Going to BookExpo America in Los Angeles

The Press will be attending the largest book trade show in the United States.

The BookExpo America will be held in Los Angeles at the end of May, and we’re off to see what all the fuss is about. This is an excellent chance for the Press to increase its visibility in the publishing world, learn new things, and check the pulse of the publishing industry, so to speak. Obviously, we’re looking forward to being there, and if you happen to be attending as well and you see us wandering around, stop us and say hello.

For more information about the BEA, check out their website.

South Dakota Historical Society Annual History Conference

The South Dakota State Historical Society will be holding its annual history conference in Rapid City, May 2-3 and the Press will be there exhibiting books and sharing our experiences with visitors. We’d be pleased to say hello if you are able to attend, and chat about what we’re doing, what’s coming up this year and so on.
If you are interested in the conference, which this year has a Fur Trade theme, visit the website to find out more.

Library Thing Early Reviewers Reviewing SDSHS Press Books

Library Thing Early Reviewers have been receiving review copies of Dance in a Buffalo Skull and Forgotten Lives: African Americans in South Dakota.

The Early Reviewers group signs up for advanced review copies of new books and an algorithm decides who receives which book. Publishers then send the books to the lucky reviewers, who in return, write reviews that are placed on LibraryThing.com, amazon.com, and personal blog sites, etc.

The SDSHS Press has already started receiving reviews back on Dance in a Buffalo Skull, while Forgotten Lives was given a 4-star rating on its first LTER review.
We’re pleased to say that early returns are all in favor of these two titles!

Very first glimpse of Annie from Prairie-Dog Prince

The third book in the Prairie Tale Series is due out this fall. Our illustrator recently sent us the preliminary sketches and layout of the book. The picture shown here is an exclusive look at the what Annie, the little girl in the story, will look like.

Just a great little sketch and we can’t wait to see what the finished and colored version will look like. Until then, we’ll have to make do with little snippets, teasers, just like this.

New review of Tatanka and the Lakota People

Children’s Literature Network just published a nice little review of Tatanka and the Lakota People.

Read the complete review here.

Waiting for Coyote’s Call off to design

Well, the second book of the 2008 list is with the designer. This is the point when we Waiting for Coyote’s Call goodbye and wait to see how it returns. It is always an exciting time. The wait can be a little excruiating, but it is always worth it. We’re fortunate enough to have an excellent and award-winning designer work for us so we are in good hands.

As soon as we have the first examples of the cover design for this book and Along the Grapevine Trail, I’ll be posting them here and on the main site.

Listen to an interview with Starley Talbott

The main site is back up and working properly now, so you can download the interview with Starley Talbott at your leisure.

“Along the Grapevine Trail” Coming Out at the Right Time

Looks like there is growing interest in the South Dakota wine industry. This is perfect for our next book, Along the Grapevine Trail: Vineyards and Wineries in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska, which comes out later this summer.

Here is a small news item about the industry in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

Main site down

Just a quick update in case anybody had tried to view our main website, www.sdshspress.com.

Our host server has experienced some problems the last day or two and so the hosting company has shut it down to repair the system. They have promised us we’ll be up and running again shortly.

As soon as it is available, I’ll post here again to let you know. At that time, you might want to check out our first podcast/downloadable interview. Starley Talbott, author of the forthcoming Along the Grapevine Trail: Vineyards and Wineries in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska kindly agreed to answer some questions about her book. Should be just enough to whet the palette!

The Homesteader

The nice folks at The Homesteader have picked up on this blog. Their recent post has some good things to say about Pamela Smith Hill and her book Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer’s Life.