Chad Allen, Baker Books

Chad Allen is an acquisitions editor for Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, working in three non-fiction categories: Christian living, ministry resources, and popular reference. He is the in-house editor for the emersion book series, a partnership between Baker and Emergent Village, which is intended for pastors and other church leaders who want to engage our rapidly changing culture with vision and hope for the future. He was featured in Christian Retailing’srecent “Forty under 40” report, which profiles those who are shaping the future of the Christian products industry. He has written articles for Rev, Conversations, Radix, Relevant, PRISM, next-wave, Re:Generation Quarterly, and the PMA Independent. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an M.A. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife, Alyssa, live with their son, Lucas, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Steve Barclift, Kregel Publications

Steve Barclift has been involved in Christian publishing for more than two decades. He was the founding managing editor of Christian Parenting Today magazine before joining Questar Publishers (more recently known as Multnomah Publishers) in 1989. He was a senior editor with Questar/Multnomah for several years. Steve has been managing editor at Kregel Publications since 1997. He is the author of three children's books, and received a Gold Medallion Award for The Beginner's Devotional in 1992. His most recent book, Beginning with God, was published in 2004 by Kregel Publications. Steve and his family live near Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Janet Benrey, Benrey Literary

In 2002, my literary agent invited me to join her firm. That's how I became an agent. Many of my colleagues began their careers at large publishing companies; I followed a different path. I've worked in several different jobs that have had two common themes: marketing and publishing. These include executive recruiting, directing a small publishing company, corporate marketing communications, and book promotion. I'm also a published novelist. I've co-written seven cozy mysteries with my husband Ron, and I recently completed a romance novella that I wrote independently.

My diverse background — including my work as a novelist — provides the wide-ranging experience I need to identify and successfully represent high-quality literary properties.

The heart of my agenting style is to build strong working relationships with authors. I'm proud of my reputation as an accessible, responsive agent — an agent willing to chat with clients whenever time permits.

Of course, my highly personalized agenting approach limits the number of authors I can represent. I must tightly control my client list so that I can effectively serve a small group of authors whose work I truly believe in.

Sandra Bishop, MacGregor Literary Agency

Sandra began working with MacGregor Literary in 2007, helping with contracts and office details, and getting to know the business. In April of 2008, Sandra joined MacGregor as a full-time literary agent and is currently working under the direction of Chip MacGregor, and building her list of authors.

Terry Burns, Hartline Literary

Terry is a native Texan living in Amarillo, Texas. For more than twenty-five years, he represented businesses, making deals and doing promotion. As a writer he sold much of his work himself and helped some of his friends publish before going with Hartline. He has six novels in print, work in a dozen short story collections, four non-fiction books and numerous articles and short stories. His down home presentation style is a favorite at programs, conferences and workshops. A graduate of West Texas State he did post grad work at Southern Methodist University. Terry plans to continue writing inspirational fiction as well as working with Hartline.The Hartline Literary Agency offers expert representation for authors writing both fiction and non-fiction for mainstream and inspirational markets.

Hartline literary agents have broad experience in writing, publishing, and book marketing.

Rebekah Clark, Sanford Communications

Rebekah is the Literary Director of Sanford Communications, Inc. The company’s literary and editorial agencies work closely with Christian leaders, ministries, and publishers to create new resources that will change people’s lives now and for eternity. As a literary agent, Rebekah has landed and negotiated contracts for dozens of books and loves working with SCI’s 80+ authors through every step of the book publishing process, from idea development and proposal creation to finished manuscript and marketing strategy. Rebekah has been published in a variety of periodicals and has been a contributing author and editor for several books and Bible projects, including three BibleZines™ (Thomas Nelson). She lives in Eugene, and enjoys reading, scrapbooking, being involved with her church, and traveling.

Clark is also an author and editor. She has been published in a variety of mainstream and Christian periodicals and has been a contributing author and editor for several books and Bible projects, including three BibleZines™ (Thomas Nelson). She lives in Eugene, where she enjoys playing violin with a local orchestra, being involved with her church, and traveling.

Alice Crider, Waterbrook Multnomah

Alice Crider is editorial coordinator at Multnomah Books, an imprint of the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. Her ten years in publishing started at Cook Communications, where she helped develop Sunday school curriculum before joining the adult trade book department. She moved to Alive Communications Literary Agency in 2001, and subsequently worked on the editorial team at Waterbrook Press. Alice has made creative contributions to a number of women’s non-fiction books and has published articles in Focus on the Family magazines.

Kathy Davis, Focus on the Family

Kathy Davis is managing editor at Focus on the Family Book Publishing, where she develops books and trains and supervises young editors and interns. She holds a BA in music from the University of South Florida and an MA in communication from Wheaton College. She’s the mom of three grown kids and one grandchild, and makes her home in Colorado Springs with her husband and two very badly trained dogs.

Judy Gann, Hopekeepers

Judy Gann is the acquisitions editor for HopeKeepers magazine, published by Rest Ministries, an international support ministry for people with chronic illness and chronic pain. She is the author of The God of All Comfort: Devotions of Hope for Those Who Chronically Suffer (AMG Publishers). A semi-retired librarian, she coordinates the Christian Authors Network (CAN)’s public library marketing efforts. She lives in Lakewood, Washington, where she enjoys cheering the Seattle Mariners, collecting children’s books of the 1940s and 1950s, and taking long walks—even in the rain.

Jeff Gerke, Marcher Lord Press

Jeff Gerke has been called the de facto gatekeeper of Christian spec-fic. He has a special place in his heart for Christian speculative fiction (SF, fantasy, supernatural thrillers, etc.) and maintains a thriving website dedicated to those genres: www.WhereTheMapEnds.com. Jeff has served as an editor for Multnomah Publishers, Strang Communications, and NavPress. While at Strang, Jeff launched Realms, the first-ever imprint of Christian speculative fiction. In October 2008 Jeff is launching Marcher Lord Press, an indie publishing company specializing in Christian speculative fiction. Jeff currently makes his living as a freelance editor and book doctor helping Christian novelists improve their fiction and get published. He is also a published novelist. Under the pen name Jefferson Scott he has authored six Christian novels and coauthored two nonfiction books. Jeff and his wife and two children live in Colorado Springs. They are adopting a little girl from China

Suzanne Hadley, Clubhouse/Clubhouse Jr. (Focus on the Family)

Suzanne Hadley is the associate editor of Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines. She has also written articles for Brio, Brio and Beyond, Breakaway, and Focus on the Family magazines and Boundless webzine. In her spare time, Hadley enjoys blogging and acting with an improvisational comedy troupe, Stick Horses in Pants.

David & Helen Haidle, Seed Faith Books

David and Helen Haidle

Nick Harrison, Harvest House

Nick Harrison is editor of both fiction and nonfiction at Harvest House Publishers in Eugene. Prior to that, he spent more than 20 years managing Christian bookstores while beginning a freelance writing and editing career. He has published articles in several magazines, including Publisher's Weekly and CCM. He is the author of several books, including Magnificent Prayer and Promised to Keep: Daily Devotions for Men Seeking Integrity. He and his wife, Beverly, are the parents of three adult daughters.

Elizabeth Jones, Sanford Communications

Elizabeth Jones is the Editorial Director for Sanford Communications. Since she came on staff with SCI in 2004, she has developed, restructured, and edited more than 20 books and scores of book proposals. Her discerning leadership enables SCI’s editorial team to efficiently handle a variety of projects with editorial excellence. Elizabeth also works with SCI’s authors to develop great ideas into marketable books. Her superb editorial skills make her a master at creating new book proposals, and many leading publishers applaud her work.

Sherri Langton, Bible Advocate

Sherri, associate editor of the Bible Advocate magazine and of Now What? e-zine, has worked in Christian publishing for 19 years. She is also a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Decision, Discipleship Journal, Today’s Christian Woman, and other publications. Sherri has contributed poetry and articles to the collections My Turn to Care, Teatime Stories for Women, Becoming a Godly Man, and Faces of Faith. In addition, she teaches workshops at several Christian writers’ conferences. Sherri lives in Denver, Colorado, where she enjoys playing drums and percussion at her church.

Chip MacGregor, MacGregor Literary

Chip is once again hanging around and bothering people. He made his living as a writer for years, then became an editor (serving as Senior Editor for two different CBA houses), before moving on to becoming a literary agent with Alive Communications. He then spent two years as a publisher at Time-Warner, “making us all wonder why he can’t hold a job.” An Oregon native, these days he’s keeping busy working as an agent, running MacGregor Literary, and going on endlessly about his Scottish ancestry. If you see him in a kilt, you may want to shield your eyes.

Chad McComas, The Christian Journal

Chad McComas has been the editor of The Christian Journal for the past eight years. He is also founding pastor for Set Free Christian Fellowship in Medford, Oregon. He has been married for over 32 years to Debi and has two children, Marci, 21, and Marc, 17. Chad feels it is a privilege to serve the Southern Oregon and Northern California community through the pages of The Christian Journal with articles and stories of inspiration and encouragement. He sees the paper as a great tool to network for Christians. The Christian Journal has also started a Christian business directory and added a Klamath Basin Edition this year. Chad serves as the board chair for two nonprofit organizations in Medford: Rogue Retreat, which provides affordable housing for the homeless, and DASIL, which serves the disabled population in Jackson County. He also sits on the board for Interfaith Care Community, which provides social services for the community and transitional housing for veterans. 

Barbara Milligan, STEPS, Spiritual Mentor

Barbara Milligan is the associate editor of STEPS magazine, published by the National Association for Christian Recovery. She is the author of Desperate Hope: Experiencing God in the Midst of Breast Cancer (IVP), and she has nearly 20 years of experience as a freelance copyeditor and developmental editor of nonfiction books. In addition, she is a spiritual director.

Dan Penwell, AMG

Dan Penwell is the author of several books, Manager of Product Development & Acquisitions for AMG Publishers, a seminary graduate, former pastor, Family Christian Bookstore Manager (1972-1978), Director of Marketing/Purchasing for Family Christian Stores (1978-1989), Manager of Product Development/Acquisitions for World Bible Publishers (1989-1996), and Hendrickson Publishers [CBD] (1996-2001). While at AMG Publishers in Chattanooga, Dan has led AMG Publishers from publishing 3–5 titles a year to publishing over 30 new titles a year.

Karen Schurrer, Bethany House Publishers

Karen is an editor in the Adult Fiction department at Bethany House, a leading publisher of Christian fiction. She has worked with authors in a wide variety of genres and particularly enjoys working with new authors and growing with those authors as they continue to write. Karen lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, Jeff. They love to travel and check out houses in more temperate climates (have you ever suffered through a Minnesota winter?) that they might buy for their “golden years,” and this fall she is going to become a grandmother for the first time.

Kimberly Shumate, Harvest House

Kimberly is the manuscript coordinator for Harvest House Publishers in Eugene, where she has been employed since 1997. She is also a screenwriter of 12 years and has book contributions and magazine articles to her credit. Her appearances on radio, as well as on the “700 Club,” are always well-received.

Paul Smith, Gospel Publishing House

Paul W. Smith is the director of Editorial Services for Gospel Publishing House in Springfield, Missouri. He and his staff provide editorial services (hence the name of the department) for publications ranging from brochures to books and everything in between. For the seventeen years, he had direct editorial oversight of Radiant Life adult and young adult Sunday school curriculum as well as LIVE, a take home paper for adults, and God’s Word for Today, a daily devotional. Paul is an ordained minister and is the author of many articles and several correspondence courses including the institute-level courses Eschatology, History and Polity of the Assemblies of God, and Ministry After 50: Motivating Adults to Minister, and a college-level course based on A Biblical Theology of Prayer by Dr. J. Robert Ashcroft.
His hobbies include collecting finely crafted sculptures by Thomas Blackshear, mugs from the cities he visits, and Star Trek memorabilia. He has also been seen roaming the backwoods of Arkansas outfitted as a Roman soldier trying to experience what it might have been like to live in the first century AD.

His hobbies include collecting finely crafted sculptures by Thomas Blackshear, mugs from the cities he visits, and Star Trek memorabilia. He has also been seen roaming the backwoods of Arkansas outfitted as a Roman soldier trying to experience what it might have been like to live in the first century AD.

Sue Teubner, Strang Communications

Sue Teubner is the new acquisitions editor for Creation House Books, an imprint of Strang Communications, and has been in publishing for nine years. First as contract administrator for Thomas Nelson, Sue handled everything from international licensing and foreign rights to contract development and author negotiations. From there Sue moved into acquiring new authors for Bridge-Logos. There, she found her love and passion, which is to develop new authors, get them acclimated to the publishing world, and encourage them through the writing process. Authors feel safe with Sue, knowing that their life messages will be treated with respect, professionalism, and uniqueness. Sue now lives in Lake Mary, FL, and enjoys going to the beach, kayaking, biking, and reading a good book.

Ellen Traylor, Port Hole Books

Ellen Gunderson Traylor, “America’s Foremost Biblical Novelist,” is a gifted storyteller who brings characters of the Bible to life. Her many bestselling novels have sold about a million copies in English, with numerous foreign translations.

Traylor’s novels include Song of Abraham, John - Son of Thunder, Mary Magdalene, Noah, Ruth - A Love Story, Jonah, Esther, Joseph - Dreamer of Dreams, Mark – Eyewitness, Moses - The Deliverer, Joshua – God’s Warrior, Samson, and Jerusalem - the City of God. The Priest is her first contemporary novel, a story of international intrigue regarding the Israeli efforts to rebuild their ancient temple, followed by The Oracle. Gabriel - The War in Heaven is the first in her new series. In addition to writing bestselling novels, Traylor has been a magazine/newspaper columnist and correspondent. An award-winning feature writer, Traylor has written screenplays and political speeches, and was a contributing writer and researcher for the Tyndale Family Bible Encyclopedia project. A former English and journalism instructor, Traylor has taught courses at virtually every level, including those she created on writing for publication for Whitworth College and Eastern Washington University. Her “Write-On! Seminars” teach the ropes to published and aspiring writers.

Traylor has created and taught fiction-writing classes for the Mount Hermon and Seattle Pacific University’s Christian Writers’ Conferences. Traylor has been a television and radio talk-show host. She has been interviewed by numerous magazines and newspapers and has been a guest on national radio and television programs. Traylor is the mother of two sons. She and her husband, Richard Schulz, divide their time between Montana and Oregon, and Traylor owns Port Hole Books, a unique bookstore on the Oregon Coast.

Rachel Whitaker, Guide

Rachel Whitaker is associate editor of Guide, a weekly Christian magazine for kids ages 10-14 featuring all true stories. One of her favorite parts of the job is reading manuscript submissions, looking for exciting, inspiring stories of God's involvement in the lives of young people.

A writer since age 9, Rachel has published dozens of articles for children, teens, and adults in Christian magazines such as Focus on the Family Clubhouse, Winner, and Women of Spirit. She authors a bimonthly column in Guide called Girl Talk. Before coming to Guide in 2002, she spent two years as staff writer for a trade publication covering the retail industry in Michigan.

Jill Williamson, Wild Rose Press

Jill Williamson is the senior editor of the young adult line at the Wild Rose Press. She enjoys working with authors to edit their books for publication. She has worked alongside her husband as a youth pastor for the past nine years and loves working with teenagers. She runs an online website and critique group for teen writers at http://www.teenageauthor.com/. She enjoys helping new writers develop their skill.

Jill is also a young adult author. Her work has appeared in a variety of Christian periodicals. She lives in John Day, Oregon with her husband and two children.

Connie Willems from Discipleship Journal

Connie is Editor of Discipleship Journal. From her background in radio to her experiences in a local church, Connie’s communication background spans broadcasting, teaching, and many forms of writing. When she’s not playing with words she enjoys experimenting with new recipes and discovering the mountains.