Kingdom Books Author Events, 2010

Spring has arrived, ever so reluctantly, in the northern hills. We're glad that the parking area for Kingdom Books is snow free again! Green is creeping into the yard and buds fill the gardens. And we're already enjoying visits from book lovers. This past winter we drastically expanded our signed mysteries, which now make up half the shop -- and we have most of the latest titles, including Steig Larsson (alas, not signed, but we do have some British editions!). This year's visiting mystery authors will include David Carkeet (4/17), Howard Frank Mosher (5/15), Dave Zeltserman (6/19), and Eliot Pattison (August), and Erin Hart may be able to stop for a quick visit on her New England tour, too.

Before all of those, we have two special events that are poetry and fine press related:

March 26 (tomorrow!) at 3:30 pm at St Johnsbury Academy's Grace Stuart Orcutt Library, Kingdom Books co-hosts distinguished poet and novelist F. D. (Franklin) Reeve, with jazz musician Joe Deleault (session pianist with Jon Bon Jovi, Mighty Sam McClain, Cliften Chenier, Hilken Mancini, more). The two present "The Blue Cat Walks the Earth." The event is free and open to the public. Afterward, we'll list some signed copies of Reeve's work -- you may already know him as the author of "Frost in Russia," since he was the translator assigned to travel with Robert Frost to meet Kruschev and Akhmatova.

March 31: Few outside Vermont are familiar with the handmade, letter press and block print books that have been printed in such small editions (usually 100 or fewer) by Lucy Swope under the imprints of Elizabeth Farm Press and (more recently) Lucky Dog Press. Lucy is now in her 70s and still creating new books -- her most recent was The Mighty Zo Dog.

We're excited to announce that a Vermont legislative resolution honoring Lucy and her books will be read at the State House in Montpelier on Wednesday March 31, scheduled for 1 p.m. Lucy and her husband Stan Yarian (retired UVM prof) and their family will be on hand; so will Dave and I. If you can, please join us to celebrate this very special honor that comes so rarely to a loving creator of books. And if you can't be there in person, you may still want to contact Lucy to order some of her books -- we have a few also, but why not purchase a selection of them directly from the artist, especially at this festive time? You can reach Lucy at: Lucky Dog Press, 2798 Vt Route 113, West Fairlee VT 05083, 802-333-4642 (no e-mail).

When ordered directly from the artist, the list for Lucky Dog Press is:

I-Am-a-Dragon, 1993, edition of 200 -- $35

The Night the Animals Spoke, 1993, edition of 200 -- $20

Lucky Dog!, 1994, edition of 200 -- $30

Orange Julius, 1996, edition of 95 (sold out)

Remembering Jim, 1996, edition of 88 -- $35

Henry, 1997, edition of 100 -- $30

Out on a Limb, 1998, edition of 90 (sold out)

Scrapbook, 1998, 1^st edition sold out (approx. 100), 2^nd edition of 200 -- $25

Tutu the House Lamb, 2000, edition of 95 -- $30

Turkeys Aren’t Just for Thanksgiving, 2001, edition of 95 -- $30

Never-Turn-Back-Riders, 2002, edition of 96 -- $35

The Color of Nala, 2002, edition of 90 with color reduction prints -- $30

Me Too, edition of 70 plus 500 commercial (sold out) copies -- $30

The Girl Who Loved to Draw, 2004, edition of 120 -- $30

The Handsome Mr. Lincoln, 2006, edition of 94 with color reduction prints -- $30

Sophie’s Corner, 2007, written by Stan Yarian, illus. Lucy Swope, edition of 110 -- $40

Caesar’s Ghost, 2008, edition of 106 -- $40

The Mighty Zo Dog, 2009, co-authored with Stan Yarian, edition of 114 -- $40