Nashville, TN) Winners were announced this week for a nationwide treasure hunt, part of the release celebration for The Skin Map, the “anything but ordinary” (BookPage) debut of bestselling author Stephen R. Lawhead’s much-anticipated five-book Bright Empires series. The ambitious series, dubbed by Lawhead as the “super-fantasy” he’s been writing in his head for more than 15 years, is the ultimate quest for the ultimate treasure, chasing a map tattooed on human skin, across an omniverse of intersecting realities, to unravel the future of the future.
The geocaching adventure was developed for Thomas Nelson by C. Grant & Co, with online components and physical caches hidden in all 50 states. Stephanie Daugherty received the grand prize: a customized The Skin Map iPad preloaded with a copy of the book. David Kouts won an original painting by Stephen R. Lawhead and a personal phone call with the author, as part of a hidden website contest available exclusively to fans who attended one of Lawhead’s September tour stops to receive extra clues. The treasure hunt campaign resulted in more than 1,200 new Facebook fans for Lawhead, and was so popular, one fan started a new hunt to continue the online fun for other fans.
Earlier this year, through an online poll, the author’s fans suggested locations for Lawhead’s US tour. The author visited multiple bookstores in and around each of the tour cities: Denver, CO; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; Boston, MA; Nashville, TN; Dallas, TX; Austin, TX. Generations of fans, some who’ve read Lawhead’s books for decades and have introduced them to their children, attended evening events in each city, armed with questions for the beloved author. As Lawhead, originally from Kearney, NE, now lives in Oxford, England, the tour served as a rare opportunity for interaction with American readers.
Over the past 30 years, Lawhead has published 25 critically-acclaimed fantasies, translated into 25 languages, with more than 3 million copies in print. In 2008, Lawhead’s Scarlet, part of the King Raven trilogy, won the Christy Award in the Visionary category. The Bone House—second in the Bright Empires series—will release in September 2011.
About Thomas Nelson
Thomas Nelson is the largest Christian publisher in the world and the seventh largest trade book publisher in the United States. The company has three major publishing groups: Bible & Reference, Trade Books, and Specialty Products. While publishing is still at the heart of Nelson does, the company is also the leading producer of live events in the Christian market with its Women of Faith and Revolve conferences. The company is more open than ever to explore the use of new technologies and formats to fulfill the simple vision of our founder to “honor God and serve people.” Katie Bond, Publicity Manager, Thomas Nelson Fiction; kbond@thomasnelson.com
About C. Grant & Company
C. Grant & Company is a Chicago-area integrated marketing and social media firm that helps leaders across North America create momentum and shape different, better futures. The firm has a special focus on book marketing, working with leading publishers to craft breakthrough promotional campaigns to support lead titles and author brands. Tiffany Self, C. Grant & Company; tiffany@cgrantandcompany.com
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