I am sad to announce the death of Arlene Swenson, my loving mother, and accounts manager for Swenson Book Development, LLC. Services will be held on Monday, June 16, at 2 pm at Memorial Lutheran Church in Afton, MN. In lieu of flowers, please send a memorial to Memorial Lutheran Church. Your kind thoughts and wishes are greatly appreciated.
President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan. Bowe Bergdahl was released. And Mariam Raqib arrived in Kabul on a return peace mission. This is a critical moment in the history of US-Afghan relations in many respects. Peace proves elusive. In a recent article for The Christian Science Monitor, Cathryn Prince interviewed Mariam Raqib, who left Afghanistan with her family as a child in the… [Read More]
Today Swenson Book Development LLC is in New York City at the Jacob Javits Center attending Book Expo America 2014. The largest annual book trade show in the U.S., BEA provides booksellers with opportunities to network with colleagues, preview publishers’ upcoming titles, and discover new vendors. Programming includes a multitude of education and information sessions, as well as author breakfasts, lunches, and other special events. In… [Read More]
Tina Welling’s new book, Writing Wild: Forming a Creative Partnership with Nature, has just been released from New World Library. Tina Welling will be at Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca at 4PM on Saturday on May 31st. “Writing Wild is an impressive guide to feeling, seeing, thinking, and writing about the beauty, sadness, and wonder of life. Tina Welling has created a gift for us all.”… [Read More]
In the special part of my brain reserved for book related ephemera is a running list of my all-time favorite novels. I update the list quarterly in the event that I must spend the rest of my life on a remote island and will only be permitted ten books. So when this happens, I’ll be ready. I’ll shrug and say, “Sure, give me a minute…. [Read More]



