We have been hard at work preparing for registration and I am happy to announce that we have a page of Frequently Asked Questions ready to go. We hope we have covered your concerns, but if you have a question you don’t see addressed, please comment below or email us. If you have a child who may be attending, you will also want to read our Camp Laura FAQ.

We also have a Registration page ready, where the link to the registration form will be tomorrow.  This year we have made registration easier than ever. If the technological grasshoppers don’t plague us (prayers to Reverend Alden accepted), you will be able to fill in the PDF online via your keyboard, save it to your computer, and email it directly. No printing out or writing by hand, unless you want to.

Edited to add: It’s been pointed out that we didn’t say we were going to share the programming with attendees, which would make it difficult for people to weigh the decision of whether to invest the time and money to attend. My apologies–that is nowhere close to true. While the final schedule won’t be out for a while, the programming for the conference will be shared as soon as possible after prospective presenters are notified whether or not they are accepted. Those notifications will go out tomorrow, February 7.

And FYI to the director/commentator: It’s Charles Philip Ingalls, not Charles Paul. [Edited to add: Thanks to Carole Nebhut, who informed us that he's saying "Pa," not "Paul." How could I have mistaken that!?]

In the meantime, here is the list of committees we have worked out based on everyone’s interests. If any assignment does not work for you or if you think we made a mistake in your assignment, please note it in the comments.

Keynote Programming
Chair: Rebecca Brammer
Other board members: Sandra Hume, Jonni Craven
Additional volunteers: Barb Boustead

Awards/Awards Dinner
Chair: Rebecca Brammer
Other board members: Sarah Sue Uthoff
Additional volunteers: Lauri Goforth

Content Programming
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: Sandra Hume, Connie Neumann
Additional volunteers: Barb Boustead, Laura McLemore, Laura Chapman

Friday Night Entertainment
Chair: Jonni Craven
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers: Lauri Goforth

Registration
Chair: Jonni Craven
Other board members: Sandra Hume
Additional volunteers needed: Rachel Luther, Laura Welser

Publications
Chair: Sandra Hume
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers: Wendy McClure, Sue Poremba, Laura Welser, Laura Chapman

Children’s Programming
Chair: Rebecca Brammer
Other board members: Connie Neumann
Additional volunteers: Rachel Luther, Laura McLemore, Heather Von Bank, Julie Miller

Food
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: Connie Neumann
Additional volunteers needed: none

Just-In-Time/On-Site/Technical
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: Sandra Hume
Additional volunteers: none; an events-planning class at the University will be spearheading this.

Fundraising
Chair: Connie Neumann
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3

Elections
Chair: Sandra Hume
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: Carolyn Pappin, Laura Welser, Suzanne Falck-Yi, Sanne Jakobsen

Merchandise
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: Melanie Stringer, Karen Witham

To kick off the holidays in wintry style, we thought we’d try something a tiny bit different this time … a haiku contest to accompany a giveaway of the book.

Here are the rules:

1. Write a haiku about The Long Winter
2. Post it here in the comments

That’s it! You have until the end of the day on Monday, December 12. Erin and I will choose our favorite and bestow the winner with a copy of The Heroine’s Bookshelf, which features a chapter on The Long Winter and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Happy writing!

I’m really grateful that Sandra and Connie agreed to help coordinate audience participation for Pa’s Fiddle by members of our Little House community.

For those who are able to be there it’ll be a great chance to be part of the show…we’ll make sure we see your smiling, happy faces as you listen to some of the best music Pa played on his fiddle during his family’s timeless adventure on the prairie. Our house band will be five to six players led by musical director Randy Scruggs…together they will be supporting some special guests from the worlds of country and bluegrass music.

Laura mentions 127 different songs in her books…we’ll hear 10 to 15 of them at the Loveless Barn. The performances will be edited into a 1-hour Pledge Special for PBS that will premiere nationally in June of 2012.

We only have about 100 seats available…they’ll all be good…you’ll be part of the show. I know i’ts short notice, but you’ll have fun. We’ll need to know who’s coming by Friday, Dec 16. Details on the show time will be made available at that time…you should expect the performance to be shot over a four- to six-hour period during the afternoon and evening of January 6, 2012. I’ll hope to see you there.

Edited to add:

People have been asking about children attending the performance. We’re glad you reminded us, as we would love younger fans to be in the audience! Any child 8 years and older is welcome to come, but please keep in mind that this will be a long afternoon/evening and we will need everyone who chooses to attend the event to stay from beginning to end in the interest of continuity.

Dean

Two committees that could still use help are Merchandise (anyone have experience with ordering or buying logo’ed items?) and Elections (we’ll be electing a new LIWLRA board next year!). Elections committee folks need not have election experience, although it would be nice if you’ve voted for a board before. Mostly, we just want to have a wide range of voices to make sure everyone is heard.

Email beyondlittlehouse@gmail.com with any last-minute offers.

To volunteer, please email beyondlittlehouse@gmail.com using the subject line “Committees.” In the body of the email, mention up to two committees you would like to help on, with your top choice ranked first. When choosing, we ask that you note two things:

• The LIWLRA is an all-volunteer organization. We understand fully that people’s lives are very busy these days; please do not volunteer if you don’t have the time to participate. Most of the committees’ work can be done from afar, but periodic online or phone meetings will be necessary. If you expect this to be difficult to fit into your schedule or aren’t good with deadlines, it is likely that being a part of a committee will frustrate you. 
• Please offer to volunteer only on committees where you feel confident your experience will help. Everyone has different talents and we want to use all of your individual gifts in the best possible ways.

The sub-committees that will help plan the conference follow. Please note that with few exceptions (notably the Merchandise Committee), existing board members will chair each committee:

Fundraising. Create several long-term and one-time plans of generating funds for the purposes of LIWLRA. Looking for interest and/or experience in grant-writing, working with non-profit fund-raising, organizing silent auctions, etc., and helping with details while at the 2012 conference.
Chair: Connie Neumann
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3

Keynote Programming. Invite prospective keynote speakers, plan their travel, follow up post-conference with thank-yous, and everything in between.
Chair: Rebecca Brammer
Other board members: Sandra Hume, Jonni Craven
Additional volunteers needed: 1-2

Awards/Awards Dinner. Responsible for developing a process around the ordering of the Legacy Award and presenting it to the board, as well as planning the awards dinner. (Note: recipient has already been selected.)
Chair: Rebecca Brammer
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 1-2

Content Programming. Review paper, panel, and educator proposals and develop a rubric for judging them. Help schedule content programming throughout the conference.
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: Sandra Hume, Connie Neumann
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3

Friday Night Entertainment. Determine what entertainment we will schedule for Friday night of the conference; a largely logistical job.
Chair: Jonni Craven
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 1-2

Elections. Establish voting procedures for board members of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association; plan upcoming vote.
Chair: Sandra Hume
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3

Registration. Handle records and registration; provide tallies for meal and housing counts as well as overall numbers.
Chair: Jonni Craven
Other board members: Sandra Hume
Additional volunteers needed: 1-2

Publications. Responsible for all aspects—writing, editing, designing—of program, assembling speaker bios, collecting maps, etc., and making sure everyone who needs them has copies.
Chair: Sandra Hume
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3

Food. Plan meals with University.
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: Connie Neumann
Additional volunteers needed: probably none, unless you have a particular passion for food

Children’s Programming. Responsible for planning activities and arranging for their implementation for children entering grades K-6. Skills or knowledge in hands-on pioneer activities is desirable. (Joining this committee does not require you to miss the adult conference activities.)
Chair: Rebecca Brammer
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 2-3

Merchandise. Plan what merchandise (T-shirts, etc.) to have available for conference attendees. Note: This is the only committee that does not have a board member as its chair. We would love to find someone who has experience in this area to chair this committee. Is it you?
Chair: TBD
Other board members: none at present
Additional volunteers needed: 3-4

Just-In-Time/On-Site/Technical. Help pre-emptively solve anticipated problematic issues regarding participants’ needs during the conference; be available on-site during the conference to address needs that come up.
Chair: Amy Lauters
Other board members: Sandra Hume
Additional volunteers needed: probably none, unless this particularly appeals to you; an events-planning class at the University will be spearheading this.

In honor of both the book release and Kelly’s birthday today, Beyond Little House caught up with her to find out more about this latest addition to “Little House” literature.

Q: Tell us about your Little House fandom. 

A: “Obsessive” would not be too strong of a word. I was six when my mom gave the yellow box set for my birthday and not long after, I realized I could go back to Laura whenever I needed to be okay. I rediscovered  as an adult that I could return to the books and get that “back to center” feeling when life was a mess. The same yellow box set I had as a child sits right next to me RIGHT NOW. So, yes. Obsessive.

Q: Synopsis of the book, in your own words?

“Woman in state of transition dons prairie dress and decides to retrace the pioneer journey of her childhood idol in the hope of figuring out herself for once and freaking all.”

Q: What was the hardest part about writing the book?

The first challenge was I had no idea how to write a book. I was mindboggled. Structure was the hardest part. I had all these ideas and I had written all these pages but had no idea what to do with them. For help, I analyzed other nonfiction books that could serve as role models (for instance, Candyfreak by Steve Almond and Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell). At some point I realized that the road trip itself was the structure, which now seems simple. I will also say that Chapter One was a beast and I have about thirty drafts.

Q: What surprised you the most in the process of writing?

That over four hundred pages of writing boiled down to two hundred after editing and revision.

Q: Where did your trip take you? Over how long?

From the book: “Two weeks, five towns.” Aside from Mansfield, Missouri, I only visited places that were settings for the books. I spent more time in the Camry than anywhere else, so it’s a good thing prairies fascinate me. I still haven’t been to Malone, or Spring Valley, or Burr Oak, but I’m scheming ways to get there.

Q: Where were you (in your life) when you began traveling?

I was in a tenuous but giddy state. My boyfriend and I had just gotten back together (hence, tenuous), and I was deliriously happy living in Missoula, Montana. I had just moved West after twenty years of waiting tables “back East” in the same town. In many ways I felt like a pioneer. I didn’t know what would happen, but I was high on expectations and opportunity.

Q: Had you always thought you’d write a book?

I had always dreamed of writing a book. I’m pretty sure most avid readers feel the same way. The problem was I suffered so much anxiety throughout my twenties that even thinking the word “book” put me to bed hyperventilating through a sheet. But (like Laura, probably because of Laura) I can be very determined. Around the age of 32 I began writing every day, even if it was just for myself. From there I wrote for the local weekly, then began writing short stories and essays. I loved it when I found out Laura first writing job was also as a columnist.

Q: How did the idea for the book come about?

I’d been writing about Laura for a while, working on this essay that kept spiraling out of control. The “A-ha!” moment for the road trip came about when I was driving through South Dakota on my way to Montana. I saw the brown sign for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead and wigged out. I knew right then, as Liz Lemon would say, “Me want to go to there.” Events progressed from there.

Q: What did you learn about Laura in your travels that you didn’t expect?

The variety and complexity of small town Midwest culture. I’d always conceived of Laura’s towns as “West,” but a map quickly reveals the middling states. I’d always thought of the Midwest as the states one drives exactly 5 mph past the speed limit on the way to Yellowstone. But if you get on the two-lane highways, there’s a rural beauty that changes dramatically from South Dakota to Minnesota to Kansas. Every time I stepped out of the car I was in a new world.

Q: What did you learn about yourself?

I had always thought of myself as a weenie, but everyone kept saying “how brave you are!” until I realized I am brave. There’s a book called Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, which I never read, but I have considered the title many times. This concept, of course, is a lesson I first learned from Laura. She always gulped and faced challenges no matter how difficult—physical, social and emotional. But this doesn’t mean she never had doubts.

Q: Where can people buy the book?

The short answer is online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble Online, or directly from Press 53, my publisher. The long story is since that I’m on a small press, it’s very difficult to get into bookstores—even local ones. With Borders closing and the general “sky is falling” atmosphere in NYC publishing, bookselling seems to be going the way of the Indie Music DIY (Do It Yourself) scene. I’m setting up readings at art galleries and coffeeshops and people’s houses, and basically, selling books out of the trunk. Look for a well-traveled Toyota Camry with three-year-old expired Montana tags near you.

Q: What part of the book resonates the most, do you think? With readers, with fans, with you?

I’ll be interested to find out what resonates. Or if the book resonates. I find myself thinking back to De Smet resident Elizabeth Schlosser, winner (at the time of my trip) of the LIW Society Middle School Essay Contest, who wrote, “Our lives may be different, but I think all little girls have a little prairie girl waiting to come out.”

Q: The book has taken a long journey from proposal to publication. Can you share some of that?

Well, I can’t give away the ending, since the last few pages reveal the important parts of that story. All I can say now is that when I first started out, I had no more idea of what would happen than the Ingalls family did when they loaded up and crossed a frozen Lake Pepin.

Rings available in both gold ($299.00) and silver ($199.00). Watch this space for more from Nicole on the details on the ring and how and when to order.

Watch Johnson talk about the lapdesk in Sarah’s video.

Incidentally, a replica just like this one was offered for sale at LauraPalooza 2010. It sold immediately.