IVP - Behind the Books

Seeing, Tasting, Smelling, Hearing and Touching the Wonders of God

Thank you to Jeff Crosby, Associate Publisher and Director of Sales & Marketing for this post.

The Advent season we have just journeyed through is one in which our senses are often heightened beyond the norm: The fragrance of lit candles and the sound of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite; the taste of eggnog and the brilliance of multi-colored lights trimming homes and trees; the warm touch of friends and family who have gathered with us.

In spite of the oft-times hectic pace of the cultural trappings of the Advent season, it is one in which we are often more aware of the senses, more in tune with the wonder of Immanuel, God with us.

But what about the rest of the year?

If I'm honest, I realize that I'm very much like the people my friends Beth A. Booram and J. Brent Bill are writing to in their just-released book Awaken Your Senses when they say:

"Since we live so much out of our thinking, we often become divorced from our souls and our bodies. We lose a sense of place, of rootedness in life. Using our senses helps us live in present time." (emphasis added)

And we need to live in that present time. After all, it's the only time that we have. But how do we cultivate the disciplined use of our senses in seasons, unlike Advent, during which the world is experienced in gray rather than vivid color? When we hear the cacophony of suburban traffic more often and more loudly than the beautiful sound of the Wood Thrush? When friends and family are not near, but quite far from us and distant from our physical touch?

In a recent conversation about his reason for writing Awaken Your Senses, Brent Bill, whom I first met nearly a quarter century ago and whose written work I've followed and appreciated throughout the intervening years, explained it this way:

One reason the senses are so important is because we neglect to use them. Even though St. Paul tells us to 'present your bodies as a living sacrifice' to God, we rarely do so. We offer our minds and souls, but rarely think of how our bodies were also God-made and can be God-honoring. Our bodies open us in fresh ways -- through sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound -- to experiencing God present with us in tangible ways.

And that is exactly what Awaken Your Senses does: Open readers up to experiencing God present with us. Immanuel, throughout the year.

I've known Beth Booram, the book's co-author, for a much shorter period of time than Brent. But she, too, has become a friend and a trusted guide. We share a love of classical music, the outdoors, and family. We also share an appreciation for well-crafted - and kindly-spoken - words.

In a section of the book titled "Tasting Words," Beth writes powerfully and metaphorically about the ability to "taste" words, whether those that are life-affirming, sweet and appetizing (words like loving, kind, honest, beautiful, sincere, valiant) or words that are bitter and distasteful (cruel, vile, worthless, ugly, ungrateful). She leads readers through a very poignant spiritual exercise she calls "tasting forgiveness" (see video link below) that is one we all should be mindful of in any season. But as the calendar turns from Advent and Christmastide to Lent and Eastertide in the weeks ahead, her message on the taste of forgiveness is all the more penetrating, and all the more timely. (Drawing on the right by Marcy Jean Stacey; one of several "sense" pictures in the book)

Awaken Your Senses was written for people like me - and, maybe, like you - who need wise and helpful guides on the journey of exploring the wonder of God in any and all seasons: Advent and Christmastide; Lent and Eastertide. And beyond.

Immanuel, God with us.
Throughout the year. Throughout the seasons.
Joy to the world.
Thanks be to God.

More information can be found at the book's Facebook page. Check there on Monday, February 6 to enter a contest based on each of the five senses. Win a gift certificate or a free copy of Awaken Your Senses.

IVP's Top Ten of 2011

Before 2011 becomes too distant of a memory, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at the most memorable IVP happenings of 2011. All in all it was an eventful year, and we look forward with anticipation to what 2012 has in store.

1) Snowpocalypse!

We started out the year with over two feet of snow falling in the Chicago area on February 1. IVP's offices were closed for a day while we let the snow plows dig us out. It wasn't fun to drive in, but when the sun finally came out it sure was pretty. Check out some other pictures of Chicago during the blizzard.

2) WildGoose Festival

In June IVP's Likewise Books sponsored the first Wild Goose Festival in Shakori Hills, NC. Likewise authors like Shane Claiborne, Mark Scandrette, Julie Clawson, Sean Gladding and Margot Starbuck were on hand for a festival of justice, spirituality, music and art. Missed it this year? Check out the video for some highlights, and don't forget to register for Wild Goose 2012 today to save your spot!

3) Release of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture

In July we released the highly anticipated new series, the Reformation Commentary on Scripture to critical acclaim. Mark Noll called it a "major publishing event" and Richard Mouw said it was "a godsend." Find out more about the series and learn how you can save 40% when you sign up today!

4) Remembering John Stott

On July 27, 2011 the world lost a true saint when John Stott passed into the presence of the Lord at the age of 90. His life and legacy were remembered at services around the world. He will be greatly missed.

5) Richard Foster eBook Sales Take Off

One week in August the ebook edition of Richard Foster's new Sanctuary of the Soul sold more copies on Amazon.com than the print edition! It's the first time an IVP ebook overtook the print edition, and we believe it's an exciting indication of things to come in 2012.

6) Andy Root's Popular Post

In September professor and author Andy Root wrote a post on our Online Pulpit blog postulating that "all pastoral ministry has gone the way of youth ministry." The post generated multiple thoughtful and enthusiastic comments on the importance of bringing theology back into ministry. We hope you will continue this conversation in 2012.

7) Award-Winning Covers

   

In October the 60th Annual Chicago Book Clinic Book and Media Show presented InterVarsity Press with four book design awards. Congratulations to our stellar designer Cindy Kiple for her beautiful cover and interior designs and to Jim Erhart for excellence in the manufacturing process. Covers honored included Clouds of Witnesses, Opening to God, Contemplative Vision and Defending Constantine.

8) Anti-Trafficking Tour with Daniel Walker

In October Daniel Walker, author of God in Brothel, partnered with Compassion International and Hagar International to tour the country and shed new light on the grim realities of enforced prostitution and the status of rescue efforts around the globe. Sharing from his own experience as an undercover investigator who has rescued hundreds of women and children from the sex industry, Daniel touched the hearts and opened the eyes of hundreds of attendees.

As a result of the tour:

• Nearly 100 vulnerable children were sponsored through Compassion to prevent future human trafficking
• Hagar collected hundreds of emails from attendees who were interested in joining the fight against human trafficking
• Daniel received important media coverage to advance the awareness of this grave worldwide injustice

9) IVP Wins Recycling Award

In November IVP received the Commercial Recycling Award from the Village of Westmont for its successful commitment to improving the environment by recycling. It was an honor to be recognized at the November 7 Westmont Village Board Meeting as "the best and most improved big business recycler."

We've taken specific steps to institute an environmental stewardship program by educating and informing our team on how to be responsible with natural resources. In 2010, we recycled twelve thousand pounds of paper, and we allow the public to drop off paper in recycling dumpsters in our parking lot.

"We are committed to protecting the environment and to the responsible use of natural resources. Our employees are to be commended for their diligence," says Anne Gerth, IVP's director of production and fulfillment.

10) Biblica Acquisition

In December we acquired Biblica Books, the book-publishing arm of Biblica Worldwide and obtained 170 current and nearly 30 new Biblica Books titles. This includes Operation World, the definitive global prayer guide that's now in its seventh edition. "With this acquisition, IVP becomes an even stronger publisher for biblical and missions-oriented resources. We are grateful for this expansion opportunity," says IVP Publisher Bob Fryling.

You can browse all the Biblica books available on the new tab on our website.

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What about you? As you look back on the year, what were the big life-shaping events you won't forget? And what are you looking forward to in 2012?

Christ, Our Light

A special thank you to Cindy Crosby, co-editor of the Ancient Christian Devotional series with Tom Oden and compiler of On the Way to the Cross.

Every summer I work at a wilderness island, Isle Royale National Park, in Lake Superior close to the Canadian border. One thing I love about living so far north is the seemingly never-ending amount of daytime. I rise with the sun at 6 AM, and then watch the last glow of sunset around 11 PM. It's a season of light.

There's no cell phone coverage, no roads, no cars. My groceries arrive every two weeks on a small boat. Here, I am forced to slow down, make do, and get by with what I have.

On my hike to work at the ranger station each morning, I might snack on wild raspberries, or stop to enjoy the fog wisps over the harbor. A moose and her twin calves may block the trail, and I marvel at their gawky grace. Wolf tracks imprint the shoreline. The quiet is broken only by birdsong and wind in the birches.

As I relax into the rhythms of creation each summer, week after week, I find myself remembering something deep in my bones. In wilderness, I feel connected to the one who created it all. And, I love the days... filled with light.

At home, just outside of Chicago, it's the Christmas season. I find myself sucked into the tyranny of the must-dos. There's holiday baking, Christmas cards, and shopping for my self-imposed ideas of the perfect gifts for friends and family. I dash to the grocery store each time I run out of shortening or eggs, and I find myself in the car more than I'd like, driving on endless errands. Horns blare, "Santa Baby" plays on store intercoms, and jets roar overhead.

I wake up in darkness, and by afternoon I'm snapping on lights around the house to fend off the twilight. The sense of connectedness to something deep that I felt in the summer is almost obliterated by now, victim to white noise and busyness. I miss the light.

It's now, right before Christmas, that I remind myself to slow down and spend time remembering. Remembering how to be quiet. How to pay attention. And, remembering to soak up some light.

One way to go deeper and slow down is to spend time with the prayers and writings of the church fathers and mothers, and the scriptures that frame the Advent season. It is in these ancient words that we remember our connections to something deeper than the passing whims and demands of the moment. It's a way to be quiet, and pay attention. And it's a reminder of the light that has illuminated our faith.

As I compiled the Ancient Christian Devotional series during the past five years for IVP, I fell in love with some of the writings of Ambrose of Milan. He lived around 333-397 and was known as a pastor of souls as well as a scholar. When I meditate on his words, I can understand why. His writings from so many centuries ago remind me of whose child I am, and of the deep roots of my faith. His words bring me back to the light.

One of my favorite Ambrose passages is excerpted in the Christmas week readings in the Ancient Christian Devotional (Lectionary Cycle C). Ambrose writes of Jesus:

He was a baby and a child, so that you may be a perfect human. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, so that you may be freed from the snares of death. He was in a manger, so that you may be in the altar. He was on earth that you may be in the stars... He chose to lack for himself, that he may abound for all.

Such ancient words! But they still illuminate the darkness.

As I paged through old prayer books and stacks of Ancient Christian Commentaries, looking for writings and ancient prayers to include in the devotional series, I came across this prayer from a Celtic abbot, Columbanus. He wrote, "We ask nothing other than that you give us yourself. For you are our all: our light, our salvation, our food and our drink, our God. Inspire our hearts, I ask you, Jesus, with that breath of your spirit."

"You are...our light." This Advent season, amid the tumult of to-do lists and self-imposed expectations, I'm trying to slow down and connect again with those ancient words. I am reminded of the light, even when the season dictates that these are the darkest days of the year. I rejoice with the familiar lines from the ninth chapter of Isaiah that open the readings for Christmas week:

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, those who lived in a land of deep darkness---on them light has shined... For a child has been born for us... and there shall be endless peace...

Behind the Anti-Trafficking Tour

Thanks to our IVP Books print publicist, Suanne Camfield for this post!

It was late Wednesday night when we finally met. After circling the airport three times, I spotted him in black dress pants and a dark winter coat. After months of planning, plotting, strategizing, exchanging emails, and conference-calling, Daniel Walker, author of God in a Brothel: An Undercover Journey into Sex Trafficking and Rescue, had finally touched down in Chicago.

I was busting at the seams.

The Anti Trafficking Tour that had begun in California exactly one week earlier was already a success. Kicking off with the Global Forum on Human Trafficking and followed by college and church events, crowds of all ages were responding to Daniel's message about modern-day slavery. But while my coworkers and I had heard great reports from the field (our online publicist Adrianna Wright, who had accompanied Daniel to California, told us, "He's pretty much a rock star"), I don't think any of us were prepared to hear Daniel's story firsthand.

We had invited Daniel to "IVP Day" --our annual, offsite company-wide gathering. After a few jetlagged hours of sleep, Daniel stood at a podium in front of all ninety-plus of us and began with a warm New Zealand "G'Day", making the room ripple with laughter. It wasn't long, however, before his comments turned serious: today, more than two million children are exploited in the commercial sex industry. As an undercover investigator, Daniel had rescued hundreds of these children, but couldn't possibly save them all. His encounters with girls like Maria, Paks and Jenni were enough to make a person clap in triumph at the same time she weeps in disgust. Hope and despair, all wrapped up in the same twisted story.

Maybe that's why, after Daniel finished speaking, our staff lined up to shake his hand and offer their own word of thanks. It's not everyday we get to see the fruits of our publishing labor, a tangible reminder that what we do--behind computers and marketing plans and spreadsheets and cover designs and packaging peanuts and forklifts--matters. What we do actually makes a difference.

Over the course of the next ten days, I listened to Daniel's story another dozen times. From Chicago to New York, in radio and magazine interviews, on city campuses and in suburban churches, even in the halls of MSNBC, I heard Daniel advocate for young girls, boys and women with clarity, passion and conviction. I watched crowds at every stop swipe at their tears and gasp in disbelief, and even though by the end l had heard the talk so often that I could anticipate each word, at every stop I found myself doing the same thing. I witnessed firsthand what happens when kingdom people catch a vision for the least of these.

Through our Anti-Trafficking Tour, in partnership with Compassion International and Hagar International, nearly a hundred children vulnerable to being sold into slavery were sponsored by individuals and families like you. Because of Compassion's extraordinary prevention program, these children will not fall prey to the wiles of human traffickers. In addition, Hagar International collected hundreds of emails from those interested in the difficult but critical work of restoring rescued victims physically, emotionally and spiritually.

The tour was the first of its kind for IVP. It had its ups and downs; details got rearranged, directions misconstrued, hotel reservations mysteriously lost and meetings cancelled and rescheduled. But when it was all said and done, Daniel gave more than twenty interviews, spoke to nearly a thousand people and--always a perk for a publisher--we sold a lot of books. More importantly though, the Anti-Trafficking Tour helped all of us here at IVP embrace and live out one of our core values: "to influence, engage and shape the university world and our contemporary culture for the sake of Jesus Christ and his kingdom in the world."

It's why we love being behind the books.

Posted by Leah Kiple at 2:16 PM | Comments (1) are closed

An eBook Update, Again

Many of you loyal IVP readers have been waiting VERY patiently for us to make more eBooks available at more resellers—especially at Barnes & Noble for the Nook. Here is what’s been happening since our last eBook update in June (An eBook Update):

We have released most of the titles that we had converted by Aptara and eBook Architects early this summer, but for a few of them we decided to first fix some things that we thought you would find problematic like we did—the main thing being charts and graphs that were treated as images by the external conversion companies and that therefore couldn’t be resized to be more readable on small ereader screens. As we pored over these first eBook files; dug deeper into our own book production process; and dreamed about what we’d really like an eBook experience to be and how we could produce them with greater speed, quality and cost effectiveness (we are a part of a not-for-profit organization, after all), we came to the conclusion that we could—and should—1) set up a way to convert our made-for-print files on our own and 2) start changing our whole editorial and typesetting/layout process so that we can simultaneously produce both ready-to-print or ready-to-sell-as-ebook files in the not-to-distant future.

So that’s what we’ve been doing all summer and much of the autumn, too. Now, the first of our converted-by-IVP-staff titles have also been released. And, along the way, we’ve signed up with several more resellers.

Here are the titles you can now buy in ePub format. Once the files are approved by each reseller, you’ll find them at Barnes and Noble, Christian Book Distributors, eChristian, Google, Kobo and Sony. To find them most easily, visit your preferred reseller and search for the title or for InterVarsity Press.

• Discipleship Essentials Greg Ogden
• The Gift of Being Yourself David G. Benner
• God, the Bible and the Shack Gary and Cathy Deddo (an IVP Booklet)
• Invitation to Solitude and Silence Ruth Haley Barton
• Leadership Essentials Greg Ogden and Daniel Meyer
• My Heart—Christ’s Home Retold for Children Robert Boyd Munger and Carolyn Nystrom (an IVP Booklet, with color illustrations!)
• The Parable of the Unexpected Guest D. A. Zimmerman (an IVP Booklet)
• Small Faith—Great God N. T. Wright
• Together in Prayer Andrew R. Wheeler
• Too Busy Not to Pray Bill Hybels
• Who You Are When No One’s Looking Bill Hybels
• Wisdom Chaser Nathan Foster

These titles are also available for sale here at IVP Online. Just use the “Add to Cart” buttons on the book pages as you would for a print book. Our webstore is still in “beta” mode for ebook purchasing, so please be patient with us. We know it’s a bit clunky. At any time after you make an ebook purchase in our webstore, you can access and download your ebook titles by clicking the “My Account” link at the very top of any of our website pages, logging in, and then clicking the “Download Ebooks and Digital Media” link.

Keep up with new releases weekly at Ye Olde eBook Shoppe or on our New Releases web page. Finally, we have collected several requests from you already for our forthcoming eBooks email newsletter, and we’ll soon have a sign-up link at Ye Olde eBook Shoppe (which we’ll also announce on this blog)—and, shortly after that, regular emails on the way to you.

Please post your questions, requests and comments!

—The Behind the Books Team

Friends with Manuscripts

Thanks to our online publicist, Adrianna Wright, for contributing this post!

Isn't it a relief when you meet someone who just gets it? Someone who isn't afraid to ask the hard questions and willing to be honest about his failings. Someone who cares deeply about Scripture and also has a fantastic sense of humor. Someone who seeks to be obedient but has a tender heart.

So describes my friend Jamie Arpin-Ricci. Jamie has blogged for a number of years, and it's through his blogging that I first came to know him. Over three years ago, Tom Sine recommended that I send a copy of his book New Conspirators to some Canadian bloggers, so I reached out to Jamie to see if he'd be interested in receiving a review copy. Indeed he was, and thus our relationship began.

Given my job as online publicist, I spend a decent amount of time staying in touch with bloggers about book requests and (hopefully!) ensuing reviews, so much of my interaction with Jamie followed along these standard lines. Yet after a while, another thread began to emerge in our communication. In the summer of 2009, Jamie offhandedly mentioned that a few of the books I'd sent (Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle and How to Inherit the Earth) had been "very influential in my own book (in process)".

Well forgive me, but I work for a book publisher, and when someone whose writing I respect just happens to say that a book might be lurking within, I jump all over it! And so it was that I learned Jamie was working on a book about St. Francis as "a timely and timeless example for the church in a post-Christian world." Hmm ...

Fast-forward to January 2010, when Jamie wrote to apprise me of a number of reviews that he'd written and to request a few more books. He also let me know that he "had to shelve the St. Francis project temporarily, as I am finalizing a volume on the Sermon on the Mount as missional and communal formation."

So I responded in typically professional fashion with, "Ooh, the book you're working on sounds yummy. Do you think it would be a good fit in our Likewise line?"

Well, over the next few months Jamie began to finalize his proposal. After he sent me the first draft of the proposal, I decided it was time to hand it over to Dave Zimmerman, who as an editor, actually acquires manuscripts ... So in May 2010, we officially acquired Jamie as an IVP author and slated The Cost of Community for November 2011!

In June this year, I finally had a chance to meet Jamie at the Wild Goose Festival, and I'm pleased to report that Jamie in person is exactly like the Jamie I had come to know through his writing. In short, Jamie gets it, and you should get his book.

"The familiar terrain of the Sermon on the Mount yields fresh insights and challenges in this grace-filled book. Wisdom gained from St. Francis and from life in the Little Flowers Community illuminates Jesus' central teachings in ways that help us see clearly their beauty, relevance and possibility."

--Christine D. Pohl, Ph.D., professor of social ethics, Asbury Theological Seminary

Read an excerpt and watch a sneak peek of The Cost of Community: