Moe Girkins – a loss to our industry
Doug Ross talks to the former head of Zondervan and encounters a woman who is gracious, savvy and trusting God!
Maureen (Moe) Girkins became Zondervan’s President and CEO in December 2007, leaving earlier this year when HarperCollins did not renew her contract. This raised a lot of questions and she graciously granted me an interview. On the phone I remarked how disconcerting it was to say “Hi Moe” when I really did not know her. But she is gracious – yet one can tell determined, savvy and certainly knows her way around. Moe has a strong sense of
God’s leading in her life. She strongly believes God called her to Zondervan “for a time” to bring an “outsider influence” and “that was true for Doug Lockhart (her predecessor) – and God has different plans for me and
“… the
internet and e-book is going to be the primary distribution channel in the very near future.”
different plans for Zondervan.” When she learned her Mother was terminally ill - the silver lining in the cloud of leaving Zondervan was - “my being able to spend four weeks with her before she died and that was a precious time I would not have had otherwise.” Moe’s only publishing experience prior to Zondervan was her authorship of a book – Mother’s Lead Best – a book about how Motherhood is the best training for women to assume leadership roles. It is no longer in print. She observes that “Publishing is at a clear inflection point, whether secular or Christian, but Christian publishing is in a better position because they know who their audience is – most have strong relationships with Christian groups of people and enjoy tight partnerships. The connectivity Christian publishers have goes beyond the bookstore and this is a huge advantage.” The decline of Christian retail is “frustrating –
totally frustrating – but you can take advantage of this or be paralysed. A tension exists today between the hope that print books will remain the main method of publishing and the vision I believe all publishers must have to recognise that the internet and e-book is going to be the primary distribution channel in the very near future. For maximum effectiveness distributing the Word of God, Christian publishers must invest in this area.” Using Lifeway – Southern Baptist, Broadman
Doug Ross is President Emeritus of ECPA and Executive Director Global Literature Connection
and Lifeway Christian Stores as an example - she observed that they have the best opportunity – as do other Christian publishers - to sell direct, to take their product to Church members. They can find
out what their customers want and need because of the direct connection they enjoy. Particularly when it comes to selling curriculum they can serve the Church and its members quite effectively. Retail bookstores – both Christian and General
trade - are disappearing at a rapid rate due to the easy availability of a large selection from direct selling organisations Amazon and Christian Books Distributor (CBD), and now the e-book. Moe agreed with me that the decline of Christian Retail, whilst regrettable, does make it possible for Christian publishers to be more aggressive selling direct to Churches and consumers. Moe said: “There is a future for the Christian retail
store - for some absolutely yes – people will always need Christian material and other resources. Christian retail can sell Christian product better than a Wal-Mart or a Barnes & Noble because they know both the customer and the product better – or at least they should!” Moe says, “I loved working at Zondervan –
every day I loved it – it was the best job in the whole world. I enjoyed the people the authors, the industry.” And when I talked with Zondervan people it was obvious they respected her as well. One said; “We are good friends”. Moe did not want to discuss the reasons
behind her departure - but she did confirm that she enjoyed working with HarperCollins and their professionalism. As I have always known - and she confirmed - HarperCollins has never interfered with the Christian message of Zondervan. That is what I found time and again where general trade companies own Christian publishers. The myth of editorial interference continues, however, to abound. I asked why Zondervan had not published Rob
Bell’s book Love Wins and Moe said that to her knowledge it was never submitted to Zondervan. That was confirmed when, at Moe’s suggestion, I called Verne Kenney, Executive Vice-President of Zondervan and asked the same question – he too said “It was not submitted to us.” It did not sound to me like Moe Girkins will be pursuing opportunities in publishing but wherever she lands she will make a difference and will do whatever it is she believes God wants her to do. Losing her from our industry is our loss. Quite frankly, and this is just my personal opinion, Publishing – Christian or General - has never been too successful bringing in top leadership from other industries. HarperCollins is now faced with the daunting task of finding a President for Zondervan who follows two short-termed presidencies following the sterling leadership of Bruce Ryskamp – indeed a hard act to follow.
16 June 2011
www.christianmarketplace.org.uk EQUIPPING FROM ACROSS THE POND by Doug Ross
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