Released May 2, 2018 by Mill Park Publishing, Eagle, Idaho
Mill Park Publishing of Eagle will sponsor the reception for the Idaho Writers Guild Conference on Friday, May 4. The event will be the final official event for the business. After 10 years, 16 books, 15 writing retreats, multiple national and local awards, and thousands of dollars donated to local charities, owner Elaine Ambrose says she’s ready for another chapter in her life.
Ambrose created the publishing company as a way to survive the winter when she lived in the mountain town of McCall. She named the company after Mill Park, a community park in front of her home on the lake. She moved the company to Eagle in 2008.
The Books
A list of books issued by Mill Park Publishing and can be found online and on Ambrose’s author page. For information about books by other authors published by the company, click on the links. Gretchen Anderson, Anne Bardsley, Patti Murphy, Liza Long, and Judith McConnell Steele. Three award-winning anthologies enabled almost 100 women – and a few men – to become published writers.
In 2008, Ambrose offered the first writing retreat at her cabin in Garden Valley. New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Basye Sander spoke about the publishing world. Subsequent speakers at the retreats included Pulitzer Prize Winner Anthony Doerr, Whiting Award winner Alan Heathcock, New York Times bestselling author AK Turner, and acclaimed writer and filmmaker Ken Rodgers. Other speakers included social media expert Christy Hovey, wellness coach Emily Nielsen, and international marketing executive Stephanie Worrell.
Ambrose also produced and funded a musical CD for student Andrew Coba and hired him to perform at several events at her home.
Mill Park Publishing created a fun writing experience with cowboy poet and performer Ernie Sites. The company produced four live comedy shows titled “Life Sucks Laugh Hard” and included funny women AK Turner, Jen Mann, Laurie Notaro, and Stacy Dymalski.
Charitable Contributions
Mill Park Publishing donated proceeds from book sales to various local charities and civic organizations, including $2,000 to the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights so 200 area school students would see the documentary He Named Me Malala.
Other donations were awarded to the Women’s & Children’s Alliance, the Cabin’s Writers in the School Program, and Dress for Success. Last New Year’s Eve, Mill Park Publishing created a writing challenge and gave cash awards for students in conjunction with the Idaho Potato Drop.
Ambrose has been a keynote speaker at several national conferences and often shares her publishing knowledge. At the prestigious Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, she spoke about how writers can turn their blogs into books.
Though Mill Park Publishing is closing, Ambrose will continue to sell the remaining books through online and local sources. For future plans, Ambrose will focus on her new charity, Cycling Without Age, develop the Ambrose Storytelling Endowment at the University of Idaho, and prepare promotional events for her memoir, Frozen Dinners, to be released in the fall by Brown Books Publishing. She can be found playing with her delightful grandkids, traveling on creative adventures, and romping with her sweetheart Studley.
