Award Winners

Hospitality: An Original Essay by 2023
PNBA Book Award Winner
J. Kenji López-Alt

I got into the hospitality industry because I was struck by the power of food to bring people together and its ability to offer an immediate window to the qualities human cultures share with each other. There’s no faster and better way to get to understand a person than to break bread with them. Eventually, I found that shifting from working in restaurant kitchens to writing recipes and books on cooking allowed me to reach a much wider audience and …

Feb 3, 2023

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Feb

6

2023

The Storefront

For Black History Month and Always: Shop at Black-Owned Bookstores!

February is Black History Month. Celebrate Black-Owned Bookstores in the Pacific Northwest this month and all year long. Here are some Black-owned bookstores in our region to visit and support: Third Eye Books 2518 SE 33rd Ave, Portland, OR 97202 www.thirdeyebag.com Loving Room 1400 20th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122 https://www.lovingroombooks.community Parable 3502 McKinley Ave Suite …

Feb

2

2023

Thursday Themes

Bestseller Spotlight: Lost or Stolen

Every Wednesday, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association publishes the regional bestseller list. On Thursdays, we celebrate Thursday Themes to shine a spotlight on some of the books from the list and give our brains a different way of thinking about books. A pattern we noticed in this week’s titles is words that relate to loss or …

Feb

1

2023

Face Out

Boys I Know by Anna Gracia

There are many paths in life to take, whether it’s the boys you date or the college you choose—and everyone seems to have an opinion on what’s best for June Chu, but she has yet to decide what she thinks is best for herself. Boys I Know is Judy Blume’s Forever for the modern age, carrying with …

Jan

31

2023

1remark

Award Winners

Hearts That Murmur: An Original Essay by
2023 PNBA Book Award Winner
Jamie Ford

In The Many Daughters of Afong Moy, my main character, Dorothy, is a poet who describes herself as someone who breaks her own heart for a living. As a novelist, that’s how I’ve always felt. Actually, scratch that. The always part is the heartache that’s been there for as long as I can remember, and …

Jan

30

2023

Face Out

Star Child: A Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler by Ibi Zoboi

Ibi Zoboi (The People Remember; American Street) pays radiant homage in Star Child to the woman who inspired her, taught her and shared her birthday. She deftly combines poetry, prose, quotes and photos to create what she calls the “constellation” of science fiction writer Octavia Estelle Butler: “I decided to call this biography a constellation because Octavia’s …

Jan

27

2023

Award Winners

Mixtapes and Stories: An Original Essay by 2023 PNBA Book Award Winner Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe

When I was still small enough to sit on my great grandmother’s lap I wasn’t afraid of anything. I remember trips out to the Olympic Peninsula where my siblings and I slept in tents or beneath the stars. The murmur of adults speaking against the last embers of a fire and the crawl of the …

Jan

26

2023

Thursday Themes

Bestseller Spotlight: Creativity Sparkers

On Wednesdays, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Bestseller list is published. Every week, we love to see what has been most popular in independent bookstores around our region. As we peruse the list, we ponder patterns. Then we present this weekly feature: Thursday Themes. This week’s bestseller list contains a lot of titles and books with creative themes …

Jan

25

2023

Face Out

How to Read the Wilderness: An Illustrated Guide to the Natural Wonders of North America by The Nature Study Guild

This was one of our favorite nature books that come out this last year. From the cover to the colored edges to the illustrations. –Trail’s End Bookstore, Winthrop, WA Explore beautiful books at Trail’s End Bookstore and other independent bookstores. Be sure to follow them on social media and support them with purchases! In nature, …

Jan

24

2023

Award Winners

Seeking Surprise: A Poet’s Pursuit of an Unresolved Life– An Original Essay by 2023 PNBA Book Award Winner Caitlin Scarano

This fall, I taught an online writing course meant to help poets put together and prepare their first poetry collections for publication. Though I’d designed the course to be about the practicalities of structuring, formatting, and submitting their manuscripts, by the third class meeting, our conversations had diverged to the role of surprise in poetry. …

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