Behind the Door Earns the 2026 Guttenburg Prize
Where vision met craftsmanship.
Subjects hold secrets. Books do, too.
There is a moment when a photograph ceases to be light on a screen and becomes ink on paper. In that translation, the smallest decisions matter—the depth of a shadow, the subtlety of a winter sky, the texture of an aging vessel, the color of weathered hands, the quiet detail held in a familiar landscape.
A photography book must do more than reproduce an image. The paper must hold its light. The ink must retain its character. The binding must allow the reader to linger over each page without intruding upon the story being told.
The physical book becomes part of the chronicle.
That craftsmanship has earned the softcover second edition of Behind the Door: Profiles of a Peninsula the 2026 Guttenburg Prize.
Honoring Seaway Printing’s craftsmanship behind the softcover edition.
Seaway Printing Company of De Pere, Wisconsin, received the 2026 Best of Category: Soft Cover honor for the print quality and perfect-bound production of Behind the Door.
Presented through the Great Lakes Graphic Association’s Graphic Excellence Awards Competition, the Guttenburg Prize recognizes outstanding craftsmanship in the creation and production of printed materials. The intensely competitive regional competition includes companies throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
For a book created to reveal the history, character, and quiet details of the Door Peninsula, that precision matters.
Bringing the Second Edition to Life
Bringing the Second Edition to Life
Originally released in May 2024, Behind the Door represents more than seven years of exploration, photography, interviews, essays, and return visits throughout the peninsula.
Its 184 pages contain more than 140 photographs and 29 essays and poems chronicling the Door Peninsula’s working harbors, family farms, maritime history, traditions, landscapes, and year-round residents.
After the hardcover edition sold out, the book returned to press as a perfect-bound softcover second edition.
Producing it involved days of on-site proofing, color evaluation, adjustments, and careful examination of how each image translated from screen to paper. The goal was not merely to print the photographs, but to preserve the atmosphere, texture, light, and story held within each one.
I would like to thank Steve Abts for his consultation, expertise, and guidance as liaison between me and Seaway Printing.
I also extend my sincere appreciation to Chad Obermann, Seaway’s Vice President of Business Development, and the entire Seaway production team. They allowed me unfettered access to the print floor and welcomed my involvement throughout the proofing, approval, and final production process.
The 2026 Guttenburg Prize belongs to the craftspeople at Seaway who brought their experience, patience, and precision to every page.
An Award-Winning Portrait of the Peninsula
The Guttenburg Prize joins a growing collection of national and international honors for Behind the Door:
2025 INDIE Winner — Best Regional Non-Fiction, Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (USA)
2025 IPPY Gold — Cover Design: Non-Fiction Oversize, Independent Publishers Award (International)
2026 Guttenburg Prize — Best Soft Cover: Print Quality and Perfect-Binding Production, Great Lakes Graphic Association | GEA
IPPY Bronze — Best Regional Non-Fiction, Independent Publishers Award (International)
2025 INDIE Finalist — Best Overall Design (Non-Fiction), Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group (USA)
In recognizing Behind the Door as the 2025 Best Regional Book, the judges called it “a sensory invitation to fall in love with a place and its people.”
Each honor recognizes a different part of the book—its regional storytelling, cover design, overall design, photography, and now the print quality and perfect-bound production of its softcover second edition.
Together, they affirm what I set out to create across its 184 pages: not simply a collection of Door County photographs, but a lasting chronicle of a place shaped by water, weather, industry, tradition, and time.
Discover What Lies Behind the Door
The award-winning softcover edition of Behind the Door: Profiles of a Peninsula is available now. Each copy is personally signed and invites readers beyond Highways 42 and 57—to discover the people, places, traditions, and disappearing Door rarely seen by those who simply pass through.
Signed Soft Cover
$60
A beautifully produced soft cover edition is personally signed by Kevin O’Donnell. Made to be read slowly and revisited often, it’s a thoughtful gift, an enduring keepsake, and an invitation to discover the peninsula anew with every reading.
The original casebound hardcover edition is sold out.
Thank you for the incredible support.
