Zondervan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Zondervan | |
| Type of Company | Corporation |
|---|---|
| Founded | Grand Rapids, Michigan (1931) |
| Headquarters | Grand Rapids |
| Website | www.zondervan.com |
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company, one of the four businesses founded by Dutch-Americans that have made Grand Rapids, Michigan into the USA's "Christian Publishing Capital," alongside Eerdmans, Baker Books, and Kregel. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). The president and CEO of Zondervan is Doug Lockhart.
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[edit] Mission Statement
To be the leader in Christian communications meeting the needs of people with resources that glorify Jesus Christ and promote biblical principles.
[edit] History
Zondervan was founded in 1931 in the suburb of Grandville, Michigan by brothers P.J. (Pat) and Bernie Zondervan, who were the nephews of publisher William Eerdmans. The company began in the Zondervans' farmhouse, and originally dealt with selling remainders and reprinting public domain works. Within a couple of years it developed a list of its own, and began publishing Bible edtions. The Amplified Bible appeared in 1959, and the Berkeley Version of the Bible in 1965. The New International Version NIV New Testament was published in partnership with the International Bible Society in 1973, and the complete NIV Bible appeared in 1978.[1]
Zondervan also publishes many other books by Christian authors and focusing on topics of interest to Christians, and in the 1970s it produced the best-selling US published book of the decade: The Late Great Planet Earth by controversial writer and evangelist Hal Lindsey. That book was one of several dispensationalist and anti-Communist works that the company brought out, and Pat Zondervan was one of several evangelical figures who received briefings from Henry Kissinger on instruction from Richard Nixon.[2]
The publishing house is also known for inspirational titles: Joni by quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada is perhaps the best-known. Most recently, it has had great success with Baptist minister and author Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life and with Rob Bell, author of Velvet Elvis and presenter of NOOMA a series of short spiritual films.
Bernard Zondervan died of cancer in 1966, and his wife remarried William Jensen, a Grand Rapids anesthesiologist. Pat Zondervan died in 1993.
[edit] Timeline
1931. Zondervan Publishing House is founded by brothers Pat and Bernie Zondervan at the family farmhouse in Grandville, Michigan.
1932. The first Zondervan bookstore opens at 543 Eastern Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1933. Zondervan publishes its first book, Women of the Old Testament, which is still in print.
1937. First Zondervan bookstore outside Michigan is opened in Winona Lake, Indiana.
1941. Zondervan comes under one roof for the first time since 1931 at 847 Ottawa Avenue NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1950. Bible publishing begins with the Berkeley Version of the New Testament.
1954. Zondervan moves to 1415 Lake Drive SE in the Eastown section of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1960. Zondervan publishes Halley’s Bible Handbook.
1961. Zondervan enlarges its music business by purchasing Singspiration.
1966. Cofounder B. D. Zondervan Sr. dies at age 55 (1910–1966).
1966. Zondervan publishes the Amplified Bible.
1966. Zondervan acquires the Harper & Row Bible department and begins publishing the Harper Study Bible.
1970. Vice President B. D. Zondervan, Jr. dies at age 34 (1935–1970).
1970. Zondervan becomes a publicly held company.
1970. Zondervan publishes The Late Great Planet Earth.
1971. Partnership begins with the International Bible Society.
1971. Zondervan renames its bookstore chain Family Bookstores (now named Family Christian Stores).
1972. Zondervan purchases John Rudin Company and establishes the Book of Life division.
1973. The New International Version New Testament is published.
1978. Zondervan publishes the complete New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.
1978. Where Is God When It Hurts? receives the first ECPA Gold Medallion Award (now called the Christian Book Award).
1979. Zondervan begins work to publish Bible reference books using electronic databases.
1980-1983. Zondervan purchases a number of companies in the early 80 — 1980 Benson Music; 1982 Tapley-Rutter Company and Chosen Books; 1983 Today’s Christian Woman magazine, Revell Books, G. W. Moore, and Marshall Pickering Co. — all later sold.
1985. The NIV Study Bible is published.
1986. Zondervan publishes the Student Bible.
1986. The new library on the campus of Taylor University, Upland, IN, is named Pat and Mary Zondervan Library.
1987. Zondervan creates its electronic publishing division.
1988. Zondervan is acquired by Harper & Row (now named HarperCollinsPublishers, a News Corp. company).
1988. Zondervan begins producing audio versions of its books under the imprint Zondervan Audio Pages.
1989. Zondervan New Media publishes the Bible software NIVpc.
1989. Zondervan publishes The Adventure Bible.
1990. Zondervan introduces macBible, software for the Macintosh computer.
1990. Zondervan publishes The NIV Exhaustive Concordance, a computer-generated landmark publication to accompany the NIV Bible.
1990. The new library on the campus of Kuyper College, Grand Rapids, MI, is named Zondervan Library.
1992. Zondervan moves to new corporate headquarters at 52nd Street and Patterson Avenue, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
1993. Cofounder P. J. Zondervan dies at the age 84 (1909–1993).
1994. Zondervan sells the Family Bookstore division (having 153 stores) and ends its retail activity.
1995. Zondervan purchases Editorial Vida, publishing resources in Spanish, Portuguese, and French languages.
1995. Zondervan launches its Internet website.
1996. Zondervan's award-winning Email Alert Service is launched to stay in close communication with consumers.
1997. Zondervan begins producing digital Internet download editions of its audio publications.
1999. Zonderkidz and Gift Division (later named Inspirio) begin.
1996. The New International Reader's Version (NIrV) translation of the Bible is published.
2000. Zondervan begins producing ebook editions of its publications, available as Internet downloads.
2001. Zondervan UK is established with the re-acquisition of Marshall Pickering from HarperCollins UK.
2002. The Purpose Driven Life is published (currently with combined product sales of over 30 million).
2003. Zondervan is named one of the "Best Christian Places to Work" nationally by Best Christian Workplaces Institute.
2004. Zondervan begins distributing short-films on spiritual matters called NOOMAs.
2005. The complete Today’s New International Version (TNIV) translation of the Bible is published.
2006. The Archaeological Study Bible is introduced to bring historical perspective to NIV readers.
2006. Zondervan begins hosting the National Pastors Convention as part of a larger initiative to better support ministry leaders.
2006. Youth Specialties is acquired, further cementing a 30-year partnership as resource providers to youth workers.
2006. The Africa Bible Commentary is released, illustrating Zondervan’s commitment to globally supporting Christians in 78 countries and 48 languages.
2006. Booksellers name Zondervan "Supplier of the Year" for the 7th time in its history, a record achievement.
2006. Zondervan and Inspired By Media Group release The Bible Experience, a dramatized audio Bible, featuring an all-star cast.
2006. Zondervan sponsors "From Abraham to Jesus," the largest ever touring exhibit of sacred text and artifacts (to run through 2008).
2006. Vida celebrates its 60th year of providing Spanish-speaking Christians with resources.
2006. Zondervan celebrates its 75th anniversary, publishing its history in the updated edition of The House of Zondervan.
[edit] Publishing Areas
- Email Publications
- Bibles
- Books
- Kids
- Gifts
- Curriculum
- Software
- Audio
- Ebooks
- Video
- Youth
- Academic
- Reference
- Spiritual Growth
- Spanish
[edit] Recent developments
In 1988, Zondervan became a division of HarperCollins Publishers, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, joining the British Christian imprints of Fount and Marshall Pickering, which Zondervan oversaw for a while. Ownership by News Corporation has led to some controversy, and one executive attempted a buyout in 1992.[3]
There have been a number of controversies surrounding Zondervan in recent years. The TNIV offended some Christian conservatives, and the take-over by HarperCollins meant that the firm now belonged to an organisation that also published books (such as Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible), and some Christians found this offensive. See[4] for an example.
In 2005, Zondervan senior marketing director Greg Stielstra published Pyromarketing, which discusses book marketing. This reportedly caused a dispute with Rick Warren, who felt that it was inappropriate to associate the success of The Purpose Driven Life with marketing, rather than with spiritual explanations. See [3].[5] Stielstra left Zondervan just prior to the publication of Pyromarketing.
Zondervan has also faced complaints about the use of Chinese printing facilities to produce Bibles.
[edit] Pradis
Zondervan's ventures into software sales have led to the emergence of another seamless library format in the biblical reference world, Pradis. While their own early software library offerings were either STEP-Compatible or able to use add-on STEP-Compatible works, or both, stagnation in the future development of the STEP Library format led to the development of a library using the Pradis system. While not open format, the availability for outside licensing and publishing makes it similar to the STEP Library and The Libronix Digital Library System, especially for users of religious software who want seamless integration of various reference works, using one application to access and cross-reference them all. Further, by limiting duplicate applications running or loaded, system registries are kept cleaner, more works can be open and cross-referenced simultaneously, Harddrive space is conserved, and it is conserved all the more where advanced compression algorithms (like Pradis boasts) are employed to store multiple large reference works.
[edit] Notes
- ^ James Ruark and Ted Engstrom, The House of Zondervan, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981.
- ^ Gerard Colby and Charlotte Dennett, Thy Will Be Done, New York: HarperCollins, 1995, p.690.
- ^ Doug LeBlanc, "Zondervan, Word Look for New Owners", in Christianity Today, 22 June 1992.
- ^ These sites attack Zondervan: [1][2]
- ^ "Pyromarketing" at God of Small Things.
