Joy McCullough

Awards and Honors

At Home in the PNW: An Essay by 2019 PNBA Award Winner Joy McCullough

I was born in Seattle, at Swedish First Hill, but my family moved away when I was a baby. My parents had grown up in Queen Anne and Ballard, attended Seattle Pacific University, and pastored their first church in Renton. So every summer, my family made the long drive from our home in San Diego to Seattle, to spend a few weeks with the extended family who still called the Pacific Northwest home. The drive was brutal. We didn’t take …

Jan 18, 2019

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Jan

21

2019

Past Crimes

Face Out

Past Crimes by Erik Hamilton

You might like Glen Erik Hamilton’s Van Shaw series. Van was raised as a thief, but got out of that life once upon a time and went into the military. Now he’s out, and he’s got old family history to settle. The first book, Past Crimes, starts fast and runs faster. Plus it’s set in …

Jan

17

2019

Place for Us

Face Out

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

A Place for Us follows Layla and Rafiq as they immigrate from India and make a life in America. They raise their children Hadia, Huda and Amar with all the opportunities that America affords while instilling in them a reverence for their Muslim faith. Shifting perspectives in the novel lend itself to such a tender, …

Jan

16

2019

Season of Sacrifice

One Nightstand

Season of Sacrifice by Bharti Kirchner

I have been a book professional since 1974. In the course of my career, I have met many authors. Some have become friends. Bharti Kirchner is one. I try not to let friendship get in the way of honest reviews. Ms Kirchner has written several books in the fields of cooking and fiction. Season of Sacrifice is the first …

Jan

15

2019

Ken Armstrong

Award Winners

Trusting in Teamwork: An Essay by 2019 PNBA Award Winner Ken Armstrong

There’s a scene in A False Report I think of often. Stacy Galbraith, a police detective in Golden, Colorado, goes home after work. She tells her husband about a case she’s working—a rape investigation with all kinds of chilling twists. Her husband works at another police department, nearby. He listens, then tells her: We’ve got …

Jan

14

2019

Libba

Awards and Honors

2019 Pacific Northwest Book Awards Shortlist (and Winner): “Libba: The Magnificent Musical Life of Elizabeth Cotten” by Laura Veirs

Musician Laura Veirs turns the spotlight on folk singer Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten for her debut picture book. Veirs traces the story of a girl who was meant to play music despite all the things going against her. Even the guitars weren’t made for a left-hander like Libba. But plucky Libba just “turned the guitar upside …

Jan

11

2019

PNBA Book Awards

Award Winners

2019 Pacific Northwest Book Award Winners Announced

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, a trade association of independent booksellers, publishers, authors, and librarians, announced the winners of the 2019 Northwest Book Awards. The awards are selected by a committee of independent booksellers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. From more than 400 nominations written or illustrated by creators from the Pacific Northwest …

Jan

10

2019

Terrarium

Awards and Honors

2019 Pacific Northwest Book Awards Shortlist: “Terrarium” by Valerie Trueblood

Valerie Trueblood’s precision in dissecting the complexities of human nature is perhaps her greatest strength. With stories that teeter on the brink of catastrophe, Trueblood doesn’t shy away from the grim and bleak, but her empathy and compassion are what stop you in your tracks. Terrarium is one of 12 finalists chosen for the 2019 Pacific Northwest …

Jan

9

2019

Rising Out of Hatred

Awards and Honors

2019 Pacific Northwest Book Awards Shortlist: “Rising Out of Hatred” by Eli Saslow

Eli Saslow pens a riveting tale of the White Nationalist, Derek Black, who was tapped as the “heir apparent” to the leadership of the KKK, but eventually rejected that role. Growing up, Derek’s father was a grand wizard for the KKK, and his mother was once married to David Duke. Accepting this political stance was …

Jan

8

2019

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Kristine Kaufman

The Front Table

Stacking Up the Bodies: Mysteries to Get You Through Winter

Nothing warms up a cold, dark winter evening quite like a good murder mystery. And nothing makes a cold, dark winter pass more quickly than binge-reading murder mysteries written in series. So stack ‘em up, and start with these suggestions to keep you warm ‘til spring… I recently reread Edmund Crispin’s The Moving Toyshop after …

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