Three Publishing Things Thursday: Graham, Gannon, and Welk

There are a few very cool things going on in the local publishing universe! I have had my hands personally involved in two of them and one is from my friends up the Red River at NDSU Press.

Thing the First

It’s very cool to see some of the buzz surrounding The Digital Press’s republication of Clell Gannon’s prairie classic, Songs of the Bunch Grass Acres. 

Much of this is thanks to Tom Isern who not only contributed a preface to the book, but has stumped for it on his Willow Creek Folk School (a regular Friday evening folk music show) and now in his Plains Folk column with Prairie Public in a piece titled “The Smell of Paint.”

Thing the Second

I’m pretty excited about Shawn Graham’s book, Practical Necromancy for Beginners. It’s due out imminently from The Digital Press. 

In fact, it’s so immanent that it has a book cover thanks to Vitoria Faccin-Herman.

Thing the Third

A huge congratulations to Suzzanne Kelley at NDSU Pass for the release of Champagne Times: Lawrence Welk and His American Century by Lance Byron Richey. This a THREE VOLUME biography of Lawrence Welk! The publisher tells us: “The book covers are SKIVERTEX Vellin #5517 blue casing, premium grade, simulated leather material debossed with gold foil.” 

I don’t know what that all means, but it is NOT casual. In some ways, this might be the most amazing book produced by a publisher in North Dakota ever. Check it out here.

Listen to an interview with the author here.