THE Church of Scotland today has signed an agreement with Hymns Ancient and Modern for the outsourcing of the Church’s book publishing imprint – Saint Andrew Press.
Begins a spokesperson: “Under this agreement, Saint Andrew Press will continue to publish a broad range of high-quality titles to support the ministry and mission of the Church of Scotland and the wider religious community, with Hymns Ancient & Modern (HA&M) acting as its production, sales, marketing and distribution arm.
“Ann Crawford of Saint Andrew Press will become an HA&M employee and will continue to be based in Scotland, commissioning new Saint Andrew Press books for its wide readership.
“St Andrew Press books are now available from Norwich Books and Music, the distribution arm of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd.
“HA&M provides a similar service for the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England and their Church House Publishing imprint.”
Commenting on the agreement, Dominic Vaughan, CEO of HA&M, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Church of Scotland on this prestigious publishing programme and to be able to provide the continuity that is so important to us all.
“The agreement is further example of the role of Hymns Ancient & Modern as a publishing service provider as well as a renowned publisher in our own right.”
Reverend Mark Johnstone, Convenor of the Mission and Discipleship Council of the Church of Scotland, said: “As we worked on this agreement our confidence in Hymns Ancient and Modern to support and deliver for St Andrew Press has been affirmed.
“With a solid foundation and increased capacity we look forward to serving the needs of the faith community in Scotland and beyond.”
Ends
Notes to news desks:
St Andrew Press publishes six-to-ten new books per annum: best-sellers include the William Barclay New Daily Study Bible series (worldwide sales of c. 17m copies in many languages), the annual Church of Scotland Yearbook, Reformation, A Glasgow Bible and the successful Pray Now series. It has a backlist of around 200 titles.
Hymns A&M Ltd is a registered charity, with the aim of promoting the advancement of religion. It publishes around 100 new books per annum under its own imprints – Canterbury Press and SCM Press. It also owns Church House Bookshop in central London and the books and music distributor Norwich Books and Music as well as the weekly newspaper Church Times. Hymns A&M Ltd currently employs 70 staff in Norwich and London. In 2011, Hymns Ancient & Modern is celebrating the 150 years since the publication of its first hymn book.
Hymns Ancient and Modern also publish – on behalf of the Church of Scotland – Church Hymnary 4. Sales of all editions are now in excess of 208 000 copies.
Norwich Books and Music the distribution division of Hymns Ancient & Modern Ltd is at 13a Hellesdon Park Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 5DR Tel 01603 785925
For further information please contact:
Stuart Wilson head of communications, the Church of Scotland:
0131 240 2243 swilson@cofscotland.org.uk
Michael Addison sales and marketing director Hymns Ancient and Modern
0207 776 7551 michael@hymnsam.co.uk
MEDIA RELEASE posted by the Church of Scotland. You too can post media releases (aka press releases) on allmediascotland.com. For more information, email here.
Contact: Gordon Bell
Phone: 0131 240 2204
Email: gbell@cofscotland.org.uk
Website: http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk
