The Christian imprint of general market publishing house Simon & Schuster (S&S) since 2006, Howard Books is repositioning itself as a trade book publisher in the "New York of Christian publishing," according to Jonathan Merkh, Howard's vice president and publisher.

The company has shifted from publishing gift books—Howard was known for its best-selling "Hugs" series among others—to focus only on trade titles.

"Present market conditions are dictating that more than anything else," said Merkh, noting the fragmentation of the gift industry and that gift books "have not been as successful as they used to be."

Howard Books celebrated the opening of its new offices in Nashville with an Open House event in September. For strategic reasons, the company had moved in July to Nashville from West Monroe, La., where it had been located since its founding 40 years ago by the father of John Howard, formerly vice president and publisher.

Howard is banking on names like Jim Wallis, editor in chief of Sojourners magazine, and Debbie Macomber—a New York Times best-selling novelist who has done some nonfiction—to make their mark.

Wallis' book with Howard—one that Merkh said Howard probably would not have published in the past—is slated for release in January 2010. Based on a speech he made this past January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Rediscovering Values on Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street aims to help readers rethink their approach to life.

Howard also will be seeking to establish more of a presence for Macomber in the Christian market, as even her current titles are "appropriate" for Christians, Merkh said, adding that he has "high expectations" for her. Macomber's Fishes and Loaves: Living in a Spirit of Generosity, the first of two inspirational nonfiction titles with Howard, is coming out this fall.

Howard's move to Nashville follows several transitions for the company, with Merkh being named vice president and publisher in March and with the May departure of John Howard.

"The executive team at Simon & Schuster thought that it would be beneficial if Howard were in Nashville in order to be more centrally located and involved and around publishing action in Nashville," Merkh said.

The move—celebrated in an open house Sept. 15 by about 150 authors, publishing executives and others—was made three years after the acquisition as S&S was "doing business and feeling like they weren't getting completely where they wanted to be as far as some of the proposals and interaction with agents and things like that," he said.

Although other places were considered, Nashville was chosen because of the concentrated presence of the Christian publishing community there, with agents and authors frequently visiting the area.

"We want to leverage the muscle of a Simon & Schuster to acquire and publish books," Merkh said. "I think that that leverage was underutilized, and so we want to take on more of a corporate identity and communicate to agents and authors and to retailers that … Howard is a part of S&S, and we have capabilities that up to this point were not leveraged properly."