NASHVILLE, Tenn. –From hundreds of entry titles published this past year, the Christian Book Awards selected five finalists in six categories based on editorial excellence and category-specific criteria. The winners were announced at the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Awards banquet held Monday, May 2, during their annual Executive Leadership Summit in Colorado Springs, Colorado. B&H was one of them, winning the 2011 Bible of the Year Award.

“The HCSB Study Bible represents the passion and labor of more than a hundred of the best scholars in evangelicalism, plus many people at B&H Publishing Group who lent their expertise to the design, production, marketing and sales of this kingdom tool,” says Managing Acquisitions Editor Jeremy Howard. “We are all honored by the ECPA Christian Book Award ECPA has granted us.  Our prayer is that for many years to come, the HCSB Study Bible will continue to have the outstanding impact it has had in the eight months since its release.”

The HCSB Study Bible has unique qualifiers that set it apart from other study Bibles, and these are the direct result of its readers. Prince Market Research approached an equal number of “study Bible users” and ”non-study Bible users” via online surveys, focus groups in four key Bible markets, and individual survey mailings, all in effort to identify the most important elements for an optimal study Bible layout. Their findings steered the design process, which included a more manageable size, a two-column format, fewer photos, color references placed in between the two columns, and a more readable 9-point font.

It is more compact in size at 2,100 pages, because focus groups stressed quality, not quantity. The scholars, contributors, and editors focused on what users said mattered most: practical word studies; charts, maps, illustrations, and timelines that contribute to the understanding of a passage, rather than interfering with the text or reading itself.

“What led us to be so discriminate about the notes we included is that input from study Bible users reflected their desire to have necessary, relevant notes within the context of the Scripture being studied. That meant information – notes, maps, illustrations – should be concise and impactful, plus easy to find,” Howard says.

Touting the consumer input they invested in the project, B&H is promoting the HCSB Study Bible with the tagline: “You asked for it, we listened. The Bible people want is the Bible we built.”

Digital versions of the HCSB Study Bible are available five ways: a digital study Bible; a digital reference Bible; digital text-only; HSCB Study Bible app for iPhone and iPad; and for four months, a free HSCB translation app at YouVersion.com for smartphones. In addition, at the beta website mystudyBible.com, readers have access to the complete commentary notes as well as the text of the HCSB Study Bible.

ABOUT THE HCSB TRANSLATION
The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is the result of a 20-year project to develop a faithful, all new translation from the original texts. The HCSB is translated directly from the original Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. Many popular versions are actually revisions of earlier translations, while the HCSB is one of the few entirely original translations in recent years. Every word choice is based on the disciplined, up-to-date scholarship of a team of cross-denominational men and women who had at their disposal a wealth of current research and new information technologies. Everything from style to format to word choice were considered to create what B&H Publishing Group believes is a translation that contributes to a better understanding of God and his word. B&H is America’s oldest Bible publisher.

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To receive a review copy or to set up an interview, contact Babs Chandrasoma: Babs@prbythebook.com or 512-501-4399 x706.