Zondervan to ‘reassess’ next Gosselin book

Written by Eric Tiansay

Thursday, 25 June 2009 03:05 PM America/New_York

In the wake of Jon and Kate Gosselin revealing their plans to divorce earlier this week during an episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8--their hit reality TV series on TLC--Zondervan says the publisher won't pull the couple's books, but it will "reassess the schedule" for Kate's next book.

"We are not planning to pull Multiple Blessings and Eight Little Faces," Zondervan publicist Karen Campbell told Christian Retailing.

Revealing details of the couple's journey as they raise their eight children, Jon and Kate's Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving With Twins and Sextuplets was on The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction best-seller list for several weeks and has sold more than 500,000 copies since it was released Oct. 14. The book was a finalist in the Christian Life category of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association Christian Book Awards earlier this year. Kate's gift book, Eight Little Faces: A Mom's Journey, also reached The New York Times Hardcover Advice best-seller list after it was released April 14.

Zondervan's Web site currently promotes Kate's cookbook--Love Is in the Mix: Making Meals Into Memories--scheduled to come out in November, but its release date is now being re-evaluated.

"We are saddened by this news from the Gosselins and will continue to lift both Jon and Kate and their children up in prayer" Moe Girkins, Zondervan's president and CEO, said in a statement to Christian Retailing. "We respect their need for time to focus on their family during this difficult time, and we will work with Kate to reassess the schedule for her next book with Zondervan."

According to marketing copy for the 240-page Love Is in the Mix, the cookbook will feature "meaningful mealtime blessings, how to begin eating organically and how to feed a large family on a budget," while offering an "inside look at one of America's most famous close-knit families."

TLC has announced that a retrospective of Jon and Kate's 10-year marriage would air June 29, followed by a hiatus until Aug. 3, the Associated Press reported. The network suspended filming on its top-rated program June 23 to allow the Gosselin family to "regroup."