Dear Friends and Supporters, Fellow Pilgrims All,

I am very happy and energized to report that we met our internal deadline last week for submitting our pre-proof photo and text edits, and after a couple of lengthy phone conferences and numerous last minute stylistic improvements, St Tikhon’s Press has sent the file to their U.S. printer for the first physical proof copies to be printed.

These will be full size (13×10 inches, 26″ wide when opened fully), approximately 200 pages, paperback (perfect bound), with full color printing inside and out, and our prototype cover design. We will be able to make an accurate assessment of the status of the book based on the proof edition.

The Press will keep a copy and circulate it at their end as part of the pre-flight process before going to press, and I will receive a copy here and be doing the same intensive review. The text sections will be professionally proofread, and every stylistic detail, from font usage to headers and page number placement, Table of Contents formatting, and so on, will be confirmed, checked off, and locked in before we send the final files to the offset printer.

I’ve been reviewing since yesterday the PDF file which was sent to the printer, and love how it looks. I am visiting family, and we excitedly put it on the wide-screen TV last night to go through. Certain photographs convey a positively cinematic impact, while others could stand alone as fine art photographs. I’m very proud of the image quality, the flow of this visual pilgrimage, and the inclusion of the special articles, which help complete the mission of the book and will help make it a useful as well as beautiful keepsake.

It will take about three weeks for the proof editions to be delivered before we can begin our final pre-flight review. In the meantime, watch for more updates, as I have some things to share coming up soon.

FOR A LIMITED TIME, we are still accepting pre-orders for both the Standard Edition (hard cover, cloth bound, with French fold dust jacket) and the Deluxe Limited Edition with Leather cover and ribbon marker. Both versions when ordered from our pre-order store will come signed by the photographer, and will include a signed and matted fine-art print (8×10 gallery quality print, in an 11×14 archival, museum mat) ready for framing.†

As always, my heartfelt thanks for your support, and your patient endurance as we persevered through the lengthy Covid lockdown and our subsequent pre-press work.

Wishing you good strength as we begin the Pre-Lent period this weekend!

~ Ralph Sidway

† Notes:

• As a reminder, the Deluxe Limited Edition is available only by pre-order for a limited time. Once we go to print, we will close the pre-order Thebaid Store.
• The signed and matted 8×10 prints are also only available by pre-order in a bundle with the book, and will not be available separately either before we go to print, or afterwards. There are currently no plans to offer Thebaid prints for sale.
• Pre-orders will be shipped before retail channels receive their copies for resale.
• Upon publication, the Standard Edition will be available through the STM Press Bookstore, and through other online and ‘brick and mortar’ resellers.
• Contact STM Press with queries about discounts for resellers and church bookstores.