Dandelion Through the Crack

[ResearchGuy]

I have mentioned a superb manuscript with which I have been assisting. The manuscript is now under consideration by an agent. I am hopeful that it will be successfully published. (My role is as unpaid volunteer consultant to the author.)

Keep your eyes open for more news. Meanwhile, here is some background (adapted from query letter):

In the aftermath of 9-11, Americans are concerned about risks to the nation from stealthy enemies and risks to civil liberties from responses to dangers presented by those enemies. We are at risk of living out the warning that those who do not learn the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat its mistakes.

For America, the lessons of the past include those offered by the internment of people of Japanese ancestry, many of them American citizens, during World War II. By order of the President, many ordinary and innocent citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry were herded onto trains and taken away from homes, schools, jobs, and ways of life. Many never recovered what was taken from them.

Despite the hardships and denial of rights, internees found the strength to survive. Their legacy has been generations of students, teachers, parents, business people, doctors, engineers, and others in professions and trades. Their legacy, though too much in danger of being neglected, helps to bring a focus on the importance of our civil rights even in—if not especially in—times of extraordinary risk.

Kiyo Sato, a Japanese-American woman born in 1923 in Sacramento, has written the story of her family's saga in America, the story of the Sato family's journey to America, growth of family and business, coping during the Depression, sweeping off to concentration camps, and ultimate survival and success despite terrible odds and oppressive prejudice. Dandelion Through the Crack is a story of a real family formed both by ancestry and by the American way of life. The title, by the way, represents an apt image, fully explained at the end of the narrative.

The reader will find not only mother, father, and children, and their challenges in ordinary life and in the extraordinary times of depression and wartime emergency, but also the author’s father's stories of his old and new homelands and his poetry—haiku—interwoven throughout.

Dr. Kevin Starr, noted California historian (Coast of Dreams and many others) and former California State Librarian, said of the book:

It is a magnificent memoir, fully worthy of being favorably compared to Farewell to Manzanar. I cannot praise its pointillist realism, its Zen-like austerity highly enough.

Dr. Starr also described this memoir as “exquisite.”

Dandelion is an inspiring and uplifting narrative, although one that cautions about what we have at risk today. It is a story of people with whom all can sympathize and a light on a critical and dramatic part of American history. Kiyo Sato has honed the story to carry the reader along and to help each to envision every step of the way.

Over the years, Kiyo Sato has been a speaker with the Veterans of Foreign Wars on the much-requested topic "Lessons from Our Lifetime: the Internment of Americans of Japanese Descent and the United States Constitution." Students are reminded that they are our hope for a compassionate America.

Dandelion will meet an important need in high school and college History and Social Studies classes. Farewell to Manzanar covers much of the same territory, but in a sense of telling the reader about the events, in contrast to Dandelion’s showing the reader the events through the details of life lived by this family. Dandelion is distinctive in its scope and in its literary style. Beyond that, teachers appreciate having an alternative to a long-used curriculum resource, such as Farewell to Manzanar. Dandelion can meet that need for an alternative. (Looking Like the Enemy, published in 2005, is broadly comparable, but different in scope and style.)

Dandelion will be valuable not only in the social studies curriculum, but beyond, especially in view of the role of Kiyo’s father’s haiku in illuminating the story and the value of the story in throwing light on the trials of immigrant families acculturating to America.

Readers will relate to Dandelion Through the Crack, reflecting on their own immigrant family backgrounds, recent or not. Dandelion has the appeal of a novel, as the characters face and overcome challenges both small and large, and as John Shinji Sato’s quest for a better life in America works out over generations. For that reason, I anticipate popularity among reading groups and general readers.


Dandelion Through the Crack will be a great and widely read book.

Make a note. You will want copies for self, family, and friends.

--Ken

[Susie]

Hope the book is very successful and you're very nice to help with it like that.

[ResearchGuy]

Progress. An agent (a legitimate one), after careful consideration has expressed interest in representing the manuscript.

--Ken

[Dawno]

Whoo hoo! Great news. As a fellow NorCal resident, I look forward to getting my hands on the book someday - maybe there will be a local signing and you'll be there? That would be very cool.

[ResearchGuy]

Whoo hoo! Great news. As a fellow NorCal resident, I look forward to getting my hands on the book someday - maybe there will be a local signing and you'll be there? That would be very cool.
If the author is up to it (which I expect), there should be signings in Sacramento. I would hope to be present, too (grinning from ear to ear). I would not expect much travel, though. Maybe the Bay Area/Silicon Valley ... but this is getting ahead.

There is no telling how long it might take to get a publisher to accept Dandelion for publication, or how long it would take from acceptance to print. I am hopeful, but have to be patient. The book is both timely AND timeless. Soon would be good, but well-published is more important.

FWIW, I have gotten a copy of the manuscript in front of a nationally prominent journalist/author for a blurb. (I am hopeful of a big-magazine review, too, but one thing at a time. I broached the idea.) An enthusiastic blurb from that journalist would be a help in selling the manuscript. (The journalist ASKED to see it after I made contact -- this is someone I was slightly acquainted with in high school, so making contact was not difficult.)

Local readers are enthusiastic--folks who represent a potentially enormous audience. (I had some copies printed and spiral bound--nicely formatted back-to-back.)

--Ken

[CaoPaux]

:hooray:

You do realize we'll demand a blow-by-blow account once the dust settles? Could even make for a "how (not) to" book, too.

[mdin]

That sounds really interesting. Do you know what specific camp Mr. Sato was sent to? I wrote an article a while back about Executive Order 9066's impact on the state of Arizona, and the Arizona camps. It's a part of American history that so many people seem to think was a myth.

[ResearchGuy]

That sounds really interesting. Do you know what specific camp Mr. Sato was sent to? I wrote an article a while back about Executive Order 9066's impact on the state of Arizona, and the Arizona camps. It's a part of American history that so many people seem to think was a myth.
Poston, in Arizona. The descriptions are riveting in style and substance.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/smilehooray.gif

You do realize we'll demand a blow-by-blow account once the dust settles? Could even make for a "how (not) to" book, too.
Oh, my ... I would not know how to tell the story. Much of what has taken place was the result of serendipity.

The hard part is up to the agent now: selling the manuscript to a publisher. But in my opinion, only a foolish publisher would turn down this manuscript if presented with a proper perspective on its audience. The key to that audience is that even though the internment forms much of the story, that is not fundamentally what the story is about. It is about a quest--an ultimately, touchingly successful quest--and about life as it should be lived. Maybe serendipity will strike again. Or the agent's expertise will prevail. Or both.

Stay tuned.

--Ken

[mdin]

I went and visited the Poston memorial early last year. There's not much there anymore. The Gila River memorial not too far away is much bigger but has been completely vandalized and covered with graffiti. It's a shame. There's an on-again-off-again effort to restore the Poston camp. They have a website, I'm sure you've seen it ...let me look it up... http://www.postonproject.org

I'm very interested in reading your friend's book once it gets out there.

[ResearchGuy]

An agent (small agency, but legitimate and enthusiastic about Dandelion) will be representing the manuscript. The contract has been signed for representation.

Some brainstorming among the agent, associate agent, author, and myself came up with a revised subtitle (at least for working purposes as the manuscript is pitched to publishers). As it now stands:

Dandelion Through the Crack

A Triumphant Saga of One Family’s Journey Through Prejudice and Internment

Kiyo Sato


There is a lot of work to be done to complete necessary preparations -- author's bio, details to go into book proposal -- but with any luck, pitches will be en route from the agent to the first batch of publishers within weeks.

Stay tuned.

--Ken

[CaoPaux]

:e2cheer:

[ResearchGuy]

Bringing the thread back up to date ... the agent promptly did an about-face, declaring that the manuscript "won't sell" without expensive developmental editing by a third party (to whom the agent referred the writer). The author has formally requested termination of the agreement, as she is not willing to have her manuscript rewritten (at large, open-ended expense) into something she did not intend to write. The agent, last I heard, had not even acknowledged the request for termination.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

It took a few tries, but the agreement with the agent was finally cancelled, allowing Dandelion to move forward. (The manuscript had come to a dead halt in the agent's hands, and never would have moved while that agreement was in force.)

A small publisher in Northern California is interested in publishing Dandelion Through the Crack. Contract is not signed yet (nor yet worked out in detail), but there is agreement in principle and we (author, myself as friend and consultant, publisher, and a couple of other interested folks) met recently to discuss options, marketing ideas, and some procedures.

It marvelously focuses the mind on what publishers have to be concerned about when one is in discussions with a publisher about a specific book and facing questions of costs of production, potential sales, how to reach the audience, and how to assure that the publisher does not take a financial bath on the undertaking. (There are no deep pockets available -- the project has to at least break even, and that means a great deal of work on my part and the author's part as well as on the publisher's part.)

We are looking at a modest first printing and an effort to secure pre-sales of a large part of that printing. The publisher has distribution through Baker & Taylor, which will facilitate library purchases and independent bookstore ordering. The realities probably prohibit a hardbound edition, at least initially. But if demand is sufficient . . . maybe that will be possible. For the time being, a well-designed, well-made trade paperback is in the offing.

Meanwhile, the subtitle suggested by the now-ex agent has been dumped, and the original subtitle slightly modified, so the working title is now Dandelion Through the Crack: The Sato Family Quest. It is truly a great memoir, a literary gem of social and historical value, both moving and illuminating.

One of the marketing steps will be preparation, in advance of publication, of a curriculum guide/teacher's guide to facilitate use of Dandelion in high school social studies and history classes, and possibly in English classes. The curriculum guide will be made available via a website.

--Ken

[CaoPaux]

Wonderful news, Ken! :Sun:

[ResearchGuy]

Publication is tentatively scheduled for late spring of 2007.

Stay tuned.

Remember that this is a manuscript that was diverted from PublishAmerica, thanks to the author's having been alerted to do some research before signing on. It has had delays and obstacles since then, but is now on its way.

I am hopeful that those who oppose PA, champion commercial publication, and support the aspirations of authors will step up to the plate when the time comes, buy Dandelion Through the Crack, read it, and recommend it far and wide. This is as clear-cut a chance as there might be to show the difference between the PA deadend and the opportunity of commercial publication.

There should be a press release in due time announcing the signing of the contract. I'll post the content on this thread.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Meetings are underway this week to finalize edits prior to preparation of galley/ARC. No press release has been sent announcing signing of the contract, and the publisher might skip that (his hands are very full already).

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

ARC's (advance reader copies) are en route soon, and then to be delivered to a wide range of review venues (majors like Publishers Weekly as well as selected newspapers with appropriate readerships and some influential individuals). Publication is scheduled for August (my guess is late August).

I have seen the typeset text. The book is as entrancing now as when I first read the manuscript nearly two years ago. I cannot open it to any random page without being dazzled by what I read.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Distribution of ARCs should begin this week.

Meanwhile, here is a mini-promo:


Watch for Dandelion Through the Crack, by Kiyo Sato, coming in August 2007 from Willow Valley Press, Nevada City. Called “magnificent” and “exquisite” by historian Kevin Starr, described as “moving and graceful” by Atlantic Monthly national correspondent James Fallows, this extraordinary memoir will captivate readers of all ages and walks of life. Hardbound first edition, $29.95, ISBN 978-0-9762697-1-7.
--Ken

[ChunkyC]

Awesome, Ken. Congrats to you and Ms. Sato.

[ResearchGuy]

The website, http://www.dandelionthroughthecrack.com/ , is up, at the moment with a temporary page. The full content should be up within ten days or so.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

The website is taking longer than I had expected, but it is coming along.

Meanwhile, the book can be pre-ordered at Barnes & Noble (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780976269717&itm=1). Publication is scheduled for August 28, according to the B&N page. (That sounds right.)

As of today there is an error in that listing, as the book shows as paperback. Not so. It will be hardbound ("trade cloth"). The error has been corrected in the Books in Print database, but that correction has not propagated through to B&N as of this morning. [It has as of May 29th. The book now correctly shows as hardback.] The list price is correct, at $29.95, and B&N discounts it 20%, to $23.96, and an additional 10% for members of the B&N discount program.

A trade paperback edition is on the drawing boards, but that should not be published until next year.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

I have the final proof open in another window.

Beautiful.

After countless readings, it is still entrancing.

Hundreds of hours of my own time, formatting, editing, proofing, and every day talking about this astonishing memoir, over two years, now. Personally mailing or hand-delivering advance reading copies to some high-value readers. Solicitation of comments on draft manuscripts that I myself had printed and spiral bound. Accumulation of comments, development of a promotional flyer, advising author and publisher on manuscript needs (final touches to complete the book) and on appropriate targets for ARCs.

Among the rewards, this in an email from a historian: "Thanks for helping Kiyo bring Dandelion Through the Crack, a true gift of love, into the world."

Meticulous efforts by the publisher and his staff, in book design, cover design, website design, distribution of ARCs to carefully selected reviiew venues. Hundreds of picky corrections to punctuation (resulting mostly from my proofreading), fixing typos, correcting small problems in the text (some found because I am compulsive about details and on account of idiosyncratically inclusive background) . . .

Checking the Books in Print listing and flagging problems for correction . . . following up to see they had been fixed.

And yet the work is nowhere near done. (Anyone who thinks that publishers--especially small publishers--do everything for the author should go through this process.) The author will speak to groups (as she has done for decades), do interviews, and I hope enjoy a splendid book launch party. I'll go on relentlessly promoting her book simply because it is a cultural and literary jewel. My review-essay on the book will be published in the fall.

The manuscript was barely rescued from PublishAmerica oblivion two years ago.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

The Dandelion Through the Crack website is up and running for a world-class book that was narrowly saved from the PA black hole: http://www.dandelionthroughthecrack.com/index.html

You can make a statement by supporting the author, Kiyo Sato, her book, Dandelion Through the Crack, and the small, independent commercial publisher that signed the book to a contract, Willow Valley Press.

The site has information about the author, an excerpt (the first chapter), and more.

Dandelion was diverted from PA (only barely: the contract was in the author's hands) over two years ago. The book is to be published in hardback on August 28, 2007. A copy of the author's manuscript and an advance reader copy have been acquired for the "special collections" section of the California State Library, ringing endorsements have already arrived from nationally prominent authors, and promotional efforts are gaining momentum.

The publisher will nominate Dandelion for a National Book Award. Odds are slender, of course, but everyone who has read the manuscript agrees that it is a credible contender.

--Ken

[CaoPaux]

Looks great, Ken. Congrats to you both! :)

[ResearchGuy]

For a flier about the book and reader comments, see www.umbachconsulting.com/Dandelion.pdf (http://www.umbachconsulting.com/Dandelion.pdf)

The director of special collections for the California State Library (himself an author and historian) called Dandelion "extraordinary" and "eloquent," "uplifting and inspiring," and "a most important contribution to California history."

Preorder your autographed first edition hardback while you can.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Excellent publicity for book and author coming this weekend. Regional, but big in the region. Feature article, photos, excerpt, interviews.

I'll post the link as soon as it is available.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Feature article by Sacramento Bee columnist Anita Creamer:


http://www.sacbee.com/creamer/story/235673.html (http://www.sacbee.com/creamer/story/235673.html)


Excerpt:


http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/235669.html (http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/235669.html)

The front page of the paper (A-1) even has a teaser to the article. It should be widely read.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Wow!

Between yesterday and today, thanks most likely to the Anita Creamer feature article, Dandelion's sales rank at BarnesAndNoble.com dropped to 771 (it was 61,000-something yesterday, and 161,000-something the day or two before). ALSO the price is now discounted further:

List Price: $29.95

Online Price:
$20.96 Save 30%

Members Pay:
$18.86

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Slipped to 1,247 since this morning. The extra 10% discount went away, too. My guess is that is reserved for the top thousand. Dunno. Maybe momentum triggers it.

Still a bargain, though. And it can be reserved via the publisher before publication at $26.95, shipping and (if applicable) sales tax included, AND autographed. www.DandelionThroughTheCrack.com (http://www.DandelionThroughTheCrack.com) for that deal, while it lasts.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

For two days now, Dandelion has been back in the top 1,000 sellers at www.barnesandnoble.com (http://www.barnesandnoble.com), at 613 this morning, and 731 last evening. So the 30% discount is back, with the additional 10% for B&N discount card members.

I know why sales increased a week ago (or think I do). That would have been in response to the glowing feature article in the Sacramento Bee and the follow-on sharing of that link. I do not know what might account for the new increase. (Granted, it is still probably only a trickle of sales . . . but this is for a book that will not be available until the end of August.)

The word seems to be getting around that Dandelion Through the Crack is a great book. First-edition copies might become sought-after collector's items.

Right now, right this minute, might be an excellent time to order your copies. Copies reserved directly with the publisher will be autographed.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Oddly, Amazon shows the list price as $23.95 (it is actually $29.95). Once that is corrected, the Amazon discount price will presumably rise commensurately.

Anyway, look here for the Amazon listing (http://www.amazon.com/Dandelion-Through-Crack-Kiyo-Sato/dp/0976269716/ref=sr_1_1/002-7204777-9126451?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184949025&sr=1-1).

Dandelion long ago fell back out of the top thousand at barnesandnoble.com, but it is still nicely discounted there, 20% off list (plus 10% additional discount for B&N discount card holders).

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

The price is now right, but with 34% discount Dandelion (412-page hardbound first edition) is still selling at Amazon for under $20. The cover illustration has been added to the page.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Dandelion has received a very positive and beautifully written review in Rafu Shimpo, a Los Angeles Japanese-English daily newspaper with some 22,000 subscribers. (See www.rafu.com (http://www.rafu.com) for information.) The article, by staff writer Joyce Tse, appeared in the print edition of July 27. 2007, and apparently not available online.

This is the last paragraph of the review:

While numerous stories have been written about the Japanese American internment experience, some fictional and others non-fictional, "Dandelion Through the Crack," which has been compared to "Farewell to Manzanar," brings something refreshingly new to the table. Rather than focusing on the internment experience alone, Sato's memoir paints a rich portrait of the 1930s and on by unabashedly sharing the experiences of one Japanese American family and their quest for something more.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Please read this review online at:

http://www.nichibeitimes.com/articles/artsent.php?subaction=showfull&id=1186093560&archive=&start_from=&ucat=3 (http://www.nichibeitimes.com/articles/artsent.php?subaction=showfull&id=1186093560&archive=&start_from=&ucat=3)

Mr. Wayne Maeda writes:


Books: A Poignant and Poetic Account of a Family’s Struggles, Triumphs
From the Nichi Bei Times Weekly August 2, 2007

"Sato has now produced a poignant, insightful, and, in parts, poetic account of her and the Sato family’s struggles and triumphs, that in many ways is metaphoric of the Issei and Nisei experiences "before," during, and "after" World War II."

"Sato skillfully weaves "story," history, and memories into a highly readable and accessible memoir of her family’s journey, survival, and finally a sense of place in this fabled land -- America."

"After four scores and four, Kiyo Sato is finally able to "burst with telling" her stories and now they have become our stories as well."

--------------

This is another example of how the publisher's dissemination of advance reader copies to review venues is working on behalf of the author and the book -- and on behalf of readers.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Kiyo Sato will be a guest on Jeffrey Callison's "Insight" on KXJZ.
August 27th. Show is 2:00-3:00 pm, Pacific time. It's a live 20-minute interview.

That's 90.9 on your FM dial.

And you can always stream the show over the Internet.

http://www.capradio.org/ (http://www.capradio.org/)

Note: the Book Launch Party, sponsored by the publisher, will take place from 3 to 5 pm in Rancho Cordova, CA (just east of Sacramento), on Saturday, September 8, 2007. For details and link to map, see the Calendar link at the publisher's website for the book, www.DandelionThroughTheCrack.com (http://www.DandelionThroughTheCrack.com) . Consider yourself invited.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

You can hear it here: http://www.capradio.org/resources/audioplayer.aspx?showid=3609&bhcp=1

Kiyo Sato's segment starts about 35 minutes into the one-hour show.

--Ken

P.S. I got my hands on a copy of the hardbound first edition today. Nice.

[ResearchGuy]

Printing/shipping ran a couple of weeks later than intended, so publication date was missed. There is probably a lesson there about the need to build slack time into the schedule. Printers' estimates are just that, estimates. But the book trade takes the publication date literally, expecting books to have been in the pipeline ahead of time and on the shelves by the publication date.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Thousands of copies arrived at the publisher's office today, and are making their way out into channels.

If you ordered a copy, it will be on its way before long.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Buyers were lined up for most of the two hours+. The community center room was filled to capacity and the line stretched down the hallway to the entrance--and stayed that long for an hour as people kept coming.

A larger crowd could not have been accommodated. Some people were buying two, three, and even four copies.

--Ken

[julie thorpe]

great news, research guy! I have been following your posts hoping to hear how it all goes. keep the updates coming please!

[ResearchGuy]

great news, research guy! I have been following your posts hoping to hear how it all goes. keep the updates coming please!
Thanks!

A few glitches remain to be ironed out, including getting supplies into the Baker & Taylor pipeline and into Barnes & Noble dot com fulfillment (the latter has been a mystery so far, although B&N.com took a bunch of preorders). Amazon should be caught up soon, as the publisher has been briskly shipping packages to the Amazon warehouses. BTW, there are some reviews at Amazon -- two short ones, and my own at over a thousand words. My big review (five thousand words, including sidebars, plus photographs) will be published on the Web in a few months, when the journal gets caught up with a backlog.

The turnout at the party was gratifying, and the author happily sat and autographed books for hours.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

The mysteries of Barnes & Noble and Borders have still not been solved, although the problem with Borders might be that supplies are not yet through Baker & Taylor and into the Borders warehouse and logged as available. (Borders' corporate office does know that the store on Fair Oaks Blvd. in Sacramento has copies in stock -- that store bought those directly from the publisher.) B&N's situation seems to be . . . well . . . something else, and damned if the publisher can get anyone there to talk to him.

Meanwhile, tonight Kiyo Sato is a featured speaker at a community event, and she is racking up a growing list of appearances. Book sales seem to be coming along nicely at personal appearances, via Amazon, and via Baker & Taylor (libraries and independent bookstores, I suppose). The reviews that will put the book on a path to a bulge in sales, likely follow-on printings, and long-term backlist are yet to come. In process, but not in print.

Amazon has six reviews, including my own long one, last I looked, and fluctuating sales ranking suggests an ongoing trickle of sales.

One of the folks who bought a copy at the book launch party on Sept. 8 read the whole book the same night. She could not put it down. One of my friends who read it in a small-print manuscript form a year and a half ago likewise was unable to stop reading late into the night.

I am curious as to whether any AWer bought a copy. BTW, if you hear of a forthcoming trade paperback edition, forget about that for now. The listing was premature.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Yesterday saw another presentation to a well-attended luncheon, followed by book signing.

Next up: to polish and refine the stock speech for use at future events. That is in process.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Hi, folks!

I am delighted to announce the publication of:

Civil Liberties and the Art of Memoir:
A Review of Kiyo Sato's Dandelion Through the Crack

This review-essay, complete with three sidebars and several photographs, appears in the just-released September/October issue of Knowledge Quest (Web edition), the journal of the American Association of School Librarians, a unit of the American Library Association.

See this link to Knowledge Quest article (http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/kqweb/kqarchives/volume36/361/361umbach.cfm).

Or : http://tinyurl.com/3xp9aa (http://tinyurl.com/3xp9aa)

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Kiyo Sato is among those featured in Passing Poston, a new documentary film being premiered this month. See http://www.passingposton.com/ .

Kiyo is traveling to Poston with several other folks, including a Newsweek videographer, I am told, for an event that I believe is to receive national TV network coverage.

Unfortunately, the publisher has still not overcome the distribution roadblocks, so the book is not available in or by way of bricks & mortar bookstores except for a couple in the Sacramento area. That will be really sad if it gets a prominent mention on national network TV news.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Check out the first in a five part series on Newsweek.com:
http://www.newsweek.com/

Called "Return To An Internment Camp," the series spotlights the return of a group of former Japanese American internees, including Kiyo Sato, who traveled back to Poston (site of their former internment camp) for the World Premiere of the new documentary "Passing Poston."

The series runs Thursday, March 6, through Monday, March 10.

The video is in the upper right-hand corner.

ALSO:

KXTV - NEWS 10 - ABC - SACRAMENTO

http://www.news10.net/

Middle right of screen to go to text story. Then click link to video.

It might turn up (or a related story) on ABC network news, too.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Dandelion won a 2007 Publications Award from the Sacramento County Historical Society, presented at the group's meeting last night (Tues., March 25, 2008). The author was present to accept the award and to speak briefly about the book.

By the way, as of a few minutes ago, Amazon.com was offering Dandelion at a 34% discount ($19.77). That will not last, so if you want a copy (or copies), better hurry.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Last Friday night, Dandelion won two awards from Northern California Publishers & Authors (NCPA, www.norcalpa.org): Best First Book and Gold award for Best Book.

NCPA is a regional organization, and not large (108 members at last count, and growing), but the judges take the competition seriously.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Another milestone for the important book diverted from PublishAmerica:

A booktalk on Dandelion through the Crack is included in Sherry York's latest book: Booktalking Authentic Multicultural Literature: Fiction, History, and Memoirs for Teens (Linworth Publishing, Inc., Spring, 2008), ISBNs: 1-58683-299-9 978-1-58683-299-5, Price: $39.95.

Available from Linworth www.linworth.com and coming soon to Amazon.com


--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Stand by for news, as Paul Harvey puts it.

Something big is coming for Dandelion Through the Crack.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Stand by for news, as Paul Harvey puts it.

Something big is coming for Dandelion Through the Crack.

--Ken

Dandelion is to be released in a retitled, slightly edited new edition, in trade paperback, by Soho Press (New York). Publication date is to be spring of 2009, under new title, "Kiyo's Story: A Japanese American Family Quest for the American Dream." The hardback first edition is now sold out, although there are copies still in trade channels, and now becoming collector's items.

So, this book, narrowly saved from PA oblivion, had a well-received small-press hardback first edition (Willow Valley Press, Nevada City, CA) and then was picked up by an established trade publisher. Not bad.

By the way, the Willow Valley Press edition will be going out of print. However, I have a few copies that will be available while they last. For the moment, the book can also still be purchased from Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble.com. Or just wait for the paperback, which will have much wider distribution (and hopefully many more published reviews) than the hardback first edition, but under a new title (what I have heard mentioned is Kiyo's Story, with a subtitle yet to be announced). The promotional material will cite the original title, so it should not be hard to find.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Announced recently:

Dandelion Through the Crack, by Kiyo Sato is a finalist (https://www.stanford.edu/group/ic/cgi-bin/drupal/content/saroyan-prize-finalists-selected) for the 2008 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.

This year's competition drew many entries, so finalist status is a significant accomplishment. This is an international competition (http://library.stanford.edu/saroyan/) associated with Stanford University.

Here is an overview:

Thirty books—half fiction, the other half nonfiction—have been selected as finalists for the 2008 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Winners in both the fiction and nonfiction categories get a $12,500 prize and will be recognized Sept. 5 during Stanford's Saroyan Centennial celebrations (http://library.stanford.edu/saroyan/centennial.html). Jointly awarded by Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation, the Saroyan Prize aims to encourage new or emerging writers and honors Saroyan's literary legacy of originality, vitality and stylistic innovation.--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

The 2008 Saroyan International Prize for Writing, in the nonfiction category, was awarded yesterday to Kiyo Sato's Dandelion Through the Crack. The announcement came in the course of a series of events at Stanford University.

The press release is here (http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/september10/saroyan-091008.html).

It was quite a party, with events that ran from 3 pm until nearly 9 pm.

--Ken

[Keyan]

Congratulations to Ms Sato!

[ResearchGuy]

To my surprise, the Soho edition is to be hardback, not trade paperback.

http://www.cbsd.com/inventory.aspx?id=1655602

It can be preordered now at Amazon (and presumably other booksellers), but there is no rush.

Dunno what became of the expected trade paperback.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Here is the link: http://www.apa.si.edu/programs_upcoming.html

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

This is weird. Amazon is sending paperback ARCs (clearly labeled not for resale) in lieu of the Soho Press hardback edition of Kiyo's Story. The packing slip shows the hardbound, but the enclosed book was the ARC. Apparently I am not the only one who received the ARC instead of the paid-for hardback.

I'm not going to return it. The ARC is a collector's item, esp. for me, and I can always buy Soho hardbacks later (and will). But it was a surprise.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Here is an article: http://www.asianweek.com/2009/02/17/writer-kiyo-sato-to-speak-at-smithsonian/

Not bad at age 85, and for a first book (now in second edition, this one from a large independent publisher).

--Ken

[brainstorm77]

congrats

[ResearchGuy]

My friend Kiyo Sato received her much-delayed college degree: http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-news-japanesegraduation,0,3428003.story (http://www.fox40.com/news/headlines/ktxl-news-japanesegraduation,0,3428003.story)

By the way, her magnificent memoir, Dandelion Through the Crack (first edition from Willow Valley Press, republished by Soho Press as Kiyo's Story) is coming out in a Soho Press trade paperback edition in December. You can preorder it now (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156947866X/sr=1-1/qid=1274412738/ref=sr_1_1_oe_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274412738&sr=1-1) at a tidy discount.

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

Dandelion has just now been released by Soho in trade paperback. Those who have been waiting for a more affordable edition might want to consider this one. Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Kiyos-Story-Japanese-American-Familys-American/dp/156947866X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288658416&sr=8-1) has it nicely discounted from the $15 list price. Ditto Barnes & Noble (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Kiyos-Story/Kiyo-Sato/e/9781569478660/?itm=1&USRI=kiyo%27s+story).

The book, in its original publication, received rave comments from Kevin Starr (former California State Librarian) and James Fallows (national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly), among others, and won the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing (nonfiction category) in 2008.

I'm still a huge fan (and a friend of the author), and ordered 10 copies myself for gifts and to contribute as drawing prizes for local organizations. I believe that it belongs in every school library, middle school through college, and in every public library.

By the way, at age 87, Kiyo Sato is still speaking to groups and organizations, energized, I think, by the importance of communicating the history she has lived.

See my review of the first edition in Knowledge Quest (http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest/kqwebarchives/v36/361/361umbach.cfm).

--Ken

[ResearchGuy]

The book is now in a Kindle edition, priced under nine dollars.

FWIW, here is my comment posted at Written in Stone (in thread about favorite memoirs -- what and why):

Kiyo's Story, by Kiyo Sato, originally published as Dandelion Through the Crack.

For a detailed explanation, see my review in Knowledge Quest (http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest/kqwebarchives/v36/361/361umbach.cfm).

The short form is that Kiyo's Story (Dandelion Through the Crack) combines history (the life of generations in a Japanese immigrant family in the U.S.) with personal recollections, all written in elegant prose and ornamented with poetry (mostly haiku composed by the author's father). It is a beautiful book that, despite the wrongs done to the family (the WW II internment, theft of property and livelihoods) leaves the reader feeling good. The story has an arc and a narrative style reminiscent of a well-crafted novel.

Unfortunately, the current publisher, Soho Press of New York, botched promotion and marketing in several ways. One was the unfortunate title change. (It is not Kiyo's story, but rather the story of a family and a generation, and the original title tied to a key image in the book). The title change lost connection to the book's signal accomplishment, the 2008 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing (and two local/regional awards as well), and to the promotion that had been done in connection with the original title (including my Knowledge Quest review-essay). Soho has further botched promotion and even marketing, apparently unaware of the large Asian-American (and in particular Japanese-American) audience on the West Coast. Soho, a major (albeit not Big 6) commercial publisher has managed to undersell the efforts of the tiny local publisher (Willow Valley Press, Nevada City, CA) that produced the original and award-winning edition.

I've been saying since I read the book in manuscript in 2005, more than two years before the first edition was published, that it is one of the great books of this generation. And I still believe that. Endorsements from the likes of James Fallows and Kevin Starr suggest I am on the mark.

It is also in a Kindle edition (under nine dollars for that), by the way.

--Ken