Adirondack Writer

Chronicle Book Fair set for Nov. 7 in Glens Falls

2010-09-09T08:13:00.002-04:00

If you’ve ever attended The Chronicle Book Fair in Glens Falls, you’ll remember the warmth and hospitality of Cathy DeDe, former arts editor and current managing editor. She’s been organizing the event for many years and does an excellent job.

Calling all authors! Cathy recently sent out her annual email asking authors in the region to sign up for the book fair, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7 at the Queensbury Hotel. The book fair basically takes over the entire first floor with tables to meet the authors and buy signed books and rooms where the public can hear panel discussions and author presentations. It is free and open to the public.

The table fees this year will remain the same as last year: $25 for individual authors; $25 for booksellers/publishers/non-profits with fewer than five titles to sell; $45 for booksellers/publishers/non-profits with five or more titles; and free for non-profit groups who are not planning to sell anything at their tables. The fee must be paid by Friday, Oct. 22. The sign-up isn’t official until The Chronicle receives your table fee.

Cathy wrote: “Again last year, more than 120 authors, book sellers, publishers and non-profit groups participated in the Chronicle Book Fair. We’re expecting a good turn-out again for the anniversary year! It is possible that we will run out of space. Please don’t be left out. Be sure to get all of your sign-up forms to us as soon as possible. Please note that The Chronicle reserves the right to select the mix of authors, book sellers and other presenters we believe will best serve the local reading public.”

For more information, call (518) 792-1126 or email chroniclebookfair@loneoak.com.

Historic Saranac Lake to host Adirondack Artifact Night Sept. 14 at Saranac Laboratory

2010-09-06T10:47:00.002-04:00

Historic Saranac Lake is inviting area residents to dig out historical artifacts from their homes and businesses and share stories behind the objects for their first-ever “Adirondack Artifact Night” on Tuesday, Sept. 14.

Author Andy Flynn will moderate “Adirondack Artifact Night” starting at 7 p.m. in the John Black Room of the Saranac Laboratory, 89 Church St. in Saranac Lake. During the first half of the program, he will present a brief “Community History Writing Workshop” and show the audience how he performs research for his award-winning Adirondack Attic History Project with the Adirondack Museum. For the second half of the program, the show-and-tell portion, audience members will be showing off their artifacts and telling stories about the objects. The program is free and open to the public.

“This is community history at its best,” Flynn said, “but Adirondack Artifact Night only works if people bring in historical objects from home. The more the merrier. Piece by piece, we’ll get an interesting and very personal snapshot of Saranac Lake history.”

Flynn’s Adirondack Artifact Night program was inspired by the Warrensburgh Historical Society, which holds similar programs throughout the year. In 2010, Flynn has presented successful Adirondack Artifact Night programs in North Creek, Wilmington and Tupper Lake.

Flynn reminds residents that Adirondack Artifact Night is set up differently from the popular PBS program “Antiques Roadshow,” in which experts appoint monetary value to antiques that guests bring in from home.

“We will not be identifying or appraising objects,” Flynn said. “We expect that people will bring historical artifacts, photos, paintings, etc. to the library and share their stories with the rest of the audience. In this case, the guests are the experts.”

For more information, call Andy Flynn at (518) 891-5559 or Historic Saranac Lake at (518) 891-4606.

'Adirondack Attic' radio series page on NCPR

2010-06-01T13:41:00.001-04:00

North Country Public Radio launched the Adirondack Attic Radio Series web page today to celebrate the program's third month of airing. Nice job, Dale! Dale Hobson is the NCPR web god. You can hear him talk with news director Martha Foley during the second half of the Eight O'Clock Hour Friday mornings for an update on all the NCPR web site news.

The Adirondack Attic Radio Series airs the first Tuesday of the month during the second half of the Eight O'Clock Hour with Todd Moe. The program is supported by the Adirondack Museum and singer/songwriter Dan Berggren. The radio series features Dan's music.

Flynn twins making books and wine in Adirondack and Rocky mountains

2010-05-28T22:21:00.002-04:00

As only twins can do, Tupper Lake natives Andy and Steve Flynn each launched their own small businesses in early summer 2009, a few months before their 40th birthday. Andy makes books. Steve makes wine.

Andy's sixth volume in the book series, " New York State 's Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic," was released on May 27, 2010. He uses his college degree to write, edit and publish history books and the Meet the Town community guide series and to produce a monthly "Adirondack Attic" radio series for North Country Public Radio. He lives in Saranac Lake , N.Y. with his wife, Dawn.

Steve opened his winery, Vino Salida Wine Cellars, on May 28, 2010. He uses his college degrees to create unique photography and paintings and to illustrate the finest winery newsletter in the Arkansas River Valley . Rumor has it he makes damn good wine. He lives in Salida, Colo. with his fiancée, Judy.

Andy and Steve Flynn, born 1 minute apart on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 1969 to Michele and James Flynn, in Jersey City, N.J., lived near their extended family in Glen Cove, Long Island for the first six years of their lives, then moved to Tupper Lake, N.Y. in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains in 1976, close to their mother's college alma mater, SUNY Potsdam, and in the same town as her college roommate.

The twins graduated from the Tupper Lake High School in 1987, Steve as the valedictorian, Andy ranked No. 5 in his class. Both were outgoing children, keeping busy with school work, extracurricular activities, jobs, and their passions. Andy secretly wrote poems during his newspaper route, and Steve secretly made wine in his closet.

Andy graduated from SUNY Fredonia in 1991 with a degree in communication (major in radio production, minor in English). He moved back to New York 's Adirondack Mountains . Steve graduated from Cazenovia College (1989) and SUNY Purchase (1991) with art degrees. He finally found a home in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

Learn more about Andy’s books by calling (518) 891-5559 or visiting online at www.hungrybearpublishing.com. He works out of the Hungry Bear Publishing home office at 40 McClelland St. , Saranac Lake , NY 12983.

Learn more about Steve's wine by calling (719) 539-2674. The winery is located at 7729 County Route 150, Unit C, Salida , CO 81201 . Tours are available from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from Memorial Day weekend through October.

The Flynn twins are holding special events this year to share their passions with neighbors and friends. Andy will host the “Adirondack Attic 6” Book Release Party at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 26 at Saranac Village at Will Rogers in Saranac Lake . It is free and open to the public. Steve will host the annual grape-stomping festival, SmelterStomp 2010, from 1 to 6 p.m. Sept. 25-26 at Vino Salida Wine Cellars in Salida.

Adirondack Attic 6 has arrived!

2010-05-27T18:33:00.002-04:00

Well, folks, it's here. "New York State's Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 6," by Andy Flynn, arrived in Saranac Lake this afternoon. It includes 53 "Adirondack Attic" columns I wrote in 2008. Yes, believe it or not, there were 53 Wednesdays in 2008, even though there were only 52 weeks. Go figure. My columns were always released on a Wednesday. Each chapter features a story about a different artifact in the collection of the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, NY.

Learn more about the book: See the Table of Contents.

Better late than never. Initially, Attic 6 was supposed to be printed in 2009; however, due to finances, I was not able to print it at the time. So, here it is, better late than never. Actually, it's great timing since my monthly Adirondack Attic Radio Series just started airing on North Country Public Radio.

The cost for Adirondack Attic 6 is the same as the previous Adirondack Attic books, $18.00, and you can purchase them online at the Hungry Bear Publishing Bookstore.

Also, join me at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 26 at Saranac Village at Will Rogers in Saranac Lake for the Adirondack Attic 6 Book Release Party. It is free and open to the public. Help me celebrate this final book in the Adirondack Attic series.

Happy reading!

Is there ever enough time to write?

2010-05-26T08:01:00.003-04:00

Oh boy. May has been a whirlwind month, both personally and professionally. So much going on and not enough time to write.

Prayers go out to my mother-in-law, Alice, who has been in and out of the hospital since Mother's Day. We've been traveling a lot to see her in the hospital at Plattsburgh (even spending her 70th birthday, May 21, at CVPH). She has good days and bad days, and I hope she can make it home soon. She at least needs to attend my June 26 Book Release Party for "New York State's Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 6," which should arrive in Saranac Lake by Friday (fingers crossed). The party will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 26 at Saranac Village at Will Rogers in Saranac Lake. It is free and open to the public. I hope Alice can make it; after all, I dedicated this book to her. She has to come!

The new Meet the Town booklet for Canton is currently at the printer and should arrive by mid-June. The new Potsdam Meet the Town will be going to the printer today or Thursday and should arrive shortly after the Canton booklet gets here. Right now, I'm also putting together the new Saranac Lake and Au Sable Valley Meet the Town community guides. And I'm busy distributing all the books to communities now that the busy season is upon us.

I'm planning a few events for June, including a PR101 Workshop on June 9 in Tupper Lake (free for Meet the Town advertisers and Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce members) and on June 16 in Newcomb (free for Meet the Town advertisers and Newcomb Chamber members). Also, I have two Adirondack Artifact Night programs set: June 18 (7 p.m.) with the Wilmington Historical Society at the Wilmington Grange Hall; and June 29 (7 p.m.) at the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library. I encourage people to bring in artifacts from home for a show-and-tell session. I want to hear all about your objects and local history! The Artifact Night programs are free and open to the public.

And I finally have a time slot for the new Adirondack Attic Radio Show on North Country Public Radio: the first Tuesday of the month during the Eight O'Clock Hour with Todd Moe. That means June 1 for the next one. Listen to the two previous programs on the Hungry Bear Publishing web site. Thanks to my sponsors: Dan Berggren and the Adirondack Museum.

I've also begun developing a new web site for the Adirondack Attic History Project.

Now that I've taken some time to write, it's back to work.

Social media writers unite on May 7

2010-05-02T14:40:00.000-04:00

I'm looking forward to attending the Adirondack New Media/Social Media event on May 7 at the Adirondack Museum.

Adirondack region new media/social media writers and producers are invited to gather at the Adirondack Museum from 5 to 7 p.m. for a networking event and backstage tour of the Adirondack Museum's newest exhibit "Let's Eat: Adirondack Food Traditions."

Local bloggers, Twitter users, social media writers and producers, and new media journalists will be getting together in the Adirondack Museum's "Living With Wilderness Gallery" for food, drink, and networking, before taking an early behind the scenes look at the Museum's featured 2010 exhibit.

This event is sponsored by the Adirondack Pub and Brewery and the Adirondack Winery and Tasting Room (both in Lake George), the Adirondack Museum, and Adirondack Almanack.

For more information, contact John Warren at adkalmanack@gmail.com.

Adirondack Attic radio show debuts April 23

2010-04-22T17:35:00.005-04:00

I just learned that North Country Public Radio will begin airing my monthly Adirondack Attic radio show during the 8 O'Clock Hour, hosted by Todd Moe, on Friday, April 23. Listen to the whole hour, even though the show will most likely run between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Listen to my 60-second promo.

In this first program, I talk with Adirondack Museum Chief Curator Laura Rice about a new artifact in the museum's collection, a sketchbook that shows detailed illustrations from Blue Mountain Lake in 1875. Several photos of the sketchbook will be posted on the NCPR web site. Here is one of the Blue Mountain House as it looked in 1875. This is the site of the modern-day Adirondack Museum.

Here's another treat: Listen to the "Adirondack Attic" song, written and performed by Adirondack folksinger Dan Berggren, of Ballston Spa. Dan will be performing this song at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at Tannery Pond Community Center, just after my Adirondack Artifact Night program (starts @ 7 p.m.) and just before his concert with Jamcrackers (Dan, Peggy Lynn and Dan Duggan), starting @ 8:30 p.m. Both events are free and open to the public. Hope to see you then.

The Adirondack Attic radio show is sponsored by Hungry Bear Publishing, Dan Berggren and the Adirondack Museum.

'Adirondack Attic' resurrected on NCPR

2010-04-16T07:14:00.006-04:00

A year ago, I sadly had to discontinue writing my self-syndicated weekly column, "Adirondack Attic," which had been running in several northern New York newspapers since 2003. The economic downturn had forced some newspapers to cut back, and that included local content such as my modestly priced column. Let me say, it was a bargain! Still, the Press-Republican dropped me in the fall of 2008, and the Lake Placid News and Adirondack Daily Enterprise dropped me from weekly to every other week in March 2009. Soon it was costing me money to write, and that's not a good business model. So I stopped writing the column altogether in May 2009.

Looking around at other media outlets, I noticed that public radio seemed to make a better transition to the modern era of electronic gadgetry: computers, smart phones, etc. While newspapers were struggling to transition to a hybrid print/online platform and still make money, it seemed to me that radio was doing just fine. Radio stations could simply stream their signal on the Internet, add a lot of rich content to their Web sites, and gain listenership from around the world. They are now building bigger audiences.

So, as my writing for newspapers was doomed, I looked toward public radio for a new chapter in the life of the "Adirondack Attic." It's time now for the "Adirondack Attic" radio show.

I've been developing the "Adirondack Attic" radio show with North Country Public Radio for almost a year, and now the first program is set to air sometime during the week of April 19, 2010. I'm not sure which time slot, maybe the 8 O'Clock Hour in the morning with Todd Moe. This show is 5 minutes long, and I will produce 13 programs in 2010.

The radio show format will be similar to my newspaper column, which featured stories about artifacts in the collection the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. I worked with curators to find one interesting artifact a week. The radio show will also feature one artifact from museum collections. And while I will be using the Adirondack Museum as my base of operation for history exploration, I will also be visiting other collections throughout the Adirondack North Country region for the radio show.

This radio program would not be possible without the support of North Country Public Radio, the Adirondack Museum and singer/songwriter Dan Berggren, who penned the "Adirondack Attic" song and provided music for the radio series. Hungry Bear Publishing (that's my company) is also underwriting the program. I produce the series out of my home office and email the files to NCPR HQ in Canton.

Photos of the "Adirondack Attic" artifacts will be posted on the NCPR web site along with all the programs. So, if you missed it on the air, you can always listen to the "Adirondack Attic" on the Web.

By the way, I'm not new to radio. In fact, this is a homecoming of sorts. I earned a communications degree at SUNY Fredonia in 1991, studying radio production and English. My goal was to become a radio documentary producer. I eventually landed a part-time reporter's job at NCPR in October 1992 and stayed until August 1993 when I became homesick and moved back to the Adirondacks. I produced public radio documentaries into 1994 and soon made a transition to newspapers, then government public relations, then self employment. Now, I'm back on the radio and I couldn't be happier. The folks at NCPR and the Adirondack Museum are like family to me. Oh, and who was my radio professor at SUNY Fredonia? Dan Berggren. He's the best!

Adirondack Artifact Night and PR101 Workshop

2010-04-07T09:39:00.001-04:00

As the snow melts, the busy lecture and workshop season gets underway for Hungry Bear Publishing. I'm trying to keep my public appearances light in the spring because I'm not sure when I'm going to California to see my father. In any case, I already have two programs lined up, a history workshop and a public relations workshop.

The public is invited to attend my first-ever Adirondack Artifact Night, which will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 24 at the Tannery Pond Community Center, North Creek, N.Y. It will be sponsored by the North Creek Depot Museum, NYSCA and the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council. It is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Adirondack Artifact Night will start with a brief Community History Writing Workshop and end with a show-and-tell session featuring Adirondack artifacts. People are asked to bring historical artifacts from their homes or businesses and participate in this part of the program by telling stories about their objects.

I will also be presenting a public relations workshop for small businesses from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12 at the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce offices on River Street. The program is called "PR101: Think Big on a Small Budget."

During the workshop, I will cover a wide variety of public relations topics and give small business owners a primer on getting their messages out to customers. Topics will include press releases, media kits, promotional items, publications, web sites, special events and media relations. The workshop is free to Meet the Town advertisers and Chamber members and $10 for people who are non-members and non-advertisers. Preregistration is required by May 11 by calling the Chamber at (518) 891-1990.

I am also making book tour plans for "Adirondack Attic 6," which will be released in June. For more information on my public appearances, check out the calendar on the Hungry Bear Publishing web site.

Genealogy, gout and the California Zephyr

2010-04-06T15:49:00.002-04:00

The past several days have been filled with thoughts of health and family. All the while, I have't got much work done, but I did manage to finish my book proposal and I'm currently researching how to send queries to literary agents.

The biggest Easter bunny I ever saw came to my house on Sunday. My mom came over to have dinner. It was her birthday, so it was a double celebration, with prime rib, potatoes with kielbasa, mashed potatoes, asparagus, cake and ice cream. My wife and mom had wine; I couldn't have alcohol because I was having an acute attack of gout in my left foot. After dinner, my mom and I spent a couple of hours going through her new Ancestry.com account, which we gave to her for her birthday. She wants to learn more about her grandparents of Polish and Canadian descent. Since it's technically my family tree in the account (she doesn't have a computer, and I'm doing the legwork), I've been having fun learning about all sides of my family.

I found out Friday night that my father, who lives in Sacramento, Calif., had a heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery. It took my two days to locate the hospital he was in, and I finally got a chance to speak with him Easter evening. He's doing better and will probably be out of work for a couple of months. He's 68 and a nurse. We're not that close and only speak a few times a year, but I wanted to make sure he was okay. I've been thinking more about him lately since I've been tracking his Irish and German roots. I plan on visiting him soon, traveling by train on the Lakeshore Limited from Albany to Chicago and then by the California Zephyr from Chicago to Sacramento. I've never been to California, so this will be quite an adventure for a mountain boy.

The gout has kept me on the couch and in bed for a few days. If all goes well, I should be able to leave the house in a day or so. Right now I can't even put my sneakers on because it is so painful. The best thing for me right now is to keep my leg up and drink lots of water. TV, reading and writing are keeping me busy. Oh, and the dogs are grateful to have the constant company.

Time to send a book proposal

2010-04-01T09:23:00.000-04:00

For more than six years I’ve been self publishing, mainly because I have the skills and tools to do so and because my books are only about the Adirondack North Country region. There is no mass appeal for Adirondack history across the United States. Now, however, I am writing a timely nonfiction book that has mass appeal, and I am preparing to send book proposals out.

With no formal training, I taught myself how to self publish. It’s an experience I wouldn’t trade and a practice I plan to continue. But there is so much more I want to learn about the writing and publishing business. It’s time to experience the world of book proposals and queries and all the things writers do to get “traditionally” published.

I’d love to write a bestseller, but I’d settle for cult classic rather than a one-shot wonder. And, yes, I dream big, but I’m also realistic. How would a backwoods author like me ever get on the New York Times bestseller list? Come on. I’ll do my best and hope for the best, that’s all.

I was a writer and didn’t even know it

2010-03-31T10:45:00.004-04:00

For months, my wife has been telling me that I’m living my dream at 40 years old, while she is still waiting to live hers, but I haven’t agreed with her until now.

Only six months into self employment for both of us, we ran into the cash flow wall, nothing coming in for bills. It was winter 2009-2010. My wife’s former employer, Adirondack Bank, asked her if she wanted to return to her old job as a teller. The answer was easy: yes. In order to make our business survive and grow, one of us had to go back to work full time (part time in our business). Dawn bit the bullet, made the sacrifice, for me, for us, for our future.

Now I’m reminded, fairly, that I am living my dream job: working for myself. After all, isn’t that what I wanted when I left my cushy state job in June 2009? Yes, but what I really want to do when I grow up is become a writer first, a publisher second. I kept reminding my wife that I’m a publisher first, a writer second, because our bread and butter is in the publishing side of the business: the advertising-driven Meet the Town community guides. I don’t want to be a full-time salesman, I want to be a full-time writer. My dream job, I kept telling my wife, is a long way off.

Then I had one of those epiphany things. I sat back and looked at my work day and noticed the lack of structure. I can do anything I want during the day and nobody’s going to say anything, as long as I earn enough money to pay the bills. Then I thought of Stephen King and his “On Writing” book. He locks himself away from society to write and sets daily writing goals for himself. I thought to myself, “That’s what writers do.”

So I scratched out a short Daily Checklist for myself, including sales goals and writing goals. Now I look at things differently. As I check off the items on my list, I actually feel as though I’m getting something done in my life. I just needed that tiny bit of structure.

And now I’m writing, every work day, and my wife is right, again.

Video marketing and the book trailer

2010-03-30T15:48:00.001-04:00

I'd love to get a camcorder and video-editing software and create my own author interviews and book trailers, like those of Monica Holloway, Kelly Corrigan and hundreds of other authors at companies such as HarperCollins Publishers. I'm just as market savvy as the rest of them, I just don't have much money. There's no way I can pay thousands of dollars to a marketing company to create slick videos of me and my "Adirondack Attic" books. And I don't have hundreds of dollars to get a camera and software. Someday I'd like to make the videos myself, post them on my web site and YouTube and wait for book orders to stream in.

One expense at a time. There's nothing in the budget for online video marketing. Printing is my number one cost at the moment for my Adirondack books and Meet the Town community guides. Then there's operating expenses, business loans, food, gas, the light bill, and yes, the mortgage. And there's never money for a vacation (well, every five years we go to Nashville, but that's about it).

I'm left daydreaming ... I wonder how much a video could drum up my book business, with "Adirondack Attic" or "Mostly Spruce and Hemlock" going viral. I feel as though my marketing plan is collecting dust along with antiquated books underneath spider webs on the top shelf in the basement of a second-hand bookstore in the middle of the woods. That musty odor is the smell of missed sales.

As I publish new books this year, I'd like to spark interest with online video, just to see what the hubbub is all about. Does it really work? I suppose it can't hurt. Yet, when money is tight, how do you really know whether the return will be worth the investment?

Submissions needed for new 'Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Memories' book

2010-01-21T08:13:00.000-05:00

Hungry Bear Publishing is seeking essays and photos from past and current residents for an upcoming book titled, “Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Memories.”

Formally announced on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 at the weekly Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee meeting, Publisher Andy Flynn said the book will be filled with people’s favorite Winter Carnival memories. In addition, it will help raise funds for the Committee.

“This will be a book by the community, for the community,” said Flynn, who will collect the submissions and be the editor of the project. “Since the Winter Carnival is the most community-oriented festival I’ve ever seen, this book must reflect the heart and soul of Saranac Lake. It needs to be written by the community.”

“Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Memories” will be a memory book, not a complete history of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, which traces its roots to a small festival in 1897 during the tuberculosis-curing days. The Pontiac Club organized and hosted the event during the early years. The Ice Palace, a long-held Winter Carnival tradition, was first built for the 1898 Carnival, when hundreds of visitors traveled to Saranac Lake for the festivities by train.

“The Committee was very excited to learn of Andy's plans,” said Jeff Dickson, Chairman of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee. “Winter Carnival is all about the creation of memories and everyone who has ever attended has some. Unfortunately, most of them get lost with the passage of time. This book’s value to us as a fundraiser is wonderful, and the personal history that it will present is even more exciting.”

Every good story has a theme. Residents are asked to pick one memorable moment from a past Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, good or bad, and explain why it was so memorable. Give details, give names. Describe the scene. How did it affect you or others? Were you a king or queen? If you choose to write about a Winter Carnival artifact, explain where you got it or how it was used and submit a photo.

“If you ever wanted to have your essay or photo published in a book, this is your chance,” Flynn said. “In return for the community’s donation of memories, we will donate 10 percent of the book’s proceeds to the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee to help ensure that this annual event stays around for a very long time.”

People may submit essays of no longer than 450 words and/or a maximum of two photographs. Poems and illustrations are also accepted. The inside pages will be black and white. Entry/permission forms and Rules & Directions are available as PDF downloads at Hungry Bear Publishing or by contacting Andy Flynn at 40 McClelland St., Saranac Lake, NY 12983, (518) 891-5559, or email at adkattic@yahoo.com. Entry/permission forms must be filled out and sent via snail mail to Hungry Bear Publishing, while essays and photos must be sent via email. Specifications are listed on the Rules & Direction form.

“Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Memories” will be released in the fall of 2010, just in time for the Christmas shopping season. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2010.

Cover photos for the book were provided by Mark Kurtz Photography, of Saranac Lake. Mark Kurtz is the official photographer for the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. One photo shows the fireworks display over the 2008 Ice Palace, and the other photo shows one of the famous Lawn Chair Ladies, Saranac Laker Sue Grimm, in action during the 2009 Gala Parade.

Based in Saranac Lake, Hungry Bear Publishing produces community-based publications and programs promoting the heritage and towns of the Adirondack region. In 2008, the company was awarded a Certificate of Commendation from the Upstate History Alliance for the Adirondack Attic History Project, which Andy Flynn founded in 2003 to actively preserve Adirondack history by collecting artifact-based, human-interest stories. Those stories have been compiled into the five-part “Adirondack Attic” book series. Hungry Bear Publishing also produces the Meet the Town community guide series and most recently published the re-print version of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock,” the classic history of Tupper Lake by Louis Simmons, a project that was a fundraiser for the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library.

Writer Spotlight: Caperton Tissot

2009-12-21T07:57:00.004-05:00

NAME: Caperton Tissot
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Saranac Lake
FIELD: writer
EMPLOYER: self-employed (Snowy Owl Press)

Q. What were your main writing & publishing accomplishments this past year?
Shared weekly column in Adirondack Daily Enterprise: Friends and Neighbors; various oral history workshops and talks.

Q. What new projects are you working on for the upcoming year?
A new slant on Adirondack History

Q. What are your upcoming public appearances?
Lake Placid Historical Society talk on oral history projects.

Q. If you were to write a book with one other person in the world, who would it be and what would you write?
Who knows?

Q. What do you like the most about living in and/or writing about the Adirondack region?
The wilderness, community and writing (because it is a means of sharing observations and history with readers).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Caperton Tissot comes to the field of writing via a career in health care, pottery, environmental politics, and published cultural commentary. Caperton and her husband live in the Adirondacks, where she combines active outdoor exploration with a passion for writing about history, memoirs and social commentary. Published works include magazine and newspaper articles, a book, "History between the Lines: Women’s Lives and Saranac Lake Customs," and an upcoming book addressing an aspect of Adirondack history to be published in the summer/fall of 2010.

Writer Spotlight: Joe Hackett

2009-12-11T13:10:00.005-05:00

NAME: Joe Hackett
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Ray Brook, N.Y.
FIELD: Columnist/freelance outdoor writer
EMPLOYER: Self-employed

Q. What were your main writing & publishing accomplishments this past year?
Completing a full decade of writing two columns a week for different newspaper groups

Q. What new projects are you working on for the upcoming year?
A continued commitment to reconnecting children and nature, with an emphasis on rural youth and traditional sporting pursuits

Q. What are your upcoming public appearances?
This afternoon on Scarface Mountain, I'll be in my backyard delivering a keynote address to the first buck passing by

Q. If you were to write a book with one other person in the world, who would it be and what would you write?
A how to guide for aspiring outdoor writers with James Prosec, author/illustrator of “Trout of the World, Fishing with Joe” and several others

Q. What do you like the most about living in and/or writing about the Adirondack region?
The endless supply of topics and material and the unlimited human resources, a wealth of characters

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joe Hackett is a full time, year-round Adirondack guide operating primarily for flyfishing enthusiasts seeking traditional backcountry adventures. With a reputation for father/son and mother /daughter adventures, he recently completed his 31st season in the woods. He lives with his wife and two daughters in the sprawling metropolis of east Ray Brook; within a stone's throw of the Adirondack Park Agency and Department of Environmental Conservation headquarters.

Adirondack Attic: Volume 1 is now officially OUT OF PRINT

2009-12-10T18:13:00.006-05:00

Hungry Bear Publishing announced today that its first book -- "New York State's Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 1," by Saranac Lake author Andy Flynn -- is now out of print. It was released in May 2004.

"That means we are critically low on copies of this book, and there will not be a second printing," said Hungry Bear Publishing publisher and "Adirondack Attic" author Andy Flynn. "We have made plans to sell the rest of the books on our web site."

Hungry Bear Publishing will sell its remaining 50 copies of "Adirondack Attic 1" during a special "Going Out of Print Sale" on HungryBearPublishing.com as part of a set. Buy the six "Adirondack Attic" books for $99.95 (a savings of $7.00) and get six Adirondack Attic bookmarks for free.

Since "Adirondack Attic Volume 6" will not be released until the spring of 2010, people who buy the complete sets will get the first five volumes immediately (plus five bookmarks), and Hungry Bear Publishing will ship Volume 6 when it is released. Shipping is an additional $10.00.

"Volume 6 will be the final book in the series, so this is the last time people can get a complete set of signed 'Adirondack Attic' books from Hungry Bear Publishing," Flynn said. "As other volumes of 'Adirondack Attic' are sold out, they will not be re-printed, so this is definitely a set to collect."

Single copies of "New York State's Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 1" are still available at bookstores and gift shops in the Adirondack region.

The six-part "Adirondack Attic" book series features more than 300 human-interest stories about a variety of artifacts at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y. The books represent a collection of Flynn's "Adirondack Attic" column, which ran weekly in several northern New York newspapers from 2003 to 2009. Volume 1 includes the full set of columns, a total of 45, from the inaugural year.

For more information, contact Andy Flynn at (518) 891-5559 or visit online at Hungry Bear Publishing.

Andy’s Desk: Tupper Lake/Long Lake/Newcomb Meet the Town books arrive

2009-12-07T09:10:00.001-05:00

The Tupper Lake/Long Lake/Newcomb Meet the Town booklets arrive today. That means I’ll be spending the next two days folding maps, stuffing them in books, and distributing them around Tupper Lake, Long Lake and Newcomb. They’re a little late, due to illness and computer crashes, but this edition is much better than the previous (we always try to improve each book).

First of all, the Tupper Lake Meet the Town only featured the Tupper Lake community in 2008-2009, the inaugural edition. In the 2009-2010 Tupper Lake booklet, we are also promoting the town of Newcomb and the town of Long Lake, which includes the hamlets of Long Lake and Raquette Lake This is a more regional approach. At first I just wanted to add Long Lake because there is a lot of travel between Long Lake and Tupper Lake, and that made it a perfect direction to expand the booklet. Then I thought, “Newcomb is pretty close to Long Lake; let’s add Newcomb, too.” And that was that. Newcomb was in.

Raquette Lake is included in the new Meet the Town because it is part of the town of Long Lake. The community of Blue Mountain Lake is not detailed in the guide because there is limited space, and the hamlet is located in the town of Indian Lake. By political boundary, we are keeping true to the guide. We admit, though, that the traveler may see it otherwise. You see, folks have to drive through Blue Mountain Lake on State Route 28N in order to get from Long Lake to Raquette Lake.

Simply ignoring Blue Mountain Lake is not in anyone’s best interest. Therefore, we haven’t forgotten Blue Mountain Lake, a community that is near and dear to my heart, home of the Adirondack Museum, where I have traveled to research Adirondack history for my writing over the past six years. In the Attractions section of the Tupper Lake/Long Lake/Newcomb booklet, we have included the Adirondack Museum and the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, two of the major attractions in the Central Adirondacks, ones that I highly recommend for the resident and visitor.

Every time a new book arrives, I always get nervous. Did the printer do a good job? How many boxes were smashed on the ride from the printer to Saranac Lake? Will I slip and fall in the snow while carrying 35 boxes from the FedEx truck to my storage area? It’s exciting, like when a new baby arrives, but there are always things to worry about until I get the new book in front of a customer and get a review, hopefully a positive one. Please enjoy the new Meet the Town for Tupper Lake, Long Lake and Newcomb. The online version will be available soon on the Meet the Town web site.

Andy’s Desk: New Saranac Lake Winter Carnival book in the works

2009-12-03T08:44:00.003-05:00

Today I begin my training to help maintain the new Saranac Lake Winter Carnival web site. I currently maintain my own two web sites – Meet the Town and Hungry Bear Publishing – and the Adirondack Writer blog, and have now volunteered to help the Winter Carnival Committee update its web site with one other volunteer. Nick Wakeman, who re-designed the Winter Carnival site, will visit me this afternoon and show me the ropes. Then I will try to train the other volunteer at a later date.

This web site work coincides with, but is not related to, the formation of a new book, “Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Memories,” which Hungry Bear Publishing expects to release in the fall of 2010. After working with the Tupper Lake library on the reprint of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock,” my wife, Dawn, and I began looking for another community organization to help with the publication of a new book. We didn’t have to look far; Saranac Lake was the perfect choice, as we live here, and this is Dawn’s hometown (Tupper Lake is mine). So we began working on the creation of the new Winter Carnival book last week.

I’m currently working with the Winter Carnival’s official photographer – Mark Kurtz – to pick two photos for the cover of the book. I want it to look fun, like a carnival, yet professional. It should also be a different design from the other seven book covers I’ve published so far. The layout is complete but may be tweaked (I’m always tweaking). Then I have to decide on a font. I’m shopping right now for a font that is fun yet professional and easy to read on a book shelf.

“Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Memories” will be a true community book in the sense that it will be written by the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival community – past and present residents and visitors. In early January, we will start accepting submissions of essays (even poems) of no more than 450 words and photos (two per person) of Saranac Lake Winter Carnival memories. I estimate that the book will be 480 pages, paperback, and will retail for $24.95. I will be the editor.

Furthering our community commitment, we will donate 10% of the book’s proceeds to the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee. Given this, we are asking that submissions be donated to the cause. Entrants must sign waivers and entry forms, which will be available in early January. We hope to sell most of the initial print run of 2,000 via summer presales and through the 2010 holiday shopping season in order to help the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee pay for its 2011 event. That’s the plan so far.

Adirondack Attic: Lake Placid decoupage skates

2009-12-02T09:23:00.001-05:00

(Editor’s Note: The following is a sample of an “Adirondack Attic” story, by Andy Flynn, originally published in newspapers in 2004 and re-printed in “New York State’s Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 2.” See a photo of the artifact on the cover of the book.)

Ask 100 Olympic village tourists — “What’s the first thing you think of when you think of Lake Placid?” — and you’ll get 100 different answers: the Winter Olympics, the 1980 “Miracle on Ice,” bobsledding, horse shows, the Ironman triathlon, Mount Marcy, Jimmy Shea, hockey.

Ask 100 screaming girls the same question while they’re watching Scott Hamilton or Kristi Yamaguchi perform in the Olympic Arena, and you’ll get only one answer — a high-pitched “figure skating!” guaranteed to knock you out of your red, plastic seat.

The Skating Club of Lake Placid can trace its roots back to the early 20th century at the Lake Placid Club, where competitions in the village were first held outdoors. Today the Skating Club offers programs and events to help skaters of all ages learn about basic skills and performing.

Barbara Tyrell Kelly, of Lake Placid, is a shining example of how creative, enthusiastic and successful figure skaters can be in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. She is a Lake Placid Hall of Fame adult figure skater and a founding member of the Skating Club of Lake Placid. In 1997, Kelly won an adult figure skating gold medal in the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) Adult Nationals in Lake Placid. In 1999, she was honored with the Mountain Cup Trophy at the first international adult competition for “being an inspiration for adult skating around the world.”

Kelly donated a pair of decoupage skates to the Adirondack Museum in the summer of 2003. The women’s figure skates are decorated in decoupage style with newspaper and magazine clippings that illustrate the history of the club. Some headlines came straight from the tabloids. Many of the photos were taken from local newspapers. Depicted are events such as the Mid-Summer Operetta and Skate America, the names of coaches, photo headshots and the names of famous male and female skaters. The skate laces are made of lace.

The year was 1932, and the Olympic village needed an organization to sponsor competitions, ice carnivals and testing under the USFSA. The Skating Club of the Adirondacks was formed to do just that. In 1937, the group’s name was changed to the Skating Club of Lake Placid.

(Read more about this artifact in “New York State’s Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 2.” Buy online @ the Hungry Bear Publishing Bookstore. $18.00)

Copyright 2004 Andy Flynn/Hungry Bear Publishing

Writer Spotlight: Hallie E. Bond

2009-12-01T08:41:00.006-05:00

NAME: Hallie E. Bond
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Long Lake, N.Y.
FIELD: Museum curator (history)
EMPLOYER: Adirondack Museum

Q. What were your main writing & publishing accomplishments this past year?
“Cover Story” about Adirondack quilts in Adirondack Life, September/October 2009

Q. What new projects are you working on for the upcoming year?
“Passion in the Park,” a special Valentine's Day edition of Cabin Fever Sunday (Feb. 14, 2010) and ongoing research on quilts and other domestic textile production in the Adirondacks.

Q. What are your upcoming public appearances?
Cabin Fever Sunday program, Feb. 14, 2010, at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y.

Q. If you were to write a book with one other person in the world, who would it be and what would you write?
I'd work with Laurel Thacher Ulrich on a book on the home life of Adirondackers between the Civil War and World War II (non-fiction)

Q. What do you like the most about living in and/or writing about the Adirondack region?
I like the integration of life and the outdoors.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hallie E. Bond has been Curator at the Adirondack Museum since 1987. She has written extensively on regional history and material culture including “Boats and Boating in the Adirondacks,” published by Syracuse University Press in 1995, “A Paradise for Boys and Girls: Children’s Camps in the Adirondacks,” and numerous articles in magazines and contributions to books. Ms. Bond has a B.A. in History from the University of Colorado, an M.A. in Medieval Studies from the University of York (England) and an M.A. in American History with a Certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Delaware. She lives in Long Lake, N.Y., with her husband, Mason Smith, and two children.

PHOTO: Hallie Bond integrates the study of history with the outdoors on her BYOBoat trip during the summer of 2009, “The St. James of the Wilderness and the St. Regis Lakes,” with Mike Prescott in foreground.

Andy's Desk: Ready for Cyber Monday on HungryBearPublishing.com

2009-11-29T14:45:00.001-05:00

Selling regional books in the Adirondack Mountains is, by no means, big business. But that doesn't mean small publishers can't offer Christmas savings on their web sites during Cyber Monday. So, this year, we're ready at Hungry Bear Publishing.

The big Christmas Book Sale at HungryBearPublishing.com will last one week only (Nov. 30 - Dec. 6, 2009) and will feature 20% off select items:

1. the 2009 reprint of "Mostly Spruce and Hemlock," by Louis J. Simmons, plus 1 FREE Adirondack Attic bookmark (Price: $19.96 - a total savings of $6.24);

2. a full set of the five-volume "Adirondack Attic" book series, by Andy Flynn, plus 5 FREE Adirondack Attic bookmarks (Price: $71.16 - a total savings of $24.04).

Andy's Desk: Freedom on Black Friday

2009-11-27T06:45:00.000-05:00

For the past eight years, I never had any extra time around the holidays to explore the Adirondacks. You could always find me in the woods at the Paul Smiths Visitor Interpretive Center holding down the fort with one or two others while the rest of the staff traveled to visit family. My family lives in the Tri-Lakes region, and the farthest I have to travel this time of year is 22 miles to Tupper Lake to see my mother. This year, life during the holidays as a full-time work-at-home writer and publisher is much different.

Today, for example, is still a work day, but I’ll be spending it on the road, delivering the new “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” books to stores in Old Forge and Inlet, where I’ll be able to experience the annual Adirondack Christmas on Main Street, a three-day extravaganza in both communities designed to lure shoppers to these resort towns. I’m looking forward to seeing my book-selling friends at Old Forge Hardware and the Adirondack Reader in Inlet. And I’ll be taking photographs to use in future editions of the Adirondack Vacation Guide, which I edit for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise.

This trip will be unique, as Dawn and I will be transporting a passenger, our nephew Michael, a 9-year-old from Piercefield. We usually ride alone on business trips. Michael has the day off from school and jumped at the chance to get away from home (especially his older sister) and do a little traveling for the day. An Adirondack Christmas on Main Street instantly had new meaning. A few days ago, Dawn and I were merely going to witness the festivities, and now we will see if Michael wants to do anything fun. Face painting at Old Forge Hardware? Make a stuffed animal at the Inlet Town Hall? Fun sounds good.

These are the kinds of days I envisioned when I said I wanted to write full time and be self-employed. Summed up in one word, it is called “freedom.”

Industry News: Book sales on the rebound in the U.S.

2009-11-25T09:29:00.005-05:00

Reports from the Association of American Publishers (AAP) reveal that U.S. book sales seem to be on the increase after slumping in 2008 and the first several months of 2009.

As a matter of perspective, net book sales in the U.S. in 2007 totaled $25 billion, an increase of 3.2 percent from 2006. In 2008, net book sales in the U.S. decreased 2.8 percent to $24.3 billion. The AAP reported in a press release on September 2009 sales (dated Nov. 17, 2009) that net book sales in the U.S. are up 3.6 percent overall for 2009.

In the same release, the AAP showed that net book sales in the U.S. totaled $1.26 billion in September 2009, a substantial increase of 12.3 percent from September 2008.

In September, gains were made in Adult Hardcover (74.1 percent), Adult Mass Market (33.3 percent), Children’s/YA Paperback (8.6 percent), Audio Books (2.9 percent), E-Books (170.7 percent), University Press Paperback (5.0 percent), Higher Education (5.8 percent), and Elementary /High School (1.0 percent).

In September, sales decreased in September in Adult Paperback (1.7 percent), Children’s/YA Hardcover (24.3 percent), Religious Books (18.4 percent), University Press Hardcover (3.6 percent), and Professional and Scholarly (3.7 percent).

Personally, I’m interested in the Adult Paperback category, which is the medium for my Adirondack books. Although those numbers saw a slight decline in September, and are down 8.2 percent for the year, I’m cautiously optimistic. Adult Paperback sales decreased steadily from September 2008 to April 2009 (except in December 2009, which saw an increase from the year before), but gains were made from May to August 2009. Adult Hardcover sales saw a similar trend, with decreased sales from September 2008 to May 2009 and increases from June to September 2009.

Does this mean the economic downturn is over for book sales? I don’t know; I’m not an expert. But the book sales reports are encouraging.

U.S. sales in the Adult Paperback category below show the strongest and weakest months:

August: $152.7 million (2009)
December: $132.8 million (2008)
June: $132.6 million (2009)
September: $132.4 million (2009)
July: $124.0 million (2009)
April: $114.8 million (2009)
May: $113.2 million (2009)
January: $102.0 million (2009)
November: $95.4 million (2008)
October: $95.0 million (2008)
March: $89.1 million (2009)
February: $79.7 million (2009)

The poster child for success in U.S. book sales is the E-Book category, which is up 176.1 percent in 2009. Still, E-Books only represent a small portion of the book marketplace, accounting for 0.6 percent of consumer book purchases in 2008 and 2.4 percent of purchases in the first quarter of 2009, according to Publisher’s Weekly. This category is one to watch. On the other end of the spectrum, Audio Books are struggling with a decrease in sales of 21.2 percent so far in 2009. It will be interesting to see where this category goes as well.

Writer Spotlight: Phil Brown

2009-11-24T08:45:00.002-05:00

NAME: Phil Brown
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Saranac Lake
FIELD: Editor, writer, publisher
EMPLOYER: Editor of Adirondack Explorer, owner of Lost Pond Press

Q. What were your main writing & publishing accomplishments this past year?
Edited the six regular issues of the Adirondack Explorer, our Annual Outings Guide, and Wild Times, an anthology of hiking and paddling stories from the Explorer. Lost Pond Press’s "Adirondack Birding: 60 Great Places to Find Birds" received honorable mention at the Adirondack Center for Writing’s literary awards ceremony. As the Explorer editor, I received the Adirondack Mountain Club’s communicator of the year award.

Q. What new projects are you working on for the upcoming year?
I’m always thinking about new books. I don’t anticipate publishing any this year.

Q. What are your upcoming public appearances?
I give several slideshow/lectures a year on Bob Marshall, the legendary wilderness advocate and the first Adirondack Forty-Sixer. The slideshow is based on my book “Bob Marshall in the Adirondacks: Writings of a Pioneering Peak-Bagger, Pond-Hopper and Wilderness Preservationist,” published by Lost Pond Press.

Q. If you were to write a book with one other person in the world, who would it be and what would you write?
Stephen King, as I’d be assured of writing a best-seller.

Q. What do you like the most about living in and/or writing about the Adirondack region?
There is always adventure outside my door, and adventure refreshes the soul. I enjoy writing about the Adirondacks because it’s an interesting place—one worth protecting.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Worked in daily journalism for 20 years before taking a job as editor of the Adirondack Explorer newsmagazine in 1999. Author of “The Highroad Guide to the New York Adirondacks” and “Bob Marshall in the Adirondacks.” As owner of Lost Pond Press, published the Marshall book and two others, “Adirondack Birding,” by John M.C. Peterson and Gary N. Lee, and “Within a Forest Dark: An Adirondack Tale of Love and Suspicion,” by Michael Virtanen. The last book won the best-fiction award from the Adirondack Center for Writing. Enjoy hiking, canoeing, backcountry skiing, trail running, and rock climbing, though not all at once. Father of three grown children.

Andy's Desk: Riding waves of optimism

2009-11-23T09:00:00.002-05:00

Riding the waves of optimism from the successful launch of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” last week, I began thinking about publishing a new book for the community of Saranac Lake. After all, part of the proceeds from “Mostly Spruce” is going back to the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library in Tupper Lake. Dawn and I are now searching for an organization in Saranac Lake to support, one that would benefit from a book that the Saranac Lake community can rally around. Our ideas, for now, are top secret, but we almost have a plan in place. Stay tuned.

I’ll be heading out to distribute and sell ads for our Meet the Town booklets in Lake Placid/Wilmington this week. It’s a tough and brief one for sales, especially an annual publication, as many people are going out of town or are simply not at work because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Yet, there’s always plenty to do, like prepare for the Tupper Lake Meet the Town booklets to arrive (moving boxes and such) and write the new Plattsburgh Meet the Town. Plus, I’m still sending out orders of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” every day. And then there’s that pesky Business Plan Dawn and I are writing for our AEDC course. It needs to be done soon because class ends in a few weeks, and we are applying for a microenterprise loan.

The holidays are here, for better or worse. I wish all the retail outlets the best during these tough economic times and hope they have a successful season. Just remember, people love getting books for Christmas!

Special Events: Book party was a huge success

2009-11-20T09:24:00.004-05:00

(Photo: Andy Flynn, left, watches library board president Jim Kucipeck say a few remarks at the book-release party. Photo by Dawn Flynn.)

It’s been almost a year since the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library and Hungry Bear Publishing began working on the re-print of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock,” the classic history of Tupper Lake by Louis J. Simmons. And, by all accounts, the book-release party the evening of Nov. 19 at the library was a huge success.

Promptly at 7 p.m., at a podium in front of the periodical shelves and to the left of an exhibit on Louis J. Simmons, Library Board president Jim Kucipeck welcomed a crowd of more than 60 people to the special event (even more people streamed through the library throughout the evening). His warm comments were followed by a few touching words from Tupper Lake Free Press Publisher Dan McClelland, who wrote the Foreword to the new book. Louis, the editor at the Free Press for more than 40 years, was Dan’s mentor. Author Carol Poole, who wrote the Index to the new book, was absent because she was sick. And Hungry Bear Publishing Publisher Andy Flynn (that’s me) said a few words of thanks and handed out complimentary books to library staff and Chamber of Commerce staff, who were all very supportive of this effort. Also, my wife, Dawn, received flowers for her love and support, and library manager, Linda Auclair, received flowers for her constant support throughout the project. My mom, Michele Flynn, could not make the event, as she was sick as well. Michele works at the library and helped out with organizing the event and presale orders. I stopped by her house before the event to give her a book and a bouquet of flowers. Carol Poole will get her flowers today.

The event was festive with a historic theme. Refreshments, including cookies and brownies from The Marketplace and warm punch, were served on a table near the front desk. Computers were set up around the library showing audience members oral history interviews from Tupper Lakers. Two tables were set up, one for people to buy books and one for people to pick up books. Presale orders were taken between March and October. This paid for the printing and other production costs.

This book project was a fund-raiser for the library, which gets 50 percent of the proceeds from the books it sells and 10 percent of the proceeds from sales at other retail outlets. The library sold more than $1,300 worth of books during the party.

This project was worthwhile for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the library staff and board and my wife and I believe strongly that “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” should be available to the masses. There were 2,000 copies printed in 1976, and they were gone within two years. Generations of Tupper Lakers have grown up since then. They, and future generations, should have the opportunity to have their own copies of this book so they can learn about the formative years of their hometown. History is an important part of our lives, and we have a chance to give Tupper Lakers their history. And now we’ve done it! This was a model partnership between a publishing company and a library for the benefit of the community.

So, please, enjoy the new version of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock.”

[Buy copies of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” at the Hungry Bear Publishing web site.]

Writer Spotlight: Louis J. Simmons

2009-11-20T09:16:00.001-05:00

(Editor’s Note: This is the obituary of Louis J. Simmons as printed in the Tupper Lake Free Press on Wednesday, April 5, 1995. He died on April 4, 1995.)

Louis J. Simmons, who for over six decades chronicled the news happenings of Tip Top Town and its residents, died Tuesday morning at his home at 12 Lake Street. He was transported by the Tupper Lake Rescue Squad to the Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake where he was pronounced dead.

Louis John Simmons, who was 86, was born December 21, 1908 to a railroad family in Faust. He was one of eight children born to Mary Jane (Flanigan) and William Valentine Simmons. Louis was the last of the eight siblings. He was predeceased by his brothers Frank, Lawrence, Fred and Raymond, who died as a baby, and sisters Harriet Beige, Anne Frenette, and Ethel Girard.

He graduated from Tupper Lake High School in 1926 and then graduated cum laude from Syracuse University in 1930. He held Phi Kappa Phi honors with a bachelor of science degree in business administration-journalism.

He began his career with the Tupper Lake Free Press on Tuesday, July 7, 1932—little more than a day before the Free Press would hit the streets that week. From that day on, he would be a key ingredient in every issue that would be published for the next 50 years.

In 1938 he married Grace Oberlander of Syracuse in that city. His first wife, a long-time local librarian, died in 1968. On May 1, 1969 he and the former Marcia Irene Oberlander of Syracuse were married at St. Alphonsus Church in Tupper Lake. They have since resided at 12 Lake Street. In addition to his wife, Lou is survived by many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and great, great nieces and nephews.

Since 1932, the hometown newspaperman covered the news in Tupper Lake, not only as editor of the Tupper Lake Free Press, but as reporter for both the Watertown Daily Times and the Syracuse Post Standard. He alone covered the news beat during many of the years that followed.

When Louis retired from his part-time posts as correspondent for the dailies in the late 1970s, his superiors on those two papers had many good things to say about his career.

John B. Johnson, publisher of the Watertown Daily Times, wrote: “Louis’ reliability, as well as his accuracy, impressed three generations of editors on this newspaper. It was never necessary to verify what he wrote because he had already done it beforehand. Thus his stories moved from copy to the printed page virtually unchanged. His editors knew that his was accurate writing and reporting.”

The managing editor of the Syracuse Post Standard at that time, Robert Atkinson, said of Lou: “When I arrived in Saranac Lake as bureau correspondent 25 years ago, Lou Simmons had already become somewhat of a legend with more than 20 years service to the community. If there was ever a question about Tupper Lake raised, the response was always the same ... ask Lou Simmons.”

When Louis was not busy as editor or reporter, he volunteered his free time as town and village historian, two positions he held for more than 40 years. In a role virtually unchanged over the years, the Tupper Lake historian has been the link between the past and the present for many residents and former residents.

In recent years he has served as a member of the board of directors of the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library. He has represented Tupper Lake in thousands of pieces of correspondence or personal inquiries about the heritage of the village and town.

In 1976, Louis authored Tupper Lake’s historical best-seller “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” in which the complete record of the development of Tupper Lake and the Town of Altamont was reported. He has also authored several publications for the town’s recent centennial and other community milestones over the years.

This July, Lou would have celebrated his 63rd anniversary at the Tupper Lake Free Press.

During his early years with the Tupper Lake Free Press, he knew and interviewed many of the men who pioneered the region and their reminiscences he filed in news clipping for historical reference. He continued in those endeavors until his death. Tupper Lake’s well known journalist retired from full-time service as editor of the Tupper Lake Free Press in 1979, and since then he has held the position of “editor emeritus”—working with the Free Press staff two days a week. He was at his desk in the Free Press office Monday.

In 1967 Louis was the recipient of the Franklin County Bar Association “Liberty Bell” award for community service. In 1979 he was distinguished as Tupper Lake’s “Citizen of the Year” at the annual chamber of commerce banquet.

Adirondack Attic: Noah John Rondeau and his Aunt Maggie’s doll

2009-11-18T07:12:00.001-05:00

(Editor’s Note: The following is a sample of an “Adirondack Attic” story, by Andy Flynn, originally published in newspapers in 2005 and re-printed in “New York State’s Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 3.” See a photo of the artifact on the cover of the book.)

When Adirondack hermit Noah John Rondeau decided to write his “Recollections of 60 Years” in 1943, he chose to document some of his earliest memories at “A French Wedding in a Log House” near Au Sable Forks. He authored four poems that year along with this manuscript at his Cold River City encampment in the high peaks.

Author Maitland DeSormo fit the “Recollections” on 48 pages in his 1969 book, “Noah John Rondeau: Adirondack Hermit.” Rondeau (1883-1967) was 6 years old at the time of the French wedding on New Year’s Day in 1890. His aunt, Margaret “Maggie” Corrow, was to marry Henry Miner Jr., of the village of Au Sable Forks. Rondeau and his parents, Peter and Alice Corrow Rondeau, arrived at his grandparents’ home before breakfast. Gramp and Gram, Charles and Marie Antoinette Corrow, were born in Canada and settled in the log house near Au Sable Forks, where they raised eight children. As young Noah explored the log cabin that New Year’s Day, he looked at a few photographs in the living room.

“Then I stood before a Niche that hung on the Wall and I made a careful Visual Survey of the little doll,” Noah wrote. “Then I moved to the next and the next and so I made the Stations of the Dolls.”

One of those dolls in the “niches” belonged to his Aunt Maggie, who was 24 when she married Mr. Miner, too old to play with such toys. But it certainly caught this 6-year-old boy’s attention before he apprehensively moved on to the green plush-covered photo album.

“In time I dared to touch it and nothing happened,” Noah wrote. “Even the Dolls on the Wall kept Mum.”

One of Maggie’s dolls is now artifact No. 2004.69 in the Adirondack Museum’s collection. It was donated by Kathryn Lanigan, of Morrisonville, in the memory William A. Calhoun Jr., who died in his home in March 2004. Margaret Corrow Miner (1866-1963) was Calhoun’s grandmother and the donor’s greatgrandmother. They affectionately called her “Little Gram.” At the time of Calhoun’s death, the doll was hanging in a shadow box on the wall of his Au Sable Forks living room, in the same house where he was born. A picture of Maggie in front of his house is on page 143 of DeSormo’s book.

(Read more about this artifact in “New York State’s Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 3.” Buy online @ the Hungry Bear Publishing Bookstore. $18.00)

Copyright 2005 Andy Flynn/Hungry Bear Publishing

Andy's Desk: Wrapping up 'Mostly Spruce' and Tupper Lake Meet the Town

2009-11-16T07:50:00.000-05:00

I’m still trying to catch up on my work after being sick all of October. The Adirondack Winter Guide was emailed out to Gloversville on Friday, Nov. 6. I’ve been frantically trying to get the new Tupper Lake/Long Lake/Newcomb Meet the Town edited and ready for the printer. It will go out today. Then I have to finish working on the second version of the “Adirondack Attic” Radio Series pilot for North Country Public Radio, now that I have a voice again.

Thursday, Nov. 19 is the big day for me in Tupper Lake. You’re all invited to the book-release party for the reprint of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock,” by Louis J. Simmons. It starts at 7 p.m. at the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library. The official book release date is Friday, Nov. 20; that’s when retail outlets are able to start selling the book. I’ll have the books available on my Hungry Bear Publishing web site on Friday morning as well. This was a long and worthwhile project. Partnering with the library was the key to this book’s success, as the presales paid for the printing. With 2,000 copies printed, we may be out of books by the end of 2010. Then we’ll ask the question, “Do we print another 2,000?” It will all depend on finances. So get your copies once they’re on sale!

We’re wrapping up the Business Plan course through the Adirondack Economic Development Corporation in Saranac Lake. We have about a month left of this 60-hour course, meeting Tuesday evenings for three hours for 15 weeks and another 15 hours outside of class. Dawn and I have learned a lot about the Business Plan process, and we’re looking forward to the class ending and applying for a microenterprise loan to get ahead and grow our publishing business.

Well, have to get going and plan this busy week. We have major deadlines to meet.

Writer Spotlight: Randy Lewis

2009-11-06T07:39:00.003-05:00

NAME: Randy Lewis
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Paul Smiths, N.Y.
FIELD: Writer: poetry, creative non-fiction, nature writing, newspaper columnist
EMPLOYER: North Country Community College (adjunct writing instructor and math tutor)

Q. What were your main writing & publishing accomplishments this past year?
A. Biweekly column, “Actively Adirondack,” published in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise; in May, “A Garden Library” poem published in the Northern New Yorker, literary journal at North Country Community College; in July, a presentation: A Walk in the Woods, at the Paul Smiths Visitor Interpretive Center; on Sept. 19, journaling/writing workshops for 11th annual Adirondack Arts and Healing retreat at Great Camp Sagamore, Raquette Lake, N.Y.; and Sept. 29, a lecture/reading at Paul Smith’s College from “Actively Adirondack” for PSC college freshmen’s First Year Experience classes

Q. What new projects are you working on for the upcoming year?
A. Putting together the manuscript for my next book. And since I am working on two, it may take twice as long! One is a compilation of poems written daily during National Poetry Month for the past five years. The other is essays and photography, honoring this strange wild place I find myself calling home.

Q. What are your upcoming public appearances?
A. Monday through Thursday in my writing classes at North Country Community College. After the semester is over, I'll look up to see if there are any upcoming appearances on my calendar.

Q. If you were to write a book with one other person in the world, who would it be and what would you write?
A. I think it would be mighty difficult to write a book with someone, if not annoyingly frustrating. But my sons Colin and Nathan and I frequently discuss putting a book together with our photography and words … and I think that would be fun. I also think every year I teach Creative Writing that I would love to assemble a book with my students on a unified theme. But phew, that would be a LOT of work, so I doubt that will ever happen.

Q. What do you like the most about living in and/or writing about the Adirondack region?
A. I like how much this environment feeds the soul. Most folks don’t allow that to happen, or make themselves available for that to happen, but if they would, it would. There are real and obvious lessons to be learned from the world that isn’t totally orchestrated by man. I also like the visual stimulus … the photographer in me is constantly reaching for the camera. There is art in every single view we see. Now, about winter? I dislike winter and the dry indoor heated places, and the slippery roads and careless drivers … but there is nothing more inviting than having a day off, and seeing a wilderness of whiteness out the window, begging for words to be written on its empty page.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Titles: “Actively Adirondack: Reflections on Mountain Life in the 21st Century,” which won Best Book Award, People’s Choice, for 2007 at the Adirondack Center for Writing’s Adirondack Literary Awards, and contributor to “A North Country Quartet”

I teach writing, walk in the woods every day, and drink a lot of tea. I read poetry, enjoy visiting NYC whenever I can, and am the proud parent of three grown sons who live far away. My favorite spot to visit is the Pacific Northwest, my favorite ocean is the Pacific, my favorite west coast city is Portland, and my favorite trees are redwoods. I am a hermit most of the time, go to bed early, and would always rather respond to an email than talk on the phone. Among jobs I've enjoyed are copy editor at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, veterinary assistant, bookstore clerk, advising coordinator at Paul Smith's College, writer for A Writer's Almanac (for Minnesota Public Radio), and being a math tutor for college students. I love teaching writing, but when it takes time away from my own writing (which of course it does), I find myself with a dilemma that confounds me. I dislike summer heat and winter cold, but fresh apples in the autumn? Nothin’ better.

Adirondack Attic: Tupper Lake porter’s cap from the Hotel Altamont

2009-11-04T09:02:00.003-05:00

(Editor’s Note: The following is a sample of an “Adirondack Attic” story, by Andy Flynn, originally published in newspapers in 2006 and re-printed in “New York State’s Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 4.” See a photo of the artifact on the cover of the book.)

Tupper Lake had its own share of main street hotels, but one stood out among the rest: the namesake of the town, the Hotel Altamont. Until July 2004, the village of Tupper Lake was located in the Franklin County town of Altamont. Today it’s the town of Tupper Lake. The Hotel Altamont was located on the corner of Park Street and Wawbeek Avenue, where the Adirondack Medical Center’s physical therapy building is currently located. Earlier, it was the Rite-Aid and, before moving to Demars Boulevard, the Grand Union.

The late Tupper Lake historian Louis Simmons summed up the Hotel Altamont’s impact on the community in his book, “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock,” lamenting the days when it was pillaged for scrap and torn down in 1957: “Hotel Altamont was a ‘fixture’ and a landmark among Tupper Lake commercial properties since 1890, and its passing left a gap in Park St. to old timers which nothing can ever quite fill.”

One of the Tupper Lake businessmen who made his own memories at the Hotel Altamont, by working there as a teenager, was Marcel V. Richer (1920-1994), a former village mayor known mostly for operating the Richer Funeral Home at 29 Park St., one block away from the hotel. Richer donated a Hotel Altamont porter’s cap to the Adirondack Museum in April 1975.

The cap is navy blue, and the name of the hotel is embroidered with gold thread lettering on the crown. It has a black leather visor and a strap attached at each end with a brass button. There are two air openings on each side of the crown and a 1.5-inch strip of heavy ribbon. Inside, there is black lining, a trademark and a leather band. This cap is size 6, a small size for a man’s head. That’s because it is believed that Richer wore it while he was a porter/bell hop for the Hotel Altamont when he was a teenager. That would date the cap to the early 1930s.

The Hotel Altamont was the second hotel within the current Tupper Lake village limits. John H. and Thomas L. Weir built the three-story structure in 1890, the same year that the town of Altamont was formed, and opened it on New Year’s Day in 1891.

(Read more about this porter's cap in “New York State’s Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 4.” Buy the book at the Hungry Bear Publishing Book Store. $18.00)

Copyright 2006 Andy Flynn/Hungry Bear Publishing

'Mostly Spruce and Hemlock' Book Release Party set for Nov. 19 in Tupper Lake

2009-11-03T07:20:00.001-05:00

A book-release party for the reprint of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 at the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library, 41 Lake St., in Tupper Lake.

The party will feature brief comments from library officials, Tupper Lake Free Press Publisher Dan McClelland, index author Carol Payment Poole, and publisher Andy Flynn. Refreshments will be served, and historical exhibits will be on display throughout the library.

“We see this party as a celebration of Tupper Lake’s heritage,” said Goff-Nelson Memorial Library Manager Linda Auclair. “Louis Simmons gave this community a huge gift in 1976 with ‘Mostly Spruce and Hemlock’ and the library is proud to give the same gift to even more people with a reprinting of this classic volume of Adirondack history.”

In June 1976, Tupper Lake Free Press Editor Louis J. Simmons released the first comprehensive volume of Tupper Lake history in “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” at a book release party at the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library. It was a fitting location; the research room – the Grace Simmons Memorial Room – was named in honor of Louis’ first wife, a longtime Tupper Lake librarian. Louis Simmons used a lot of photographs from the library’s collection for his book.

At 461 pages and more than 140 photos, “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” was an instant best-seller in the Tip Top Town and was sold out in less than two years. People have been searching for copies of the book for more than 30 years. Only 2,000 copies of the original were printed.

Simmons used more than four decades of experience at the editorial helm of the Tupper Lake Free Press to write “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock.” A 1926 graduate of the Tupper Lake High School and 1930 graduate of Syracuse University, he was hired as the Tupper Lake Free Press editor in 1932. He retired as full-time editor in 1979 and continued writing and editing until his death on April 4, 1995. He was also the Tupper Lake historian for many years.

“Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” details the early days of life in the village of Tupper Lake and the town of Altamont (the name of the town was changed to Tupper Lake in 2004). Histories are offered on the logging industry, railroading, churches, schools, hotels, Sunmount DDSO and businesses such as the Oval Wood Dish Corporation.

The new “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” includes all of the original text and photos, but there will be some major differences. It is a paperback book, instead of hardcover, and the cover was redesigned. The original book did not include an index; however, the 2009 version has an index, which was written by author and Tupper Lake native Carol Payment Poole. Tupper Lake Free Press Publisher Dan McClelland wrote a new foreword. And the book is dedicated to Simmons and “Tupper Lakers everywhere.”

The reprinting is a joint project between Hungry Bear Publishing and the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library, which received permission to reprint “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” as a fund-raiser. The library will receive all the author’s royalties plus a retail percentage for copies it sells directly to the public.

Presale orders for “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock” were taken between March and October 2009; anyone who prepaid for a book may pick it up at the library at the book-release party on Nov. 19. Prepaid orders to be shipped will be sent out as soon as the books arrive. No more orders will be taken until Nov. 19; anyone may purchase a copy at the party or during library hours anytime afterward. The books will also be for sale at various locations throughout the Tri-Lakes beginning the week of Thanksgiving. A print run of 2,000 was ordered for the Second Edition.

Based in Saranac Lake, Hungry Bear Publishing is home of the five-volume “Adirondack Attic” book series (Adirondack history) and the Meet the Town Community guide series. The company is owned and operated by Tupper Lake native Andy Flynn, who personally produced and edited the Second Edition of “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock,” and his wife, Dawn, originally from Bloomingdale.

For more information about the new “Mostly Spruce and Hemlock,” call the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library at (518) 359-9421.

Andy's Desk: Editing the Adirondack Vacation Guides, summer and winter, a good fit

2009-11-02T06:35:00.003-05:00

This is the time of the year I say, “Winter’s almost over,” because I’m always wrapping up the Adirondack Vacation Guide (winter edition) for the Adirondack Daily Enterprise during the first week in November. I’ve been editing the ADE’s winter and summer guides for about seven years now, taking over about a year after I left the ADE’s managing editor post for a PR job at the NYS Adirondack Park Agency. While it’s been a stressful side job, it’s one that I am thankful for keeping.

The Adirondack Vacation Guide series has been a good fit for me, since I already had working knowledge of the ADE newsroom, computers and software. Plus, as the PR guy at the APA’s Visitor Interpretive Centers for Paul Smiths and Newcomb, I had direct experience in the tourism industry and had plenty of contacts for the guides’ content. For photos, I’ve used the vast ADE photo library and have taken a lot of photos myself for the pages, which are laid out by community.

Production time for the Vacation Guides was always stressful; after all, I already had a day job when I started in the fall of 2002 and began writing my weekly "Adirondack Attic" newspaper column in the spring of 2003 and started selling my “Adirondack Attic” books in the spring of 2004 by doing lectures in the spring and fall. There were many times I said to myself, and others, “This is the last time I’m doing a guide.” The job itself wasn’t stressful, having multiple jobs was the key stress point. Yet, here I am, still doing the guides, because, as I’ve said over and over, I need the money. I guess when you find a gig that’s a good fit and pays well, you shouldn’t just give it up because it’s stressful.

The work and the wait were worth it; today, I’m self employed and consider the editorship of the Adirondack Vacation Guide as simply part of my everyday workload, even though it still means working evenings and weekends. It keeps me in touch with the newspaper staff and feeling part of an organization larger than my home-based business. One of the hardest parts about transitioning between a day job and self employment is the lack of an office to go to everyday. I have a desk at home, and while it’s a convenient commute, there’s something about the camaraderie of an office that can’t be replaced. Although I’m generally working alone in the newsroom on the Winter Guide and Summer Guide, there are times that the sports writers or production manager will come in the office, and that little contact with others goes a long way. It makes me feel like part of a team. I'm thankful the ADE management has kept me around for the past 15 years (full time from 1994 to 2001 and part time since 2001).

In any case, winter is almost over. The Winter Guide will be emailed this week to the printer in Gloversville (at the sister newspaper of the ADE) and will be available to the public by Thanksgiving.

Writer Spotlight: Justin and Gary VanRiper

2009-10-30T09:07:00.008-04:00

NAME: Gary Allen VanRiper
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Camden, N.Y.
FIELD: Author, photographer, pastor, Adirondack 46’er
EMPLOYER: The Wesleyan Church and Adirondack Kids Press, Ltd.

NAME: Justin Robert VanRiper
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Camden, N.Y.
FIELD: College Student

Q. What were your main writing & publishing accomplishments this past year?
A. This summer of 2009 we officially hit a major milestone for The Adirondack Kids® series of books with 100,000 copies in print.

Q. What new projects are you working on for the upcoming year?
A. We are excited as The Adirondack Kids® #10 is scheduled to be released in 2010, which is the 10th anniversary for the series. We have just confirmed plans with Old Forge Lake Cruises (http://oldforgelakecruises.com/) for an Adirondack Kids Family Day (Cruise & Book Party) on Saturday, June 5, 2010. We are also working on an art retrospective (10 years of original Adirondack Kids artwork) to be shown at the Old Forge Arts Center. Details on these and other 10th anniversary events will be on our official website and Facebook site and on twitter. We are also working on The Adirondack Kids #1 to be produced as an audio book.

Q. What are your upcoming public appearances?
A. During the public school year, nearly all of our appearances are at schools where I talk to elementary school children about reading & writing. Book signings and other public appearances can be found as they are scheduled on our official website: www.adirondackkids.com or by following me on twitter at adirondackkids

Q. If you were to write a book with one other person in the world, who would it be and what would you write?
Gary: Other than Justin? Actually, I am working right now with our daughter, Sarah, on a work of fiction, also set in the Adirondacks.

Justin: I do like writing fantasy – but would write solo.

Q. What do you like the most about living in and/or writing about the Adirondack region?

Gary: I am so thankful to have access to one of the most beautiful and interesting spaces on this planet – the Adirondacks. My plan is to hike and photograph as many of the 6 million acres that I can while I still have my health – my legs underneath me. Regarding writing, it is the juxtaposition of the ancient with the modern that creates such a dramatic landscape in which to develop and set characters loose.

Justin: I like how close the Adirondacks are for vacation!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Gary Allen VanRiper is a husband, step father, foster father, adoptive father, pastor, writer, photographer and Adirondack 46'er. He has won multiple awards in journalism, photojournalism and in 2004-2005 won with The Adirondack Kids® co-author, Justin VanRiper, the Adirondack Literary Award for Best Children’s book for Islands in the Sky. He recently narrated chapters for an Audio CD to accompany the field guide, Birding the Great Lakes Seaway Trail – and he hosts a weekly segment, Adirondack Journal, on the popular regional television show, Mohawk Valley Living. In the spring of 2010, Gary and his wife Carol, are headed as photojournalists to Zambia in Africa as short term missionaries for Global Partners.

Justin Robert VanRiper is a sophomore at Houghton College in Houghton, New York. He is majoring in psychology and is in the Army ROTC program currently aspiring to be an Army Chaplain.

Professional Development: Book TV a helpful resource

2009-10-29T10:33:00.001-04:00

There are a good number of resources available for writers and small publishers, both at home and online.

I like to refer people first to the Adirondack Center for Writing, based at Paul Smith’s College, because that is our local resource for writers, and, for a very small staff, they do an extraordinary amount of work to help writers of all ages improve their craft. Yet, as small business owners, we know that market research and professional development is an ongoing process that always takes us well beyond the geographical boundaries of our region. The Internet is full of industry news and ideas to help writers write better, publish, and get paid for their work.

One great resource is Book TV, a product of the C-SPAN2 cable television network. Sunday morning is a great time to flip on Book TV and watch non-fiction authors tell us about their latest books (I’m partial to non-fiction). The video usually comes from an event at a bookstore. At the very least, watching Book TV is a tremendous motivating tool. I’ve seen people watch the videos and say, “I can do that. That should be me up there.”

The Book TV web site is a helpful place to find all the network’s video features, links to book fairs, and News About Books. Some of the latest News blurbs are: Publisher Sets EBook Price at $35; 2009 National Book Award Finalists Announced; Libraries Start “Lending” EBooks; Textbooks Go Digital; and Book Sales Are Down in 2009. Now, tell me, you’d probably click on a few of these stories, right? Each is a link to another web site with the news story.

The online Book TV news story I recently found most interesting was tagged “Authors Look for Novel Ways to Promote Books.” Click on the link, and it takes you to the Washington Post web site. The article, written by Neely Tucker and published on Sept. 24, 2009, had the headline: “On Web, A Most Novel Approach: With Promotion Money Tight, Authors Take to Online Sites To Toot Their Own Horns.” One focus of the article was the story of Kelly Corrigan, author of “The Middle Place,” who took marketing into her own hands, and, with the help of a web site, a video trailer, a YouTube video of her reading samples of her book, and countless hours pounding the pavement peddling her books, she hand-sold between 2,000 and 3,000 copies of her book. Within a year, her book sold 80,000 copies in hardcover and 260,000 copies in paperback and was on the New York Times bestseller list for 20 weeks, topping off at the No. 2 spot.

Stories like this really motivate me to get out there and write, publish and sell my books. There is so much to learn from others, and there are thousands of resources to tap. Have fun exploring!

Adirondack Attic: Long Lake stoneware cooler

2009-10-28T10:08:00.005-04:00

(Editor’s Note: The following is a sample of an “Adirondack Attic” story, by Andy Flynn, originally published in newspapers in November 2007 and re-printed in “New York State’s Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 5.” See a photo of the artifact on the cover of the book.)

Exploring one of the Adirondack Museum’s storage areas, I stumbled upon a piece of White’s stoneware made in Utica. The tag attached to the object reads: “John Lamere / Long Lake / Oct. 31, 1958.”

The cooler is not the typical stoneware jug spun on a potter’s wheel. It is made from a mold, as there are relief illustrations on the front and back, including some markings that help tell the story of this object. On the front, in a banner, are the words, “LONDON/ WHISKEY / CLUB.” The illustration around the lower half of the cooler features polo players on horses, and the word “POLO” is located in the center below one of the horses and just above the cooler spout hole (actually, the hole has been plugged and painted green). Originally white stoneware with a Bristol glaze, the illustrations and lettering were accented with cobalt blue glaze by the manufacturer. A past owner, however, had painted parts of the cooler green, red and brown. On the back of the cooler, the name of the distributor is highlighted in blue lettering on a banner: “JOHN P. / SHEEHAN / UTICA, N.Y. / SOLE ACTS.” It held about 3 gallons of liquid and the manufacturer was “White’s Utica,” circa 1880.

White’s Pottery was known by many names throughout its history, producing a wide variety of stoneware items from 1838 to 1907, including jugs, crocks, coffee pots, pitchers, beer steins, water coolers, butter crocks, butter churns, cheese jars, lager glasses, mugs, canteens, punch bowls, bean pots, humidors, match safes, umbrella stands, and vases.

Noah White (1793-1865) moved to Utica in 1828, three years after the entire length of the Erie Canal opened. Utica was an important hub of commerce along the canal, which stretched from Albany to Buffalo. White worked as a laborer and a boat captain until 1834, when he entered the pottery business under Samuel Addington. White was on his own by 1839.

(Read more about this stoneware cooler in “New York State’s Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic, Volume 5.” Buy now at the Hungry Bear Publishing Book Store. $18.00)

Copyright 2007 Andy Flynn/Hungry Bear Publishing

Special Event: Chronicle Book Fair Nov. 1 in Glens Falls

2009-10-27T08:15:00.003-04:00

The largest book fair in the Adirondack North Country region – the 14th Annual Chronicle Book Fair – will be held this weekend, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1 at the Queensbury Hotel in downtown Glens Falls. It promises to be another successful event, with wall-to-wall authors and booksellers (about 120 vendors) ready to sell visitors and residents stacks of reading material for the winter or bags full of Christmas gifts.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the Chronicle Book Fair this year as I will be working on a layout project for the local newspaper (deadline is looming for the annual Winter Guide). I have been selling my books at the book fair for the past several years, and I will miss the camaraderie of my fellow authors and the hospitality of the hosts, Chronicle Arts Editor Cathy DeDe and Editor Mark Frost.

In any case, I hope you are able to get to the Queensbury Hotel Sunday. The first floor will be packed with authors, and the best thing about this event, for visitors, is that admission is free. That in itself is admirable and something that should not be overlooked since authors give presentations all day long: readings, book signings, children’s activities, demonstrations, slide-illustrated talks. It’s free entertainment, a great opportunity to bring the kids along and open their eyes to the world of Adirondack literature: children’s books, regional history, travel books, Adirondack titles, hiking guides, photography, poetry, mystery and detective novels, science fiction, cook books, antique and used books. This is an event that has a conference feel to it, in a comfortable way, and gives readers complete access to their favorite local authors.

The headline author this year is John F. Ross, author of the ground-breaking new book “War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America’s First Frontier.” Ross will speak at 1 p.m. in the Warren Room of the Queensbury Hotel, and he will be available all day to sign books.

Some of the authors who have signed up for presentations include photographers Carl Heilman II, Mark Bowie and Paul Gibaldi. Authors will include: “Dr. Dan” O’Keeffe, Glens Falls physician; Gail Fraser, author of the hugely popular Lumby series of mysteries; Teri Gay, who wrote a new history of the Suffrage movement in the North Country; children’s author-illustrators Sheri Amsel, Bruce Hiscock, Tatine Rehm, Frieda Toth, Marika McCoola and Marlene Newman; and Bill Gates, with his numerous histories of Bolton Landing and Lake George.

The full program and schedule of events will be printed in the Oct. 29 issue of The Chronicle For more information, call (518) 792-1126.

(Thanks to Cathy DeDe for providing the above information.)

Andy’s Desk: Improved blog keeps people connected to Adirondack writers

2009-10-26T10:19:00.002-04:00

Welcome back to the Adirondack Writer blog, which I launched in 2007 and discontinued briefly from spring 2009 until the re-launch on Oct. 21, 2009. I hope to make this site a place for all people – readers and writers – to stay connected to professional writers in the Adirondack North Country region of New York state. When I say writers, I mean published authors and poets, journalists, columnists, professional bloggers, storytellers and musicians. You’ll find some photographers in there as well because some of them are also writers and/or have published books.

WHY TURN OFF THE ORIGINAL BLOG?
Fact is, when newspapers began dropping my “Adirondack Attic” column in the fall of 2008 and then in the spring of 2009, I had a lot of soul-searching to do, as a writer, and I had to figure out how to continue writing and continue to get paid for my work.

So I discontinued my column and began working with the Adirondack Museum, singer/songwriter Dan Berggren and North Country Public Radio to develop an “Adirondack Attic” radio series to begin in January 2010. We’re still working on the pilot. I had been writing the weekly column for several northern New York newspapers for more than six years. It had become so much a part of me, writing stories nonstop every week since 2003 (more than 300 in all), that simply shutting it off was both a relief and a crisis of the soul. Who was I without the column? Well, after thinking about it, I wasn’t going to give up the storytelling; I was only changing the media (going back to my roots in public radio). And, after all, I had collected those columns in five books, a series called “New York State’s Mountain Heritage: Adirondack Attic,” with a sixth book ready to be printed in the spring of 2010. I had essentially written six books in six years.

WHY TURN ON THE BLOG AGAIN?
I finally realized that without the column, I am still an author and publisher. I am still an Adirondack writer. I go to most of the author fairs in the region and see many of my author friends every summer (at Hoss’s Country Corner, the Adirondack Reader, etc.). I sign books at bookstores and stay connected with readers at lectures throughout the region on the Adirondack lecture circuit during my summer/fall book tour every year. And I still get paid for my work.

There is a community of professional writers in the Adirondack region, with different genres, styles and employers (many are retired, some have day jobs, and some are full-time freelancers). Yet there isn’t one place on the Internet that people can stay connected to them, as a whole. I wanted to create such a web site, one that gives updates on Adirondack writers – bios, accomplishments, features, news, etc. I envision it as being a way for writers to promote themselves and their work; a place for readers to get informed about the writing community; a place for writers to learn about other writers; and a place for writers to learn about professional development and special event opportunities. This is the new vision for the new Adirondack Writer blog.

At the same time, the subtitle of this blog is “Adirondack literature from a writer’s perspective.” That writer will be me at many times, yet it will include posts from other writers from time to time. I’ll give an update on my career once a week. Plus, I’ll post Writer News, Special Events, Book Reviews, Industry News, Professional Development news, Writer Spotlights, Publisher Spotlights, Performer’s Corner (musicians and storytellers), and “Adirondack Attic” stories from my archives.

YEAR OF REINVENTION
This has been a year of reinventing myself, partly because of the changes in my Adirondack Attic History Project but mainly because I left my public relations job at the NYS Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center in Paul Smiths in June 2009. I decided to take the plunge and write/publish full time. I currently operate my company, Hungry Bear Publishing, with my wife, Dawn, who left her banking job a year ago. Hungry Bear Publishing is the home of the “Adirondack Attic” book series and the Meet the Town community guide series. So Dawn and I have taken the plunge together, holding hands like Thelma and Louise, driving off a cliff and looking for something better in the next life. I hope we find it.

ABA asks DOJ to investigate Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Target

2009-10-23T14:42:00.002-04:00

On October 22, 2009, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) Board of Directors sent a letter to the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Matters Molly Boast) asking them to investigate allegations of illegal predatory pricing of books by Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Target. The ABA contends that these practices are damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers. Here is the letter:

Dear Ms. Varney and Ms. Boast,

We are writing on behalf of the American Booksellers Association, a 109-year-old trade organization representing the nation's locally owned, independent booksellers. A core part of our mission is devoted to making books as widely available to American consumers as possible. We ask that the Department of Justice investigate practices by Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target that we believe constitute illegal predatory pricing that is damaging to the book industry and harmful to consumers. We are requesting a meeting with you to discuss this urgent issue at your earliest possible opportunity.

As reported in the consumer and trade press this past week, Amazon.com, WalMart.com, and Target.com have engaged in a price war in the pre-sale of new hardcover bestsellers, including books from John Grisham, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver, Sarah Palin, and James Patterson. These books typically retail for between $25 and $35. As of writing of this letter, all three competitors are selling these and other titles for between $8.98 and $9.00.

Publishers sell these books to retailers at 45% - 50% off the suggested list price. For example, a $35 book, such as Mr. King's Under the Dome, costs a retailer $17.50 or more. News reports suggest that publishers are not offering special terms to these big box retailers, and that the retailers are, in fact, taking orders for these books at prices far below cost. (In the case of Mr. King's book, these retailers are losing as much as $8.50 on each unit sold.) We believe that Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target are using these predatory pricing practices to attempt to win control of the market for hardcover bestsellers.

It's important to note that the book industry is unlike other retail sectors. Clothing, jewelry, appliances, and other commercial goods are typically sold at a net price, leaving the seller free to determine the retail price and the margin these products will earn. Because publishers print list prices indelibly on jacket covers, and because books are sold at a discount off that retail price, there is a ceiling on the amount of margin a book retailer can earn.

The suggested list price set by the publisher reflects manufacturing costs -- acquisition, editing, marketing, printing, binding, shipping, etc. -- which vary significantly from book to book. By selling each of these titles below the cost these retailers pay to the publishers, and at the same price as each other, and at the same price as all other titles in these pricing schemes, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, and Target are devaluing the very concept of the book. Authors and publishers, and ultimately consumers, stand to lose a great deal if this practice continues and/or grows.

What's so troubling in the current situation is that none of the companies involved are engaged primarily in the sale of books. They're using our most important products -- mega bestsellers, which, ironically, are the most expensive books for publishers to bring to market -- as a loss leader to attract customers to buy other, more profitable merchandise. The entire book industry is in danger of becoming collateral damage in this war.

It's also important to note that this episode was precipitated by below-cost pricing of digital editions of new hardcover books by Amazon.com, many of those titles retailing for $9.99, and released simultaneously with the much higher-priced print editions. We believe the loss-leader pricing of digital content also bears scrutiny.

While on the surface it may seem that these lower prices will encourage more reading and a greater sharing of ideas in the culture, the reality is quite the opposite. Consider this quote from Mr. Grisham's agent, David Gernert, that appeared in the New York Times:

"If readers come to believe that the value of a new book is $10, publishing as we know it is over. If you can buy Stephen King's new novel or John Grisham's 'Ford County' for $10, why would you buy a brilliant first novel for $25? I think we underestimate the effect to which extremely discounted best sellers take the consumer's attention away from emerging writers."

For our members -- locally owned, independent bookstores -- the effect will be devastating. There is simply no way for ABA members to compete. The net result will be the closing of many independent bookstores, and a concentration of power in the book industry in very few hands. Bill Petrocelli, owner of Book Passage in Corte Madera, California, an ABA member, was also quoted in the New York Times:

"You have a choke point where millions of writers are trying to reach millions of readers. But if it all has to go through a narrow funnel where there are only four or five buyers deciding what's going to get published, the business is in trouble."

We would find these practices questionable were they taking place in the market for widgets. That they are taking place in the market for books is catastrophic. If left unchecked, these predatory pricing policies will devastate not only the book industry, but our collective ability to maintain a society where the widest range of ideas are always made available to the public, and will allow the few remaining mega booksellers to raise prices to consumers unchecked.

We urge that the DOJ investigate and request an opportunity to come to Washington to discuss this at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,
ABA Board of Directors

Writer Spotlight: Brian Mann

2009-10-23T09:53:00.011-04:00

The following is a Q&A with Brian Mann, author of "Welcome to the Homeland: A Journey to the Rural Heart of America's Conservative Revolution."

NAME: Brian Mann
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Saranac Lake, NY
FIELD: Journalist
EMPLOYER: North Country Public Radio (Adirondack Bureau chief) & Freelance

Q. What were your main writing and publishing accomplishments this past year?
A. This was the 10th anniversary of the Adirondack News bureau, so a lot of the funnest work was in celebration of that milestone. NCPR also won two national Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Q. What new projects are you working on for the upcoming year?
A. I'll be covering the "white nose syndrome" outbreak that's killing bats in the Northeast. I also hope to rededicate myself to more outdoor writing. Q. What are your upcoming public appearances?
A. I'll be speaking at an Adirondack Mountain Club event in the fall and taking part in an Adirondack Center for Writing seminar. But I hide out as much as I can when I'm off duty!
Q. If you were to write a book with one other person in the world, who would it be and what would you write?
A. Great question, but I'm a horrible collaborator. I love working with editors, who tighten and sharpen my writing. But putting my fingers on the keyboard is a very personal, private thing for me. The next book I'd love to write is about the demise of North American bats ... how's that for wonky!

Q. What do you like the most about living in and/or writing about the Adirondack region?
A. This landscape and community offers everything I want, from hard winter (which I love) to the open field country of the Champlain Valley (I spent part of my childhood in the Midwest) to the mountains and alpine country of the High Peaks (I also grew up in Alaska). People keep telling me I'm not really a local yet, but I think I've always been a local.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I grew up in Kansas and Alaska. For years I made my living butchering fish on the coast of the Gulf of Alaska. Then I started volunteering for public radio stations, where I learned my craft. We moved to the Adirondacks a decade ago. My wife Susan is a village trustee in Saranac Lake. My son Nicholas is an eighth grader. We feel blessed to be part of this community - and I feel blessed to be in a place with such a rich community of writers.

Adirondack Journalism Conference

2009-10-22T09:26:00.006-04:00

The Adirondack Center for Writing, based at Paul Smith's College, is doing a great service to writers and editors by offering the ACW Journalism Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 at the Blue Mountain Center in Blue Mountain Lake. It promises to be informative and educational to writers and editors wishing to either continue their growth as professional journalists or to simply network with fellow newshounds. I'm hoping that students will take advantage of this unique opportunity as well.

When I worked at the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and Lake Placid News, first as a staff writer and then as an editor, I always enjoyed the journalist-only events, especially the awards ceremonies at the New York Press Association (for weeklies) and New York Newspaper Publishers Association (for dailies). We got a chance to network and learn from staffers at similar newspapers from around New York state.

The Adirondack journalism community is pretty tight-knit, and it's important to have that support, even with competing media organizations; however, there is so much we can learn from one another, and regional journalists rarely have a quiet time away from the news scene to work together and improve our skills together. This community is a pleasure to work with because it is generally not cut-throat like in bigger markets, which becomes apparent when a rude TV news crew shows up late and starts jumping in front of your camera shot at a news conference. Here in the Adirondacks, thank God, journalists are still courteous to each other. It speaks a lot to our small-town way of life and the people who live here.

I'm impressed with ACW's lineup of experienced presenters. Environmental journalist Jeff Goodell will give the keynote address, and other speakers will include Brian Mann, Adirondack News Bureau chief for North Country Public Radio; Mike Hill, Associated Press reporter in Albany; and Will Doolittle, projects editor for the Post-Star in Glens Falls.

Topics will include “How to Write A Compelling Story with a 24-hr Deadline;” “Tough Reporting in Small Towns,” how to effectively report tough stories even when they involve neighbors and friends; and “How to Make a Living as a Freelance Journalist,” strategies for building a sustainable income as a journalist working in the Adirondack North Country. This discussion will include nuts and bolts issues of multiple sales, quality control, contract arrangements, and deadline management. There will also be a “Blogging Panel Discussion” with John Warren of Adirondack Almanack and New York History, Brian Mann of The In Box, Lisa Bramen of Smithsonian Magazine: Food & Think, and Elizabeth Folwell of Adirondack Life magazine.

The conference will be held from 9:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. with lunch provided. The cost is $30 per person. Group discounts are available for three or more attending from the same newspaper or school. For more information, contact the Adirondack Center for Writing at (518) 327-6278.

Adirondack Trails with Tales

2009-10-21T13:35:00.003-04:00

Black Dome Press released “Adirondack Trails with Tales: History Hikes through the Adirondack Park and the Lake George, Lake Champlain & Mohawk Valley Regions,” by Russell Dunn and Barbara Delaney, in May 2009. I had the honor of fact checking their chapter on the hike to the Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center at Paul Smiths, where I worked from 2001 to 2009 as the public relations specialist.

The book cover features an image of Winslow Homer’s oil painting, “Two Guides,” with Keene Valley guide Orson “Old Mountain” Phelps hiking in the Adirondack high peaks with fellow guide Charles Holt in the early 1870s. In their book, Russell and Barbara are your trusty Adirondack guides, taking us to places throughout New York’s North Country with history in mind. They are masterful storytellers, and even those not inclined to follow in their footsteps can appreciate this detailed volume of New York history, one chapter at a time.

I encourage you to take some of the authors’ “History Hikes” and re-live history. Heck, make your own memories, but don’t forget to bring along this wonderful book as your hiking companion. With directions, maps and photographs, it is an extremely user-friendly guidebook – not too bulky for the backpack and a perfect size for the car.

The hikes include: Valcour Island, Coon Mountain, Crown Point: Fort St. Frederic & His Majesty s Fort of Crown Point, Fort Ticonderoga, Ironville & Penfield Homestead, Rock Pond, Rogers Rock, Shelving Rock Mountain & Shelving Rock Falls, Prospect Mountain, Fort George and Bloody Pond, Cooper s Cave & Betar Byway, John Brown s Farm, Mt. Jo & Mt. Van Hoevenberg, Adirondac & Indian Pass, East Branch of the Ausable River & Adirondack Mountain Reserve, Santanoni, The Sagamore, Paul Smiths, Hooper Garnet Mine, Chimney Mountain, Kunjamuk Cave, Griffin, Griffin Falls, & Auger Falls, Moss Island, Tufa Caves & Waterfalls of Van Hornesville, Canajoharie Gorge, and Wolf Hollow.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Russell Dunn and Barbara Delaney, both New York State-licensed guides, are the authors of Trails with Tales: History Hikes through the Capital Region, Saratoga, Berkshires, Catskills & Hudson Valley (Black Dome Press, 2006). Dunn is also the author of an ongoing series of guidebooks to the waterfalls of eastern New York State and western New England, including Adirondack Waterfall Guide: New York's Cool Cascades (Black Dome Press, 2003), Catskill Region Waterfall Guide: Cool Cascades of the Catskills & Shawangunks (Black Dome Press, 2004), Hudson Valley Waterfall Guide: From Saratoga and the Capital Region to the Highlands and Palisades (Black Dome Press, 2005), Mohawk Region Waterfall Guide: From the Capital District to Cooperstown & Syracuse (Black Dome Press, 2007), and Berkshire Region Waterfall Guide: Cool Cascades of the Berkshire & Taconic Mountains (Black Dome Press, 2008). He is also the author of Adventures around the Great Sacandaga Lake (Nicholas K. Burns Publishing, 2002), and a soon-to-be-published guidebook on kayaking the waterways of the Capital District Region.

BOOK STATS

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Black Dome Press
ISBN-10: 1883789648
ISBN-13: 978-1883789640
LAYOUT: 9 x 5.9 inches
LIST PRICE: $17.95