Christian Retailing

Karen Kingsbury expands brand, launches radio show Print Email
Written by Christine D. Johnson   
Thursday, 27 March 2014 10:33 AM America/New_York

KarenKingsbury-webKaren Kingsbury, best-selling author of “Life-Changing Fiction,” now has an opportunity to interact with an even broader audience through her newly launched national radio show. Her new greeting card line also just released, and she is writing her first book that is a study of the Bible.

“The Karen Kingsbury Show” will launch in partnership with Salem Radio Networks in April in 39 markets, broadcasting from 94FM The Fish flagship station in Nashville on weekdays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Accessible online at TodaysChristianMusic.com, the show will offer stories and conversation between songs. Salem’s Family Fiction magazine also will be rebranded as Karen Kingsbury’s Family Fiction.

“I feel like I'm living a dream,” Kingsbury said. “I never could've imagined having my own national radio show. My new friends and co-workers at Salem are the best in the business. I can't wait to do my part to tell the nation and the world about this network's life-changing music.”

Kingsbury, along with her daughter, Kelsey Kupecky, launched “Possibilities” a mother-daughter card line from DaySpring available this month in approximately 3,500 stores. The cards are designed for various occasions, from birthday and wedding to Praying for You and Thank You. The Hallmark division has plans to expand the line to include products such as journals, mugs, calendars, DayBrighteners, office and desk accessories, and home décor.

“We fell in love with how Karen’s values and our values align,” Brenda Turner, DaySpring’s director of communications, told Christian Retailing. “We just feel like there’s perfect alignment there. Her readers are our core consumers.”

The line also builds on the relationship between mothers and daughters.

“There’s certainly a tie to Karen’s readers, but I think there’s such an appeal about the encouragement of this mother-daughter relationship,” Turner said.

Kingsbury’s The Family of Jesus (Howard Books, $19.99) will release July 1 as part of the new “Life-Changing Bible Study Series.” The book aims to provide an emotional connection to the Bible, intertwining scriptural truth and a fictional view of six of Jesus’ family members: Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, John the Baptist, Elizabeth and James. An accompanying workbook from LifeWay Christian Resources will release simultaneously with the book.

The Family of Jesus comes off the heels of her latest fiction success, Fifteen Minutes, which is set to release from Howard Books in trade paper format next week.