The Latest News From MIPA
Click on the summaries below to read the full articles. Have an idea for a story? Email Suzzanne
A huge thank you
Thanks to Amy Zellmer, Jerry Mevissen, Sybil Smith, Dorie McClelland, Rachel Anderson, Patrick Ledray, and Sherry Roberts for serving on MIPA’s board the last few years. And thanks (and a sigh of relief) to our new board members who came forward to take MIPA into the...
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Member news
Sharon Woodhouse, Lake Claremont Press and Everything Goes Media, LLC, of Chicago and Milwaukee, offers a free newsletter aimed at nonfiction authors, but valuable for everyone. It’s called “Conspired: Ideas from the Inside for Nonfiction Authors.” Check it out here....
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Publishing University
MIPA is an affiliate of the Independent Book Publishing Association (IBPA). Each year IBPA offers a conference with 30+ sessions on various publishing topics. The next Publishing University will be held on April 6-7, 2018, in Austin, Texas. As an affiliate, one MIPA...
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Midwest Book Awards
The 28th annual Midwest Book Awards is now open and accepting entries. Information will be on the website soon but contact Deb Jacobson for an entry form or with questions.
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Meet our other new board members
MIPA’s new board truly represents the Midwest region. Our new president, Dr. Suzzanne Kelley, is Assistant Professor of Practice and Editor in Chief of North Dakota State University Press in Fargo. She is also developing a Certificate in Publishing for NDSU. Suzzanne...
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Midwest Book Awards Gala
Authors, designers, illustrators and publishers came together for an evening of networking and celebration of independent publishing. The highlight of the evening was the announcement of this year’s winners in 30 writing, illustration and design categories. Read a...
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Unowsky Receives Pat Bell Award
When David Unowsky opened Hungry Mind (later called Ruminator) bookstore in Saint Paul in 1970, Minnesota was flyover land; East Coast publishers gave little thought to the Midwest and rarely sent their touring authors to bookstores in the middle of the country. David...
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Midwest Book Awards finalists announced
The scores have tabulated and the finalists for this year’s Midwest Book Awards have been selected.The gala where the winners will be named will be held on May 12, 2017, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Olson Campus Center at the Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota....
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Member news
Congratulations to Color House Graphics, Inc., of Grand Rapids and Chicago on celebrating their 30-year anniversary. CHG offers digital and offset printing, book binding and finishing, and distribution and fulfillment. To learn more about them, go to...
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The Writer offers comprehensive view on self-publishing
The cover story in the May issue of The Writer, “Going Rogue: Is self-publishing right for you?” offers a good explanation of some of the differences between traditional and self-publishing including the pros and cons of each. It explains some of the costs involved in...
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Apparently men and women are different — who knew?
Statistician Ben Blatt, in his newest book, Nabokov’s Favorite Word is Mauve: What the Numbers Reveal About the Classics, Bestsellers, and Our Own Writing, took a mathematical view of thousands of classic and contemporary books and discovered, among many other things:...
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MIPA members: There’s still time for nominations
We need volunteers to help guide MIPA’s future. Send your nominations to Sherry Roberts, Sybil Smith or to me, Pat Morris. You do not need to live near the Twin Cities (we can Skype) and you do not need vast experience, just your ideas and a willingness to help....
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Midwest Book Awards
The judges are busy reading the 192 titles entered into the Midwest Book Awards. Finalists will be announced in mid-April. The invitation-only gala will be held Friday, May 12, in St. Paul.
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IBPA has a new website
MIPA is an affiliate of Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), a national publishing association. Check out their new website and if you’re not a member yet, consider joining.
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PW’s Claire Kirch
Note: Date change for our April meeting! Clair has been senior correspondent for Publishers Weekly, covering the Midwest for several years. Her articles span a wide range of publishing topics. Claire will talk about her experiences, the changes she’s seen in...
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Wrap-up of fall meetings
September — Our meeting about book award contests provided a lot of information about choosing which ones to enter. More will be written about book awards on our new website but when determining which ones to enter research the organization to understand which ones...
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Christmas Book Flood
Perhaps we should be more like Iceland (uh, not the weather). Iceland has a lovely national tradition called “Jolabokaflod,” or the “Christmas Book Flood,” which started during World War II. Books are the majority of the presents given to one another for Christmas....
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Hybrid Publishing
Publishing: Does It Define You? Does It Matter? Jennifer Baum is publisher and editorial director at Scribe Publishing Company. She is writing a series of articles for MIPA on insights from the 2015 IBPA Publishing University. Across the publishing industry, new...
read moreRead moreHow often do we feel that we are pedaling in place or just treading water?
Learning Curve to Earning Curve
By Rod Mebane, Starshine Galaxy Rod was MIPA’s scholarship participant at the 2013 IBPA Publication University (PubU), held in San Francisco in March 2014. This is the second of three reports that Rod is sharing with fellow MIPA members from his experience at the...
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Covers that Connect
By Rod Mebane, Starshine Galaxy Rod was MIPA’s scholarship participant at the 2014 IBPA Publication University (PubU), held in San Francisco last March. This is one of a series of reports that Rod is sharing with fellow MIPA members from his experience at the...
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Walking Through Literature
By Rachel M. Anderson, RMA Publicity Editor’s Note: MIPA members are always looking for innovative ways to market their books. Rachel’s press release below shows one benefit-driven idea: building a literary tour around your book. It requires work and lots of...
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