We're excited to welcome journalist, USC professor, and author of The Lemon Tree, Sandy Tolan, who will discuss his latest book, Children of Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land, the touching story of Ramzi Hussein Aburedwan, a child from a Palestinian refugee camp, who confronts an occupying army, gets an education, masters an instrument, dreams of something much bigger than himself, and then, through his charisma and persistence, inspires scores of others to work with him to make that dream real. The dream: a school to transform the lives of thousands of children-as Ramzi's life was transformed-through music.

Musicians from all over the world came to help. A violist left the London Symphony Orchestra, in part to work with Ramzi at his new school, Al Kamandjati. An aspiring British opera singer moved to the West Bank to teach voice lessons. Daniel Barenboim, the eminent Israeli conductor, invited Ramzi to join his West Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he founded with the late Palestinian intellectual, Edward Said. Since then the two have played together frequently. Children of the Stone chronicles Ramzi's journey-from stone thrower to music student to school founder-and shows how through his love of music he created something lasting and beautiful in a land torn by violence and war. This is a story about the power of music, first, but also about freedom and conflict, determination and vision. It's a vivid portrait of life amid checkpoints and military occupation, a growing movement of nonviolent resistance, the prospects of musical collaboration across the Israeli-Palestinian divide, and the potential of music to help children everywhere see new possibilities for their lives.

Publishers Weekly called Children of Stone "Eye-opening...Tolan's exhaustive research and journalistic attention to detail shine through every page of this sweeping chronicle."

As cofounder of Homelands Productions, Tolan has produced dozens of radio documentaries for NPR and PRI. He has also written for more than forty magazines and newspapers, as well as his previous books, The Lemon Tree and Me and Hank. He was a 1993 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and an I. F. Stone Fellow at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. He is an associate professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and of course grew up in Shorewood, Wisconsin. Our event is Monday, May 11, 7 pm. That's tonight.

Please join us for a special evening with celebrated Milwaukee spoken-word artist and author, Dasha Kelly (photo credit Catina Cole), launching her novel, Almost Crimson, an uplifting story of one woman's struggle to overcome her mother's sadness, her father's absence, and to become an independent woman. This event is co-sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Library, who will be remotely issuing library cards, so if you don't have one, come on down and sign up, meet a lovely author, and hear an excerpt of her new heartwarming, singular tale. 

CeCe couldn't remember when her mother became too weak to carry anything but tears. When the Sad started to come, pressing her mother to their bed, her Mama cried slick silent tears for a long, long time. Longer than a game of hopscotch. Longer than singing the alphabet in her head five times. Longer than a nap, even. The Sad made her mother cry all the time. From a young age CeCe copes with her mother's crippling depression, their severe poverty, an absentee father, and her own insecurities. With gorgeous language, a vivid cast of characters, and an eye for poignant detail, Dasha Kelly tells the story of CeCe's struggle to break free from the grips of codependency and poverty to find confidence and success in her career and her personal life, finally becoming the strong woman she's always dreamed of being.

From Jim Higgins' recent review in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "While Almost Crimson is not a YA book per se, the scenes of CeCe's childhood, coping with her mother's condition, with social workers and with school conflicts, are so compelling I would want to put this novel in the hands of teens like CeCe with a depressed parent. Portions of the novel about her adult life deal, tastefully and with humor, with her virginity and what she might do about that, so parents, librarians and teachers will want to consider that. I would have been fine with either of my teens reading Almost Crimson."

Dasha Kelly is a nationally-respected writer, artist, and social entrepreneur. As a spoken word artist, Dasha has appeared on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam, is a former writer-in-residence for the historic Pfister Hotel, and founder of Still Waters Collective, an arts education and community-building initiative. In 2014, Dasha was selected as a U.S. Embassy Arts Envoy to teach and perform in Botswana, Africa. She is the author of one chapbook, Hither, and three books: All Fall Down, Hershey Eats Peanuts, and Call It Forth. Boswell is the place to see her, Tuesday, May 12, 7 pm.

Calling all pranksters, hot dog aficionados, and intergalactic explorers! Boswell is pleased to announce a North Shore Library event featuring Adventure Time writer and Eerie Elementary series author, Max Brallier, talking about and signing copies of the first book in his hilarious new Galactic Hot Dogs series, which first appeared on the website Funbrain.. Big Nate author Lincoln Peirce calls Cosmoe's Wiener Getaway "an insanely entertaining, eye-popping adventure." The North Shore Library is located at 6800 N. Port Washington Road in Glendale. Our event is also co-sponsored by Dr. Dawg. Refreshments will be served.

Meet Cosmoe, the Earth-Boy, who is the captain of the Neon Weiner, the finest flying food truck in the galaxy. Along with his bud, Big Humphree, Cosmoe spends his days cruising the cosmos and staying crazy busy with tasks such as: 1. cooking up a Mega-Dog (a hot dog that is the size of a jeep!); 2. escaping mutant worm monsters, zombie space pirates, and grumpy robots (What the butt?!); 3. playing Super Moon Ninja Death Jab (Turbo Ear Slap! 9,000 points!!); and last but not least, 4. protecting the galaxy from the Ultimate Evil (see, Cosmoe's kind of an awesome space guy.). They're dirty jobs, but someone's got to do them!

Max Brallier is the author of more than twenty books for children and adults, including tie-in books for the popular show Adventure Time and the acclaimed Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? He lives in New York City, where he spends his time chasing fortune, glory, and the perfect hot dog, which he might find at the North Shore Library, Tuesday, May 12, 6:30 pm.

Boswell Book Company is proud to co-sponsor a very special reading benefiting Milwaukee's Sojourner Family Peace Center, established in 1975 and dedicated to the mission of transforming lives impacted by domestic violence. Novelist Kathie Giorgio is coming to Boswell to read from and discuss her latest novel, Rise from the River, to raise awareness on the issue of violence against women. A percentage of every book sold at the event will be donated directly to the Sojourner Family Peace Center to aid their important mission of working with families affected by domestic violence to achieve safety, justice, and well-being.

Young single mother Rainey Milbright's life has been shattered by a violent assault, witnessed by her young daughter Tish. With compassion and unflinching honesty, Giorgio chronicles the way a night of violence reverberates through Rainey's life, the life of her young daughter Tish, and this family's emotional journey to healing. 

Writer Mary Grimm offerse this praise: "Say that Kathie Giorgio's new novel, Rise from the River, is an assault on the senses, a torrent of feeling. Say that it is a manifesto for independent choices, a primer on women's issues taken to their extreme. That it is funny and awful and poignant and that you will be unable to put it down. It's all these things, but most of all it's about Rainey, to whom the unthinkable happens, and who then has to make one of a woman's most difficult choices..." 

Waukesha writer Kathie Giorgio is the director and founder of All Writers' Workplace & Workshop, an international creative writing studio that offers online and onsite support, encouragement, and education for writers of every genre and ability. Her short stories and poetry have appeared in many literary magazines and anthologies. Mark your calendar for Wednesday, May 13, 7 pm, at Boswell. 

Please join us at West Allis Public Library, located at 7421 W. National Avenue in West Allis, for an exciting event with multiple Bram Stoker Award winner and Marvel Comics writer, Jonathan Maberry, who will talk about and sign copies of the first volume in his new series, The Nightsiders: The Orphan Army, in which Milo's Louisiana bayou is overrun with alien bug invaders and magical creatures in a breathtaking new middle-grade ( age 8 and up) series.

The world of Jonathan Maberry's latest, The Orphan Army is a world filled with Bugs-monsters that ceaselessly ravage the Earth. In this world, Milo Silk has a hard time keeping his dreams separate from reality. So he keeps them locked up in his dream journal and hopes they'll never come to pass. But too often, they do-like when his father disappeared three years ago. Lately, the Witch of the World has been haunting his dreams, saying he is destined to be the hero who saves everyone. But all Milo can think about is how he fears the Bugs will attack his own camp, and bring something even more terrible than ever before. What Milo doesn't know is that the Earth is already fighting back with its own natural power in the form of Nightsiders, magical creatures who prefer shadows to sunlight and who reside in trees, caves, and rivers. And the Nightsiders are ready to find an ally in Milo...

From Kirkus Reviews:"Maberry's prowess in fiction as well as comic books is evident in his well-crafted story, which balances over-the-top battle scenes with the quiet moments between characters that give substance to what could be a heartless thriller. This first book in an explosive new series is the perfect mix of science fiction and magic." -Kirkus Reviews

Jonathan Maberry is a bestselling author, multiple Bram Stoker Award winner, and Marvel Comics writer. He's the author of many novels, including Assassin's Code, Dead of Night, Patient Zero, and Rot & Ruin., his first series for teens His nonfiction books cover topics ranging from martial arts to zombie pop-culture. Don't forget, Maberry will be at the West Allis Library on Thrusday, May 14, 6:30 pm.

The enchantment of New York at the turn of the century and the weird, wonderful world of side shows and human circuses are vividly brought to life in the highly-anticipated debut of Chicago author Leslie Parry (photo credit Adam Farabee), Church of Marvels, a twisting narrative full of thrills and surprises, and a colorful exploration of four lives at the fringes of society.  

In Church of Marvels, Sylvan Threadgill discovers an abandoned newborn while cleaning out privies behind tenement houses and rescues the girl, determined to find where she belongs. Meanwhile, struggling performer Odile Church has been left alone after a fire ravages her family's sideshow. Her mother was lost to the ashes and her twin sister Belle, a stunning contortionist and star of the show, fled after the disaster. Desperate and guilt-ridden, Odile decides to search for her sister using the only clue she has-a letter sent from Manhattan, imploring Odile to stay in Coney Island. Across the river, the recently-wed Alphie finds herself trapped in a lunatic asylum, certain her cruel, conniving mother-in-law has orchestrated her imprisonment. When she befriends a fierce, silent young woman committed alongside her, she discovers the girl's extraordinary talent, which may be the key to their escape. As Sylvan, Odile, and Alphie unravel the mysteries around them, their lives become irrevocably entwined, and their long-hidden stories and secrets begin to unfold.

Emma Donoghue offers this recommendation: "This quite literally marvelous novel takes you on a hallucinatory ride through old New York, until the four threads of its protagonists' lives tangle and tighten like a noose. Irresistible." 

Iowa Writers' Workshop graduate Leslie Parry's stories have appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Missouri Review, and The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, among other publications. She was recently a resident at Yaddo and The Kerouac House. Join us Friday, May 15, 7 pm, at Boswell. 

Set aside your regrets and join us for a once-in-a-lifetime event with the "absolutely hilarious" (Chicago Sun-Times) Jen Lancaster, who will discuss and sign copies of her latest memoir about turning a mid-life crisis into a mid-life opportunity, I Regret Nothing, with an introduction to self-defense by a very special guest: local martial artist, personal trainer, and founder of Anthro EX, Paul Boyajian. You'll absolutely regret missing this event, so come on down to #learnselfdefense with Paul and hear some of Jen's signature outrageous storytelling!

Boswellian Sharon Nagel says I Regret Nothing shows the author in top form: "For many years I have been a fan of Jen Lancaster and her hilarious memoirs. Her latest does not disappoint. Coming to terms with the fact that she is of a certain age, Jen decides to complete as many items as possible on her bucket list, that compilation we all have of experiences we want to have before we die. A few of the items on Jen's list are: starting a business, traveling alone to Italy, and learning a new language. She tackles these goals with her usual enthusiasm and the support, mostly, of her husband, Fletch, and the dogs, Hambone and Loki. You might even be inspired to start your own bucket list.

Here's a little more about Paul Boyajian, who'll help attendees check off "self-defense class" from their bucket list. With over 30 years of martial arts experience, personal trainer and founder of Anthro EX Corrective Exercise & Functional Training Programs Paul Boyajian is skilled in Tae Kwon Do, Thai Boxing, Savate, Jeet Kune Do, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, to name a few. He is an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer and fitness nutritionist and a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified Corrective Exercise Specialist, and has taught and trained clients of all ages locally for many years in various disciplines, including a popular class on self-defense for women that he co-developed in the late 1980s. More on his Facebook page.

And of course Jen Lancaster is the bestselling author of ten previous books (Twisted Sisters, The Tao of Martha, Here I Go Again, Jeneration X, If You Were Here, My Fair Lazy, Pretty in Plaid, Such a Pretty Fat, Bright Lights, Big Ass, and Bitter Is the New Black). She has appeared on Today, The Joy Behar Show, and NPR's All Things Considered, and resides in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and their ever-expanding menagerie of ill-behaved pets. This is our first event with Jen; please give her a rousing welcome on Monday, May 18, 7 pm, at Boswell. 

Heralded as the Norman Mailer of the Vietnam generation, R. M. Ryan is coming to Boswell to read from and discuss his new autobiographical novel There's a Man with a Gun Over There. His novel is based on Ryan's military experiences as an antiwar activist and grad student turned translator and Military Police officer for the US Army.

Here's the Publishers Weekly review: "In this autobiographical novel, Rick Ryan, a young American desperate to avoid Vietnam in 1968, is drafted but manages to maneuver his way into a German language class, where he is promised a post as a translator by an army recruiter. Despite this, he is sent to Germany to work with the American military police, who themselves are working with former Nazis. Rick's role was to arrest other American soldiers for minor infractions such as smuggling cigarettes, but when a routine arrest leads to violence, Rick is summarily ejected from the Army so he can escape local justice." 

"The book's message is clear and repeated throughout the book: the Army is not a game, and no matter what you tell yourself to get through it, you are still a trained killer. Ryan offers a side to Vietnam that most people don't see: the lucky enlistees who managed to avoid going to the jungle to do their service. Ryan's style may be a bit repetitious, but he drives his points home about the dangers of the military and how it affects people."

R. M. (Rick) Ryan is the author of Goldilocks in Later Life, The Golden Rules, and Vaudeville in the Dark.  He served in the US Army from 1969 to 1972 and lived for many years in the Milwaukee area with his wife, author Carol Sklenicka. Welcome him back on Tuesday, May 19, 7 pm, at Boswell.

Bolt the door and grab some popcorn: presenting horror film aficionado, filmmaker, author, Adam Rockoff, talking about his latest work, The Horror of It All: One Moviegoer's Love Affair with Masked Maniacs, Frightened Virgins, and the Living Dead, a memoir form the front lines of the industry that dissects (and occasionally defends) the hugely popular phenomenon of scary movies.

Pop culture history meets blood-soaked memoir as a horror film aficionado and screenwriter recalls a life spent watching blockbuster slasher films, cult classics, and everything in between. Horror films have simultaneously captivated and terrified audiences for generations, racking up billions of dollars at the box office and infusing our nightmares with unrelenting zombies, chainsaw-wielding madmen, and myriad incarnations of ghosts, ghouls, and the devil himself. Despite evolving modes of storytelling and the fluctuating popularity of other genres, horror endures. In The Horror of It All, author Adam Rockoff traces the highs and lows of the horror genre through the lens of his own obsessive fandom, born in the aisles of his local video store and nurtured with a steady diet of cable trash. From Siskel and Ebert's crusade against slasher films to horror's Renaissance in the wake of Scream, Rockoff mines the rich history of the genre, braiding critical analysis with his own firsthand experiences. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

From Kirkus Reviews: "Rockoff is an amiable and often amusing guide...a passionate defender of the creative rights of filmmakers, no matter how shocking or disturbing their creations might be, and a convincing advocate for scary movies as transgressive art - or just plain fun." 

Adam Rockoff is the screenwriter of Wicked Lake, a film so depraved it caused Ron Jeremy to storm out of the theater in anger. His 2010 adaptation of the classic exploitation film, I Spit on Your Grave, received nearly unanimous praise from horror critics. His first book, Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film, 1978-1986, a critical examination of the slasher genre, was made into a documentary which premiered on STARZ. When he's not getting his hands bloody, Rockoff runs the television production company, FlashRock Films. Our event is Wednesday, May 20, 7 pm.

Join us at Boswell when bestselling author of the Oprah Book Club Pick Cane River brings us the now-released-in-paperback Citizens Creek, the evocative story of a once-enslaved man who buys his freedom after serving as a translator during the American Indian Wars, and his granddaughter, who sustains his legacy of courage.

Cow Tom, born into slavery in Alabama in 1810 and sold to a Creek Indian chief before his tenth birthday, possessed an extraordinary gift: the ability to master languages. As the new country developed westward, and Native Americans, settlers, and Blacks came into constant contact, Cow Tom became a key translator for his Creek master and was hired out to US military generals. His talent earned him money--but would it also grant him freedom? And what would become of him and his family in the aftermath of the Civil War and the Indian Removal westward?

Cow Tom's legacy lives on--especially in the courageous spirit of his granddaughter Rose. She rises to leadership of the family as they struggle against political and societal hostility intent on keeping blacks and Indians oppressed. But through it all, her grandfather's indelible mark of courage inspires her--in mind, in spirit, and in a family legacy that never dies.

From Clyde Edgerton, writing in Garden and Gun: "Tademy knows when to analyze, dissect, back off, go deep, or skirt without comment. The well-paced suspenseful narrative excludes white hat-black hat-happy myth  cycle that is sometimes found in our fiction (and nonfiction). She has not only given us a feel for the grit of our nation's 1800s-misery, war, disease, and displacement-but she also rendered the drama inside a single family, those tales of ordinary folk caught up in war, cultural confusion, and hostility."

Lalita Tademy is the author Cane River, a New York Times bestselling novel and the 2001 Oprah Book Club Summer Selection, and its critically acclaimed sequel Red River. She lives in Northern California with her husband, a long-time member of the Board of Trustees for Northwestern Mutual. In fact, they are celebrating this following our event, which explains the particularly early start time. So don't forget, Wednesday, May 27, 5 pm, at Boswell for Lalita Tademy.

Tuesday, June 2, 1:15 pm, at Marquette Law School's Eckstein Hall, 1215 West Michigan Avenue: Boswell co-sponsors a signing with David Axelrod, author of Believer: My Forty Years in Politics, after the sold-out talk. AV will be piped into the atrium.

Wednesday, June 3, 6:30 pm, at Ben's Cycle, 1018 W. Lincoln Avenue: Boswell co-sponsors James Longhurst, author of Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road.

Wednesday, June 3, 7 pm, at Boswell: Margaret Lazarus Dean, author of Leaving Orbit: Notes from the Last Days of American Spaceflight, co-sponsored by Sheboygan Spaceport. 

Thursday, June 4, 7 pm, at Boswell: Alexandra Petri, author of A Field Guide to Awkward Silences, Washington Post columnist, in conversation with WUWM Lake Effect's Mitch Teich.

Friday, June 5, 7 pm, at Boswell, a ticketed event with Neal Stephenson, author of Snow Crash and Seveneves. Kirkus Reviews calls his newest "Wise, witty, utterly well-crafted science fiction." $36 tickets include a copy of Seveneves. 

Saturday, June 6, 2 pm, at Boswell: Maggie Messitt, author of The Rainy Season: Three Lives in the New South Africa.

Monday, June 8, 7 pm, at Boswell: Matthew Thomas, author of We Are Not Ourselves, considered the first great literary novel of Queens and one of the best-reviewed novels of 2014, now in paperback. 

Tuesday, June 9, 7 pm, at Boswell: Michael Bowen, writing as Hillary Bell Locke, presents his newest mystery, Collar Robber, co-sponsored by Literary Services of Wisconsin

Wednesday, June 10, 7 pm, at Boswell: A Book Club Evening featuring Emma Hooper, author of Etta and Otto and Russell and James, and featuring book club picks and resources from Daniel and Jane.

Wednesday, June 10, 8:30 pm, at Tool Shed, 2427 North Murray Avenue: Boswell co-sponsors Emily Nagoski, author of Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life. Doors open 8:15 pm.

Thursday, June 11, 7 pm, at Boswell: Mark Dostert, author of Up in Here: Jailing Kids on Chicago's Other Side.

Friday, June 12, 7 pm, at Boswell: Peter Schilling, Jr., author of Carl Bark's Duck: Average American. If you don't know, that duck is Donald and Barks was one of the foremost comic book illustrators.

Saturday, June 13, 2 pm, at Boswell: Steve Fiffer and Adar Cohen, authors of Jimmie Lee and James: Two Lives, Two Deaths, and the Movement That Changed America, co-sponsored by the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee.

Sunday, June 14, 3 pm, at Boswell: and afternoon of Wisconsin mysteries with James DeVita, author of A Winsome Murder, with Patricia Skalka, author of Death at Gills Rock.

Monday, June 15, 7 pm, at Boswell: Ron Legro and Avi Lank, authors of The Man Who Painted the Universe: The Story of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North Woods

You'll want to mark your calendars for our dual event with Michael Perry and Dean Bakopoulos on Friday, June 19, 7 pm. Perry's first novel for adults is The Jesus Cow while Bakopoulos's third is Summerlong. 

And finally, don't forget about our ticketed event with Daniel Silva in conversation with Jody Hirsh at the JCC on Monday, July 6, 7 pm. Tickets are $30 on Brown Paper Tickets and include a copy of The English Spy.