Ever wonder how Christian children’s books wind up on store shelves? How retailers find new books and decide what to carry? One way is the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS), the annual trade show of the Christian Booksellers Association. I just came back from ICRS 2014 in Atlanta, and I thought I would share the experience with you.

This annual event brings publishers and retailers–and authors–together for a few days each summer. Publishers promote and showcase new titles. Authors sign books and meet with publishers. Retailers listen to sales pitches and place orders. Music and gift products fill the show floor too. There’s a lot to see!

Although fewer publishers are producing Christian children’s books and those that are have decreased their number of new titles, the books we’ll soon be seeing, reading, and talking about include some fabulous ones! Dr. Mary Manz Simon introduced many of them in her Children’s Product Trends seminar. Here’s author Ruthanne VandenBosch ready to give out copies of her new book Life Is Sweet: Baking Devotions for Kids.

Karen Whiting, who guest posts here at Christian Children’s Authors, won Christian Retailing magazine’s Best Award in the children’s nonfiction category for her book The One Year My Princess Devotions. Karen’s daughter Rebecca White attended the show with her mom, and they signed copies of the new book they wrote together, Nature Girl.

Karen and other authors from the Christian Authors Network (CAN) who write for children and families spoke at the Logos Christian Bookstores conference before ICRS began. Here I am with Kathy Cassel, Karen Whiting, Rebecca White, Grace Fox, and Carol McAdams Moore, waiting to go in.

I made a long list of books to review and recommend here at Christian Children’s Authors and on my blog and Facebook author page. From picture books to devotionals to nonfiction about Bible places and people to fiction for tweens, there will be so many great titles to tell you about!

DIANE