Interview with Jon at Word on Fire

by Ian on July 18, 2012

Word on Fire is the new apostolate started by Father Baron. The first product from this new effort was the Catholicism series which has been broadcast on PBS and EWTN. Jon talks to us about how to program started and what is part of the program.

Listen to Interview with Word on Fire

{ 0 comments }

Interview with Influence Resources

by Ian on July 18, 2012

Influence Resources is an Imprint from the Assemblies of God. This imprint is just over a year old so I thought it would be interesting to interview a publisher that was getting started right as the digital revolution started to take hold.

Listen to Interview with Influence Resources staff.

{ 0 comments }

Interview with Johanna at Image Books.

July 18, 2012

At the International Christian Retail Show we were fortunate to get an interview with the director of marketing for Image Books. Image has been around since the fifties but for a long time was a very neglected brand at Random House. That changed a year ago when the imprint was designated as the imprint for [...]

Read on →

Talks, Interviews and Ducks at the ICRS

July 17, 2012

So today was the second full day of the International Christian Retail Show. Our morning presentation was on why retail stores need to have an Internet presence. If you think your store doesn’t need a website you aren’t facing reality. After my talk Zondervan hosted a delicious lunch and several of their reps sat with [...]

Read on →

The International Christian Retail Show (Day 3)

July 16, 2012

This was really the first day of the show and even though I got here two days early, the staff of the Christian Booksellers Association had already been here for a week getting everything ready. The fixtures for the show are huge and they actually drive them out in a semi. I’m sure that some [...]

Read on →

I’m at the International Christian Retail Show (Day 2)

July 16, 2012

After spending a good part of yesterday walking through empty conference buildings, today went much better.  I was able haul my display across the street to the conference center and get it set up in our room. I’ll be sharing the space with reps from Zondervan, Catholic Word and Image Books. I’m a sucker for [...]

Read on →

What I learned at the International Christian Retail Show (Day 1)

July 15, 2012

In the tradition of past trade shows that Aquinas and More has attended, I’m bringing you my experience at the 2012 International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in Orlando, FL. The ICRS is the annual trade show organized by the Christian Booksellers Association. The first conference was in 1950 in Chicago. This is the largest gathering [...]

Read on →

What Happens When You Poison the Well

July 10, 2012

As I read the latest issue of Christian Retailing, I came across an article about the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit. The article described the traffic at the show as “light”. I think that is a polite way of saying it was almost empty. I’ve been to shows like that before. Vendors practically begging people to [...]

Read on →

The Briarhurst Manor – A Study in Customer Service

December 17, 2011

A couple of years ago I wrote a post about the Briarhurst Manor and gave it a lukewarm review. This year we decided to give it a try again for our 15th wedding anniversary. One thing they do very well is keep in touch with past guests. If you give them contact information, they send [...]

Read on →

10 Essential Actions to Prepare for the Advent & Christmas Season

September 17, 2011

From my house I can see the first snow on Pike’s Peak. That either means it’s the end of summer or God is teaching some silly unprepared hikers a lesson. In Catholic retail you can’t start prepping for Christmas in October because we have a season that really starts in November. So if you haven’t [...]

Read on →