Shopping Cart
Silver Alert
Lee Smith
This funny and endearing novel of family, secrets, and aging follows an elderly man who heads off on a joyride with a new young friend—who may have some secrets of her own.
A driving force in literature, the one and only Lee Smith returns with a road trip novel, a story full of hope and humor about not going away quietly—at any age.
Aging Herb’s charmed life with his dear wife, Susan, in their Key West house is coming undone. Susan now needs constant care, and Herb is in denial about his own ailing health. The one bright spot is the arrival of an endlessly optimistic manicurist calling herself Renee. She sings to Susan during manicures, gets her to paint, and brings her a sense of contentment.
But then Herb and Susan’s adult children arrive to stage an intervention on their stubborn, independent father, and as a consequence, Renee’s gig with Susan—and her grand plans for her own life—start to unravel as well. So much had seemed as if it could change for Renee, who is not the happy, uncomplicated young girl she pretends to be. She is actually named Dee Dee, and she’s fleeing a dark past.
And Herb can’t just let go of all that he has ever had. So, he suggests one last joy ride in his Porsche. And the two take off north out of Key West, soon setting off a Silver Alert. As the unlikely friendship between Herb and Dee Dee deepens, we see how as one life is closing down, another opens up.
In this buoyant novel, the masterful Smith asks: What do we deserve? And how do we make it our own? Sometimes, you just have to seize the wheel.
Fans of Smith’s many books in her storied, bestselling career won’t want to miss her newest novel. And readers of novels like Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes will adore Silver Alert.
A driving force in literature, the one and only Lee Smith returns with a road trip novel, a story full of hope and humor about not going away quietly—at any age.
Aging Herb’s charmed life with his dear wife, Susan, in their Key West house is coming undone. Susan now needs constant care, and Herb is in denial about his own ailing health. The one bright spot is the arrival of an endlessly optimistic manicurist calling herself Renee. She sings to Susan during manicures, gets her to paint, and brings her a sense of contentment.
But then Herb and Susan’s adult children arrive to stage an intervention on their stubborn, independent father, and as a consequence, Renee’s gig with Susan—and her grand plans for her own life—start to unravel as well. So much had seemed as if it could change for Renee, who is not the happy, uncomplicated young girl she pretends to be. She is actually named Dee Dee, and she’s fleeing a dark past.
And Herb can’t just let go of all that he has ever had. So, he suggests one last joy ride in his Porsche. And the two take off north out of Key West, soon setting off a Silver Alert. As the unlikely friendship between Herb and Dee Dee deepens, we see how as one life is closing down, another opens up.
In this buoyant novel, the masterful Smith asks: What do we deserve? And how do we make it our own? Sometimes, you just have to seize the wheel.
Fans of Smith’s many books in her storied, bestselling career won’t want to miss her newest novel. And readers of novels like Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes will adore Silver Alert.
Upcoming Events
Flyleaf Books
Talk & Book Signing
Flyleaf Books hosts author Lee Smith in conversation with author Jill McCorkle for a discussion followed by a book signing.
More InformationQuail Ridge Books
In-Store Event
Quail Ridge Books hosts Lee Smith for an in-store book launch event.
More InformationBookmarks Bookstore
A Conversation with Lee Smith & Daniel Wallace
Join Bookmarks for a conversation with Lee Smith and Daniel Wallace, two North Carolina legends, as they discuss their latest books!
More InformationWine & Design
Lee Smith & Daniel Wallace Book Talk and Signing
Join authors Lee Smith and Daniel Wallace for a book talk and signing at Wine & Design on Wednesday, May 3rd at 2pm to celebrate their latest books, Silver Alert and This Isn't Going to End Well.
More Information
The Foxglove King
Hannah Whitten
In this lush, romantic epic fantasy series from a New York Times bestselling author, a young woman’s secret power to raise the dead plunges her into the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King’s royal court.
When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.
Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne'er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.
But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.
Upcoming Events
VIRTUAL
Spoiler Book Club! The Foxglove King with Hannah Whitten
Join Orbit and Hannah Whitten for a spoiler-FUL live discussion of Whitten's newest book, The Foxglove King! This is a spoiler zone! No plot point is off the table, at least not from The Foxglove King. (Don't worry—nothing from later books in the series will be spoiled.) Be sure to finish reading The Foxglove King before the event! Whitten will also be taking audience questions live, so be sure to bring your questions. What does the [spoiler!] on page 205 mean? Did [spoiler!] really [spoiler!] at the end of the book? You can ask it all!
Register
Night Angel Nemesis
Brent Weeks
Return to the New York Times bestselling world of the Night Angel, where master assassin Kylar embarks on a new adventure as the High King Logan Gyre calls on him to save his kingdom and the hope of peace.
After the war that cost him so much, Kylar Stern is broken and alone. He's determined not to kill again, but an impending amnesty will pardon the one murderer he can't let walk free. He promises himself this is the last time. One last hit to tie up the loose ends of his old, lost life.But Kylar's best--and maybe only--friend, the High King Logan Gyre, needs him. To protect a fragile peace, Logan’s new kingdom, and the king’s twin sons, he needs Kylar to secure a powerful magical artifact that was unearthed during the war.
With rumors that a ka'kari may be found, adversaries both old and new are on the hunt. And if Kylar has learned anything, it’s that ancient magics are better left in the hands of those he can trust.
If he does the job right, he won’t need to kill at all. This isn’t an assassination—it’s a heist.
But some jobs are too hard for an easy conscience, and some enemies are so powerful the only answer lies in the shadows.
For more from Brent Weeks, check out:
The Ka'kari Codex
The Night Angel Trilogy
The Way of Shadows
Shadow's Edge
Beyond the Shadows
The Kylar Chronicles
Night Angel Nemesis
The Night Angel Trilogy: 10th Anniversary Edition
Night Angel: The Complete Trilogy (omnibus)
Perfect Shadow: A Night Angel NovellaThe Way of Shadows: The Graphic Novel
Lightbringer
The Black Prism
The Blinding Knife
The Broken Eye
The Blood Mirror
The Burning White
Upcoming Events
VIRTUAL
"Heroes, Antiheroes, and Everyone in Between" Virtual Author Panel
As fantasy readers, we cheer for a hero... but we also stan an assassin. It's not always as easy as black-and-white in new books from Brent Weeks, Andrea Stewart, C.L. Clark, and Justin Lee Anderson! Join the authors and moderator Bradley Englert for a conversation about the larger-than-life characters we love, hate, and love to hate.
RegisterBeaverton, OR
Powell's Books (Cedar Hills Crossing)
More InformationVIRTUAL
The Signed Page
More InformationSeattle, WA
University Bookstore
More InformationSan Diego
Mysterious Galaxy
More InformationLittleton, CO
Tattered Cover (Aspen Grove)
More InformationCincinnati, OH
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
More InformationVIRTUAL
Spoiler Book Club! Night Angel Nemesis with Brent Weeks
Join Orbit and Brent Weeks for a spoiler-FUL live discussion of Weeks's newest book, Night Angel Nemesis! This is a spoiler zone! No plot point is off the table, at least not from Night Angel Nemesis. (Don't worry—nothing from later books in the series will be spoiled.) Be sure to finish reading Night Angel Nemesis before the event! Weeks will also be taking audience questions live, so be sure to bring your questions. What does the [spoiler!] on page 205 mean? Did [spoiler!] really [spoiler!] at the end of the book? You can ask it all!
Register
Lessons from the Covid War
Covid Crisis Group
This powerful report on what went wrong—and right—with America’s Covid response, from a team of 34 experts, shows how Americans faced the worst peacetime catastrophe of modern times
Our national leaders have drifted into treating the pandemic as though it were an unavoidable natural catastrophe, repeating a depressing cycle of panic followed by neglect. So a remarkable group of practitioners and scholars from many backgrounds came together determined to discover and learn lessons from this latest world war.
Lessons from the Covid War is plain-spoken and clear sighted. It cuts through the enormous jumble of information to make some sense of it all and answer: What just happened to us, and why? And crucially, how, next time, could we do better? Because there will be a next time.
The Covid war showed Americans that their wondrous scientific knowledge had run far ahead of their organized ability to apply it in practice. Improvising to fight this war, many Americans displayed ingenuity and dedication. But they struggled with systems that made success difficult and failure easy.
This book shows how Americans can come together, learn hard truths, build on what worked, and prepare for global emergencies to come.
A joint effort from:
Danielle Allen • John M. Barry • John Bridgeland • Michael Callahan • Nicholas A. Christakis • Doug Criscitello • Charity Dean • Victor Dzau • Gary Edson • Ezekiel Emanuel • Ruth Faden • Baruch Fischhoff • Margaret “Peggy” Hamburg • Melissa Harvey • Richard Hatchett • David Heymann • Kendall Hoyt • Andrew Kilianski • James Lawler • Alexander J. Lazar • James Le Duc • Marc Lipsitch • Anup Malani • Monique K. Mansoura • Mark McClellan • Carter Mecher • Michael Osterholm • David A. Relman • Robert Rodriguez • Carl Schramm • Emily Silverman • Kristin Urquiza • Rajeev Venkayya • Philip Zelikow
Our national leaders have drifted into treating the pandemic as though it were an unavoidable natural catastrophe, repeating a depressing cycle of panic followed by neglect. So a remarkable group of practitioners and scholars from many backgrounds came together determined to discover and learn lessons from this latest world war.
Lessons from the Covid War is plain-spoken and clear sighted. It cuts through the enormous jumble of information to make some sense of it all and answer: What just happened to us, and why? And crucially, how, next time, could we do better? Because there will be a next time.
The Covid war showed Americans that their wondrous scientific knowledge had run far ahead of their organized ability to apply it in practice. Improvising to fight this war, many Americans displayed ingenuity and dedication. But they struggled with systems that made success difficult and failure easy.
This book shows how Americans can come together, learn hard truths, build on what worked, and prepare for global emergencies to come.
A joint effort from:
Danielle Allen • John M. Barry • John Bridgeland • Michael Callahan • Nicholas A. Christakis • Doug Criscitello • Charity Dean • Victor Dzau • Gary Edson • Ezekiel Emanuel • Ruth Faden • Baruch Fischhoff • Margaret “Peggy” Hamburg • Melissa Harvey • Richard Hatchett • David Heymann • Kendall Hoyt • Andrew Kilianski • James Lawler • Alexander J. Lazar • James Le Duc • Marc Lipsitch • Anup Malani • Monique K. Mansoura • Mark McClellan • Carter Mecher • Michael Osterholm • David A. Relman • Robert Rodriguez • Carl Schramm • Emily Silverman • Kristin Urquiza • Rajeev Venkayya • Philip Zelikow
Upcoming Events
San Francisco: Commonwealth Club
In person event with Emily Silverman (moderator), Charity Dean, Robert Rodriguez, David Relman
More InformationWashington DC: Politics and Prose
Fairfax, VA: George Mason University
In person event with Melissa Harvey, Andrew Kilianski, and Greg Koblentz (moderator)
More InformationHarvard Book Store
Ghosts of the Orphanage
Christine Kenneally
The shocking secret history of twentieth-century orphanages—which for decades hid violence, abuse, and deaths within their walls
For much of the twentieth century, a series of terrible events—abuse, both physical and psychological, and even deaths—took places inside orphanages. The survivors have been trying to tell their astonishing stories for a long time, but disbelief, secrecy, and trauma have kept them from breaking through. For ten years, Christine Kenneally has been on a quest to uncover the harrowing truth.
Centering her story on St. Joseph’s, a Catholic orphanage in Vermont, Kenneally has written a stunning account of a series of crimes and abuses. But her work is not confined to one place. Following clues that take her into the darkened corners of several institutions across the globe, she finds a trail of terrifying stories and a courageous group of survivors who are seeking justice. Ghosts of the Orphanage is an incredible true crime story and a reckoning with a past that has stayed buried for too long, with tragic consequences.
For much of the twentieth century, a series of terrible events—abuse, both physical and psychological, and even deaths—took places inside orphanages. The survivors have been trying to tell their astonishing stories for a long time, but disbelief, secrecy, and trauma have kept them from breaking through. For ten years, Christine Kenneally has been on a quest to uncover the harrowing truth.
Centering her story on St. Joseph’s, a Catholic orphanage in Vermont, Kenneally has written a stunning account of a series of crimes and abuses. But her work is not confined to one place. Following clues that take her into the darkened corners of several institutions across the globe, she finds a trail of terrifying stories and a courageous group of survivors who are seeking justice. Ghosts of the Orphanage is an incredible true crime story and a reckoning with a past that has stayed buried for too long, with tragic consequences.
Upcoming Events
Virtual Event
Books & Books
More InformationCambridge, MA
Harvard Book Store
More Information
Go Back and Get It
Dionne Ford
An unexpected family photograph leads Dionne Ford to uncover the stories of her enslaved female ancestors, reclaim their power, and begin to heal
Countless Black Americans descended from slavery are related to the enslavers who bought and sold their ancestors. Among them is Dionne Ford, whose great grandmother was the last of six children born to a Louisiana cotton broker and the enslaved woman he received as a wedding gift.
What shapes does this kind of intergenerational trauma take? In these pages, which move between her inner life and deep research, Ford tells us. It manifests as alcoholism and post-traumatic stress; it finds echoes in her own experience of sexual abuse at the hands of a relative, and in the ways in which she builds her own interracial family.
To heal, Ford tries a wide range of therapies, lifestyle changes, and recovery meetings. “Anything,” she writes, “to keep from going back there.” But what she learns is that she needs to go back there, to return to her female ancestors, and unearth what she can about them to start to feel whole.
Countless Black Americans descended from slavery are related to the enslavers who bought and sold their ancestors. Among them is Dionne Ford, whose great grandmother was the last of six children born to a Louisiana cotton broker and the enslaved woman he received as a wedding gift.
What shapes does this kind of intergenerational trauma take? In these pages, which move between her inner life and deep research, Ford tells us. It manifests as alcoholism and post-traumatic stress; it finds echoes in her own experience of sexual abuse at the hands of a relative, and in the ways in which she builds her own interracial family.
To heal, Ford tries a wide range of therapies, lifestyle changes, and recovery meetings. “Anything,” she writes, “to keep from going back there.” But what she learns is that she needs to go back there, to return to her female ancestors, and unearth what she can about them to start to feel whole.
Upcoming Events
54 Fairfield St, Montclair, NJ 07042
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Honey, Baby, Mine
Laura Dern & Diane Ladd
A collection of deeply personal conversations from award-winning actress and activist Laura Dern and the woman she admires most, her mother—legendary actress Diane Ladd.
What happens when we are brave enough to speak our truths to the ones we love the most?
Laura Dern and Diane Ladd always had a close relationship, but the stakes were raised when Diane developed a sudden life-threatening illness. Diane’s doctor prescribed long walks to build back her lung capacity. The exertion was challenging, and Laura soon learned the best way to distract her mom was to get her talking and telling stories.
Their conversations along the way began to break down the traditional barriers between mothers and daughters. They discussed the most personal topics: love, sex, marriage, divorce, art, ambition, and legacy. In Honey, Baby, Mine, Laura and Diane share these conversations, as well as reflections and anecdotes, taking readers on an intimate tour of their lives. Complementing these candid exchanges, they have included photos, family recipes, and other mementos. The result is a celebration of the power of leaving nothing unsaid that will make you want to call the people you love the most and start talking.
Upcoming Events
USC - Bovard Auditorium
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books (Los Angeles, CA)
Join award-winning actress and activist Laura Dern and her mother, legendary actress Diane Ladd, for a deeply personal conversation on love, art, ambition, and legacy, inspired by their own heart-to-hearts.
More InformationLeonard Nimoy Thalia Theater
Symphony Space (New York, NY)
Tickets to this event include access to a moderated conversation with Laura and Diane and a signed copy of Honey, Baby, Mine.
More InformationHarpeth Hall School
Parnassus Bookstore (Nashville, TN)
Join Laura Dern and Diane Ladd as they discuss their new book, HONEY, BABY, MINE. The conversation will be moderated by Reese Witherspoon.
More InformationSydney Goldstein Theater
City Arts & Lectures (San Francisco, CA)
Meet Laura Dern and celebrate the release of her new book with her mother—legendary actress Diane Ladd.
More InformationDominican University - Angelico Hall
Book Passage (San Rafael, CA)
Join award-winning actress and activist Laura Dern and her mother, legendary actress Diane Ladd, for a deeply personal conversation on love, art, ambition, and legacy, inspired by her own heart-to-hearts.
More InformationMoss Theater at New Roads School
Live Talks LA (Santa Monica, CA)
Join award-winning actress and activist Laura Dern and her mother, legendary actress Diane Ladd, for a deeply personal conversation on love, art, ambition, and legacy, inspired by her own heart-to-hearts.
More Information
Soul Boom
Rainn Wilson
Comedic actor, producer, and writer Rainn Wilson, cofounder of the media company SoulPancake, explores the problem-solving benefits that spirituality gives us to create solutions for an increasingly challenging world.
The trauma that our struggling species has experienced in recent years—because of both the pandemic and societal tensions that threaten to overwhelm us—is not going away anytime soon. Existing political and economic systems are not enough to bring the change that the world needs. In this book, Rainn Wilson explores the possibility and hope for a spiritual revolution, a “Soul Boom,” to find a healing transformation on both a personal and global level
For Wilson, this is a serious and essential pursuit, but he brings great humor and his own unique perspective to the conversation. He feels that, culturally, we’ve discounted spirituality—faith and the sacred—and we need profound healing and a unifying understanding of the world that the great spiritual traditions provide. Wilson’s approach to spirituality—the non-physical, eternal aspects of ourselves—is relatable and applies to people of all beliefs, even the skeptics. Filled with genuine insight—not to mention enlightening Kung Fu and Star Trek references—Soul Boom delves into ancient wisdom to seek out practical, transformative answers to life’s biggest questions.
Upcoming Events
92NY
In Conversation with BJ Novack
The Office’s Rainn Wilson in Conversation with B.J. Novack. Tickets required.
More Information
Truth and Repair
Judith Lewis Herman, MD
From one of America’s most influential psychiatrists, a powerful manifesto for reimagining justice, based on the testimony of trauma survivors
The #MeToo movement brought worldwide attention to sexual violence, but while the media focused on the fates of a few notorious predators who were put on trial, we heard far less about the outcomes of those trials for the survivors of their abuse.
The conventional retributive process fails to serve most survivors; it was never designed for them. Renowned trauma expert Judith L. Herman argues that the first step toward a better form of justice is simply to ask survivors what would make things as right as possible for them. In Truth and Repair, she commits the radical act of listening to survivors. Recounting their stories, she offers an alternative vision of justice as healing for survivors and their communities.
Deeply researched and compassionately told, Truth and Repair envisions a new path to justice for all.
The #MeToo movement brought worldwide attention to sexual violence, but while the media focused on the fates of a few notorious predators who were put on trial, we heard far less about the outcomes of those trials for the survivors of their abuse.
The conventional retributive process fails to serve most survivors; it was never designed for them. Renowned trauma expert Judith L. Herman argues that the first step toward a better form of justice is simply to ask survivors what would make things as right as possible for them. In Truth and Repair, she commits the radical act of listening to survivors. Recounting their stories, she offers an alternative vision of justice as healing for survivors and their communities.
Deeply researched and compassionately told, Truth and Repair envisions a new path to justice for all.
Upcoming Events
1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
Judith L. Herman at Harvard Book Store
Harvard Book Store welcomes JUDITH L. HERMAN—professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies—for a discussion of her new book Truth and Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice.
Learn More
Who Does That Bitch Think She Is?
Craig Seligman
A vivid new history of drag told through the life of the pioneering queen Doris Fish
In the 1970s, queer people were openly despised, and drag queens scared the public. Yet this was the era when Doris Fish (born Philip Mills in 1952) painted and padded his way to stardom. He was a leader of the generation that prepared the world not just for drag queens on TV but for a society that is more tolerant and accepting of LGBTQ+ people. How did we get from there to here? In Who Does That Bitch Think She Is? Craig Seligman looks at Doris’ life to provide some answers.
After moving to San Francisco in the mid-’70s, Doris became the driving force behind years of sidesplitting drag shows that were loved as much as you can love throwaway trash—which is what everybody thought they were. No one, Doris included, perceived them as political theater, when in fact they were accomplishing satire’s deepest dream: not just to rail against society, but to change it.
From the rise of drag shows to the obsession with camp to the conservative backlash and the onset of AIDS, Seligman adds needed color and insight to this era in LGBTQ+ history, revealing the origins and evolution of drag.
In the 1970s, queer people were openly despised, and drag queens scared the public. Yet this was the era when Doris Fish (born Philip Mills in 1952) painted and padded his way to stardom. He was a leader of the generation that prepared the world not just for drag queens on TV but for a society that is more tolerant and accepting of LGBTQ+ people. How did we get from there to here? In Who Does That Bitch Think She Is? Craig Seligman looks at Doris’ life to provide some answers.
After moving to San Francisco in the mid-’70s, Doris became the driving force behind years of sidesplitting drag shows that were loved as much as you can love throwaway trash—which is what everybody thought they were. No one, Doris included, perceived them as political theater, when in fact they were accomplishing satire’s deepest dream: not just to rail against society, but to change it.
From the rise of drag shows to the obsession with camp to the conservative backlash and the onset of AIDS, Seligman adds needed color and insight to this era in LGBTQ+ history, revealing the origins and evolution of drag.
Upcoming Events
Seattle, WA
Elliott Bay Book Company
More InformationPortland, OR
Powell's City of Books
More Information
Black Ball
Theresa Runstedtler
A vital narrative history of 1970s pro basketball, and the Black players who shaped the NBA
Against a backdrop of ongoing resistance to racial desegregation and strident calls for Black Power, the NBA in the 1970s embodied the nation’s imagined descent into disorder. A new generation of Black players entered the league then, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Spencer Haywood, and the press and public were quick to blame this cohort for the supposed decline of pro basketball, citing drugs, violence, and greed. Basketball became a symbol for post-civil rights America: the rules had changed, allowing more Black people onto the playing field, and now they were ruining everything.
Upcoming Events
Bohrer Park, 506 S Frederick Avenue Gaithersburg, MD 20877
Gaithersburg Book Festival
More Information
I Am the Walrus
Neal Shusterman
Eoin Colfer meets Rick Riordan—with a little Margaret Peterson Haddix sprinkled on top—in this hilarious new sci-fi series from award-winning authors Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman.
When fourteen-year-old Noah falls from the trees on his classmate Sahara, he doesn’t understand how, or why, he would have been up there. It’s just one more in a string of strange things happening to Noah lately.
Like when he keels over and every muscle in his body freezes when confronted by bullies. And when he vanishes into the background at a moment he doesn’t want to be noticed. And when he unexpectedly blasts Sahara with a bird shriek while flapping his arms uncontrollably in the middle of a school dance. What does it all mean? And why do there suddenly seem to be so many mysterious people trying to kill him?
Noah’s friend Ogden has an idea…but like all of Ogden’s ideas, it’s out there. Way out there…
Upcoming Events
Book Launch
Discussion & Book Signing
Discussion & Book Signing
Discussion, Q&A, and Book Signing
Book Signing
Discussion & Book Signing
Book Signing
[More info to come]