NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- You can order
a pizza, get a car-service pick up, hear the score of your
favorite team's game, listen to your favorite music-- all with a
little help from "Alexa." Amazon's built in
"intelligent assistant" is summoned by millions of American
households who own the Amazon Echo, Amazon Tap, Echo Dot,
Fire TV, or Fire tablets, hands-free, voice controlled
devices. And now, users can ask for daily inspiration from
their Devotionals skill.
Launching on December 12, the
Devotionals skill will release a new audio clip each day for Amazon
Echo, Amazon Tap, Echo Dot, Amazon Fire TV and Fire tablet users
through the Amazon Alexa app. HarperCollins Christian
Publishing, the owners and operators of the Devotionals skill, is
the first book publisher to collaborate with Amazon at this
capacity.
"This is an unprecedented opportunity to gain new exposure and
awareness around our authors' great content, in short form, with a
simple voice command," says Sally
Hofmann, senior v-p for direct-to-consumer sales and
marketing for HarperCollins Christian Publishing. "Bite-sized
devotionals are a strong and engaging way to connect with our
authors and uplift readers each day. Through our own Devotionals
Daily brand we discovered, via social media, that this format
really resonated with our readers. We created a Devotionals
Daily email newsletter and blog, currently with more than a half a
million subscribers, to provide more in-depth devotional
engagement. These devotions are handpicked from our most
popular books and now, Echo and Dot users can listen to Devotionals
by including it in their daily flash briefing or through a
custom-made skill."
The new Devotionals skill brings listeners custom-curated audio
content, pulled directly from the audiobooks published by either
Thomas Nelson or Zondervan, the two
publishing groups falling under the Christian division of
HarperCollins Publishers. "Using our audiobooks to deliver these
devotionals provides an extra level of authenticity and a high
quality experience to Amazon Echo users," said Catherine Zappa, director of audio sales for
HarperCollins Christian Publishing. "Often times it's our
authors' voices who are actually reading for the audiobook, so it
really brings a deeper connection to the listener and the
content. And devotional listeners are able to say, 'Alexa
add,' the book's title, 'to my cart' and the book will be waiting
for them in their Amazon shopping cart. All the user has to
do is select the format."
Devotionals created from bestselling authors like Jefferson Bethke, Shauna Niequest, Judah Smith, Lee
Strobel, Lysa TerKeurst,
Ann Voskamp, Rick Warren and Sarah
Young will be offered within the first 90 days of
launch.
HarperCollins Christian Publishing is the largest publisher of
Christian faith-based devotionals and gift books in the
world. "Faith is vitally important in many people's lives.
Spending a few minutes to listen to inspirational messages based on
Scripture will bring peace, rest and encouragement to each day,"
said Laura Minchew, senior v-p for
HarperCollins Christian Publishing's Specialty Publishing
division. "We believe that Amazon Alexa users will love the
high quality and variety of devotions they will hear each day."
The Devotionals skill can be selected through the Amazon Alexa
app, found in the Lifestyle category. All devotional content
will change daily. Interested listeners are encouraged to
sign up on DevotionalsDaily.com to receive the daily devotional
e-mail newsletter, an entirely different devotional for more daily
encouragement.
To begin using Devotionals through Amazon Alexa-enabled devices,
select the Devotionals skill to be added in the Alexa app line-up
or add Devotionals to the flash briefing. Product purchasing
capabilities are available, by adding the book to the users Amazon
shopping cart.
To download the Devotionals skill go to
https://www.amazon.com/HarperCollins-Christian-Publishing-Devotionals/dp/B01NA97VBO/.
To add Devotionals to your Flash Briefing go to:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSNNNGU
About HarperCollins Christian Publishing: The world's
leading Christian publisher, HarperCollins Christian Publishing
Inc., comprises both Thomas Nelson
and Zondervan publishing groups in addition to Olive Tree Bible
Software. The Company produces bestselling Bibles,
inspirational books, academic resources, curriculum, audio and
digital content for the Christian market space. Also home to
BibleGateway.com, the world's largest Christian website, and
FaithGateway.com, an online community dedicated to helping people
grow in their faith. HarperCollins Christian Publishing is
headquartered in Nashville, TN
with additional offices in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil. For more information
visit www.HarperCollinsChristian.com. HarperCollins Publishers is a
subsidiary of News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) and
can be visited online at corporate.HC.com.
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SOURCE HarperCollins Christian Publishing