The Thomas Nelson Story

I like to research companies and most particularly their foundations. Many times I will research the company and report on my findings. I found the information pertaining to Thomas Nelson Publishing to be absolutely fascinating. In fact, it was so much so that I just took the information from their website and reproduced it here. I normally don’t do this, but I am today. I hope you enjoy reading about the company. If you are interested in any of their books, Bibles or gifts, please visit Emmaus Road Christian Store at www.emmaus-road.com.

From humble beginnings in a village in Scotland 200 years ago to their modern-day publishing enterprise employing over 600 people, Thomas Nelson's goal has been to Honor God and Serve People.

In 1780, Thomas Nelson was born in a modest farmhouse in Throsk, Scotland. His hard-working parents raised him on their small farm in a lush plain at the foot of the rolling green highlands.
The faith of Thomas' parents and grandparents was strong and passionate, befitting their rugged Scottish character. Thomas would often accompany his father on journeys of forty miles to participate in communion services of the Covenanters. These fervent gatherings created a lifelong impression on the boy. By age sixteen, he had become a teacher. But teaching proved not to be his calling. Thomas soon planned to seek his fortune in the West Indies, but he changed his mind just short of boarding the ship and returned home. Several jobs followed, but none of them proved to be a good match for the young Scotsman. Ultimately, Thomas packed up what little he had and set out for London. After searching fruitlessly for work, he paid his landlady what he owed and was reduced to a single coin—which he gave to a beggar. Penniless, he finally heard about a job as a publisher's apprentice on Paternoster Row, a street prophetically bearing the Latin words for "Our Father." He got the job -- and loved it. After all, Thomas had always enjoyed books, particularly those concerning the Bible and the Christian life.

While in London he established a weekly Bible fellowship meeting with friends. Before long the eighteen-year-old had saved enough money to return to Scotland and open a second-hand bookshop in Edinburgh. He could scarcely have imagined the road that lay ahead for him-and for the company that would forever bear his name.

A source of Light in a dark world
At the end of the eighteenth century the United States was in its infancy. France was being hurled into revolution. And Scotland was experiencing an era of division between religion and reason. Timing was ideal for Nelson to pursue Christian publishing. A vibrant spiritual revival stoked years earlier by the preaching of George Whitefield and others continued to stir dozens of churches and thousands of souls throughout Scotland.

In such an environment Thomas proved to be anything but a typical bookseller. While he built his business in Edinburgh selling second-hand books, he also wanted to publish his own materials. And—unlike other publishers who catered to the wealthy—he dreamed of providing affordable Christian works and classic literature for the "common folk."

Within a few years, Thomas began to publish important works such as John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Robinson Crusoe, and The Vicar of Wakefield in inexpensive editions. Nelson also published the Bible in thirty-two-page installments, enabling people of all classes to access the Word of God much more easily. And he pioneered new distribution methods, selling books at fairs and auctions in town squares across Scotland.

Initially, booksellers balked at selling Nelson's publications because of his low prices and innovative sales methods. Even so, his growing reputation for integrity and enthusiasm caused his enterprise to flourish.

Nelson becomes a family enterprise
In 1829 Thomas launched another publishing revolution: He sent out a traveling representative to call on bookshops in southern Scotland and northern England. Despite intense initial resistance by booksellers, this unprecedented effort eventually helped the company expand distribution.

Thomas' nineteen-year-old son William joined the company in 1835. Four years later, Thomas, Jr. entered the work at age seventeen, and the management of the business passed into the hands of the two sons.

With fresh enthusiasm and great success, William traveled widely selling Nelson's publications throughout the British Empire. The brothers' energy and abilities contributed to steady growth and a move to larger offices.

In 1844, Thomas, Jr. opened a London office at 35 Paternoster Row -- the same location where his father had begun as a publisher's apprentice. After establishing the work there, he returned to Edinburgh. By then the brothers had enlarged the business so rapidly that they were forced to move again, to Hope Park on Edinburgh's south side. Here, every process of book publishing was carried out -- from writing and illustrating to printing and distribution.

Hope Park was considered a home for the hundreds of employees comprising the Thomas Nelson "family." Like his father, William made certain his employees were educated and cared for. He provided suppers for all employees, often highlighted by an inspirational sermon preached by a clergy friend of the Nelsons.

In 1850, Thomas, Jr. created one of the greatest advances in printing since Gutenberg with his invention of a rotary printing press. Using a continuous web sheet, his press printed far more rapidly than others and on both sides of the sheet simultaneously. He never patented it, and soon usage spread throughout the world. The principles behind it are still in use today.
By 1853, Thomas Nelson and Sons had become the largest printing and publishing house in Scotland, specializing in religious works, school texts, and stories of travel and adventure for younger readers. The next year Thomas, Jr. sailed to New York to open an office, making Nelson the first British publisher to establish a branch in America. Eventually they would exert a worldwide influence through offices in London, New York, Paris, Toronto, Leipzig, Sydney, Capetown, and other African cities.

By this time a Nelson imprint became, according to one observer, "the guarantee for a pure, high-toned literature, admirably adapted for the special requirements of the school library and the home circle."

In 1861, Thomas Nelson died in Edinburgh. To the end he demonstrated the faith and integrity that had guided him throughout his life. When told his death was near, he replied calmly, "I thought so; my days are wholly in God's hands. He doeth all things well. His will be done!" Then he picked up his Bible on his bedside table and said, "Now I must finish my chapter."

Thomas Nelson died having witnessed the flourishing growth of a company managed brilliantly by his two sons. It was a company whose vision for publishing affordable and wholesome Christian and classic literature for the common man was being fulfilled day after day by hundreds of dedicated employees. It was a company that would continue to bear his name for generations yet to come.

Ruin leads to revival
Thomas Nelson and Sons developed a strong corporate resolve through hardship. They seemed determined to thrive despite the circumstances.

One major setback occurred in April 1878 when the expanded Hope Park company headquarters was completely destroyed by fire. As William reported, "Never did fire do its work more speedily or thoroughly." Not a single book or piece of machinery survived.

But while the ruins still smoldered, Thomas, Jr. was ordering new presses and other equipment. Workers discovered that a number of plates, woodcuts, and type, stored in fireproof vaults, had escaped the devastation. Temporary work areas were built on land made available by Edinburgh city authorities. And competing printers offered time on their presses.

Within two months, the company issued a catalog announcing that 150 of its most popular titles were available again. Two years later, a new building in Parkside housed the rejuvenated company. Providentially, the devastating fire had served as a catalyst for the company, enabling it to expand even further.

In 1887, William Nelson died just before leaving on a business trip to Greece. Five years later Thomas, Jr. died. It was the end of an era. Together the brothers had developed a thriving publishing company that served the needs of countless people around the world.

In the early years of the twentieth century, Thomas Nelson and Sons continued to enjoy an amazing level of success. Thomas, Jr.'s two sons, Tommy and Ian, joined the company upon completing their education.

The business was being managed primarily by George M. Brown (Thomas Nelson's son-in-law) and John Buchan, a noted novelist (of such popular works as Prester John and The Thirty-Nine Steps), biographer, and political correspondent. John Buchan, a close friend of Tommy Nelson became instrumental in expanding the company's offerings of classic works and educational resources.

Buchan wrote, "On the eve of the [first world] war we must have been one of the largest businesses of the kind in the world, issuing cheap editions of every kind of literature not only in English, but in French, German, Magyar, and Spanish."

Unfortunately, the company suffered another major setback in 1917. After eighteen months on the front line, young Tommy Nelson was killed in battle. Buchan wrote, "His death made a bigger hole in the life of Scotland than any other man of his years . . . He was a rare being because he was so superbly normal."

During World War II, the company's plant was decimated once again. At the height of the German blitz, the London offices were bombed to rubble. Several years would pass after the war before the company fully recuperated.

A struggle for focus
Beyond the setbacks of fire, bombings, and death, however, was a deeper issue affecting the company: it had begun struggling with its sense of direction and vision. Commitment to the founder's original mission began to wane.

In the early 1900's, Thomas Nelson and Sons was one of the largest publishers in the world. Yet by the century's midpoint it had declined significantly. Its direction had shifted from producing overtly Christian materials to offering popular "coffee table" books on any number of subjects. While the company moved aggressively into the educational market, becoming one of the United Kingdom's premier textbook publishers, it nevertheless began to struggle financially.

Across the Atlantic, meanwhile, Nelson's American branch was fast becoming an influential publisher of Bibles and books. All across the nation a Nelson Bible could be found in nearly every hotel bedroom. In 1901, Nelson had introduced the innovative American Standard Version. The Revised Standard Version New Testament made its debut in 1946, with the complete Bible released in 1952. This translation became phenomenally successful with three million copies sold worldwide in the first two years.

In 1960, Thomas Nelson and Sons was merged with The Thomson Organization, a worldwide publishing and communications firm. The new management separated the editorial and printing enterprises and sold the Edinburgh printing and binding operations. Nelson increased its focus on publishing reference works and school textbooks in all subjects.

Nelson rediscovers its roots
Meanwhile, half a world away in Lebanon, a young man named Sam Moore attended an evangelical school where he heard the basics of the Christian faith. Early one morning Sam discovered the body of a murdered friend under an olive tree. Shaken, Sam placed his faith in Christ with the help of a Christian neighbor.

In 1950, the nineteen-year-old Sam Moore came to America with an intent to pursue medical training. He had $600 and his father's advice to "work hard, be honest, and don't be afraid to take risks." To pay his way through college at the University of South Carolina and later Columbia Bible College, Sam began selling Bibles door to door.

Just as Thomas Nelson dreamed at age eighteen of putting Christian books into the hands of ordinary folk throughout the United Kingdom, God would kindle a similar dream in the heart of young Sam Moore on behalf of America.

In 1958, Sam founded the National Book Company. Three years later, he incorporated Royal Publishers, Inc., a Bible publishing company. He sold stock in 1962 to about 250 people including Morrow Coffey Graham, mother of noted evangelist Billy Graham.

The company published its first Bible in 1963. And for the next five years it experienced a 100 percent annual increase in sales.

One of the company's first projects was a beautiful Family Bible. "I had a dream," Sam recounts. "It was to publish a better, more useful Bible than anyone had ever produced before." The Bible became the first major seller for Royal Publishers.

Sam's publishing ventures were so successful that The Thomson Organization (Nelson's Parent Company) took notice, approaching him in 1969 to head Nelson's ailing U.S. operations. After praying about the offer, Sam surprised the Thomson representatives by offering to buy their company instead. Thomson's assistant told Sam, "Son, Lord Thomson doesn't sell. He buys." Sam responded, "Sir, God made it such that sometimes we all have to sell."

On March 7, 1969, Sam Moore owned a new publishing company. Because he had a love and appreciation for the company's heritage, he kept the name Thomas Nelson and assumed the rights to the well known house logo.

When Sam took ownership of the company, he humorously noted that Thomas Nelson was, at that time, "the tenth largest Bible publisher out of eight." But Sam and his associates possessed a determination to reclaim, guard, and nurture the original vision. And Sam possessed an ability to attract skilled men and women who were dedicated to the same mission.

So in 1976, Thomas Nelson launched the creation of the New King James Version, crafted by a team of more than 100 Bible scholars. Over the next 25 years with Moore at the helm, the NKJV rose in prominence to become one of the most popular Bible translations worldwide. During this period, Nelson also experienced extraordinary growth through product diversification, acquiring new authors and publishing a wide variety of products with a Christian message and worldview—from gift items to fiction and from Christian living titles to children’s books.

200 years old and still growing
As Moore's vision has expanded, so has the new Thomas Nelson, achieving success at unprecedented levels. In 1992 Nelson took a significant step forward with the acquisition of Word, Inc., one of the world's foremost Christian publishers and home to many popular authors including Billy Graham, Max Lucado, and Barbara Johnson.

Throughout the ‘90s, other companies joined the publishing family, including J. Countryman and Spanish-language publisher Caribe-Betania Editores. Women of Faith, the traveling women’s conferences attended by hundreds of thousands annually, thrived at Thomas Nelson, seeing huge growth in all areas from registrations to product sales. The company capped off the decade by acquiring Rutledge Hill Press in 1999 and watching it make waves shortly thereafter with New York Times bestselling book I Hope You Dance.

As Thomas Nelson entered the new millennium, it continued to forge new paths. In late 2001, the company sold gift division C.R. Gibson in order to refocus on its core strength: publishing Christian media. This poised Nelson to enter 2003 with a 60,000-foot warehouse expansion, paid for in cash.

The year 2003 became a watershed year as Thomas Nelson expanded physically, landed an unprecedented five books on the prestigious New York Times bestseller lists, and captured three of the top 15 positions on the BusinessWeek Hardcover Business Books Bestseller List.

In the fall, Nelson broke new ground in Bibles when it released Revolve, the first Bible magazine. The Biblezine caught on quickly, garnered national media attention, and has since expanded with Biblezines for teen guys, women, and kids. To close the year, fiction division WestBow Press launched with a roster of 20 popular authors, including Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti, clinching the company’s designation as the No. 1 book publisher in the CBA market for the second consecutive year.

By the end of 2003, Sam Moore felt his vision to help ordinary people understand the scriptures was being fulfilled in a multitude of ways. Now it was time to share the dream. In early 2004, Thomas Nelson announced that Moore would hand over his role as President and Chief Operating Officer to Michael S. Hyatt, who was already acting as Group Publisher.

New, Dynamic Leadership
Michael S. Hyatt has a long history in Christian publishing. He began his career at Word Publishing while still a student at Baylor University and worked at Word for six years. By the time the 1980s were in mid-swing, Hyatt was serving as Vice President of Marketing at Thomas Nelson.

But his enterprising spirit had him branching out with partner Robert Wolgemuth in 1986 to start their own publishing company, Wolgemuth & Hyatt. The successful company published books by pro baseball player Orel Hershiser, bestseller The Man in the Mirror by Patrick M. Morley, and others. The company was acquired by Word in 1992, and Hyatt branched out into working with authors and publishers as a literary agent from 1992 until early 1998.

Hyatt’s love of the written word and the opportunity to share the gospel message and solid life lessons also led him to apply his talents to writing. He is the author of four books, one of which landed on the New York Times bestseller list where it stayed for seven months.

Hyatt came back to Thomas Nelson in 1998 as Vice-President and Associate Publisher for the Nelson Books division. He was named publisher of this same division in July, 2000. In early 2002, he was named Executive Vice-President and Group Publisher of the Thomas Nelson Book Group.

With Hyatt at the helm, Nelson continued to forge ahead, placing eight books on the New York Times bestseller lists in fiscal year 2005, and dominating the Christian top sellers charts. In August of 2004, the company claimed 14 of the Top 50 Best-Selling Books—twice as many as its nearest competitor—and entered 2005 with seven of the top 10 Christian market books.
In July of 2004, Mark Schoenwald signed on as Chief Sales Officer, bringing with him stellar leadership experience as President of two well-known gift companies, New Creative Enterprises and One Coast Network, each with a steady record of improved performance during his tenure as President. In August 2005, the Board of Directors appointed Mike Hyatt to Chief Executive Officer, succeeding to that post from Sam Moore.

In 2006, despite a tough economic environment and a tremendous amount of transition, Thomas Nelson continued to find success. The company went private after 45 years of being publicly-held. The company acquired Integrity Publishers, one of the fastest growing companies in the Christian publishing sector, and sold Cool Springs Press, an imprint primarily focused on publishing gardening books. During the 2006 fiscal year, Thomas Nelson had a record-breaking nineteen books on the New York Times bestseller lists.

In April 2007, Thomas Nelson implemented an innovative “One Company” initiative. Under One Company, Thomas Nelson eliminated all of its imprints and reorganized its publishing functions around consumer categories. In March 2009, Mark Schoenwald was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer.

Through its forward-thinking strategies, Thomas Nelson has kept momentum and increased company value for the last 25 years. Yet even with all its chart-topping titles, accolades, and awards, Thomas Nelson's success is found in more than prestige or profits. The real measure of success is still found in the distribution of the message.

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May God Richly Bless Your Life!