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The Alive Communications team consists of individuals with proven track records in the industry--people known for their knowledge of words, strategic thinking, negotiation skills, business acumen, relational abilities, and marketing savvy. They understand the creative process and know contracts inside and out. They are devoted to ideas and expanding opportunities. They're big-picture thinkers who sweat the small stuff. They understand words because they've written and spoken widely themselves. Most of all, they're people of integrity and character. They're people you can count on; a team you can trust.
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 | S. Rickly Christian has had a life-long passion for words and great writing. He is the founder and president of Alive Communications, the premiere literary agency for religious/inspirational properties, with 10 New York Times #1 bestsellers to his credit. He launched Alive Communications in Los Angeles in 1989 and moved operations to Colorado Springs in 1991. Books he has personally represented have sold more than 100 million copies and have also occupied the #1 slot on best-selling lists compiled by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly. Christian’s efforts on behalf of top authors have been widely chronicled in leading newspapers and magazines, from The New York Times and USA Today to Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly and Publisher’s Weekly. His biography and record of achievement appear in Who’s Who in America, 2008. Raised in San Diego and a 1977 graduate of Stanford University (communications and creative writing), he also studied at Capernwray Bible School in England and the University of Southern California where he pursued graduate work in professional writing. Christian launched his publishing career as a newspaper reporter and columnist, followed by a career switch to magazine publishing. He served as associate editor of Campus Life magazine, executive editor of The Saturday Evening Post, and then transitioned to book publishing as the founding editorial director for Focus on the Family Books. Along the way, he wrote several books himself, including Alive, the best-selling youth devotional ever (450,000 copies), The Woodland Hills Tragedy, A Gift of Life, and Silent Night, the Sue Thomas biography adapted for the television series “Private Eye.” It is as a literary agent that Christian became renowned, particularly for his entrepreneurial efforts behind such mega-sellers as the Left Behind series (65 million copies with millions more in 27 languages), Eugene Peterson’s The Message (12 million copies), Karen Kingsbury’s novels (10 million copies), Lisa Beamer’s post 9-11 Let’s Roll (1.5 million copies), and the Life Recovery Bible [1.5 million copies]. He is also celebrated for his literary shepherding of Billy and Ruth Graham, Brennan Manning, Rwanda President Paul Kagame, Anne Graham Lotz, Emerson Eggerichs, Terri Blackstock, Franklin Graham, Dale Hanson Bourke, and Elisa Morgan, among others. His representation of high-profile properties, negotiation for top-tier marketing/sales plans, and pioneering work to develop cross-over markets helped pave the way for religious works to be available “wherever books are sold.” An ordained deacon in his local church, Christian also serves as chairman of the board of Global Action, a compassionate outreach active in 74 countries, and developed their “Buckets of Love” program to provide relief after the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. He and his wife Debbie have a blended family of seven children and live on Idyllwild Ranch in Black Forest, outside of Colorado Springs. His interests include skiing, tennis, mountain biking, fishing and hunting. He travels broadly and finds special challenge in The Wall Street Journal crossword puzzle and hiking mountains over 14,000 feet. Little Known Facts: Rick was a paper boy, yo-yo champion, Eagle Scout, and high school student body president. He has hunted cape buffalo in Africa, alligators in South America and bear in Colorado. An avid fly fisherman, he has also landed king salmon in Alaska and marlin in Cabo San Lucas. | | | |
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 | Lee M. Hough began his professional background of teaching, speaking, and writing as an area director for Young Life. After nine years, during which he earned a Masters from Dallas Theological Seminary, Lee joined Insight for Living as a writer. In five years, he co-authored over twenty Bible study guides for best-selling author, Chuck Swindoll. During this time he also broadened his expertise by attending numerous writing and screenplay seminars held at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. Continuing his writing and editing, Lee then moved from California to Colorado to serve as the Executive Director of Dave Dravecky's Outreach of Hope. After completing a published work with HarperSanFrancisco with bestselling author Ken Gire, he then joined Cook Communications as the Senior Acquisitions Editor. After one year, Lee was promoted to Product Manager where he served for the next three years before joining Alive. Lee brings experience, creativity, and passion for the craft of writing and the power of story. In addition, he thoroughly enjoys the relational aspect of working with authors. Lee lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Paula, and has three great kids, Katie, Cole, and Molly. Little Known Fact: Lee grew up in Texas and one of the "prerequisites" for citizenship in that sovereign state is bull riding. So, of course, he put on his hat, tied himself to fifteen hundred pounds of hostile beef and said, "Outside!" It was a short ride. As was the second one. His brother rode first on the third go-around and dislocated his shoulder. Lee decided then that he had earned his citizenship and hung up his spurs. | | | |
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 | Beth Jusino came to Alive Communications in 2004 with a love for words and a passion for serving a new generation of writers. Before becoming an agent, Beth contributed to dozens of books as a writer and editor, and was widely published in national magazines. She spent six years as the Managing Editor for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International and sat on the organization's Publishing Acquisitions Team. She is also the former editor of MOMSense Magazine, the most widely-distributed Christian parenting publication in the United States. Beth grew up near the New Jersey shore and earned her BA in political science from Wheaton College, Illinois. Beth is an amateur photographer and loves to explore thrift and antique stores. She and her husband, Eric, live in the Denver area. Little Known Fact: Although she has lived in Colorado for almost a decade, Beth has never skied the Rockies. (She tried East Coast skiing once, collided with a building, and decided she preferred sitting in the lodge.) | | | |
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 | Joel Kneedler has spent much of his life studying and pitching great stories. While attending the Pacific Conservatory for the Performing Arts (P.C.P.A.) in Santa Maria, CA, he explored both historical and contemporary playwrights like Anton Chekhov, William Shakespeare, Sam Shepherd and David Mamet. Joel performed in numerous productions, including The Elephant Man, Much Ado about Nothing, and The Diary of Anne Frank. Upon graduation, he pursued classes at Chicago’s Second City and graduate work at the University of Delaware, where he performed lead roles in classic plays like Henry V, Romeo and Juliet, and Ring Round the Moon. His love of the written word eventually led Joel to Multnomah Publishers, where he entered the world of trade book publishing as a publicist. His inaugural project was Bruce Wilkinson’s The Prayer of Jabez, which shattered sales records, occupying the #1 slot on The New York Times best-seller list for 39 weeks. He also led campaigns for Super Bowl coach Joe Gibbs, Randy Alcorn, and Karen Kingsbury. A seasoned pitchman, Joel successfully built relationships with top media outlets like Time magazine, CNN’s Larry King Live!, ABC’s Good Morning America, and NBC’s Weekend Today Show, among others. Prior to joining Alive, Joel managed publicity efforts for Random House imprint WaterBrook Press. There he was instrumental in promoting brand development for the Every Man series, Dinner with a Perfect Stranger and One Month to Live. Joel’s extensive relationships with the media are invaluable to Alive’s clients as he helps expand the agency’s reach into the general market. “Great writing can miss its audience without the proper angle,” is advice he frequently gives. A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Joel is married to Shawna. They have four children and reside in Colorado Springs. Little Known Fact: In 1988, Joel made his television debut as a game show contestant on “Win, Lose or Draw”. Vicki Lawrence served as the host, with Shannen Doherty and Willie Aames participating as celebrities. |
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Alive Communications is known as a literary agency with strong editorial skills and great marketing instincts. Its success as an agency is well documented and irrefutable. Alive has played a vital role in helping me to find great books and talented authors. I maintain a close relationship with the remarkable team of agents at this incredible agency.
Rolf Zettersten, Vice President
Hachette-Livre Books |
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Alive Communications has played a huge role in the development and maturity of our industry. All of the agents who work there are real professionals, with a great deal of publishing and marketing experience, an uncanny instinct for trends, and a profound understanding of what makes a book connect with its intended audience. Alive is an essential part of our publishing strategy.
Ron Beers, Senior Vice President and Publisher
Tyndale House Publishers |
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