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May 28, 2008 11:33AM

Zondervan Cuts Jobs

Christian publisher eliminates 18 positions, including several executive spots, in reorganization.

Susan Wunderink

In a short, short news story, The Grand Rapids Press reported that

Christian publishing giant Zondervan on Tuesday announced it was cutting 18 jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

Among those who lost their job was Executive Vice President and Publisher Scott Bolinder, who had been with the company for 19 years.

The company, owned by media conglomerate News Corp., has about 325 employees in Cascade Township and 35 at offices in Miami and San Diego.

The jobs that were cut represent about 5 percent of the positions at Zondervan, and included 5 executive positions. The publishing house hired Moe Girkins as its new president and CEO last winter.

Publishers Weekly reported that, "Parent company HarperCollins has said that Zondervan has been a soft spot in the overall performance of HC."

In recent years Zondervan had annual title output in the high-500 to low-600 range. Powers confirmed the reorganization would lead to a reduction in titles, but said the company would not release specifics now.

Since 1988, Zondervan has been part of HarperCollins, which is a subsidiary of News Corporation, which is run by Rupert Murdoch. The publisher’s first huge break was the NIV Bible, which in 1986 overtook the King James Version. A more recent one was The Purpose Driven Life.

Posted by Susan Wunderink on May 28, 2008 11:33AM

Comments

An antique collector once advised me to hold onto my hard copy books as they might be worth something one day. Technology will change the way that the world receives and transmits ideas and information whether we like it or not. Hard copy books will soon go the way of the transister radio and the LP albums. The upside is that we will save a lot of trees. The downside is that we will clog the landfills with dead batteries. Either way, the truth of the Bible will continue on until Jesus comes again in one way or another.

Posted by: TIM at May 28, 2008

Please check facts in articles such as this. Zondervan did not become part of Harpercollins until 1988, and Harper was not yet part of Rupert Murdoch's empire then. The publisher's first big break was The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey; this enabled Z's leadership to take the family owned and run company public in 1977. Z "rescued" the NIV when the project ran into trouble as it was being translated by the Christian Reformed Church and the American Bible Society as a joint project.

Posted by: RUV at May 29, 2008

Just out of curiosity I thought it would be interesting to find the "best-selling" books published by Zondervan on Amazon.com. These are not the best-selling books all time but rather what are currently selling the fastest. I'm not sure the exact criteria, Amazon just says, "The most popular items in Books. Updated hourly."

I did an Advanced Search with "Zondervan" as the publisher.

Here they are on June 3, 2008 at 3:30 pm EST.

1. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Paperback - April 1, 2002)
2. The Purpose Driven® Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven® Life, The) by Rick Warren (Paperback - Mar 13, 2007)
3. The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne (Paperback - Feb 1, 2006)
4. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (Cover Image May Vary) by Rob Bell (Paperback - Jul 1, 2006)
5. The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Strobel (Paperback - Sep 1, 1998)
6. Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw (Paperback - Mar 1, 2008)
7. Dawn's Light (Restoration Series #4) by Terri Blackstock (Paperback - May 1, 2008)
8. Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between Sexuality and Spirituality by Rob Bell (Paperback - Jul 1, 2008)
9. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem (Hardcover - Jan 16, 1995)
10. Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets by Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson (Hardcover - Nov 1, 2008)
11. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart (Paperback - Nov 1, 2003)
12. What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey (Paperback - Feb 1, 2002)

Posted by: Andy Rowell at June 3, 2008

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