Trent Preszler Kicks Off One Book Author Tour June 25
May 25, 2024
When the 2024 One Book South Dakota selection, Little and Often, was released in 2021, the continuing pandemic meant Trent Preszler’s publisher didn’t send him on a nationwide tour to promote his memoir. This summer, he’ll finally hit the road – though on a slightly smaller scale – visiting a dozen South Dakota communities on his One Book Author Tour.
Sponsored by the South Dakota Humanities Council, the tour runs from June 25 to July 2 and provides opportunities for readers across the state to speak personally with the One Book author.
At each stop, Preszler will talk about his work and its themes, answer questions from community members, and sign books. In addition to the tour, he will speak at the 2024 South Dakota Festival of Books, Sept. 20-22 in Brookings.
Little and Often focuses on a single year during which Preszler, a South Dakota native living on Long Island, mourns the death of his estranged father by using inherited tools to build a wooden canoe. In the process, he comes to better understand his father – a cattle rancher, rodeo champion, and Vietnam War Bronze Star Medal recipient – and himself.
“A lot of great art comes out of a lot of great pain,” Preszler said. “The book is the story of my journey of grief and loss and understanding and reckoning with the things that were left unsaid between me and my father as I used his tools to build this boat.”
Preszler grew up on a ranch between Faith and Lemmon but has spent much of his adult life in and around New York City. The contrast between those settings, as well as his level of comfort in each one, is at the heart of the book.
“In some ways it’s a love letter to Long Island and New York, but it’s also a love letter to South Dakota,” he said. “The geography of the place and the beauty of the place influences a lot of my writing.”
Little and Often hit #1 on the Amazon Books best sellers list and was named a Best Book of 2021 by USA Today.
ONE BOOK SOUTH DAKOTA AUTHOR TOUR SCHEDULE
Tuesday, June 25, Sioux Falls – 6 pm CT – South Dakota Public Broadcasting Studio, 601 N Phillips Ave, Ste 100. For more information, contact Nathan Hofer, (605) 910-4940, nathan.hofer@sdpb.org
Wednesday, June 26, Howard – 7 pm CT – Miner County Rural Life Museum, 127 S Main St. For more information, contact Chloe Andenas, (605) 772-5510, andenasc@alliancecom.net
Thursday, June 27, Milbank – 12 pm CT – Grant County Public Library, 207 E Park Ave. For more information, contact Tammy Wollschlager, (605) 432-6543, gclibrary21@hotmail.com
Thursday, June 27, Aberdeen – 6:30 pm CT – K.O. Lee Aberdeen Public Library, 215 4th Ave SE. For more information, contact Cara Perrion, (605) 626-7097, cara.perrion@aberdeen.sd.us
Friday, June 28, Timber Lake – 4 pm MT – Dewey County Library, 712 Main St. For more information, contact Cherie Leibel, (605) 865-4884, dewcolibrary@tlsd.us
Saturday, June 29, Belle Fourche – 11 am MT – Belle Fourche Public Library, 905 5th Ave. For more information, contact Wanda Nelson, (605) 892-4407, wanda@bellefourche.org
Saturday, June 29, Piedmont – 2:30 pm MT – Piedmont Valley Library, 111 2nd St. For more information, contact Emily Marshall, (605) 718-3663, piedmont.library2@hotmail.com
Sunday, June 30, Rapid City – 11 am MT – Rapid City Public Library, 610 Quincy St. For more information, contact Patti Martinson, (605) 206-0479, blackhillscenterforequalitysd@gmail.com
Monday, July 1, Pierre – 12 pm CT – Rawlins Municipal Library, 1000 E Church St. For more information, contact Dorinda Daniel, (605) 220-4704, dee_daniel@hotmail.com
Monday, July 1, Gregory – 6 pm CT – Gregory Public Library, 112 E 5th St. For more information, Contact Tara Engel, (605) 350-4241, gregorylibrary@gmail.com
Tuesday, July 2, Yankton – 12 pm CT – Yankton Community Library, 515 Walnut St. For more information, contact Dana Schmidt, (605) 668-5275, dschmidt@cityofyankton.org
Tuesday, July 2, Vermillion – 6 pm CT – Edith B. Siegrist Vermillion Public Library, 18 Church St. For more information, contact Kaia Brose, (605) 677-7060, kaia.brose@vermillionpubliclibrary.org
MORE INFORMATION
About Trent Preszler
Preszler grew up on a cattle ranch in Western South Dakota, attending a one-room schoolhouse near the Standing Rock Reservation. He received a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University and was awarded a Rotary Scholarship to the United Kingdom and a diploma from the Royal Botanic Garden. After a White House internship for President Bill Clinton, he earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics and a PhD in horticulture from Cornell University.
For 20 years, Preszler was CEO of the Long Island winery Bedell Cellars. During that time, he also served as Chair of the Board for both the New York Wine & Grape Foundation and Wine America, the national association of American wineries. In 2014, he established Preszler Woodshop, creating bespoke wooden canoes that are truly works of art. This not only inspired his memoir, Little and Often, but also a Newsday documentary about his experiences, which won a 2017 New York Emmy Award for Best Lifestyle Feature.
Preszler is currently a Professor of Practice in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, where he teaches five courses in Dyson’s Grand Challenges Program. His research and teaching are focused on sustainable business practices within the agriculture and forestry sectors, plus diversity and equity in the outdoor recreation economy.
About One Book South Dakota
Since 2003, SDHC’s One Book program has encouraged people across South Dakota to read and discuss the same book throughout the year. For more information or to apply to host a discussion, please visit https://sdhumanities.org/one-book-sd/. Copies of Little and Often are available via the SDHC lending library, and groups may engage an SDHC scholar to lead their discussion if desired.
Learn more about humanities programming in South Dakota by signing up for SDHC e-Updates!