ambitious presentation of the Bible ever produced — Zondervan’s Inspired by… The Bible Experience (Old Testament) in 2 categories May 30 in Los Angeles:
* Multi-Voiced Performance
* Inspirational/Spiritual
Inspired by… The Bible Experience was also distinguished as a finalist in 2 additional categories:
* Achievement in Production
* Package Design
Inspired by… The Bible Experience is the bestselling audio Bible. Its New Testament edition won the prestigious 2007 Audiobook of the Year award from APA and its Old Testament edition was finalist for this year’s 2008 Audiobook of the Year.
And finally, the audio edition of Ever After by bestselling author Karen Kingsbury, recipient of the 2007 Christian Book of the Year by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, was finalist in the 2008 Audies’ Inspirational/Faith-Based Fiction category.
Last week during Commencement, President George W. Bush honored Air Force Academy graduate Erik Mirandette, author of The Only Road North: 9,000 Miles of Dirt and Dreams:
"We see the strength and spirit of this class in a Cadet named Erik Mirandette. In 2003, Erik felt a tug at his heart from the Almighty to take time off from the Academy and do humanitarian work in Morocco. After nearly two years there, Erik, and his brother Alex and two childhood friends, decided to ride across the African continent on dirt bikes. The last stop in their journey was Cairo — where a suicide bomber attacked them by exploding a bucket filled with nails. The blast killed Erik’s brother, injured his two friends, and left Erik bleeding on the street. Doctors did not think he’d ever walk again. He never gave up his dream of coming back to this Academy. And 14 months ago, after surviving the blast, Erik returned to this campus. Today he begins his career as a proud officer in the greatest Air Force known to man.
He still has got dozens of nails in his body. But he has a fierce determination in his heart — to protect his country, defeat the forces of terror. Erik puts it this way: ‘I’ll live the rest of my life scarred inside and outside. But I’ve got a sense of calling. I want to prevent attacks on other good people.’"
Read the entirety of President Bush’s Commencement address at this link. Read a cover story article from the Grand Rapids Press about Erik at this link. Read a sample chapter from Erik’s book The Only Road North here: 
SoulSalsa: 17 Surprising Steps for Godly Living in the 21st Century by Leonard Sweet shows the ins and outs of living an old-fashioned faith in postmodern times. In his engaging, symphonic, thought-bytes style, Sweet invites readers to . . . Mezuzah your inverse * Do dirt and do the dishes * Cycle to church Give history a shove * Cheer rivals from the bench * Dance the salsa.
Publishers Weekly says "Sweet has a knack for making concepts like ‘postmodern’ — a word that has spooked many an evangelical — sound like wonderful opportunities for New Paradigm Christianity. He uses trendy, computer-based language to convey some spiritual points (prayer is our ‘uplink’ to God; the entire book is a ‘lifeware design package’), but his enthusiasm is so contagious that even Luddite readers may have to give technology another chance."
The audio version of SoulSalsa is a multi-layered sonic experience featuring Leonard Sweet’s vision of the gospel that’s radical, challenging, and true. It sparks practical ideas for putting this vision in motion. Listen to a sample.
Zondervan commissioned the creation of a song to accompany Leonard Sweet’s book and audio production, SoulSalsa. Listen to this musical rendition (and share it with your friends). Here are the words:
You’ve heard that phrase, "Say Amen somebody." But if you really learn the SoulSalsa it’s more than "Say Amen somebody" it’s more like "Get up and dance everybody, get up and dance." The art of godly living is I came, I saw and I salsa’d. I came, I saw, I salsa’d. Get up and dance everybody, get up and dance.
Shall we dance?
To dance the SoulSalsa there are 17 steps you need to learn. These are the basic dance steps to the salsa of the symphony that God has given us. Shall we dance?
Yet the haunting words of Jesus judge our prejudices against singing and swaying to the rhythms of the universe, "I piped for you, and you did not dance." Jesus came to help us to dance to God’s symphony. In the energy and movement and teachings of Jesus, I have found the music to dance my way through life and to make all of my life a dance. Or in the street smart words of a 1990s hit song, "No parking baby, no parking on the dance floor." God’s people deserve to dance. And God deserves a dancing people. I don’t want my life to work. I want my life to sing.
The SoulSalsa.
Salsa is spirituality in motion, its theology in motion. You can’t do the salsa unless the salsa leaks out in each one of your senses: sound, sight, smell, taste, touch. Salsa breaks down all the boundaries and brings everyone together and all the senses together into one experience of sound.
Worship is a way of life, its not a wayside on Sunday. The art of making a moment into something holy is the art of magnetizing moments with the Spirit of God. I came, I saw, I salsa’d. Get up and dance everybody, get up and dance.
The SoulSalsa
For Jesus sitting out the dance is not an option. Jesus makes the dancer and the dance one. Life is a perpetual dance. Get up and dance.
Credits: SoulSalsa by Leonard Sweet. Produced by Christopher Harris. Copyright 2000 by Christopher Harris.
Moe Girkins, President and CEO of Zondervan, is presenting at the ECPA Executive Leadership Summit on Tuesday, May 6th at 3:30pm. Her presentation is titled "Online Strategies: the Use of Internet Communities and the Blogosphere." This session will examine the use of internet communities and the blogosphere, for the purpose of discerning the best options which Christians have to use this media to be effective agents of redemptive change and the role Christian publishers can play.
In conjunction with Moe’s presentation, we invite everyone attending the ECPA Summit to play this simple puzzle game below. Please post up in the comments section of the blog below the time in which you completed the puzzle the first time you played it. The fastest 5 times will receive a prize related to the puzzle. Please make sure you provide an email address in the comments form that you fill out below so that we can contact you if you win. Your email address will not be displayed publicly on this blog. (6/4/08 Update – Zondervan employees, please feel free to post up your times in the Comments section below too.)
NOTE: You may have to sit through a 10-second ad before playing the game, below. Don’t click on the ad. Wait for the ad to run until you see the headline "Discover the picture!" Then click Play. Instructions on playing the game: Click on a block to move it. Line up the blocks in the number order you’ll see in the lower right-hand corner.
We just came across this video blog for Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw’s book Jesus for President.
Learn more about Jesus for President at www.Zondervan.com/JesusForPresident
An Agenda for Change moves on to the coast!
So here we are in Eastbourne on the next leg of the An Agenda For Change tour – at Kings Church, a large church here on this south coast seaside town. We arrived after a two-hour drive along some wonderful coastline in a fine, warm spring day. One of the best things about going on tour is the chance to take time to talk and get to know the people that you are with; the camaraderie is probably the best compensation for being away from home so many nights.
The church was much bigger than the previous night – one of the larger churches in the area – with a sports court, showers, conference rooms, café, and lots of staff members. We were all made to feel just as welcome as last night, and I was again impressed by the willingness of people to help out and be flexible to whatever is needed. You really get to see the cooperation that is at the heart of the church.
Many people too the opportunity to talk with Joel and get their book signed, and there was some great discussion during the question and answer session. Joel spoke again using the cathedral metaphor – that we are about building something lasting in society, and like a cathedral we may only get to see the foundations built but the structure could last a thousand years if it is done properly.
People responded and, as you can see, the cathedral is now starting to take shape.
A bit of a break now until Leicester on the 6th May – time for some normal work!
Ian Matthews
Zondervan
An Agenda for Change for kicks off!
So here I am after the first date on the Joel Edwards tour, An Agenda for Change. This tour, where Zondervan and the Evangelical Alliance (www.eauk.org) are working together taking the conversation about the book across the United Kingdom, looks set to become a memorable one if the first night is anything to go by.
We all arrived at the venue, St Andrews United Reformed Church, full of excitement and nerves. As the first night, we had no idea if the presentation would work, would people turn up, would they be interested in the book and the whole discussion about the future of evangelicalism. The evening started with a leader’s event and some food. Church leaders from Anglican, Reformed, Charismatic and Baptist denominations all gathered to share food and listen to Joel share some thoughts and discuss questions about what the future holds and how we can make an impact in the 21st Century.
Following an interview with New Frontiers magazine (see www.newfrontiers.xtn.org), ready for their leader’s conference in June where Joel is also speaking, we were ready for the main event Joel looked at public perceptions of Evangelicals (with some great vox pops which we will be posting soon for you to see); the current church situations, with a great analysis of the division between left and right – and how each needs the other; and the absolute centrality of Jesus to our mission – the EA’s mission is to ‘present Christ credibly’. During the interval people were able to browse the bookstall, and fill out a commitment form to be part of the agenda to change society with the Kingdom of God. 
In return for the form everyone got a small colored brick which they were able to write on their own personal mission or commitment. These were built into the start of a ‘Cathedral’ that we will be building throughout the tour – here is the first wall!
The evening ended with a fantastic question and answer session, with Joel opening up the discussion to the whole room, and many great stories shared. After this Joel spent time talking with people and signing books – the feedback was great and the commitment of ordinary followers of Jesus to see change in their communities is both exciting and humbling.
Off to Eastbourne tonight!
Ian Matthews
Zondervan
Photo courtesy of Michael Snyder
In celebration of GMA Music Week, meet Zondervan author Michael Snyder this Monday, April 21, from 8:00am – 12:00pm at the Nashville Convention Center main entrance on 6th and Commerce streets. Michael (pictured above) and a team of bassett hounds will be handing out 1,700 free copies of his new Zondervan book My Name Is Russell Fink in front of a billboard featuring his book.
You can also meet Michael at a book signing at the Cool Springs Borders Store on Saturday, April 19, at 2:00pm in Franklin, TN.
Enjoy a fun question & answer session with Michael at this link.
Venus Chau is a high-powered video game developer. Now she might be working for the man she’s always hated … but what if he’s no longer the man she thought she knew?
Single Sashimi by Camy Tang is the third book in the Sushi series and offers romance with the spice of ginger. Look for this new book September 2008. In the meantime, we want to share with you a fun question and answer session we recently had with Camy:
Camy, what were the things you loved to do as a child?
Read! Whenever my mom had a haircut appointment, Dad would take us to a movie or shopping. When he took us to Ala Moana shopping center, we’d always go to the bookstore and he’d buy me a book!
What is the number one thing you love to do for fun now?
I’ve taken up knitting. (I used to play volleyball, but after tearing my ACL the second time, I said, no more!) I’m having a lot of fun making gifts for friends and relatives!
What are five things that you would rather not have to go through your day/week without?
1) tea (I’m addicted)
2) email (I’m shamefully addicted to that, too–probably because as a writer, I’m a bit isolated most of the time and email is my communication with other sane human beings.)
3) French fries (I try to have some at least once a week)
4) a book to read
5) some knitting to occupy me while I’m listening to an audio book or waiting for someone.
What is your favorite entertainment?
These days, my husband and I are watching TV together at night after dinner as our time together. Just one or two shows. It’s a way for him to unwind and I get to talk to him during commercial breaks.
What is on your bookshelf?
Too many books to list here, but next on my TBR pile is: Amber Morn by Brandilyn Collins, Sincerely, Mayla by Virginia Smith, Shade by John Olson, Rain Song by Alice Wisler, and Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver.
If you had a "to do" list of thing you want to do in your lifetime, what are the top three things on your list?
1) Travel to Italy
2) Travel to Great Britain
3) Own an alpaca farm
Camy Tang grew up in Hawaii and worked for years as a biologist/researcher until she felt God’s call to return to the writing that she had loved as a student. She now writes "romance with a kick of wasabi" and, with her husband, is a staff worker with the youth group at her church. Visit her website at www.camytang.com.