View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ballast Book Co. (@ballastbookco) Independent Bookstore Day 2025 is Saturday, April 26. Washington’s South Sound bookstores are hosting the South Sound Bookstore Crawl April 26th through May 4th. It’s a worthy quest! If you visit all 11 stores on the South Sound Book Crawl and get …
Originally published for OLY ARTS by Molly Gilmore. Jonah Barrett wouldn’t be insulted if anyone said their first book was monstrous. That’s because Barrett’s short-story collection Moss Covered Claws, dropping March 18, is all about monsters. Barrett of Olympia, a filmmaker, fantasy writer, and OLY ARTS contributor, is launching the book with an online reading and talk at …
This is a visually appealing, quick, and thorough look at Pride parades and celebrations, how they came to be, and what they celebrate. Stevenson covers large pieces of history and movements in accessible ways, often throwing in her own personal stories, which lend themselves to a conversational tone. The pages are covered in large, vibrant, …
I first met Tod Davies at an Orca Books event for Snotty Saves the Day, the first novel in her History of Arcadia fairy tale series. It was one of the liveliest events we’ve had at Orca, and she didn’t just stick to the book. She also talked about being the editorial director of Oregon-based …
Oooh, I just love a good holiday gift guide! So after I helped put one together for Queen Anne Book Company, I surfed the websites of the independent bookstores of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association and found MORE. Take a browse. You might even want to share your favorite lists because not everyone is lucky …
Olympia, Washington poet and essayist Lucia Perillo was recognized earlier this year with a 2013 Pacific Northwest Book Award for her poetry collection On the Spectrum of Possible Deaths. We thank her for this original essay in celebration of that award (Previously, fellow winners Jonathan Evison, G. Willow Wilson and Eowyn Ivey have submitted pieces. …
“Who doesn’t love tiny? Lloyd Kahn’s new book couldn’t be timelier. His previous books are Orca all-time bestsellers: Builders of the Pacific Coast and Home Work: Handbuilt Shelters. This one’s an oversize volume just like the others, chockablock with photographs of cabins, caves, boats and many more tiny spaces that have been made into cozy …
As long as we’re bragging on our bookstores, Orca Books, you’re up. Over at the Seattlepi.com, author and Bookstore Geek Midge Raymond has some nice things to say about her recent visit to the Olympia store. She writes: “Orca Books has all the ingredients that make a Fabulous Indie Bookstore: a warm and helpful staff, …
“The latest sensation in young adult books (which is not to say adults can’t read it too!) is Ransom Riggs’ debut Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. In the tradition of W.G. Sebald and Crispin Glover, the text is interwoven with mysterious old photographs. It concerns a journey to an island off the coast of …
Kurtis and I visited Orca Books in Downtown Olympia, Washington late in the day at the end of our three-day bookstore tour last spring. What a fun stop! These booksellers are pouring their hearts into this store, and it really shows in the bursts of personality to be found around every corner of the store. …
