Announcement — “Kinds of Winter” to be available within the coming week, November 2014

November 5, 2014

Today I am updating this page — the book is now coming out.  I am told it will start shipping November 10.  I have not seen it yet myself in the final form, so I look forward to that.  It is a hard cover book, and your best bet is to order it directly from the publisher, wait for it to show up at the library,  or — better yet — to buy it from your local independent bookseller.  Those stores need us.  Imagine losing them.  Not good.  This is to be a hard cover book, and it is not cheap.  I have no say in that part of the process, and no slice of the $$ pie at this point.  I do however stand firmly behind the decisions and experience of the people at Wilfrid Laurier University Press who make the calls on pricing and marketing.  It is a tough business.

Here is the announcement from August:

Amidst the aftermath of the recent fire, and as we look ahead at the effects that our losses will have on the future of our life at the Hoarfrost, there are a few bright spots.  This announcement is one of them.

In February 2002 I began an annual series of four solo trips by dogteam, heading out once each winter from our home at the Hoarfrost for a journey to one of the four cardinal directions:  South in 2002, East in 2003, North in 2004, and West in 2005.  I was at that point in my life just winding up a long and rewarding run as an Iditarod, Beargrease, and Yukon Quest competitor.  The non-competitive “compass point trips” were a long-held dream of my life as a musher. It was time for me to make that dream come true, and for four years, with the generous support of my family, I did.

Another part of that dream was to write a book about the trips — a book I envisioned as a rambling mix of travel journal, musings, observation and reflection.  Over the years 2002-2008, the book gradually took shape as a manuscript.   In about 2009 I began “shopping it around” with agents and publishers.  As is common experience with such efforts, there were many dead ends, long waits, some days of sheer frustration, and many rejections varying in tone from kind to terse.

Finally in October of 2012 there came a break.  A chance Yellowknife reunion with Mike English, a professor of Geography at Wilfrid Laurier University, sparked a conversation about my writing. I had known Mike for years from our time together up at the Daring Lake research camp, and he has always spoken kindly of my 1994 book North of Reliance.  When I told him of the new manuscript and the four trips, he offered to make a connection on my behalf with WLU Press.  That led to a query, a conversation, and at last a signed contract.

And now, after years and much effort, it is done.  The book has taken on a life of its own, as such projects do, and it is about to see the light of day.  Many people have worked to move it ahead, and I am happy to announce that it will be published this autumn.

The publicity people at the press encouraged me to send out a note and to post a link to the book’s online announcement here at the blog.  Not being too tech-savvy, I have followed the instructions to create the link.  I hope I have succeeded.

Here is the link (if I have done this properly):  Kinds of Winter

Title: Kinds of Winter

Author: Dave Olesen

Publisher: WLU Press at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo Ontario  (Life Writing Series)

Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-77112-118-7 (bound).—ISBN 978-1-77112-069-2 (pdf).—
ISBN 978-1-77112-070-8 (epub)

Thank you to everyone who has helped this project come to this announcement.

Dave