A few snowflakes have flown under the bridge since last I provided an update on forthcoming publications. The year 2020 proved difficult for all and our press was not exempt. Despite our best intentions, we did not manage to bring to print as many titles as we originally hoped. And I was so pleased with how MMXX would look on the title page. Alas!
We did manage, despite the challenges to re-print Marriage as a Path to Holiness, The Lenten Triodion and Supplement, and The Festal Menaion. Orthodox Christian Prayers just returned from its fourth impression (6th printing)! In new publications, we released Sing to Your Soul, Vol. I, Walking with Moses, and Great Vespers. Arguably the greatest achievement for the press (and bookstore) was the launch of its new website.
Our 2021 Lectionary Calendar and Rubrics continue to be a mainstay of our press. This past season, we shipped out more than 20,000 calendars and rubrics! An enormous amount of work goes into their design and editing. With our new website, the order fulfillment process was greatly improved, but processing orders continued to absorb most of my attention from October until the end of December. Attending to these tasks meant that the press virtually ground to a halt after September 1st. To avoid this occurring again in 2021, we have made some staff changes and additions, allowing the managing editor and bookstore manager to work more independently.
These changes and challenges behind us, STM Press looks forward to bring out several titles 2021 that have been long anticipated.
- The Cross of Loneliness is in the last stage of editing after being rigorously proofread and compared to the Russian original. We hope to have this in print by July 11th, the feast of St. Sophrony.
- Adventures in East Africa is in the final stage of being proofread. We anticipate it being in print by April 1st.
- The Apostle to Japan: Recollections of St. Nicholas is being edited in the manuscript stage. It is possible that this title may be available by summer of 2021.
- The Immigrants and the Archbishop: Saint Alexis Toth and John Ireland. This is still in the manuscript stage and needs significant editing. However, an optimistic estimate would make it available by this coming May.
- Sing to Your Soul, Vol II: This needs only some light editing and to be typeset. We are hoping to have this title out by Great Lent, 2021.
- Passions & Virtues according to Saint Gregory Palamas. This is a re-print, but will also incorporate several updates in layout and typography.
- John the Damascene. This is the first English translation of the epic poem by Alexei Tolstoy (1859). The publication will be augmented by extensive illustrations by our monastery brotherhood. Its release will be accompanied by the premiere of a chamber opera with the libretto from the translation and performed by members of The Saint Tikhon Choir. The book's release and the opera's premiere is slated for 2022.
- Orthodox Christian Prayers, Vol. II. This publications will contain additional prayers and canons for personal devotion. Fr. John Mikitish, the editor, is presently conducting its compilation. We hope to have it in print by Christmas, 2021
Several liturgical titles hinge upon the completion of The Psalter, a joint project undertaken by STM and SVS Press with Hieromonk Herman and Priest Ignatius Green serving as editors. We have been praying the draft version of this psalter in our monastery services and making adjustments. We plan to complete this stage by June, 2021 when it will be forwarded to the editors for final revisions. Once the psalter is complete, we can incorporate its text into several forthcoming publications:
- The Psalter (in full-sized and pocket-sized formats)
- Vespers & The Divine Liturgy for Laity
- The Holy Week Book
- The Horologion
- Royal Hours
- Hours & Typika
Priest Mikel Hill
Managing Editor