Dispatches from Islandport

Need supplies in Owl's Head and South Bristol? Problems solved.

The mid-coast of Maine—for the sake of argument, let's call it from Brunswick to Belfast—is extraordinary. It is packed with gorgeous coves and peninsulas and small towns and more. It is also has a tremendous number of great little bookstores, gift shops, general stores, and restaurants. South Bristol, which is bordered by the Damariscotta River, includes the village of Christmas Cove. Owl's Head features the Owl's Head Transportation Museum and Owl's Head Light, which marks the southern entrance to Rockland Harbor.

Trudy is becoming on expert on the region. Her latest dispatch:

"Beth Fisher runs Island Grocery in South Bristol. All your needs in one spot, including lunches & home made pastries, and a few of her favorite books. She raised three sons on The Cat at Night. It must have worked because one son just graduated Bowdoin College–Magna cum laude!

"Martha Luttrell has owned Owl's Head General Store for a year and a half. It's going well and she's excited because Food Network Magazine just featured them as having The Best Burger in the state of Maine (they chose one for every state). And there were plenty of locals eating burgers for lunch."

Books-N-Things in Bethel, Maine

Like Trudy, Carole has been on the road visiting customers this spring and summer with camera in hand. Recently, she headed up along Route 26 into Maine's Western Mountains to Bethel, where, one of these days, I will play golf at The Bethel Inn! Bethel is also near the Sunday River ski resort.

Carole's her report:

"Whether it's winter or summer, Bethel, Maine is a beautiful place to visit.

"Tucked back off Main Street is Books-N-Things, a gem of a bookstore. Sandy Dennis, the owner for thirteen years, is well acquainted with the town. She first opened her bookstore in Philbrook Place, a building that houses an eclectic variety of shops. She then moved it to a B&B, attaching the bookstore to it. For the past four years she has operated at 130 Main Street which boasts a lovely courtyard where you can sit and read while soaking in the sunshine (it will come!).

"If you visit Bethel make sure to stop in and say Hi to Sandy, I'm sure you can find a book or two to laze away the summer days with. That's what summer is all about!"

The Summer of Islandport! Free Books! It's Twitterific!

It's an Islandport Summer! Or maybe it's the Summer of Books! Or maybe the Summer of Experimenting with Social Media to See Just How Large a Role it Can Play in Running a Small, Regional Publishing Business Or is it Just a Fad (SMTSJHLARICPIRASRPBOIIJAF)!

Regardless, it is now July and despite the ceaseless cold and rain, we are saying it is summer. And every Tuesday this summer, bar none, Islandport will give away—give away, as in FREE—books, CDs, and T-shirts!

The plan is simple: Islandport will place an item or two at some retail shops across Northern New England. Each Twitter Tuesday (starting July 7) via Twitter and the Islandport Blog (maybe even Facebook) we will announce where the item or items are located. All you need to do is be the correct person to visit the store and ask for the "Islandport Twitter Tuesday" special. There are links on this page if you want to follow us and join in the fun!

Ahhh, but that is not all, you should also look for other giveaways that will also be announced on Twitter either through @islandport or @pagingamy. We will mail those to you directly from our Worldwide Headquarters. Now, I just have to figure out how to "monetize" all this and stop using so many exclamation points! (Darn it. OK, starting now.)

Not Too Awful Bad: Scenes from St. Albans, Vermont

Just completed a three-week run that took me to Grand Lake Stream, Maine to check in with author Randy Spencer (Where Cool Waters Flow); Greenfield, Massachusetts to visit illustrator Astrid Sheckels (The Scallop Christmas); and St. Albans, Vermont to meet with author Leon Thompson (Not Too Awful Bad: A Storyteller's Guide to Vermont). Great places, but a lot of driving. We will release all three titles this fall, exact dates and a lot more information on all three coming soon.

The final leg of the tri-state tour found Amy and I deep into Vermont (at least from the south) near the Canadian border and on the eastern shores of Lake Champlain. We were shooting publicity photos, possible cover images, and beginning to plan the launch of Leon's book, a very funny "guide" to his home state. We visited St. Albans, Swanton, Enosburg Falls, and other Northern Vermont towns. We even found the sun—yes, the SUN—on Tuesday. If you wan to visit the area, consider the Vermont Maple Festival in St. Albans each spring or check out the Chamber's website for other activities.

And here's just a few images of Leon and his hometown area:

  

Islandport Press June 2009 enewsletter

Our June enewsletter is out and features news on the latest Bert and I CD, Dahlov Ipcar's Hardscrabble Harvest, Islandport Press T-shirts and more. If you did not receive a copy via email, please sign up for our mailing list. And feel free to forward the enewsletter to friends and family! Just click here to read.