A couple of photos of a recent display at a Legislators conference. So, if you see something that looks like this, chances are you’ve found us!

CSG display 2

CSG display 1

Jerry Wilson will be at the Agricultural Heritage Museum in Brookings, October 8, from 12-1pm to talk about his book and other topics, and sign copies.

Starley just got another date on her grand tour.

The Black Hills Grape and Berry Growers Association will host her for a talk and book signing event in Belle Fourche, September 22. Time and exact location are still to be decided.

Jerry Wilson will be in Pierre to sign books at the Cultural Heritage Center and at Prairie Pages bookstore, October 9, from 12-1pm and 5-7pm respectively.

His new book, Waiting for Coyote’s Call: An Eco-Memoir from the Missouri River Bluffs is about to go on sale. To read more about his excellent memoir of living in harmony with nature and Earth, visit www.sdshspress.com

August 4 is the big arrival day for the first book of the 2008 list. Along the Grapevine Trail should arrive from the printer and then its off to the stores and out to everyone who has already requested it.

Lots of interest in this book as you have to wonder how many people even knew that these three states had a wine industry at all. This is a great little book, packed full of info about the vineyards and wineries in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska.

Check out the post below with the details of Starley’s grand tour as well.

A couple of new dates to add to Starley Talbott’s grand tour:

August 16 at the Historic Train Depot in Cheyenne, Wyoming
September 20 & 21 at Prairie Berry Winery in Hill City, South Dakota, 3-5pm and 2-4pm respectively.
September 24 at the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre, South Dakota, from 12-1pm
September 24 at Prairie Pages Booksellers in Pierre, South Dakota, from 4-6pm
September 28 at Valiant Vineyards in Vermillion, South Dakota, from 2-4pm

We’re still looking to add a few more stops to this tour so keep checking this blog for more details. If you would like to host a Starley Talbott event, just let me know by posting here or contacting the SDSHS Press.

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Along the Grapevine Trail

As of now, her appearance venues and dates are as follows:

August 2, Bass Farm, Torrington, WY
August 10, Sage Hill Vineyard, Chugwater, WY
August 23, Table Mountain Vineyard, Huntley, WY
September 4, Windsor Senior Center, Wyoming Wine Tour
September 26-28, Sioux Falls, South Dakota Festival of the Book
October 5, Balistreri Winery Grape Stomp, Denver, CO
October 24-26, Women Writing the West Annual Conference, San Antonion, TX

Search for Along the Grapevine Trail on Facebook for more details about each appearance, including addresses and contacts.

Keep checking back as well, as there are more appearances tentatively scheduled.

The designer just forwarded a first look at the cover for The Jumping-Off Place. We think it looks great, and captures the essence of both the book and of South Dakota in the early 1900s. And so, we thought we’d share it with you as well. Let us know what you think.

Yesterday, we received the new original artwork for the front cover of The Jumping-Off Place, by Marian Hurd McNeely, that will be published this fall. It looks great and we can’t wait to see the designer’s use of it on the cover. As soon as I have it in hand, I’ll post it here and on the main website for all to see.

Fascinating article in The Times all about how the Google Generation access, process, and interpret information. The idea being that young people brought up on the internet and the mass connectivity of modern life thrive on multi-tasking when it comes to finding information. Essentially, they scan all information, however they find it. What does this mean for books? As more and more industry insiders consider how the book will fit into future societies, does this scanning technique mean yet another nail in the coffin for the traditional book? Only time will tell of course, but for now, we’ll keep publishing the good old-fashioned book; it just reads better!

The new catalog

It has been just a tad crazy in the office as we strived to get all our books off to the printer on time. Right now, it looks as though the complete list will be on schedule (always a nice thing), and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first book of the list, Along the Grapevine Trail. We received the advance copies of this from the printer last week and it looks great.

Waiting for Coyote’s Call went to press, as has The Mystery of the Tree Rings. The second book in the new South Dakota Biography Series, Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane: Deadwood Legends, by James D. McLaird, is about to go to press, and the same is true of The South Dakota State Capitol: The First Century, by Marshall Damgaard.

Also waiting in the print queue is the 2008-2009 catalog of books. This is actually available already as a downloadable pdf on our main website, sdshspress.com, so stop by to read in more detail about all the forthcoming books.

In more news, we launched our titles for 2009 a couple of weeks ago, and the list looks pretty exciting. We have 5 books on the proposed list, one on tourism in the Black Hills, one on populism in South Dakota, the 4th book in the Prairie Tales Series, the 3rd book in the South Dakota Biography Series, which is about Seth Bullock, and finally, two beautifully written memoirs of growing up in small towns in South Dakota during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. We’ll keep you updated on the progress of these books as we go along.

Don’t forget, keep checking back for more information, and there is always something new on the main website, including special offers and downloads.