Publisher's Note

From left to right: Shannon Pennefeather, Ann Regan, and Lizzie Ehrenhalt in MNHS Press's offices.

For forty-five years, Ann Regan has cut a dashing figure across Minnesota's literary landscape, wearing several hats for the Minnesota Historical Society Press, including Editor, Managing Editor, Editor in Chief, and Acting Press Director. With her retirement date of September 3 approaching, the writers, editors, and coworkers who have had the pleasure of collaborating with Ann thank her for her many contributions. Originally from Montana, she dedicated herself to Minnesota history, and in the process she has made Minnesota history. In celebration, the summer issue of Minnesota History magazine features an in-depth profile of Regan, pictured above with MNHS Press Managing Editor Shannon Pennefeather and MNopedia Editor Lizzie Ehrenhalt. MNHS members receive a one-year subscription to the Minnesota History magazine as a membership benefit.

Events

Twin Cities Metro

8/13/2024, 4:00 PM, Joe Friedrichs, Last Entry Point, The Daily Grind and Valley Bookseller, Stillwater

8/15/2024, 7:00 PM, Joe Friedrichs, Last Entry Point, Excelsior Bay Books, Excelsior

8/17/2024, 1:00 PM, Roger Barr, A Murder on the Hill, Barnes and Noble, Minneapolis

8/17/2024, 2:00 PM, Lynette Reini-Grandell, Wild Things, Quatrefoil Library, Minneapolis

8/24/2024, 11:00 AM, Chan Poling and Lucy Michell, The Moons, Wild Rumpus, Minneapolis

Greater Minnesota

8/18/2024, 11:00 AM, Travis Zimmerman and Sam Zimmerman / Zhaawanoogiizhik, How the Birds Got Their Songs, Mille Lacs Museum and Trading Post, Onamia, MN

In the Media

A Murder on the Hill by Roger Barr, "Read these 8 books set in Minnesota exactly where they take place," Star Tribune, July 15, 2024

Last Entry Point by Joe Friedrichs, Writing Near the Lake blog, Victoria Lynn Smith, July 17, 2024

Red Stained by Jokeda "JoJo" Bell, "New & Upcoming Classic Film Books," Out of the Past blog, July 18, 2024

Can't Nobody Make a Sweet Potato Pie Like Our Mama!, story by Rose McGee, illustrations by Christopheraaron Deanes, Insight News, July 20, 2024

How the Birds Got Their Songs, story by Travis Zimmerman, illustrations by Sam Zimmerman and Mashkiki Road, story by Elizabeth S. Barrett, illustrations by Jonathan Thunder, "Native American books every elementary school library should have," Book Are Good Medicine podcast, July 29, 2024

Noteworthy

MNHS Press Welcomes New Director and Acquisitions Editor

On July 8, the Minnesota Historical Society Press welcomed Press Director John Rahm (left) and Acquisitions Editor Ryan Hemmer (right). Both have already made valuable contributions to the Press's mission to advance research, support education, serve the local community, and expand the reputation of the Minnesota Historical Society. 

Previously, John worked in editorial and managerial positions for Simon and Schuster, Thompson-Reuters, Pearson, and Capstone Publishing. At Capstone, he spent fifteen years in multiple editorial and senior product manager roles, including Director of Product Management for Global Trade and Director of Growth Initiatives. Ryan previously served at Fortress Press, an imprint of 1517 Media, in multiple roles, including first as Marketing Manager, then Acquisitions Editor, and most recently Editor in Chief. 

Rave Reviews for MNHS Press Fall Children's Picture Books 

Our two fall releases of children's picture books have recently garnered national review attention. This month's new release, The Moons by Chan Poling with illustrations by Lucy Michell, is about a young girl who moves with her mother from the city to the country, where she misses her friends. Booklist writes: "Papa Moon, Mother Moon, Brother Moon, and Uncle Gibbous are always nearby, but it is with Blue Moon that Lucy becomes friends, easing her loneliness. Bold illustrations using strong patterns and saturated colors add liveliness to this story about the sadness that can accompany a big change."

And So Cold! by John Coy with illustrations by Chris Park, a November release, received advance praise in the August 3 edition of Publishers Weekly: "On a day that’s 23 degrees below zero, a parent and child head outdoors for frozen play in this amiable story, a vehicle for spotlighting the science-savvy fun that can be had amid extreme cold. . . . Park’s vibrant artwork employs cool tones to communicate the chill. The characters, whose skin tones reflect the white of the page, sport pink and purple hair, not to mention triumphant expressions, as their experiments wow time and again."

New in MNopedia

Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, St. Paul

Hallie Q. Brown Community Center (HQB) was founded in 1929 to support the growing Black community of St. Paul. Established to promote social harmony and help people find adequate housing, HQB also provided a place of refuge and solace. It became the second-largest neighborhood center in St. Paul, complementing the Phyllis Wheatley Settlement House in Minneapolis.

Purple Rain (film and album)

Purple Rain is the title of both a film and an album by Prince, released in 1984. The album gave the twenty-six-year-old Minneapolis native his first Number One hits, and the movie, while not critically lauded, was a box office success. The film, album, and subsequent worldwide tour propelled Prince’s rising star into the stratosphere, making him as famous as contemporaries like Michael Jackson and Madonna.

Forthcoming Release

Red Stained: The Life of Hilda Simms by Jokeda "JoJo" Bell is the first book-length biography of Minneapolis's own Broadway and Hollywood star, Hilda Simms. Simms first made her mark in the title role of the American Negro Theater's 1943 production of Anna Lucasta. And she starred in the 1953 Hollywood film The Joe Louis Story. Her candid commentary on the state of race relations in America drew fire during the McCarthy era, and contributed to her placement on the Hollywood Blacklist. Yet she never gave up, and she never lost her ties to her home state. This groundbreaking volume is an engrossing examination of Golden Age Hollywood, the Cold War, and the birth of the modern Civil Rights Movement. 

Bestselling Backlist