November 3, 2014—Colorado Springs, CO – Cue the trumpets and light the candles! It’s party time at Alive Communications, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary and using the occasion to rebrand itself with a new name, website, and logo. It also announces new signings for major new productions in television and film, and millions in new book deals by the end of the year.
“We changed our name from Alive Communications to Alive Literary Agency, and unveiled a fresh new look across the board,” announced founder and president Rick Christian. “This anniversary presents a great opportunity to celebrate our legacy efforts, but also to freshen things up with a total makeover, and showcase the tremendous momentum of our team this coming year in Hollywood and across all publishing sectors.”
“When I started Alive in 1989, I could never have imagined the scope of the agency’s influence today. We’ve represented some 4,000 titles that have sold over 200 million copies, including countless New York Times bestsellers–13 of which have hit in their #1 slot,” Christian said.
This anniversary year also saw the launch of a major motion picture from Tri-Star/Sony, adapted from Heaven is for Real that has grossed over $126 million to date on a budget of $12 million. Randall Wallace of “Braveheart,” “Secretariat,” and “We Were Soldiers” wrote the screenplay and directed the picture.
On the heels of this success, Paramount Pictures has announced the beginning of production for another Alive bestseller, Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent, about a modern-day slave, an international art dealer, and the unlikely woman who bound them together. Academy Award-nominees Greg Kinnear and Djimon Hounsou, and Academy Award-winners Renee Zellweger and Jon Voight, have been signed to the film.
“We’re definitely carving important new territory in the world of film and also now in TV, with the Hallmark Channel closing on a deal to air next year two original productions from our long-time client and #1 New York Times bestseller Karen Kingsbury,” Christian said. The first up will be A Time to Dance next summer, followed by The Bridge in December.
He said cameras will also be turned on next year for another major theatrical release based on Kingsbury’s rodeo novel, A Thousand Tomorrows, and reported that negotiations are wrapping this month for a television series for mainstream network TV that will be adapted from her phenomenally successful Baxter family novels, most of which have topped national sales charts, including Loving, which debuted #1 on the New York Times list.
“We have retained dramatic and performance rights on our properties for our entire time in existence. With the uptick in successful inspirational films, we’re inking deals right and left with major Emmy-winning television producers, and attracting Oscar-winning talent on the film side,” he said.
“It’s been a great run these first 25 years, but we’re not about to rest on our laurels,” he said. “Alive is moving into the next quarter century with a Triple A team that’s dedicated to discovering and serving this next generation of creatives and culture changers. To that end, we’re continuing to sign some of our biggest book publishing deals ever, even as naysayers claim the sky is falling among book readers. Our book revenues will be up double digits over last year, and we’ll close book deals for new clients of about $5 million between now and year’s end.”
“It’s certainly an exciting time to be Alive, and also to witness the tremendous growth of our sister epublishing company Bondfire Books,” Christian said, extending an invitation to visit their newly designed website at www.aliveliterary.com.
About Alive Literary: Alive Literary Agency is located in Colorado Springs, CO, and best known for such mega-sellers as Todd Burpo’s Heaven is for Real, which dominated the New York Times bestseller’s list for more than three years, sold 10 million copies, and was adapted for the Spring 2014 box office hit written and directed by Randall Wallace for TriStar Pictures; the Left Behind series (70 million copies); Eugene Peterson’s The Message (20 million copies); Karen Kingsbury’s novels (25 million copies), Lisa Beamer’s post 9-11 Let’s Roll! (1.5 million copies), and Steve Arterburn and Dave Stoop’s Life Recovery Bible (3 million copies). Books represented by Alive have sold more than 200 million copies since its inceptions in 1989. Other authors in its stable include the Henri Nouwen Trust, Brian Welch, Rich Stearns, She Reads Truth, Valorie Burton, the late Brennan Manning, Michael Hyatt, Daniel Harkavey, Anne Graham Lotz, Tim Downs, Alister McGrath, Lynn Vincent, Emerson Eggerichs, Elisa Morgan, Ray Johnston, Jamie Blaine, Brandon Hatmaker, and Nick Hall.
In 2012, Alive launched a sister e-publishing company, Bondfire Books. Working with other agencies and notable authors, Bondfire Books attracted early acclaim by paying 50% royalties, double the industry standard, and by negotiating short five-year renewable licenses instead of the usual grant for the lifetime of copyright. It utilizes print partnerships with established publishers for retail distribution. Its list features ebook exclusives from a select group of authors, including #1 New York Times best-seller Karen Kingsbury, Eugene H. Peterson, translator of The Message Bible, and Brennan Manning. All of its titles are sold through major online etailers and are readable on all primary electronic devices.
