?Year of the Dog? Ready for Release

The author of “Year of the Dog,” a book about Springdale High School’s 2005 state championship football season, says the publication will hit the streets in late November or in the first week of December.
Preselling of the 200-page hardback already has begun on Web sites such as Amazon.com and Walmart.com. Early buyers will receive a discount, but it will retail for $24.95 once it hits the shelves.
“It’s not as much about the games themselves as much as it is about the people,” said author Kurt Voigt, the high school editor for The Morning News. “The original idea was going to be about the impact of Springdale’s high school being split on the community, but when the team took off, it obviously changed.”
Voigt had an all-access pass to the team and coach Gus Malzahn, who was hired as the University of Arkansas’ offensive coordinator last December. It also gives a behind-the-scenes look at the recruiting of five Division I players, including Arkansas signees Ben Cleveland, Mitch Mustain and Damian Williams.
“The book starts with Springdale’s loss to Little Rock Central in [the state semifinals] in 2004 and wraps up on national signing day, Feb. 1 of this year,” Voigt said.
The book was published by Stephens Press of Las Vegas. It’s a subsidiary of Stephens Inc., which owns The Morning News through its Stephens Media Group entity.