Well, it’s certainly my time to add to the blog posts here at St. Lynn’s Press. I might add that this blog post is way overdue, but things have been mighty busy here. But it’s good to step back and reflect.

I’ve been with St. Lynn’s Press since June 2012 in the capacity of Art Director. Before that, I was working at a printing broker, and did typesetting and graphic services there.  I first started typesetting on a Compugraphic system at the University of Pittsburgh’s printing department in the mid-to-late ‘80s. I then went on to work at a creative agency in downtown Pittsburgh as they had a Compugraphic there; the owner of the firm also had one of the first Macs in town. When I first saw it, I thought, “Well, that looks like a toy! That probably won’t go anywhere.”  Shows how much I knew… And when I did start working on that little Mac, using Aldus PageMaker (anyone remember that??), I realized things in the publishing world were changing and there was no going back. Now, I cringe a bit when I remember the limitations of working on that old Compugraphic  (even though it was quite fun). But I learned to love typography on that old system, and still do on the Mac today.

I love my Mac… 

Working with St. Lynn’s Press has given me the opportunity to expand my creative horizons by working on some wonderful books by these incredibly talented and bright authors. The manuscripts are first sent to Cathy for her expert editing touch, then she passes it along to me so I can start the layout. I’m proud to say that St. Lynn’s Press authors have a say during the design process, whether it’s the cover or interior designs. What they think about the finished book is important to us, and their opinion and voice matters. It’s really a collaboration.

We get to show these beautiful books at garden shows throughout the year. We just exhibited at the Garden Writers Association Annual Symposium, which was held in Pittsburgh this year – how very convenient for us! We went on garden tours around the city, and saw some stunning gardens. We also partook in some of the classes that the Symposium offered – a great way to connect with others and learn new trends and information. The best part of the GWA Symposium this year? We were honored with the 2014 Silver Media Award in the Overall Product: Book (General Readership) for Fine Foliage (authored by Karen Chapman and Christina Salwitz) and Slow Flowers (authored by Debra Prinzing). Not only that, but Fine Foliage won the 2014 Gold Award for Best Overall Book. We are so proud to have worked on these books with these talented authors!

One of the many beautiful sights on a GWA garden tour.

Speaking of garden shows, one of the best that we attend is the Mother Earth News Fair, held in Seven Springs, PA. We typically get lots of traffic at our booth, and hear feedback from gardening folks about our books, and about gardening in general. It’s a great way to connect with our readers. We’re going to have to get a bigger table this year to showcase our expanding catalog! This year the Fair will be held on September 12-14. If you are free that weekend, I hope you consider attending this great event – we’d love to see you there!

Holly

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