Dear Gentle Reader,

Welcome back from Labor Day. Hope you had a nice break.

Margot Lester returns tomorrow, holding Writer’s Office Hours from 1:30-3:30pm. Dust off that novel you’ve been working on, tweak your dating profile, or consult about classwork– Margot is here to help!

Our final Our State Book Club for 2025 is going out on flittering bat wings… HostWiley Cash has outdone himself with a special discussion with Elizabeth Kostova, author of the vampire thriller, The Historian on Wednesday, October 29th at 7pm. Tickets for History, Mystery, and Dracula: An Evening with Elizabeth Kostovacan be purchased at ourstate.com by clicking here.

We try to reserve the phrase “Mark Your Calendar!” for really special events. Well, Mark Your Calendar! Next Saturday, September 12th at 11am Helen Whybrow will be here to discuss her excellent memoir, The Salt Stones, with Craig Popelars (former Algonquin Books Associate Publisher and now Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Milkweed Editions). He also cut his teeth as a bookseller at McIntyre’s. Keebe and Sarah cannot say enough about how much they took Helen’s memoir to heart. This is such excellent escapism, chronicling Helen’s departure from the world of New York publishing to tend her flocks in the Vermont mountains. Her writing is divine.  This is not to be missed.

Lily King will be here for her novel, Heart the Lover, on Saturday, November 8th at 11am. To attend, purchase a copy of  Heart the Lover  from McIntyre’s for you and a friend to gain entrance. Our staff is not the only ones who love love love this book. Ms. King will be in discussion with former UNC classmate and Algonquin Books Executive Editor, Kathy Pories.

And for the kids, we’ve got 3 great events coming up this fall! These are all for lovers of comics and graphic novels. First, our friend John Claude Bemis returns to present his new graphic novel Rodeo Hawkins and the Daughters of Mayhem on Saturday, October 4th at 11:00am. Then on Saturday, October 18th at 2:00pm we have a special hands-on workshop with author/illustrator Tate Godwin. Learn all about how he created his first book Operation: Cover-Up as he guides kids through the process of making their own graphic novels. Paper and drawing utensils will be provided. And on Sunday, November 9th at 2:00pm we’ve got a big one! Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris will present a Theatrical Spectacular for the fourth book in their First Cat in Space graphic novel series, The First Cat in Space and the Baby Pirate’s Revenge. This is a ticketed event (preorder the new book to attend) and costumes are encouraged! Reserve your tickets and find more info on our website.

Finally, apparently Americans are spending less time reading for fun.  This article in the NY Times has some pointers to help reignite your love of reading. We hope you can get behind the paywall to find out how reading can keep your memory sharp and help you sleep better. Reading fiction can increase empathy and improve well-being! We highly recommend checking in with your local independent bookseller to stock up on some great reads.

All the best from the Usual Suspects,

Pete, Johanna, Sarah G., Tyler, Amy, Sarah C. and Keebe