As 2024 comes to an end, it’s time to recap how it all went in the writer’s life. At least for this one writer. Once again, it was a busy year, with some residual events related to Lincoln: The Fire of Genius, some new obligations, and some really big news (really!). You can check out my other year-end posts by reading about my year of traveling, my 2024 Lincoln book acquisitions, and soon, my year in reading.
Lincoln: The Fire of Genius was released in September two years ago, but I continued to do periodic presentations related to the book, even branching out into several new venues. For example, in May I gave a presentation on “Lincoln’s Influence on Science & Technology in the Civil War” to the York (PA) Civil War Round Table [Watch the Video]. Then in June, I presented on the book to the White House Historical Association in their History Happy Hour series [Watch the Video Here]. That was followed up in September with a presentation to the Henry Clay Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) [Watch the Video]. In October, I co-presented a talk on “Lincoln and the Election of 1864″ to the Lincoln Group of DC [Watch Video Here], which focused on the political intriguing that almost sabotaged the election. That was so popular that I did a solo follow up presentation diving into the (perhaps questionable) results of the election itself in a talk I called “The Election of 1864: Was the Election Stolen?”[Watch Video Here]. Then that presentation garnered the interest of the Tucson (Arizona) Civil War Round Table, so I presented a version of it for them in December. I also hosted several Lincoln Group of DC events, including the joint birthday event at Fort Myer by LGDC/CWRTDC featuring eminent Lincoln historian, Harold Holzer [C-SPAN Video Here].
However, I have to say my favorite presentation for the year was on February 12, when I had the privilege of performing (not just reading) the Gettysburg Address at the annual National Park Service birthday wreath laying event inside the main chamber of the Lincoln Memorial. I’ve attended these events in the past and laid the LGDC wreath, but this year I was asked to perform the Address, which was widely praised. The honor was second only to the privilege I had of emceeing the official Lincoln Memorial Centennial program in 2022.
I continued to write for the quarterly Lincolnian newsletter, for which I again wrote eight book reviews and several shorter articles. I also had several book reviews published in the Lincoln Herald journal. I continued to write for the Lincolnian.org website, now with over 220 articles to my credit (nearly half the total). I also wrote a few articles (in addition to the reviews) for the Lincolnian newsletter. Add in the dozens of articles each for this David J. Kent website and my Hot White Snow blog, plus the book reviews on the Abraham Lincoln Bibliography Project website, and I’ve done a lot of writing this year. There were a few mentions of me and Fire of Genius in media articles and an acknowledgement in a major Lincoln book, plus I wrote a piece for the Lincoln Forum Bulletin. At least two new reviews of my book were published in major media outlets. This year also gave me my second “back cover blurb,” this time for the book, Black Americans in Mourning by Leonne Hudson. I also advised a WIP (work in progress) for another author preparing a Lincoln book.
Then there are the new writing duties I’ve taken on. In late spring I became the Lincolniana editor for the Lincoln Herald, a Lincoln scholarly journal published quarterly by Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN. I’ve submitted my first two columns and am working on the third. I also peer-reviewed an article for a forthcoming issue of the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association (JALA). I had peer-reviewed many journal articles in my science career, but this is the first for Lincoln studies (in part because there are hundreds of peer-reviewed science journals and maybe three for Lincoln). The editor of JALA has asked me to submit an article for the journal this coming year. In December, I attended the first meeting of the new Civil War Working Group hosted by President Lincoln’s Cottage, whose goal is to help Lincoln and Civil War groups in the Washington, DC region communicate and coordinate. In May, I relinquished the presidency of the Lincoln Group of DC but then in addition to my duties as immediate past president took on the role of LGDC historian to develop a history of the group. This coming February we will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the group, so I have my work cut out for me.
On to 2025!
2025 will be a busy writing year. To begin with, [imagine a drum roll here], I’m excited to report that in early December I signed a contract to write my next book, tentatively titled “Unable to Escape This Toil,” scheduled for release in February 2026. I’ve been doing research for the book over the last couple of years, which for those who have been following my activities on this website will give a hint into what the book is about. Even that won’t tip you off to its style, but I promise to provide more info as the book develops. The manuscript due date to the publisher (Globe Pequot, a trade division of Rowman & Littlefield) is June 2, 2025, so I’ll be focused on getting that done, preferably a full draft by the end of April to allow time for editing. The book will also have about 50 photographs (old and new), which adds another dimension and quite a bit more urgency to the writing.
That doesn’ t mean I’ll be abandoning the other writing activities I have in progress. I have three that have been dragging on for some time and I’m determined to get them done by the end of 2025. I’ll also be preparing several articles for magazines and journals to be timed for when the book comes out. Of course, I’ll continue to write for the Lincolnian newsletter and website, as well as my DJK and Hot White Snow websites. I’m also involved in coordinating several other Lincoln groups in developing programs for the 2026 semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) celebrations featuring Lincoln. On top of that, I have more travel planned in 2025 and have started to strategize for 2026 and 2027.
Wish me luck!
[Photo of David J. Kent with Norman Rockwell’s “For the Defense” at Rockwell Museum, MA, photo by Ru Sun, July 2023]
Coming in February 2026: Unable to Escape This Toil
Available now – Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America is available at booksellers nationwide.
Limited signed copies are available via this website. The book also listed on Goodreads, the database where I keep track of my reading. Click on the “Want to Read” button to put it on your reading list. Please leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon if you like the book.
You also follow my author page on Facebook.
David J. Kent is President of the Lincoln Group of DC and the author of Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln’s Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America and Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America.
His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World and two specialty e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
Pingback: Reading Time – 2024 | Hot White Snow