Cook Partners

Missionary's Memoir of Philippines Ordeal is Now a Play

Tyndale House's In the Presence of My Enemies, which recounts the year-long captivity of missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham at the hands of Abu Sayyaf Group, a militant Muslim group in the Philippines, is now a play, according to Kansas television station KAKE's web site. The Burnhams served with New Tribes Mission in the Philippines for 17 years. The book, written by Gracia Burnham with Dean Merrill, received a Gold Medallion award from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association in 2004. 

Nigeria: Economic Situation Encourages Piracy, Says Author

In Lagos, The Vanguard reports that Uche Anioke, a Nigerian novelist who earlier this week was granted a “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Nigerian Book Fair Trust, said the country's economic situation encourages piracy. Anioke added:

“For years, we have been engaged in the fight against piracy so as to encourage writers reap from their work; but I want to say that this fight will not realize fully its objectives if the federal government does not intervene with the provision of grants to writers as a way of ameliorating the huge expenses they make in publishing the books. I believe that if something like subvention is given to a writer, it will, in turn, reduce the cost of production of the books as well as make the book cheaper for people to buy.”

USA: Free Books for Blog Reviews

Thomas Nelson is offering free books to bloggers who post reviews on their web sites and at Amazon.com.  According to Nelson CEO Mike Hyatt, the initiative began a few months ago and garnered 200 requests for the first title offered, and "almost 70% posted book reviews." Hyatt adds:

My goal is to recruit 10,000 active bloggers, categorized by subject areas. That’s aggressive, I know. But, why not? Like they say, “Go big or go home.”

Then, when we want to get the word out for a specific book, we can distribute 1,000 or so review copies at a time and use the reviews to jump-start the most important component of any marketing campaign: word-of-mouth.

What about your company? The numbers Hyatt mentioned are beyond the capabilities of most Majority World Christian publishers. Nevertheless, the strategy is instructive. How could you apply the lesson to your company? What methods can help you create greater buzz for your books AND contribute to a profitable bottom line?

New Niche Bibles

The Christian Post reports:

Six years ago, the Bible Society [in Australia] and Christian Surfers International (CSI) published the first Surfers Bible. It was an instant hit on the surfing scene with some remarkable results...

First published in 2002, the Surfers Bible has had amazing success with over 75,000 copies distributed around the world.

The Bible was released in Portuguese by the Bible Society of Brazil and a version in Spanish is underway. Now a new edition is being released, including a free DVD featuring a surfing documentary.

Meanwhile, The Bible Illuminated, a Bible developed in Sweden—with photos of Angelina Jolie, Bono, and Ghandi—should soon hit the U.S. market:

The release of the book is accompanied by a new website [that] will serve as a forum for discussion on diverse topics ranging from religion, inequality, social justice and the use of imagery in Bible Illuminated.

Banners on Buses To Proclaim Atheism

The BBC News reports:

Bendy-buses with the slogan "There's probably no God" could soon be running on the streets of London.

The atheist posters are the idea of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and have been supported by prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins [author of the bestseller The God Delusion and many other titles].

The BHA planned only to raise £5,500, which was to be matched by Professor Dawkins, but it has now raised more than £36,000 of its own accord.

It is said "imitation is the sincerest flattery," and this publicity method is not certainly not new to Christians. A similar campaign was employed by the Peruvian Bible Society; a description can be downloaded here. Indeed, Bible societies have effectively promoted God's Word on buses, taxis, trains, and many other ways—and will continue to do so. May all their efforts be blessed.

More Content for Cell Phones

Simon & Schuster announced that it is partnering with MPS Mobile so that

... more than five hundred of Simon & Schuster's bestselling and popular titles will be available via the Global Reader mobile distribution network, accessible to readers on any Internet-enabled mobile device they are currently using.

But it isn't just book publishers who are putting content together for cell phone delivery. In South Africa,

Project Masiluleke [is] a path-breaking effort that harnesses the power of mobile technology to help reverse the HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) crises in South Africa and beyond [by] tapping the cell phone as a high-impact, low-cost means to deliver healthcare information and catalyze increased testing.

How can you use mobile phones to reach readers?

India: Religious Violence "An Outrage," Says Christian Writer

Elaine Wright Colvin, founder and director of the Christian Writers Information Network, told the Tyler Morning Telegraph that "Americans should be outraged as tens of thousands of impoverished Christians are being chased from their homes by extremist Hindus." Ms. Wright's organization sponsors and an orphanage in India. "I was in Hyderabad when bombs went off in New Delhi," she added.The Telegraph article notes that:

 A conservative estimate is that about 50 people have died by being burned alive, beheaded, beaten or hacked to death, though some religious news outlets report greater numbers. On Oct. 13 Asianews.it reported 61 dead, 18,000 wounded, 181 churches razed or destroyed, 4,500 homes belonging to Christians burned and more than 50,000 displaced, of whom more than 30,000 have disappeared into the forests.

Cook International's partners in India have witnessed the violence and are actively helping the victims. We ask for your continued prayers for all involved.

 

 

South Africa: "Space for People to Tell Their Stories"

Earlier this month, South Africa's Financial Mail interviewed Stephen Johnson of Random House Struik:

Curiously, one of SA's good-news stories is that more and more people are buying books, according to figures from point-of-sale tracking service BookData/SAPnet. And the publisher who's just been made MD of a new major industry player, with an annual turnover of more than R150m, is optimistic about long-term prospects, even though this view bucks US trends. He's set to publish more than 1 000 new titles.

"The incremental growth in the local industry has been phenomenal," says Stephen Johnson. "Partly to do with the thrilling output of local writers. There's now space for people to tell their stories ... I was deeply concerned that all we were doing was importing work from Britain and America."

Read more here.

 

Latin America: Publishing Association Sponsors Contest

Letra Viva, a network of evangelical book publishers working within the Spanish speaking countries of Latin America, announced today it is partnering with Media Associates International and Christian Editing to sponsor an essay-writing contest on the theme: "Being a Christian in Latin America Today." Entries will be accepted electronically until March 31, 2009. The five best essays will be published in a single volume and the winners will receive U.S.$500. Winners will be announced in July 2009. Obtain the press release in Spanish or visit the  PremioLetraViva.com site.

Kenya: Piracy "A Nuisance"

Nairobi's Daily Nation reports,

The unchecked reproduction of books deeply concerns Kenya's publishing industry. At the 11th Annual Nairobi International Book Fair last week, publishers cited piracy as one of the biggest obstacles facing the book trade.

Efforts to enforce the rules have been met with hostility from schools and businesses.

... Nancy Karimi, the chair of the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA), which organises the annual book fair [estimates] that piracy costs her industry Sh10 million annually, but noted that ever since the Government implemented free primary and secondary education, textbook sales had skyrocketed.

KPA is one of seven members of Kopiken, a "collecting society" established under the Copyright Act of 2001.

Recognising that piracy is often unavoidable, Kopiken is supposed to collect fees from schools, universities, copy shops and any other place where printed materials are photocopied on a large scale.

... But so far, the proposals have failed to make progress.