“Novalis and the religious community will greatly benefit from Joe's experience in religious publishing and his knowledge of the church,” said Suzanne Spino, president of Bayard Canada, which owns Novalis.
“Our commitment to continue the long history of Novalis' service to the church will be well served by Mr. Sinasac,” she said in a press release Dec. 8.
Novalis was founded in 1935 at Saint Paul University in Ottawa. In 2000, it began a partnership with Bayard Canada. Based in Montreal and Toronto, Bayard oversaw marketing, sales and distribution while Saint Paul ran the editorial offices.
In October, at the invitation of the university, Bayard agreed to purchase Novalis and turn it into a wholly-owned division of the company, with English-language offices in Toronto and French-language offices in Montreal.
Sinasac will oversee the development of a strategic plan for the English-language publications. The best known of these is the missal Living With Christ. Novalis also publishes the periodicals Celebrate! and The Ecumenist.
In French, Novalis publishes Prions en Église, Prière, and Vie liturgique. Novalis also publishes more than 50 books per year on spirituality, religion and personal growth, as well as pastoral resources. It is one of the few Canadian publishers producing books and periodicals in both official languages, serving readers from coast to coast.
Sinasac has been editor of The Catholic Register since 1995 and publisher since 1996. In almost 30 years of journalism, he has covered a wide range of issues for daily newspapers, the religious press and has been an expert commentator on the Catholic Church for national television and radio networks.
He is author of Fateful Passages: The Life of Henry Somerville, Catholic Journalist (Novalis, 2003). He has a Master of Arts degree in history from the University of Waterloo and has taught writing and media studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont.
“I have long respected Novalis and look forward to embarking on a new and challenging adventure in Catholic publishing in Canada,” Sinasac said. “This country, along with the church in Canada, deserves a flourishing and lively Catholic publisher to enrich its intellectual and spiritual life.”
Sinasac will begin his new duties on Feb. 2.
The Register, a 115-year-old national weekly newspaper, is owned by the archdiocese of Toronto. It has struck a search committee to begin the task of hiring a replacement for Sinasac.
Novalis gets a new English-language director
By Catholic Register Staff
{mosimage}MONTREAL - Bayard Canada has appointed Joseph Sinasac to the newly created position of Publishing Director for Novalis, Canada's leading publisher of religious books and resources.
Sinasac, currently Publisher and Editor of The Catholic Register, will oversee the English-language division of Novalis from its Toronto office, including editorial, sales and marketing departments.
Sinasac, currently Publisher and Editor of The Catholic Register, will oversee the English-language division of Novalis from its Toronto office, including editorial, sales and marketing departments.
Please support The Catholic Register
Unlike many media companies, The Catholic Register has never charged readers for access to the news and information on our website. We want to keep our award-winning journalism as widely available as possible. But we need your help.
For more than 125 years, The Register has been a trusted source of faith-based journalism. By making even a small donation you help ensure our future as an important voice in the Catholic Church. If you support the mission of Catholic journalism, please donate today. Thank you.
DONATE