Though the weather was grey and cold in Kalamazoo, the booth was hot yesterday with all remaining copies of Medieval Military Technology out the door followed closely by Nicholas Everett’s The Alphabet of Galen and Brett Edward Whalen’s Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages. The last copy of Medieval Military Technology went into the satchel of an enthusiastic Icelander who is based in Sweden (or a Swede who is based in Iceland, it’s still not clear).
Suzanne had a lovely lunch meeting yesterday with Lisi Oliver while Natalie went over the Readings in Medieval Civilizations and Cultures Series, as well as the Rethinking the Middle Ages Series, with editor Paul Edward Dutton.
Michael Burger’s famous laugh preceded him into the booth and he presented Natalie with the first draft of The Shaping of Western Civilization: Volume 2, which will be the next installment in our very smart Western civilization franchise.
Anna’s pilgrimage trivia contest was a resounding success with Suzanne Hagedorn from the College of William and Mary winning the final day’s prize.
Our annual SWAG was a big hit with people picking up multiple copies of our activity sheets and magnets. We are told that throughout the book exhibit, people were talking about UTP (one of the many comments overheard was “University of Toronto Press is so fun”). Clearly, the girls have outdone themselves yet again.
Custom publishing remains a popular option for medievalists who want to sample from our treasure trove of primary sources, and Anna expects some new orders for fall courses.
In keeping with tradition, Anna and Natalie escorted Michael Burger on the final night of the conference for Indian food at the ever popular Saffron Rose, where we discussed the future of our Western civilization offerings.
This final morning at Kalamazoo has been steady with medievalists coming through the booth looking for last minute sales. A fist fight was narrowly averted when someone came through at exactly 8:01 am to purchase the much coveted last copy of The Taymouth Hours.
The girls are looking forward to a peaceful drive home and the tallying up of the exam copies and sales.
Until next year, I remain,
The Berserker.
