Parent company | HarperCollins |
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Founded | 1931 |
Founder | Peter Zondervan Bernard Zondervan |
Country of origin | United States |
Headquarters location | Grand Rapids, Michigan |
Publication types | Books |
Imprints | Zonderkidz |
Owner(s) | News Corp |
Official website | zondervan |
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc. and has multiple imprints including Zondervan Academic, Zonderkidz, Blink, and Editorial Vida. Zondervan is the commercial rights holder for the New International Version (NIV) Bible in North America.
Zondervan was founded in 1931 in Grandville, MI, a suburb of Grand Rapids, by brothers Peter ("P.J.", "Pat") and Bernard (Bernie) Zondervan, who were the nephews of publisher William B. Eerdmans. The company began in the Zondervans' farmhouse and originally dealt with selling remainders and publishing public domain works.
The first book it published was Women of the Old Testament by Abraham Kuyper, in 1933. Within a few years it developed a list of its own, and began publishing Bible editions. The Berkeley Version appeared in 1959, and the Amplified Bible in 1965. The NIV New Testament was published in partnership with the International Bible Society in 1973, and the complete NIV Bible appeared in 1978. The company was bought by HarperCollins, a division of News Corp, in 1988, and is the company's principal Christian book publishing division. Scott Macdonald was appointed President and CEO in May 2011.
Zondervan also publishes many other books by Christian authors focusing on topics of interest to Christians. In the 1970s it published The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey, which has sold more than 30 million copies. They are also known for the Bible storytelling books of Ethel Barrett, Joni by quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada, Baptist minister and author Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold more than 35 million copies, Sacred Marriage, the modern marriage classic by Gary Thomas (author), and Rob Bell, author of Velvet Elvis and presenter of NOOMA. NOOMA is a series of short spiritual films. In 2004, Zondervan expanded to include Renee Altson, Shane Claiborne, Sarah Raymond Cunningham and Margaret Feinberg, authors writing for young readers.