WND launchesnew book imprint

WorldNetDaily, the Internet's leading independent newssite, and Thomas Nelson Publishers, a top-10 company worldwide in its field, have created a new book-publishing joint venture, WND Books, with the first titles planned for release later this year.

The new imprint will publish a wide variety of titles, including a book authored by radio talk-show sensation Michael Savage, one by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris and another by Jack Cashill and James Sanders on the downing of TWA Flight 800.

WND Books plans to offer as many as a dozen titles in 2003 – books that will often be sold first to WorldNetDaily readers online and then distributed in bookstores throughout America.

"This is an unprecedented partnership between an established top-10 book-publishing company and a top content producer in the new medium of the Internet," said WorldNetDaily Editor and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Farah.

While WorldNetDaily was founded in 1997, Thomas Nelson has been around since 1798. WorldNetDaily is privately owned. Thomas Nelson is publicly owned and traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

Thomas Nelson has annual revenues approaching $300 million, is the largest religious publisher in the world and the 10th largest book publisher of any kind. Its list of best-selling authors includes Billy Graham, John Maxwell, Charles Swindoll, John Eldredge and Max Lucado.

One of the first products to be offered by the new imprint will be a political and cultural bombshell by Savage, an explosive new national talk-radio sensation, heard on more than 300 stations and dominating many of the major markets in which his program is heard.

Savage, the first author signed for WND Books, is responsible for the fastest-growing talk show in history, according to Talk Radio Network, his national syndicator. An independent-minded individualist, Michael Savage fits no stereotype. He attacks big government and liberal media bias, but champions the environment and animal rights.

Katherine Harris, who rocketed to public attention in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election as Florida's secretary of state, will share her principles on leadership. Harris' advice about "sticking to your guns" and "staring down the dog" carry special weight in light of the stormy, months-long controversy that finally resulted in George W. Bush's election as president.

Cashill and Sanders will team up to write a book follow-up to their documentary film, "Silenced: Flight 800 and the Subversion of Justice," an expose of government-stifled evidence suggesting the airliner was shot down. The book will present startling new evidence gathered since the making of the documentary.

Other projects in the pipeline include the first-hand account of Pat Roush, an American woman whose Saudi Arabian husband kidnapped their two daughters more than 16 years ago. The story details her battles with both the Saudi Arabian and U.S. governments for the return of the children and casts light on the U.S.-Saudi alliance – a loyalty-for-oil arrangement made more relevant than ever since Sept. 11 and the ongoing Saudi-backed intifada in Israel.

WorldNetDaily's youngest star, Kyle Williams, will also make his book-publishing debut, focusing on embattled outposts in the culture wars. Among other topics, the 13-year-old pundit will address the attack on the family, liberal bias in education and the media, abortion and homosexual rights, the separation of church and state and government paternalism.

Longtime WorldNetDaily Commentary Editor Joel Miller has been named as managing editor of WND Books. He will serve as the point man in securing new titles, developing proposals for consideration by the publications board and as primary editor of the books. Assistant Commentary Editor Tom Ambrose succeeds Miller as the new commentary editor.

"We're very excited about the opportunity this new imprint brings to Thomas Nelson," said Michael Hyatt, executive vice president and group publisher. "WorldNetDaily brings passion, energy and creativity to this project that we do not believe could be found anywhere else. We hope to capitalize on the amazing accomplishments of the company on the Internet and extend its brand into a new arena of book publishing."

WorldNetDaily has become a major force in book sales, which represent the largest revenue source for the Internet company. The newssite's online store sold more than 100,000 books in 2001, a figure believed to be higher than any other Internet content site and rivaled only by a handful of major online book retailers.

"Beginning in 2003, we'll have our own titles to sell – books developed specifically with our readership in mind," explained Farah. "We believe this will mean significantly higher sales and a major breakthrough in publishing edgy titles that might scare away the major players in the publishing industry establishment."

"WorldNetDaily is first and foremost an innovative news agency, and our titles will reflect that focus – they will be timely, newsworthy and often examining topics the establishment publishing industry ignores," said WorldNetDaily Senior Editor and Co-founder Elizabeth Farah.