2012 edition of Saint Paul Almanac to launch in September

August 3, 2011

Cover of the 2012 Saint Paul Almanac, a detail from "Lowertown Saint Paul" by Tammy Ortegon.
This September will see the launch of the 2012 Saint Paul Almanac—the well-seasoned sixth edition of the indispensable guide book to Minnesota’s capital city and Saint Paul’s unique and eclectic community storytelling hub of record! Check launch events here (September 8th and 15th).

This year, the 416-page, 180+ photo 2012 Saint Paul Almanac is available in full color for the first time and—another first—includes gorgeous, hand-drawn, poster-size, pull-out maps of the City of Saint Paul and Downtown!

Our unparalleled Saint Paul City Guide offers up-to-date listings for Art Galleries, Bookstores, Museums, Libraries, Historical Sites and Tours, Parks and Nature Reserves, Bars and Restaurants, Coffee Houses and Tea Shops, Deli Grocers and Food Co-ops, and Music, Dance, Theater and Performing Arts venues.

Detail from Roberta Avidor's hand-drawn map of Downtown Saint Paul.

Sample datebook page
Our Saint Paul Calendar—which includes a handy datebook where you can write your appointments and notes—includes listings for Saint Paul’s festivals, parades, exhibitions, and events. Both our City Guide and our Calendar have companion online versions available at www.saintpaulalmanac.org.

The Saint Paul Almanac is a literary campfire around which the diverse Saint Paul community gathers to share their stories. An experiment in democratic publishing, the 2012 Almanac brought together a multigenerational team of 18 volunteer community editors to blind select from 400 submissions the 129 stories, poems, and recipes chosen to appear in the coming edition.

Every story has a unique, individual voice which, when combined with other stories in the Saint Paul Almanac, becomes a chorus encompassing all the energy of Saint Paul today. High school students’ work appears alongside writing by grandparents, and first-time writers appear next to Saint Paul literary greats such as Garrison Keillor and Max Shulman.

Sample story page from the 2012 Almanac.
The 2012 Almanac includes stories about telepathic monkeys at the Como golf course, visiting the Pig’s Eye Island city dump, how the Skyline Towers got the name Titanic Tower, and wildlife on the West Side. Also included are personal portraits of Saint Paul people by Media Mike Hazard; classic Saint Paul stories selected by Patrick Coleman, Steve Trimble, and Anura Si-Asar; and a reflection by Joe Nathan on how Saint Paulite Bill Wilson has influenced the city.

The 2012 Almanac also features poems by Martin Devaney, Katrina Vandenburg, J. Otis Powell!, Garrison Keillor, Phebe Hanson, Saymoukda Vongsay, Jim Moore, David Vu, Chia Lor, Sharon M. Day, Patricia Kirkpatrick, Carol Connolly, Ethna McKiernan, John Minczeski, Elena Cisneros, Jill Breckenridge, Diego Vázquez, Greg Watson, Mary Kay Rummel, Patricia Cummings, Evelyn Klein, Linda Back McKay—and more!

The 2012 Saint Paul Almanac is a reliable companion for the endless exploration of new delights in our beautiful city, and a wonderful gift—packed full of thoughtfulness that will keep on counting all through the year!

The 2012 Saint Paul Almanac sells for $17.95 online at saintpaulalmanac.org (including S&H) and will be available in independent and mainstream bookstores—including Common Good Books, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.com—after September 10, 2011 for $14.95.

The 2012 Saint Paul Almanac team

A Saint Paul Almanac community editors meeting at the Black Dog cafe in Lowertown, St. Paul

Saint Paul Almanac publisher, Kimberly Nightingale. (Photo: Bill Kelley)
Publisher and managing editor: Kimberly Nightingale
Community editors: Daunell (Nam) Barnwell, Maya Beecham, Mary Davini, Nimo Farah, Pamela R. Fletcher, Shaquan Foster, Andrew Hall, Barbara Haselbeck, Charlotte Kazlauskas, Patricia Kirkpatrick, Jewel Hill Mayer, Marianne McNamara, Arthur Nguyen, Sandra Opokua, Jennifer Syverson, Diego Vázquez Jr., Mai Yang Xiong, and Pa Yong Xiong
Copy editors: Sharon Parker, Jan Zita-Grover, Lucy Vilankulu
Cover art: “Lowertown Saint Paul” by Tammy Ortegon
Cover designer: Ellen Dahl
Designer and typesetter: Donna Burch
History facts researcher: Steve Trimble
Proofreader: Sally Heuer
Saint Paul city and downtown maps: Roberta Avidor

Book details

416 pages, 5 3/16 x 8 inches, 180+ photos, full color, two-sided 18.75 x 15-inch color map. ISBN: 978-0-9772651-8-3. $14.95.

Saint Paul Almanac is a subsidiary of Arcata Press, a nonprofit publisher.

Contact

Kimberly Nightingale, Publisher
Saint Paul Almanac
275 East Fourth St., Suite 735
Saint Paul, MN 55101
www.saintpaulalmanac.org
kimberly@saintpaulalmanac.org

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