South Dakota Historical Society Press Pierre, South Dakota
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About the Press

“Producing books reflecting the rich and varied history of South Dakota and the region.”

Downtown Pierre, South Dakota, looking along the main street on a clear afternoon.
Pierre, South Dakota, where the Press has published since 1997. Photograph: WeaponizingArchitecture, CC BY-SA 4.0

What the Press Publishes

The Press has 113 titles in print on the history and culture of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains. Browse all books.

  • Northern Plains history and Lakota/Dakota/Nakota scholarship
  • Biography
  • Children’s picture books
  • South Dakota History, the quarterly journal, now 56 volumes deep

The Press’s best known book is Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography , Laura Ingalls Wilder’s autobiography, published in 2014.

Read South Dakota History.

Publishing From Pierre

Pierre is the state capital and one of the smallest in the country, a town of about fourteen thousand on the east bank of the Missouri. The river is the reason the town is where it is, and it is the seam the Press publishes across: the prairie east of it and the Black Hills three hours west are different countries, and much of this catalog is about how they came to share a state.

The Press is part of the South Dakota State Historical Society, and its subject country runs wider than the state line: the Northern Great Plains, the Oceti Sakowin homelands, and the reservation and homestead boundaries drawn over the same ground.

The highway bridge over the Missouri River at Pierre, South Dakota, seen from the bank.
The Missouri at Pierre. The river divides the state the catalog describes. Photograph: Runner1928, CC BY-SA 3.0

Press Staff

The people who edit and produce each book and each issue of the journal.

  • Dedra McDonald Birzer

    Press Director (Publisher and Editor-in-Chief), Pioneer Girl Project Director

    Dedra.Birzer@state.sd.us (605) 773-4371

    Dedra McDonald Birzer joined the Press staff as director and editor-in-chief in late October 2020. As press director she works with potential authors to shape their ideas into book proposals, reads submitted manuscripts, and leads a talented team that produces high quality books on the rich and varied history and culture of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains.

    Favorite Press Book: Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life By Pamela Smith Hill

  • Slater Sabo

    Managing Editor

    Slater.Sabo@state.sd.us (605) 773-6008

    As managing editor for SDHS Press, Sabo oversees the press's quarterly journal, South Dakota History, secures and oversees copyright permissions, and edits journal articles and book manuscripts for publication.

    Favorite Press Book: The Frontier Army: Episodes from Dakota and the West Edited by R. Eli Paul

  • Brianna Garner

    Associate Editor

    Brianna.Garner@state.sd.us (605) 773-8380

    As associate editor, Garner edits book manuscripts, assists with the press's marketing for new books and backlist titles, and helps process book orders.

  • Jess Zuber

    Inventory Manager

    Jessica.Zuber@state.sd.us (605) 773-6009

    As inventory manager, Zuber assists customers with placing orders for press books and the South Dakota History journal and oversees order fulfillment and invoicing.