April 2016 Newsletter
We're always so excited when April rolls around, for a multitude of reasons. First, it's the month when Literary Arts acknowledges Oregon's amazing pool of talented authors through the annual Oregon Book Awards Ceremony, which this year takes place on Monday, April 11th, at 7:30 pm at the Gerding Theater. We've been asked once again to be the bookseller for this event -- yay! At our table in the lobby, books will be discounted 10% until the ceremony starts. It's also the month when Beverly Cleary was born -- and this year she's turning 100! Now that's worth celebrating! April is also National Poetry Month, which rocks. And of course we all know that April showers mean that May flowers are just around the corner -- and who doesn't like May flowers?

In addition to the events just mentioned and the line-up of terrific authors reading at the store this month (including a return visit from store favorite Jacqueline Winspear), April is also the month when we get to throw a party to celebrate National Independent Bookstore Day!! We'll share more details about the party later in the month, but for now we'll just say music, special sales, a spinning wheel for prizes, and CUPCAKES!! Need we say more? Ok, we will: as part of our celebration, we're offering you 20% off our used books for the whole month!!

Two final notes: Brian Doyle was originally scheduled to read this month from his new novel, Chicago; however, that reading has been rescheduled to Tuesday, June 11th. And all you Harry Potter fans, please take note of the special pre-sale for the forthcoming eighth book in the Harry Potter saga, which you can read about below.

Happy reading!

Kim Bissell and Sally McPherson
Co-Bookbroads
Broadway Books
Open every day of the week:
Monday-Saturday: 10 am to 7 pm; Sunday 10 am to 5 pm
April Events
Wednesday, April 6th, 7 pm: Carl Adamshick and Jonathan Wells
We are pleased to welcome two wonderful poets to our store.
Carl Adamshick is a poet who was born in Toledo, Ohio, and is now a resident of Portland. His debut collection, Curses and Wishes, was published in 2011 by Louisiana State University Press and won the Oregon Book Award for poetry. His most recent book, Saint Friend, was published by McSweeney's and is a finalist for this year's Oregon Book Award for poetry. He is also the recipient of an Oregon Literary Fellowship, and his poems have been featured in numerous publications.

Jonathan Wells lives in New York City. His book The Man with Many Pens was published in 2015 by Four Ways Books. This collection is about love -- "a love that smells so much like blood" -- and song -- "a song that the oak leaves will not finish." These poems examine how a single love or a single song can contain multiple personalities and contradictory forces, tensions, and concordances.

Both poets are members of the Academy of American Poets.
Thursday, April 14th, 7 pm: Jacqueline Winspear
We welcome back bestselling novelist Jacqueline Winspear to the store to read from her newest novel, Journey to Munich.

This novel, which officially published on March 29th, is the twelfth book in Ms. Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, a New York Times bestselling series featuring an intrepid female British private detective. The stories follow each other chronologically, beginning in the spring of 1929 up through the newest one, which takes place in early 1938.

This new story takes Maisie from her home in England to the outskirts of Munich, where she has been engaged by the Secret Service to retrieve a British subject from a German prison. The Nazis have agreed to release him but only to a family member, and so Ms. Dobbs is required to pose as his daughter and return him home. Complications ensue.

This is a ticketed event. Tickets may be purchased at the store or through our website. The price of each ticket is $26.99, and each ticket holder will receive a copy of the new book. We will sell tickets to only as many people as the store can comfortably seat, so we encourage people to purchase their tickets as soon as possible. Our previous events featuring Ms. Winspear have all sold out. On the night of the reading, the store will close at 5 pm so we can set up and will re-open to registered attendees at 6 pm.
Wednesday, April 20th, 7 pm: Thor Hanson
Thor Hanson will read from his award-winning book The Triumph of Seeds: How Grains, Nuts, Kernels, Pulses and Pips Conquered the Plant Kingdom and Shaped Human History.

We live in a world of seeds. From our morning coffee to the cotton in our clothes, seeds support diets, economies, lifestyles, and civilizations around the globe. In The Triumph of Seeds, biologist Thor Hanson explores both the natural and cultural history of seeds -- why they are so dominant in nature, and why we are so utterly dependent upon them.

Hanson is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Switzer Environmental Fellow, and an independent conservation biologist based in the San Juan Islands. His many media appearances have included NPR's Fresh Air, PRI's Science Friday, and The World.  The Triumph of Seeds won a Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award in 2016.  He is also the author of Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle, The Impenetrable Forest, and the illustrated children's book Bartholomew Quill. 
Thursday, April 21st, 7 pm: Comma: Kim Stafford and Floyd Skloot 
This month's Comma reading series features two favorites, Floyd Skloot and Kim Stafford. The reading series, curated by Kirsten Rian and offered the third Thursday of each month, combines voices from different literary genres, with writers having the freedom to read from new projects, established pieces, or ongoing works in progress. The authors read for 15 to 20 minutes each and then engage in discussion with each other and the audience.

Kim Stafford is the founding director of the Northwest Writing Institute at Lewis & Clark College, where he has taught writing since 1979. He is the author of a dozen books of poetry and prose. His most recent books are 100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: How My Brother Disappeared and Wind on the Waves: Stories from the Oregon Coast. In 2016 the 30th anniversary edition of his collection of essays, Having Everything Right, will be published by Pharos editions. He has taught writing in dozens of schools and community centers, and in Scotland, Italy, and Bhutan.

Floyd Skloot's most recent books include the poetry collections Close Reading and Approaching Winter, Revertigo: An Off-Kilter Memoir, and the forthcoming novel The Phantom of Thomas Hardy. He has won the PEN USA Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction, two Pushcart Prizes for essays and one for poetry, Oregon Book Awards in both poetry and creative nonfiction, and two Pacific NW Booksellers Awards for poetry. His work has also been published in the anthologies Best American Essays, Best American Science Writing, Best Spiritual Writing, and Best Food Writing.
Tuesday, April 26th, 7 pm: Serena Crawford
Portland author Serena Crawford joins us to read from Here Among Strangers, her collection of short stories.

In Here Among Strangers, travelers find and lose themselves in unexpected places. Crawford's characters teeter on the edge of sanity as they reconcile who they were with who they have become, confronting their truest selves in the most unfamiliar places. Emotional integrity runs deep in these dark and compelling stories that chronicle what it is to feel alien at home amidst the heartbreak of everyday life.

Crawford has received a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship and an Oregon Literary Fellowship. Her work has appeared in Epoch, Ascent, Beloit Fiction Journal, Another Chicago Magazine, and The Florida Review. She received her MFA from the University of Oregon and teaches for the Writers in the Schools program. 
Wednesday, April 27th, 7 pm: Donald Levering and Carlos Reyes
We are pleased to welcome Donald Levering and Carlos Reyes to the store to share the stage and read from their latest works.

Donald Levering was born in Kansas City and grew up there and in Oceanside, New York. In addition to being awarded a NEA Fellowship, Levering won the Quest for Peace Prize in rhetoric and was featured in the Academy of American Poets Forum, the Ad Astra Poetry Project, and the Duende Reading Series. His latest book, Coltrane's God was released to critical acclaim in 2015. He now lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Carlos Reyes is a noted Portland poet, translator, and world traveler. Released last year, The Keys to the Cottage: Stories from the West of Ireland is Reyes's most recent work. His poetry collections include The Book of Shadows and Pomegranate, Sister of the Heart, both published by Lost Horse Press. He has been an Oregon Arts Commission Fellow, a Yaddo Fellow, a Fundacion Valparaiso Fellow (Spain), a Heinrich Boll Fellow (Ireland), and an Island Institute Fellow (Alaska), as well as a poet-in-residence at the Joshua Tree National Park, Acadia National Park, and Devils Tower National Monument.
Saturday, April 30th, 10 am to 5 pm: National Independent Bookstore Day!!
We're so excited that it's almost time for National Independent Bookstore Day, a day of celebrating the joy of independent bookstores. As with last year's party, we will have several one-time-only items for sale -- including a Neil Gaiman coloring book, a collection of essays by author and bookstore owner Ann Patchett, literary tea towels, and much more. Plus we'll have music and cupcakes and beverages and the magical lottery spinning wheel of prizes. This party is deserving of a newsletter all it's own, so we'll send you more details about the day later in the month. Just put it on your calendar now; you won't want to miss it.
Harry Potter Returns!
By now you've probably heard the rumors, and we can confirm that they are true!  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be released on July 31st. 

J.K. Rowling has been working with award-winning playwrights Jack Thorne and John Tiffany on the newest addition to the Harry Potter saga -- The Play! Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will have its world premiere on July 30th at London's Palace Theater. For those of us on this side of the pond, the work will release July 31st as a script book. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child catches up with Harry nineteen years after the final epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. He's a husband, father of three, and working at the Ministry of Magic. Harry continues to grapple with his past while his youngest son, Albus, struggles with his weighty family legacy.

To celebrate this eighth Harry Potter book, we are offering a magical deal: Pre-order (and pay) for a copy prior to publication and your copy will come with an $8 coupon to use in the store. The book is appropriate for ages 10 to 100 and is $29.99. You can pre-order the book online or by calling or visiting the store.  
Used Books 20% Off All Month
To help celebrate National Independent Bookstore Day, we are offering you 20% off our used books throughout the month of April! Most of you have learned the delicious secret of our used-book section, lovingly curated by Mr. Charles Seluzicki. If not, this would be a great month for you to check it out. Trust us, there are always treasures to be found.
Happy 100th, Beverly Cleary!
It's hard to believe that the wonderful author Beverly Cleary is turning one hundred years old on April 12th -- she who has opened doors to the joy of readings for so many, with her tales of Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, Ribsy the dog, Ralph the mouse, and so many other delightful characters.

Amy Poehler is one of Ms. Cleary's many fans, saying "In today's world, where people are always searching for 'strong female characters,' Mrs. Cleary was ahead of her time. Ramona was a pest! She was irascible and uncompromising! She was allowed to be angry and was not afraid to stand up to boys!"

You'll find lots of celebrations around town this month to acknowledge the 100th birthday of Ms. Cleary, who was born in McMinnville and grew up in northeast Portland. We're particularly excited about a new book by Laura O. Foster (author of Portland Hill Walks, Portland City Walks, and The Portland Stairs Book): Walking with Ramona: Exploring Beverly Cleary's Portland ($9.95), published by Microcosm Publishing. This pint-size book gives readers a snapshot of the Portland young Beverly Bunn knew in the 1920s and '30s and provides a "Walking with Ramona" tour of places from both her childhood and her books -- she wrote more than thirty-five books and two memoirs. And if you're inspired to revisit Ms. Cleary's books, we've got her memoirs, the individual chapter books, and a lovely boxed set of The Complete Ramona Collection.
New in Hardcover
 The Summer Before the War, by Helen Simonson
Are you in mourning for Downton Abbey? The Summer Before the War is just what you need! Set in Sussex in 1914, the novel features spirited young women and even more spirited older women, lovely clothes, and curmudgeonly villagers. The book is a pleasure to read but bittersweet, as life will soon be forever changed -- and which of the golden young men will not be returning from the war?
 
Simonson's first novel, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, is an enduring favorite. Her new novel is an intelligent confection bound to please even more readers.
Chicago, by Brian Doyle
Brian Doyle is back with a new novel, Chicago -- a warm collection of vignettes concerning a young man's first foray into adulthood. Doyle usually writes of the Pacific Northwest (Mink River, The Plover, Martin Marten), but this book is a celebration of the vibrant neighborhoods that are the real Chicago. The novel combines a love letter to a great American city with a wry account of coming-of-age.
 
Anthony Doerr (All the Light We Cannot See) says that Doyle writes with "Melville's humor and Whitman's ecstasy," and Mary Oliver (Felicity, Dog Songs) traces his writing to "his passion for the human, touchable, daily life." High praise indeed from two fine writers, and every word deserved. We just call him a masterful wordsmith and storyteller and our good friend. [Please note: Brian Doyle was originally scheduled to read from Chicago at Broadway Books in April, but the reading has been rescheduled to Tuesday, June 7th, at 7 pm.]
A special friend of Broadway Books, Vivian Swift is an amazing woman. Her previous two books, Le Road Trip: A Traveler's Journal of Love and France and When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put, reveal her talents as an artist, writer, journaler, and traveler. But if we had to use just one word to describe Ms. Swift, after reading all of her books, it might be philosopher. Her sense of wonder and gratitude and her habit of mindful living with open eyes are a gift to the reader.

Her art is intimate and sweetly rendered, making her books visual as well as intellectual pleasures. This new book, Gardens of Awe and Folly, introduces us to her finely tuned appreciation of gardens. The book profiles nine gardens around the world that she has spent time absorbing and translating for us into words and watercolors. From Scotland to Brazil, from New Orleans to Marrakech, behold the world of lovingly tended gardens in this beautiful book, a most charming gift for just about anyone, including yourself.
The Abundance, by Annie Dillard
Long regarded as one of our most elegant and eloquent essayists, Annie Dillard has written on a wide range of topics over the years in her distinct and fearless voice. Whether she is discussing life and death or nature or the writer's journey or the simple pleasures that manifest themselves when on pays attention to one's ordinary life, her work is always full of pointed observance. This important collection of her essay's includes Ms. Dillard's most beloved pieces from previous collections, as well as some rarely seen work. Whether you are a long-time fan or a newcomer to her work, The Abundance is a marvelous overview of the vigorous mind of a writer of extraordinary range.
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, by Carlo Rovelli
This amazing little collection of essays by a world-class theoretical physicist contains all the beauty of modern physics in fewer than one hundred pages. The playful and entertaining pieces offer surprisingly easy-to-understand explanations of general relativity, quantum mechanics, gravity, black holes, and more. Written for those who know little about modern science, Seven Brief Lessons on Physics allows the novice to embrace complicated scientific topics and understand them. "Here, on the edge of what we know, in contact with the ocean of the unknown, shines the mystery and the beauty of the world," Rovelli writes. "And it's breathtaking." 
New in Paperback



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