A person’s journey is the true reflection of hard work, consistency, and determination put in. They are people who give in their 100% and make sure that things work out of them, simultaneously giving back to the world. One such personality is Byron Williamson, who is also the recipient of The ECPA Chair’s Award, along with many others.
The ECPA Chair’s Award was presented to Byron Williamson for his lifetime achievements in Christian publishing, where his legacy includes producing thousands of books, representing hundreds of millions of copies sold around the world in more than 50 languages. The award was presented by ECPA chairman Jeff Crosby during ECPA’s Annual Awards Celebration on May 6, 2021. ECPA president Stan Jantz make the announcement.
ECPA is the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, including imprints from HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Tyndale House, and Simon & Schuster.
Williamson’s career began in1984 with the first iteration of Worthy Publishing, where he published hit music artists, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. Byron also conceived the 12+ million-copy bestselling International Children’s Bible (ICB), promoted by Dr. James Dobson on national radio, and the companion version for adults, the New Century Version (NCV), advertised by Billy Graham on national television.
Worthy was sold in 1988 to Word Publishing, a CapCities/ABC subsidiary (now the Walt Disney Company), where Byron was named Group Publisher, publishing Billy Graham and signing such New York Times bestsellers as Max Lucado, Dr. James Dobson, Charles Colson, Charles R. Swindoll, Pat Robertson, and MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan.
After Word was acquired by Thomas Nelson Publishers in late 1992, and Nelson was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Williamson was named President and Group Publisher. He signed such national bestsellers as John Maxwell, Frank Peretti, and John Eldredge and launched the new imprints that quickly became industry leaders, including Tommy Nelson children’s books and the J Countryman gift book imprint.
Williamson left Nelson to found Integrity Publishers in 2001, publishing Sarah Young’s 40 million-copy bestselling brand, Jesus Calling, as well as New York Times bestsellers Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore, Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs, God Will Make a Way by Henry Cloud and John Townsend, and Max Lucado’s NYT hit, It’s Not About Me. In 2006 Integrity was acquired by Thomas Nelson Publishers, now a division of Harper Collins Publishers.
In 2011 Byron re-launched Worthy Publishing, signing and developing the 600,000- copy bestseller, The Jeremiah Study Bible, first introduced at an event at Madison Square Garden, as well as publishing the mega-bestselling Left Behind author, Jerry Jenkins, and such personalities as Katherine Schwarzenegger, BeBe Winans, Mike Huckabee, Stephen Mansfield, and Franklin Graham. In 2017 Williamson published a line of titles with the Museum of the Bible, just opening in Washington DC.
Worthy was acquired in 2018 by Hachette USA, the third-largest publisher in the world. As he stepped away from Hachette, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) presented Williamson with a lifetime achievement award, The ECPA Chair’s Award.
