Dear Friends and Supporters, Fellow Pilgrims all!

Much news to share as our pre-press work on The North American Thebaid Book continues:

If you’re going to be at the Orthodox Church in America’s All American Council next week (July 18-22) in Baltimore MD, I hope to see you there!

I’ve been invited to join St Tikhon’s Monastery Press at their display where we will have a special section just for The North American Thebaid Book, featuring an advance look at the book design and some actual page spreads, as well as some large display prints of some of my best images from the project. I’d love to meet you so please stop by and visit!

Our pre-press work on text and image layout continues to proceed very well, with our weekly production meetings often running to an hour or an hour and a half as we fine-tune the details at all levels of the book design. Last month we moved a couple of the main articles around to improve the flow of images and written word sections. There are whole sequences now which are virtually complete and are an absolute joy to page through, inviting the viewer to linger over images before eagerly moving on to see what’s next. As you may recall from my earlier posts, our design has taken the form of a sequential pilgrimage through the great regions of our continent, and we are seeing that approach come to fruition as our work nears its end, the alternating images and texts creating an engaging narrative for the viewer.

Happily, I have had a few opportunities to make new photographs at some of the monasteries, which greatly improve the overall collection, and help make sure the book will be as up to date as possible. Plus it has been a joy to visit again at some of these holy places where I now feel strong connections from my prior pilgrimages.

STILL OPEN FOR PRE-ORDERING: My sincere thanks for all of our new pre-orders of the Thebaid Book since my last update. (We have even had our first pre-order from Australia!) We are still encouraging pre-orders at the Thebaid Store, as this helps us determine our initial print run, and helps offset the printing costs.

As an added perk, effective immediately all pre-orders made through the Thebaid Store will be signed by me, and will include a matted print, ready for framing, of one of the images from the Thebaid Project, signed on the mat. You can check out the specifications on the Standard Edition (Cloth Bound, Hardcover, with French-fold Dust Jacket) and place your preorders here. (Discounts available for multiple copies.) *

Most importantly, the only way to secure a copy of the Deluxe Limited Edition with leather cover and ribbon marker is through pre-order. Each Deluxe Limited Edition copy will be signed and numbered, and will feature a special insert page with the names of all our supporters and pre-orders who selected this special edition. All Deluxe Limited Edition pre-orders will also include a matted print, signed on the mat. Once we close the portal for pre-orders and send the files to the printer, the offer for the Deluxe Limited Edition will cease; this version will not be available through ordinary retail or online stores. You can learn more about the Deluxe Limited Edition (with discounts for multiple copies) and place your pre-orders here.

Perhaps the biggest news I have to share on the publishing end concerns a special trip I am making right after the OCA All American Council, as I will be staying at St Tikhon’s Monastery from July 25-29 for a week-long working session on the Thebaid Book. The STM Press offices are on site at the Bookstore, and we’ll be able to spend hours together each day fine tuning the details. I’m really looking forward to this intensive on-site session which should really move the ball down the field.

Needless to say, this is an exhilarating time for me with the AAC event and our special week-long working session bringing the goal of publication ever closer into view. I can’t wait to complete the book and get it into your hands.

In the meantime, feel free to browse around the many articles about the Thebaid Project, and explore the galleries to learn about or visit anew this amazing and unique multi-year journey. Thank you all again for your support and prayers, and I look forward to sharing the next round of news with you!

* Please note: The Standard Edition is no longer available by itself for preorder, unsigned and without the signed/matted print.