The Winners of the Susan Kamil Scholarship for Emerging Writers Congratulations to the five writer-booksellers who have been selected to receive the $10,000 Susan Kamil Scholarship for Emerging Writers. The Susan Kamil Scholarship was established by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and bestselling author Charles Duhigg and Liz Alter, a professor of biology at California State University Monterey …
To & Fro can be read in any direction—start with “To” or begin with “Fro,” flip back and forth between the two, and be delighted by how they intersect. . . . There is no wrong way to read! Only heartfelt characters, beautiful imagery, and a story where there is no ending but lots to …
Bikini Kill front woman Kathleen Hanna transformed the ’90s revival punk scene with a call to action from young girls that lives on today. Hanna shares her journey surviving the scene under threat of male violence but also delves into her supportive relationships with other influential musicians of the era (Kim Gordon fans rejoice!) while …
Two story elements you wouldn’t expect to find in the same book: a classic cursed-violin musical deal with the devil, and aliens from another galaxy running a doughnut shop in southern California. Sci-fi and folklore strike brilliant sparks against each other in this delightfully inventive tale of a runaway trans teen violin prodigy; her mysterious …
In June, 1974, Jan Bruton and Lynn Kelly, filled with a passion for children’s books and music, opened A Children’s Place Bookstore in a tiny storefront just off NE Broadway [Portland, OR]. Over the years, the bookstore would move locations, change owners, and expand in size but always with the same mission: provide the very …
I’m not a romantic comedy fan. But I am definitely a Romantic Comedy fan! This is great. –Karen, Beach Books, Seaside, OR From the publisher: Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls, a late-night live comedy show that airs every Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for …
Grass Roots Books of Corvallis, OR hosted a triumphant parade and celebration from the previous location at 227 SW 2nd St. to the store’s new home, 251 SW Madison Avenue on March 9, 2024. A bagpiper led the way (see the photo acknowledgements below!) and some of the community carried bookish and bookstore-loving signs. Once …
Poet E.J. Wade interviewed Oregon novelist Karen Spears Zacharias. E.J.: Karen, you are the author of several books including the bestselling Will Jesus Buy Me a Doublewide, Mother of Rain, Burdy, A Silence of Mockingbirds, After the Flag Has Been Folded, and The Murder Gene. We love your books, dauntless stories about women who navigate …
When a tight-knit group of friends loses on if its members just before graduation, they decide to make a pact. They will throw a “living funeral” for each other at times in their lives when they need a reminder that they are loved. They intend to leave nothing left unsaid. I found this premise very …
Pay As You Go by Eskor David Johnson is a staff pick at Annie Bloom’s Books in Portland, OR. From the publisher: New to town and delusionally confident, Slide imagined himself living in a glossy building with doormen and sweeping views of the skyline. Instead he’s landed in a creaking, stuffy apartment with two roommates: …
