Google Print is still in Beta, but this upcoming service will be yet another way to make your book ‘search engine friendly’. Google’s description of this tool:

Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information, but much of that information isn’t yet online. Google Print aims to get it there by putting book content where you can find it most easily – right in your Google search results. Just do a search on the Google Print homepage. When we find a book whose content contains a match for your search terms, we’ll link to it in your search results. Click a book title and you’ll see the page of the book that has your search terms, along with other information about the book and "Buy this Book" links to online bookstores (you can view the entirety of public domain books or, for books under copyright, just a few pages or in some cases, only the title’s bibliographic data and brief snippets). You can also search for more information within that specific book and find nearby libraries that have it.

A very nice article on the future growth of the CBA market:

Most agree that the category’s growth is noteworthy, and there is no end in sight. In 2009, industry experts expect the religious books segment to account for $2.91 billion, which represents about a 50 percent increase from 2004, Greco added. The category includes Bibles, New Testaments, hymnals and prayer books along with a more nebulous category of "other religious," which accounted for $1.28 billion in 2004, Greco said.

With some comments on the rules of this genre: 

Other religious books encompass thrillers, mysteries, a burgeoning romance category and general fiction, he added. There are no bodice-rippers in the Christian romance market, and many publishers have a list of taboo subjects that include premarital sex, bad language and homosexuality, said industry members.

Read more: DenverPost.com

The sixth annual Christy Awards held this year in Denver have been announced, though they haven’t posted it to the site yet. Here are the winners in the different categories:

General

Bad Ground by W. Dale Cramer (Bethany House Publishers)

Historical

King’s Ransom by Jan Beazely/ Thom Lemmons (Waterbrook Press)

Romance

Secrets by Kristen Heitzmann (Bethany House Publishers)

Suspense

Tiger in the Shadows by Debbie Wilson (Kregel)

Visionary

The Shadow Within by Karen Hancock (Bethany House Publishers)

First Novel

The Mending String by Cliff Coon (Moody Publishers)

Check out their site for future announcements:
The Christy Awards

Earlier this year, Zondervan gave Kingsbury what is believed to be a "seven-figure" advance on a new nine-book contract that doesn’t begin until fall 2008.

Such lucrative deals once were reserved for more mainstream authors.

With religious books the publishing industry’s hottest sector— it was the biggest gainer with an 11% rise in 2004 — major publishers are seeking to lock up top or promising authors for the long term.

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Christian Book Sales are Surging

According to the Book Industry Study Group, which uses data from all sectors of the industry, total U.S. book sales rose 2.8 percent in 2004 to $28.6 billion, while religious books saw 11 percent growth to nearly $2 billion.

Christian fiction is enjoying a boom that has been linked by some to George W. Bush’s presidency.

And some comments on Lauren Winner on the market: 

"There’s definitely a blurring of lines between religious books and self help books," said Lauren Winner, 28, who is studying for a doctorate in American religious history.

Winner said that religious imprints are raising their literary standards, pointing to the major Christian publisher Thomas Nelson’s fiction imprint Westbow, launched in 2003.

"It’s wholly devoted to doing subtler, less hit-you-over-the-head Christian fiction," she said.

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