October 15, 2024 | Posted by Kelley Fitch

Dear Gentle Reader,

A big thanks to all who came out to fill the Barn for Cozy Con this past Saturday, A good time was had by all, and we are so looking forward to the return of Crime Scene, Pete’s mystery book festival, in the winter of 2026.

Book Club Night is this Thursday at 6:30pm, We will talk about great books for a club or an individual to add to their reading lists. There will be wine and giveaways and good book discussion.  McIntyre’s is offering a rare 20% discount for all books purchased this evening. To attend, tickets are $10 and available here.

This Saturday we have another double header. At 11am Aran Shetterly visits to discuss his book, Morningside, an investigation into the deadly white supremacist attack on a “Death to the Klan” rally preparing to march from east Greensboro’s since-demolished Morningside neighborhood. Morningside is an unflinching look at the all but forgotten, though no less shocking, 1979 racial tragedy that divided Greensboro and the nation, and the grassroots activists who, in their tireless fight for justice, refused to give up on America’s promised ideals.

Then at 2pm, Michele Tracy Bergerreturns to discuss her collection of stories, Doll Seed, with Gary Phillips. “Michele Tracey Berger has a voice like no one else. “—Julia Rios, Hugo Award Winning Editor

Doll Seed: Stories is a dazzling debut collection of speculative short fiction. The stories span horror, fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism, but are always grounded in very real characters and beautifully rendered, distinctive communities. Michele will be in discussion with Gary Phillips, a poet and science fiction/ Afrofuturist aficionado.

Also this Saturday the 19th at 11am, we will be at the Chatham Community Library in Pittsboro supporting Bea Boggs Allen and Belle Boggs as they discuss and sign copies of Plant Pets.

Next weekend, on Saturday, October 26th at 11am we welcome beloved UNC professor Bland Simpson for Clover Garden: A Carolinian’s Piedmont Memoir. Then on Sunday at 2pm, we are hosting our last poetry reading of 2024 that we cosponsor with the North Carolina Poetry Society. Come out and enjoy works read by Jenny Bates, Elio Soldi, and David Radavich.

And finally, last call for tickets for the Chatham Fall Literacy Luncheon is Thursday, October 25th. Jill McCorkle is the honored guest. Click here for more information. Your support is greatly appreciated by this backbone of our county.

The Usual Suspects,

Pete, Johanna, Sarah, Tyler, Beth and Keebe