Malaprop’s Bookstore & Café
55 Haywood St.
Asheville, NC 28801
828-254-6734
Tuesday, September 1 at 7 pm
JENNY MILCHMAN READING & SIGNING
Jenny Milchman, whose first book won a Mary Higgins Clark Award, is back with her third suspense novel, As Night Falls. Booklist calls this dark, twisted family tale “[a]nother excellent psychological thriller that should appeal to readers who favor such authors as Lisa Gardner and Lisa Unger” and Shelf Awareness praises the story’s “electric tension and chilling grip.” Milchman, a former psychotherapist and a staff favorite, is the founder of Take Your Child to A Bookstore Day.
Wednesday, September 2 at 5 pm
MESSAGES TO THE HEART SALON
Local artist Elise Okrend and her partner, Phil, a writer and professional life coach, came together to produce the inspiring coffee table book, Messages to the Heart, Reflections of Beauty and Truth.
Pairing Elise’s soothing pastel landscapes with Phil’s mindful, poetic passages, the book is divided into specific chapters. The salon will use Messages to the Heart with discussion to remind participants of the ah-ha moments of truth and beauty in their own lives and to help them open a door where peace, clarity, joy, and purpose can come in.
Each week discussion will come from the following topics, Reflections on Following Your Heart, Unity, Love, Optimism, Transformation, Awareness, and Empowerment. This will be an ongoing series and attendees are welcome to join for one or all.
Thursday, September 3 at 7 pm
LAURA LENGNICK DISCUSSION & SIGNING
The former head of the academic program in sustainable agriculture at Warren Wilson College, Laura Lengnick has been involved in the local food movement as an educator, researcher, policymaker, activist, and farmer. She brings her knowledge to the page in Resilient Agriculture:
Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate. Her work is also featured prominently in the first USDA publication to deal with agriculture and climate change adaptation.
Friday, September 4 at 7 pm
ADAM JOHNSON READING & SIGNING
The Orphan Master’s Son, Adam Johnson’s novel about North Korea, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013. In his latest book, Fortune Smiles, his stories tread many territories, including North Korea again. Kirkus Reviews says: “Safe houses, hospices, hospitals: these are the theaters where many of the stories take place, all enshrouded in a certain incomprehension–but, to Johnson’s great credit, seldom in hopelessness, for his characters are inclined to endure against the
odds: ‘You turn the ignition and drop the van in gear, and you know this is no ordinary event.’ Bittersweet, elegant, full of hard-won
wisdom: this is no ordinary book, either.” Stories from Fortune Smiles have already gained acclaim. “Nirvana” won the Sunday Times short story prize and “Hurricanes Anonymous” was included in Best American Short Stories.
Saturday, September 5 at 7 pm
DAVID MADDEN READING & SIGNING
The author of novels, short stories, poems, and plays, David Madden’s new book, The Tangled Web of the Civil War and Reconstruction:
Readings and Writings from a Novelist’s Perspective, explores a topic the author often excavates in his work using both fiction and nonfiction. “Only David Madden, from his unique perspective as observer and critic, could bring such insight into the imaginative works by homegrown writers of the great mid-nineteenth-century American drama,” according to Ron Maxwell, director of Gettysburg, Gods and Generals, and Copperhead. Creator and former director of the U.S. Civil War Center, Madden is LSU Robert Penn Warren Professor of Creative Writing, Emeritus.
Sunday, September 6 at 3 pm
POETRIO
Join us for our monthly series of readings and signings by 3 poets at
3 pm! This month will feature Mary Kratt (Watch Where You Walk), Dawn Coppock (As Sweet as It’s Going to Get), and Richard Krawiec (Women Who Loved Me Despite).
Tuesday, September 8 at 7 pm
RON RASH READING & SIGNING
Above the Waterfall, local favorite Ron Rash’s latest novel, may be his most lyrical yet. The author of four previous novels, including his PEN/Faulkner award-winning Serena, six collections of stories, and four collections of poetry, Rash lets his poetic impulses shine in the voice of Becky Shytle, a park warden with a dark past and a beautiful eye for the natural world. Her story blends with that of her would-be lover, Les, whose final weeks as sheriff are troubled by a mystery involving Gerald, a surrogate grandfather to Becky. According to Publishers Weekly, “Rash’s widely celebrated style lends his Southern Gothic tinged books a suppleness that verges on prose poetry and, in the case of his new novel, elevates a small-town noir story.”
Thursday, September 10 at 7 pm
RITA ZOEY CHIN READING & SIGNING
Let the Tornado Come, Rita Zoey Chin’s memoir, recounts the story of her sudden panic attacks and the route she took to save herself from them. Eventually, she had to face her own difficult past as a runaway and, thanks to a horse with troubles of his own, she was able to shift her fear into a fierce, inspired life. The Huffington Post calls the book “a near euphoric ode to the human spirit.” Chin is also in town as the keynote speaker for the opening of Aurora Studio & Gallery’s show, Aurora; A Healing Light. Aurora is a supportive art studio for artists affected by mental illness. The reading here will also include a raffle in support of their programs.
Saturday, September 12 at 7 pm
MATTHEW NEILL NULL READING & SIGNING
In a note from the author, Matthew Neill Null says, “My home state of West Virginia has produced no great men, in the old sense of that phrase, no presidents, but hundreds of thousands have lived and died there, a rich human pageant. This novel is my bid to give them back their stories.” Honey from the Lion, Null’s debut novel, tells the story of a man in the midst of a major logging operation in West Virginia and the cast of characters who influence his fate, which Smith Henderson (Fourth of July Creek) calls “a master performance.”
Null’s work has appeared in The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, The Best American Mystery Stories 2014, and others. He is the writing coordinator at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA.
Sunday, September 13 at 3 pm
ROD KIGHT DISCUSSION & SIGNING
Local bankruptcy lawyer Rod Kight will discuss his new book, Cannabis Business Law: What You Need to Know. A legalization proponent whose blog, Kight on Cannabis, aims to create sensible dialogue on the subject, Kight shares wisdom for potential cannabis businesses on subjects from banking to taxes and everything in between. Kight is a graduate of Furman University and lives in Asheville with his wife and five children.
Wednesday, September 9 at 7 pm
POWER OF MYTH SALON with ANDREA OLSON
Host of our popular Women Who Run with the Wolves Salon, Andrea Olson returns to host another myth-focused discussion group. This new salon will use Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth as the touch-point for meaningful understanding of myth in our lives. The group is open to the public and you are invited to join for one or all of the discussions.
Monday, September 14 at 7 pm
SALLIE BISSELL READING & SIGNING
Local author and staff favorite Sallie Bissell celebrates the launch of her latest Mary Crow novel, A Judgment of Whispers, with us! The seventh in the series that began with In the Forest of Harm, A Judgment of Whispers “reads well as a stand-alone,” according to Library Journal. They go on to praise the book’s “intricate plot, compelling, well-drawn characters (Mary is an intriguing heroine with a remarkable backstory) and Southern setting”. Bissell, a native of Nashville, TN, has hosted our Mystery Book Club since its inception.
Tuesday, September 15 at 7 pm
SONJA YOERG READING & SIGNING
House Broken, Sonja Yoerg’s debut novel, which Library Journal called “stunning “, launched her into the hearts and minds of many readers.
She has returned, thankfully, with a new novel that also deals with price and weight of keeping secrets. In The Middle of Somewhere, Liz Croft is a young widow craving solitude in which to confront herself.
Her decision to hike the John Muir Trail is thrown off-balance by the arrival of her boyfriend and others. A Ph.D. in Biological Psychology, Yoerg is also the author of the animal behavior book, Clever as a Fox.
Wednesday, September 16 at 5 pm
MESSAGES TO THE HEART SALON
Local artist Elise Okrend and her partner, Phil, a writer and professional life coach, came together to produce the inspiring coffee table book, Messages to the Heart, Reflections of Beauty and Truth.
Pairing Elise’s soothing pastel landscapes with Phil’s mindful, poetic passages, the book is divided into specific chapters. The salon will use Messages to the Heart with discussion to remind participants of the ah-ha moments of truth and beauty in their own lives and to help them open a door where peace, clarity, joy, and purpose can come in.
Each week discussion will come from the following topics, Reflections on Following Your Heart, Unity, Love, Optimism, Transformation, Awareness, and Empowerment. This will be an ongoing series and attendees are welcome to join for one or all.
Thursday, September 17 at 7 pm
MATTHEW VOLLMER READING & SIGNING
Matthew Vollmer’s second story collection, Gateway to Paradise, follows close on the heels of The Book of Uncommon Prayer, a collection of writing that he edited. He is also the author of the collection Future Missionaries of America of which Charles D’Ambrosio said ” has more range than most novels while doing brilliantly what stories do best: it deepens the mystery of others by making that mystery familiar.”
Friday, September 18 at 7 pm
JOHN LANE & JAMES McTEER READING & SIGNING South Carolina author John Lane is the author of several books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. His latest novel, Fate Moreland’s Widow, includes a forward by Wiley Cash (A Land More Kind Than Home) where Cash says, “John Lane deftly captures the hardscrabble plight of the southern mill worker and the ambitious greed of the southern mill owner… But he does an even better job of capturing the quandary of Ben Crocker, the man precariously stuck in the middle.” Lane is a professor of English and director of the Goodall Environmental Studies Center at Wofford College in Spartanburg. Minnow by James E. McTeer III won the 2014 South Carolina First Novel Prize and is “a memorable coming-of-age story brimming with unexpected encounters with man, beast, and nature, and some magic thrown in for good measure,”
according to Publishers Weekly. Based on the author’s grandfather who was a Low Country sheriff and witch doctor for 37 years, Minnow tells the story of a young boy on a mission to get magical medicine for his ailing father.
Saturday, September 19 at 7 pm
WILL HARLAN DISCUSSION
Local editor, writer, and runner Will Harlan joins us to discuss the documentary Goshen: Places of Refuge for the Running People. Harlan is one of the people featured in the exploration of the plant-based diet and athletic endurance of the Tarahumara people of Mexico’s Copper Canyons. The film has won several awards, including the Golden Palm Award at the Mexico International Film Festival. Harlan, editor of Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine and a past winner of the Caballo Blanco Copper Canyon 50-Mile Ultramarathon, will also discuss Barefoot Farms and Barefoot Seeds, his initiatives to promote sustainable agriculture and provide seeds and tools to the Tarahumara.
Sunday, September 20 at 3 pm
WRITERS AT HOME READING SERIES
Join host Tommy Hays for the monthly reading series featuring work from UNCA’s Great Smokies Writing Program and The Great Smokies Review.
Sunday, September 20 at 5 pm
ROBERT SHETTERLY DISCUSSION & SIGNING
Inspired by the events of 9/11 to document the people fighting for “the promise of America” as he calls it, Robert Shetterly has painted portraits of Americans famous, infamous, and less well known. The book Americans Who Tell the Truth features 50 of his portraits, including MLK, Jr., Molly Ivins, Emma Goldman, Frances Moore Lappe, and others, along with quotes and biographies. Shetterly, who will have an exhibit of 52 AWTT portraits at YMI Cultural Center from 9/19 to 11/7, is also working to create engaged young citizens with AWTT in the schools.
Monday, September 21 at 7 pm
SUSAN PIVER READING & SIGNING
Thanks to Asheville Shambhala Center, we are able to welcome Susan Piver, the New York Times best-selling author, teacher, speaker, and mindfulness expert. The author of eight books, Piver’s latest is Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation. A guide to help those interested in meditation begin a practice, its chapters cover What Meditation Is, What Meditation Is Not, How to Choose, Obstacles and Antidotes, and other subjects.
Piver’s previous books include the award-winning How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life and she is the founder of the Open Heart project, an online community for meditation.
Tuesday, September 22 at 7 pm
LISA WINGATE READING & SIGNING
The author of 25 books, Lisa Wingate shares her latest, The Sea Keeper’s Daughters, with us. A story with many dualities–the past and the present, the ocean and the mountains, love and money–The Sea Keeper’s Daughters explores the preservation of story, especially the work done by Roosevelt’s WPA folklore writers. Wingate, a former journalist and technical writer, is also the recipient of National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life.
Wednesday, September 23 at 7 pm
POWER OF MYTH SALON with ANDREA OLSON
Host of our popular Women Who Run with the Wolves Salon, Andrea Olson returns to host another myth-focused discussion group. This new salon will use Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth as the touch-point for meaningful understanding of myth in our lives. The group is open to the public and you are invited to join for one or all of the discussions.
Thursday, September 24 at 7 pm
ALEXANDRA DUNCAN LAUNCH FOR SOUND
The follow-up to local author Alexandra Duncan’s much-loved Salvage, Sound is another dose of “kick-ass, brilliant, feminist science fiction” (Stephanie Perkins). This stand-alone story follows a Haitian girl named Miyole whose dream of working in space is realized and then altered by a run-in with the survivor of a space pirate attack. The two girls embark on a mission that will challenge them in many ways.
In a starred review, Kirkus said, “Unpredictable plot, vivid settings, and a queer, dark-skinned black girl as a protagonist in far-future science fiction: essential.” We are thrilled to celebrate this release with local librarian and staff favorite Duncan and hope you’ll join us.
Friday, September 25 at 7 pm
MARGARET LAZARUS DEAN READING & SIGNING
Winner of the Graywolf Press Nonficton Prize, Leaving Orbit: Notes from the Last Days of American Spaceflight by Margaret Lazarus Dean, is “a heartfelt eulogy for the dream and brief reality of American spaceflight” (Booklist). Dean, who was disturbed enough by the end of the spaceflight era to attend the last three shuttle launches in person, excavates her own obsession with the Space program and its broader meaning. She is associate professor and director of creative writing at UT Knoxville.
Saturday, September 26 at 3 pm
DOUG GIBSON READING & SIGNING
Local writer and book designer Doug Gibson shares his brand new middle grade (recommended for grades 4-7) novel, Tales of a Fifth Grade Knight, with us! A magical kingdom lies underneath Castle School, unbeknownst to friends Isaac, Max, and Emma–until they have to rescue Isaac’s sister who’s been abducted by Elves. Strange creatures, heart-thumping adventure, and humor abound. Kirkus Reviews praises the “mix of low humor and brisk action, with promise of more of both to come.” Join us to celebrate this wonderful new addition to our local author crew!
Sunday, September 27 at 3 pm
TED M. ALEXANDER LAUNCH PARTY
Asheville Citizen-Times columnist Ted M. Alexander returns with his second novel, After & Before. Hypnosis leads a marketing executive to the titillating and then terrifying world of her previous lives, but her journey doesn’t end there in Alexander’s latest. The author of The Fall of Summer, which Kirkus called “a very impressive debut”, Alexander has worked in publishing, advertising, and toured the country as a musician. We’ll celebrate his new release with a reception in addition to the reading and signing.
Tuesday, September 29 at 7 pm
KIM BOYKIN READING & SIGNING
In Charlotte author Kim Boykin’s new novel, A Peach of a Pair, two sisters are divided by love and two sisters are brought together as they near death. Nettie Gilbert, devastated by the news that her sister is going to marry her sweetheart, becomes a caregiver for the Eldridge sisters. Lessons are learned and wild road trips are taken.
The Huffington Post says that Boykin “knows how to tell a story that will charm and fascinate her readers.” Boykin is also the author of Palmetto Moon and The Wisdom of Hair.
Wednesday, September 30 at 7 pm
CONSTANCE LOMBARDO IN CONVERSATION WITH MEGAN SHEPHERD Many local folks will recognize Constance Lombardo as an Ashevillian who has spent many days drawing in the Malaprop’s cafe. So we are very excited to celebrate the launch of her illustrated series with Mr.
Puffball: Stunt Cat to the Stars. Mr. Puffball is a kitten with exquisite taste and a bent for the flamboyant. His trip to Hollywood and job at Purramount Studios change some of his notions about the rich and famous, however. Publishers Weekly says, “Emotions run high and dramatic moments are many, but Mr. Puffball’s positive attitude and growing understanding that good friends are what matter most light up the pages.” The book is recommended for ages 8 to 12. We will also be thrilled to welcome another local favorite, Megan Shepherd (The Cage, Madman’s Daughter) who will talk shop with Constance as part of the event.