Introduction
Byron D. Williamson (born January 5, 1946), is an American publisher. He is founder and Publisher Emeritus of the Worthy Publishing Group, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group USA. He completed a term as chair of the board of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).
Career
In 1983 Williamson founded and launched Worthy Publishing, developing the first translation of the Bible for children—the International Children’s Bible (ICB). The company then developed an easy-to-read adult translation, the New Century Version (NCV).
In the summer of 1998 Williamson resigned his position at Thomas Nelson to found a new company, Integrity Publishers. At Integrity he published such Christian bestsellers as Sarah Young (Jesus Calling), Beth Moore (Get Out of That Pit); Emerson Eggerich (Love & Respect), Newt Gingrich (Searching for God in America), Henry Cloud and John Townsend (God Will Make a Way), and Max Lucado (It’s Not About Me). Other authors previously published by Williamson include John Townsend (God Will Make a Way), Michael W. Smith, and Steve Arterburn. By fical year 2007 the company had surpassed an annualized revenue run rate of $25 million. Integrity was sold to Thomas Nelson in late 2006.
Shortly after this sale, Williamson left to relaunch Worthy Publishing, where he acquired Ideals (becoming WorthyKids) and Ellie Claire, both from Guideposts.
Awards and recognition
In 1995, Abilene Christian University presented Williamson with the Distinguished Alumni Citation.