Worthy Publishing has hired local marketing veteran Dennis Disney to be its first vice president of marketing.

Disney will start his new job April 30 and will lead the strategic planning and operational execution of marketing for Worthy’s trade products. Previously, he ran D-Squared Entertainment — where he worked on music, film and live events for Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, among others — for 12 years. He also is an adjunct instructor at Belmont University in the Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business.

“Dennis comes with the reputation for being savvy at messaging and positioning products and brands as well as for excellence in follow-through on all he tackles,” said Rob Birkhead, Worthy’s senior vice president and associate publisher. “And, equally important, he has the great communication and client-relation skills so vital to our work with remarkable creative talent.”

Separately, Brentwood-based Worthy this week announced it will publish a biography of the late Whitney Houston written by her close friend, BeBe Winans.

Ingram Content has snagged a contract from a big-name publisher looking to develop its Christian bookstore business. HarperCollins Publishers says Nashville-based Ingram will bring a strong network for its titles, which includes works by Desmond Tutu, the late Peter Gomes and Margaret Wise Brown.

Growing local company Turner Publishing has signed a contract with Ingram Publisher Services to handle the distribution of its titles. Turner, which was founded in 1984, last year acquired a Minnesota publishing house. Separately, Ingram also announced that it will take on the physical distribution of Granta Publications titles in the United States. The companies' contract calls for a two-step process starting next month.

In its latest quarterly filing with regulators, News Corp. has disclosed the price tag for its pending purchase of Nashville publisher Thomas Nelson. The media giant will pay $200 million in a deal expected to close by the end of the year. The sum is less than half what Thomas Nelson fetched as a public company almost six years ago.

Publishing house Thomas Nelson has teamed with singers and songwriters Bill and Gloria Gaither on a Bible project that will be released next summer. The Gaither Homecoming Bible will include "carefully selected favorite hymns, gospel songs, and songs by Bill and Gloria Gaither. Also included will be statements by great historical and contemporary Christian writers, theologians, and thinkers about the part music has played in their own spiritual journeys."

Thomas Nelson will open a wholly owned subsidiary in Mexico City on Aug. 1. The move makes Thomas Nelson the first major Christian publisher to market, distribute and sell locally.

The company said Thomas Nelson Mexico will employ a local sales team and focus on selling to distributors, bookstores and ministries.

"With the creation of Thomas Nelson Mexico, Roberto and his team are positioned and ready to better support distributors, local retailers and the flourishing Christian community," said Mark Schoenwald, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson. "And Thomas Nelson can capitalize on a market that is ripe for growth."

Ingram Publisher Services has signed a trio of new publisher clients for distribution deals, including Beautiful/Decay, Dreamscape Media LLC and Where to Bike LLC.

Beautiful/Decay, founded in 1996, publishes limited edition, hand-numbered and advertising-free art books. Dreamscape publishes digital and CD format audio content. Where to Bike, a subsidiary of Bicycling Australia, publishes a range of cycling books and international cycling guides.

“More publishers are choosing to invest in the next generation of content, not distribution infrastructure, to meet the needs of today’s consumer driven market,” said Mark Ouimet, Vice President and General Manager, Ingram Publisher Services.  “We are pleased to be working with publishers Beautiful/Decay, Dreamscape Media and Where to Bike, giving them relevant sales, marketing and distribution solutions to expand their presence and title reach into the market place.”