About Us

Center for the Book

About the South Dakota Center for the Book

The South Dakota Center for the Book was founded in 2002 and houses the Council’s literary arts programs.

The signature event for the Center for the Book is the annual South Dakota Festival of Books. This event, "Where Readers and Writers Rendezvous," brings together more than 50 of the top national, regional and South Dakota authors as they share their life and work. Presentations focus in the areas of fiction, non-fiction, history/tribal writing, children's literature, writers' support and poetry.

In the spirit of a shared community experience across the state, the Center for the Book annually coordinates the One Book South Dakota program. Starting in May, community organizations are invited to apply to be part of this program. Discussions can take place anytime from June to January. The capstone event for the program is the appearance of the One Book author at the annual Festival of Books.

We invite readers in grades 4-12 to enter the annual Letters About Literature reflective writing competition. To enter, readers write a personal letter to any author explaining how that authors work changed the students way of thinking.

The Center for the Book also sponsors the Literature and Medicine, a reading and discussion program for people working in health care. Nurses, doctors, lab technicians, and others involved with patient care get together to discuss readings that help them explore their professional roles and relationships with each other and with patients.

The South Dakota Humanities Center for the Book has also played an integral role in publishing the South Dakota Stories series. These three collections of stories were written by and about the people of South Dakota. The stories touch on various chapters of our state’s history, and each collection documents a large part of life in South Dakota.

Finally, the South Dakota Center for the Book has taken an active role in literary arts events throughout the state through its sponsorship of reading programs and literary events.

1215 Trail Ridge Road, Suite A • Brookings, SD 57006 • Tel: 605-688-6113 • Fax: 605-688-4531 • info@sdhumanities.org