The WhatcomTalk Events Calendar shares things to do around Whatcom County including Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine and beyond. Find fun activities and adventures throughout the region on our comprehensive events calendar. Have an event that isn’t listed? Click the green “Post your Event” button and our editors will review and approve within two business days.
We’re thrilled to welcome local author M.E. Rostron back to the Readings Gallery to celebrate his newest book!
Conrad Slocum returns to Alaska to investigate a murder and a terrorist threat to cruise ships. His partner, Fish and Game officer Ray Standers, suspects Conrad killed two men as vengeance for the death of his son the year before. Fjord Land is a sequel to Cape Decision and The Kabul Conscript.
Author and musician M.E. Rostron was born and raised in Oregon, and lived for twenty-five years in Alaska. He moved to Whatcom County in 2002. Fjord Land is his fourth book. His website is mikerostron.com.
Join monastic nun and writer Kimberly Braun for a special event about transforming your life with purpose!
One simple YES can transform your life forever.
Discover the mesmerizing true story where a young Carmelite monastic nun finds herself at the center of an extraordinary project that inspired countless hearts to contribute their own gifts of heart, skill, time, and resources.
Unveil the secrets of grace, love, and insight as you witness Sister Annunciata’s (Kimberly Braun) life-changing journey filled with twists and turns. From a 17,000 square foot monastery rising with beauty and strength to the profound beauty of Consciousness taking form, this captivating story will challenge your perceptions and make you question what’s truly possible.
Kimberly Braun, impelled from earliest childhood experiences of live as a Love Affair, has spent over a decade as a monastic nun exploring the path of Presence. With a master’s in theology coupled with ordination, she lives to inspire others to connect to, and live from, Divine Love at their center. She is a TEDx speaker and former meditation faculty at the renowned Omega Institute. Kimberly’s communication skills ignite transformation on all levels serving others to lives of greater freedom and joy. She has served tens of thousands through her writing, speaking, retreats, online courses and community and has two new books in 2023.
Meet both the author & illustrator of The Twins and Kitty Pumpkin in Lynden for a reading and discussion!
The Twins and Kitty Pumpkin series by Laurie Noelle are children’s picture books with exciting stories to help kids (and their families) learn their human rights! Beautifully illustrated with catchy poetry; these books have a growing, enthusiastic reader response, and are bound to become collectors’ items…
Laurie Noelle is a poet from the Pacific Northwest who loves nature, animals and exploring. She has been creating poetry since she was eighteen years old. Having raised three beautiful daughters, Laurie never forgot the bedtime stories and how these encouraged growth and wisdom in her children’s formative years. One of her greatest joys has been to see her girls soar while finding their own unique brands of happiness! Here is one of Laurie’s poems summarizing the driving passion behind her joy of writing and sheds light on a meaningful purpose in her life. It is called “The Golden Circle.” Here it is:
Much rather would I write of daffodils and sunbeams
than of political bills and moody things.
All frivolity would you say? To that I respond with a cheery, “Nay!”
For my words are crafted, the spirit to cringe, to open its eyes to see.
They increase the pulse and purge the soul—my words can unbind and free!
With renewed vigor and firm resolve, we’ll improve life socially;
till comes about a better world—and then I’ll write more poetry!
In her early twenties, Sharon Beth photographed rock bands, musicians, models, and actors as her first foray into the world of artistic expression. Becoming frustrated with the limitations of photography, Sharon branched out into the creation of photo art and illustrations. For Sharon Beth, the meaningful translation of experiences or written words into inspiring illustrations or photo art, is always a transcendent source of satisfaction, and she hopes it is the same for the viewer as well. From the time she was seven years old and received a box-camera to play with, leading up to her present time career creating art in many forms, this has been her dream. “I love creating experiences that have impact on the viewer and make positive changes with how they approach life.” Her goal to help others in the most aesthetic ways possible has found its realization in this satisfying niche.
Join author Rustan Robertson for a reading of his new book, The Wages of Sin: The True Story & Photos of the Great Sedro-Woolley Bank Robbery of 1914
After the First National Bank in Sedro-Woolley was robbed of over $11,000 in gold in late 1914, the bandits escaped and led posses on a manhunt that extended north through Whatcom County and into British Columbia. The Wages of Sin chronicles the entirety of this fascinating story along with stunning photographs taken as the events unfolded.
Rustan Robertson was born and raised in Sedro-Woolley, and joined the Sedro-Woolley Museum board at the age of 13, working with a dedicated group of volunteers to create the city’s first museum in a 13,000 square feet facility.
In 1994, Rustan began researching the Great Sedro-Woolley Bank Robbery of 1914 in great detail, and spent the following three years conducting interviews, finding historical documents, and combing through newspaper archives. Following this, his research gathered dust until 2014, the year of the bank robbery’s 100th anniversary, when he partnered with the Sedro-Woolley Museum to publish a book on the topic, The Wages of Sin: The True Story & Photos of the Great Sedro-Woolley Bank Robbery of 1914. Rustan currently lives in Anacortes, WA with his wife, son and daughter.
Join Village Books in welcoming back Gail Noble-Sanderson for her next book in the Drew Davies Railway Mystery Series, A Cup of Revenge.
The war has ended and the residents of Mumbles and Swansea, Wales, are hoping 1947 brings with it reconstruction and an end to rationing. Spring heralds the arrival of a long-awaited new vicar, and a carriage full of characters from Ireland. Murder arrives on the train as well, and as Drew awaits the decision regarding a new position with the railway, her attention is once again focused on unraveling the threads of revenge and solving another murder. This is the second book in the award-winning Drew Davies Railway Mystery Series.
Throughout her career as a Speech-Language Pathologist, Gail wrote and published instructional programs for children with special needs. Twelve years ago, she turned her love of writing to fiction, completing the three award-winning historical fiction novels in her Lavender Meuse Trilogy series. She is currently writing a cozy mystery series set in Southern Wales. A Cup of Revenge is Gail’s second book in her award-winning Drew Davies Railway Mystery Series. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest and self-publishes through her publishing house, Noble Press.
In another excellent installment of the Nature of Writing with the North Cascades Institute, Robert Dash will share his book Food Planet Future.
Food Planet Future takes the reader on an extraordinary visual tour of everyday foods and in the process, connects us more deeply to the world we help to shape. It draws upon art, research, and innovative practices to reimagine the tangled crises of food security, climate change, and biodiversity loss. Food Planet Future evokes awe and wonder and inspires action taken on our Earth’s behalf.
An award-winning author, photographer, and career science educator, Robert Dash features small subjects with large stories about climate and biodiversity. His work has been published by TIME, Geographical, Lenswork, and National Geographic (Growing a Greener Feast, 2022). Dash’s images have appeared in galleries and juried shows in the US and overseas; his traveling exhibition and new book are titled Food Planet Future.
Join psychologist and writer Vanya Leilani in the Readings Gallery for an eye-opening discussion about the mythology of Eve!
During a time when unruly questions were disrupting her devotion to the religion of her youth, the author encountered Eve—not the literalized Eve that has for so long been a stand in for every (fallen and guilty) Woman and served as justification for horrific social injustices, but the mythic and archetypal Eve that shows us something about our deep lives. In the shadows of her questions, Vanya met the Eve that transgressed and became like the gods: sovereign and knowing.
Vanya remembers the story of Eve in the Garden of Eden, not only exposing the harmful ways it has been used, but more importantly, uncovering what is hidden in this story: the goddess in the garden along with her ways of being and knowing. Part mythological exploration, part cultural commentary, and part personal memoir, this book delves into the shadow this story has cast and, in that shadow, finds ways of being and knowing that have long been exiled in patriarchal consciousness. The original transgression, that has for so long been used as proof of our fallenness and depravity, emerges as a powerful creative act toward freedom, knowing, and sovereignty.
The Flesh and the Fruit is an invitation for us to learn to live more freely in our nature, to believe in our beauty and inherent worth rather than in a poisonous tale of our fallenness and depravity, and to challenge the hierarchical systems of power over that sever us from ourselves, from each other, and from the Earth. It is an invitation for us to step into the center of our own circles and to live from our own wild knowing.
Vanya Leilani is a depth psychologist, writer, teacher, and storyteller. She holds a PhD in Depth Psychology. She has completed a certificate training with Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes and has served as adjunct professor at Pacifica Graduate Institute. Originally from Brazil, Vanya lives in the Pacific Northwest of the US.
Join award-winning Seattle chef Renee Erickson for a special Chuckanut Radio Hour celebrating her new creatively-inspired cookbook, Sunlight & Breadcrumbs!
Doors open and music begins at 6:30pm. This event is taking place in the Odd Fellows Temple Room at the Orion! https://www.instagram.com/oddfellowstempleroom
Spaces are limited and REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED to secure your spot so don’t delay.
Musical guest: Tracy Spring
Interviewer: Sarah Murphy-Kangas
After more than 25 years running her renowned restaurants, Erickson is reconnecting with the artistic intuition that has been key to her success in this deeply personal new book. Showcasing Erickson’s own paintings and photographs, Sunlight & Breadcrumbs features more than 100 recipes born out of the spirit of creativity, while encouraging and guiding readers to trust their own creative impulses while cooking.
Renee Erickson is a James Beard award-winning chef, author, and co-owner of multiple properties in Seattle, Washington: The Walrus and the Carpenter, The Whale Wins, Barnacle, Boat Bar, Bateau, Lioness, Deep Dive, Willmott’s Ghost, Westward, and several General Porpoise Doughnuts and Coffee locations.
As a Seattle native (well, Woodinville to be exact), Renee’s restaurants highlight the bounty of the Pacific Northwest with a European sensibility. Bon Appetit Magazine has compared her to M.F.K. Fisher, Elizabeth David, and Julia Child. Renee Erickson’s food, casual style, and appreciation of simple beauty is an inspiration to her staff and guests in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Dedicated to creating an environment that not only nourishes the body, but feeds the soul, her restaurant design work with business partner Jeremy Price, Price Erickson, have received national press and attention.
In 2014 she published her first cookbook “A Boat, a Whale and a Walrus” to critical acclaim, finding itself on top reading lists while winning a 2015 PNBA book award – the first for a cookbook.
Her second book “Getaway” Food and Drink to Transport You, released in April 2021. GETAWAY invites you on a culinary journey via her favorite places in the world—Rome, Paris, Normandy, Baja California, London, and her hometown, Seattle. Equally aspirational travelogue and practical guide to cooking at home, the book offers 120 recipes and 60 cocktail recipes for simple meals that evoke the dreamiest places and cuisines.
Renee graduated from the University of Washington with a BFA and currently serves on the board at UW’s School of Art + Art History + Design. She lives in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood with her husband Dan, KittyB, and her pooch Bowie.
Sarah Murphy-Kangas was born and raised in Bellingham and came back 13 years ago, as so many of us do. She lives on Alabama Hill with her family and works with leaders, groups, and organizations to help them work more joyfully and productively together. She is a huge fan of Village Books, and a reader, writer, tree-lover, all-season outdoor swimmer, and cook.
Long time performing songwriter Tracy Spring is known for her well-crafted songs about the human condition, rich, compelling vocals, and versatile guitar playing. Based in Bellingham, she’s played in folk venues and festivals throughout North America and Australia for over four decades, often combining her musical life with social justice work.
Some of the songs she’ll play as featured musician for the Chuckanut Radio Hour are from her lyric-based Grandmother Tales series of children’s books. Grandmother Tales tell uplifting stories of kindness, courage, and caring for each other and our beautiful Earth. She’ll be joined by local musician/illustrator Bob Paltrow for “Love Doesn’t Care Who You Love,” coming soon to Village Books!
The Chuckanut Radio Hour, a recipient of Bellingham’s prestigious Mayor’s Arts Award, is a radio variety show that began in January 2007. Each Chuckanut Radio Hour includes guest authors, musicians, performance poet Kevin Murphy, and episodes of “As the Ham Turns” serial radio comedy performed by the Chuckanut Radio Players Les Campbell, Tonja Meyers, Lisa Colburn, Dee Robinson, Sarah Hawley, and Robert Muzzy. Not to mention groaner jokes by hosts Paul Hanson, Kelly Evert, and announcer Rich Donnelly. The Chuckanut Radio Hour’s first guest was Erik Larson and has since included, Tom Robbins, Maria Semple, Christopher McDougall, Erica Bauermeister, and Garrison Keillor, among many others. Tickets for the Chuckanut Radio Hour are $5 and are available on Eventbrite.The Radio Hour airs Sundays at 7pm on Community Powered KMRE at 88.3FM and kmre.org. Co-sponsored by 12th Street Shoes.
*Online registration closes two hours prior to the event. Tickets may be available at the door.
Join the Whatcom Literacy Council for our annual fundraiser as we hear author and NPR commentator Nancy Pearl’s book recommendations for the year. All proceeds go to support our free adult literacy programs.
Join author Linda Lockwood in the Readings Gallery for a special reading of her new book, Sky Ranch.
A deeply moving modern western memoir where a young ranch girl comes of age, learning to navigate life’s challenges, including bucking horses, deadly rattlesnakes, livestock predators, and the tragic mental illness of her mother. After her mother’s suicide, she is driven to seek answers at the mental institution that treated her mother.
Linda M. Lockwood lived and worked on an isolated heat, sheep, and cattle ranch in rural North Central Washington from the age of eight. After earning an MA in Economics, she made her career in health care research and energy cohservaton program design. She lives in Seattle and still misses her Arabian horses.
Join us for a story about the world’s most famous vampire, a curious cat, and one very smart spider in Erin Deinzer’s new book, Dracula’s Vampire Kitty, in the Readings Gallery.
If you’ve ever yearned for the experience of traveling to a distant land, hoped to make a new friend, or wanted to learn about one of the amazing animals in our world, step inside the pages of this book and join Dracula on his quest to find the elusive Vampire Kitty.
Written in the tradition of Room on the Broom, Dracula’s Vampire Kitty is a tale meant to be shared over-and-over again—but especially at Halloween!
Erin Deinzer is a local, professional writer who lives on Lummi Island with her husband, an adopted dog, and one curious cat. A lifelong fan of the vampire legend, she also enjoys the fun and clever ways vampire lore has been used to entertain and educate children.
Please join Wildhaven Writers as we share poetry and stories concerning women’s issues such as abortion care, reproductive freedom, and motherhood. Alicia Rule, Washington State Representative, and Lucia Pearson, Assistant Director of Student Health Services at WWU, will speak about relevant legislative issues and reproductive health issues confronting young women. The Mildreds will add humorous feminist songs to the evening’s program
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The Wildhaven Writers—Nancy Canyon, Leslie Wharton, Suzanne Harris, Courtney Kendall, Amy Alice, and Katie Dexter—will read new pieces and work from their book,
Women’s Bodies, Women’s Words: https://www.villagebooks.com/book/9798988619406
Let’s gather in community for pre-election excitement, optimism, and connection!
Suggested donation $10. All profits benefit Planned Parenthood.
Village Books, in collaboration with Bellingham author Glen Hirshberg, presents the first in a new semi-annual series of special live reading events showcasing some of the best in contemporary literary dark and speculative fiction…
Deep in the City of Subdued Excitement (and newly crowned Least Sunny Spot in the U.S.), under cover of the mist blowing in off the bay and out of the old-growth forests, something is stirring. Village Books, in collaboration with Shirley Jackson Award-winning Bellingham author Glen Hirshberg, presents Dark North, a new semi-annual reading series showcasing some of the best in contemporary speculative fiction. Expect low light, good company, and tales suffused with dread worth treasuring and sharing. Debut show October 26th.
Glen Hirshberg’s novels include The Snowman’s Children, Infinity Dreams, The Book of Bunk, and the Motherless Children trilogy. He is also the author of six widely praised story collections, the most recent of which is Tell Me When I Disappear. His fiction has earned him three International Horror Guild Awards (including two for Outstanding Collection), five World Fantasy Award finalist nominations, and the Shirley Jackson Award. He lives in Bellingham with his family and cats.
From the Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of Infinity Dreams, an elegiac new collection of tales about what we’re losing. And what that will cost. And what might be circling back for us.
“Hirshberg is an amazing writer…grandly sweeping, capable of tremendous reach, and open to all aspects of human experience.”—Peter Straub
Peter Atkins is the author of the novels Morningstar, Big Thunder, and Moontown and the screenplays Hellraiser II, Hellraiser III, Hellraiser IV, and Wishmaster. His short fiction has appeared in several award-winning anthologies and has been selected eight times for one or more of the various “Year’s Best” books. His newest book is the story collection All Our Hearts Are Ghosts. His previous collection, Rumors of the Marvelous, was a finalist for the British Fantasy Award. He can be found on Facebook under his own name and on Twitter and Instagram as @limeybastard55.
From award-nominated and critically-acclaimed author Peter Atkins comes a new collection of exquisitely rendered nightmares. What is that unearthly howling coming from a small suburban house in Liverpool? Why is the headless corpse in a Manhattan penthouse sitting so calmly with its legs crossed? What’s with that unusual trinket a high-schooler bought on a whim, and why is an agent of a covert government department so interested? The answers to these and other unsettling questions await you within the pages of the extraordinary All Our Hearts Are Ghosts.
“One of the smartest, sharpest writers around” – Neil Gaiman
Kate Maruyama writes, teaches, edits, cooks, and eats in Los Angeles.
She is a member of the SFWA and the HWA where she serves on the Diverse Works Inclusion Committee, where she helps edit The Seers’ Table. She has served as a juror for the Bram Stoker Awards and twice for the Shirley Jackson Awards. She is currently serving on the working board of Women Who Submit.
The Selected Papers for the Study of Anomalous Phenomena is pleased to present two tales of family misadventures penned by Kate Maruyama. These compelling explorations of dark family secrets fearlessly delve into some of today’s most relevant and troubling issues. In Safer, Maruyama explores what parents will do for a child, and what happens to outsiders in unsafe houses, while Family Solstice addresses the dangers of tradition, inheritance and the sins of the father.
Join local author Steve Hodel–former homicide detective, and son of the alleged Black Dahlia murderer–as he shares his decades-long investigative work into the case.
In 1947, the sadistic murder of a beautiful young woman led to the largest manhunt in LA history. The killer taunted the police and the public, but his identity remained a mystery. Until now… A spellbinding tour de force of true-crime writing, this newly revised edition includes never-before- published forensic evidence and photographs, definitively closing the case that has often been called “the most notorious unsolved murder of the twentieth century.”
Steve Hodel is a New York Times bestselling author. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he spent twenty-four years with the LAPD, where, as a homicide detective, he worked on more than three hundred murder cases and achieved one of the highest “solve rates” on the force. He is a licensed PI and author, and his first book, Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder, was a New York Times bestseller and was nominated for an MWA Edgar Award in the Best Fact category. His investigations, spanning over two decades, have been featured on NBC Dateline, CBS 48 Hours, Court TV, A&E Bill Kurtis, Cold Case Files, CNN Anderson Cooper, and the Discovery Channel. In March 2019, Steve appeared on the Today Show and Dr. Phil, where he, with other family members, discussed the making of the hit podcast Root of Evil: The True Story of the Hodel Family and the Black Dahlia Murder. Steve in November 2021 relocated back to Whatcom County and now resides in Birch Bay, Washington.
Join Village Books and Cardhaven Games in welcoming Adam Lee as he shares Worlds & Realms!
After the event, Cardhaven will be running games at their store in McKenzie Alley to keep the party going!
In time for D&D’s 50th anniversary, Worlds & Realms: Adventures from Greyhawk to Faerûn and Beyond by Adam Lee is an immersive exploration of fifty years of Dungeons & Dragons through the art and lore of the worlds, planes, and settings that have captivated players throughout D&D’s decades of adventures and campaign storytelling. Each chapter of this sumptuously illustrated guide focuses on an iconic world or setting in the D&D multiverse, narrated by legendary mage Mordenkainen and filled with official artwork curated from fifty years of source books and adventures.
Mordenkainen muses on each location’s unique features, unmistakable characters, and magical mysteries based on his experiences traveling across the planes. Written by Adam Lee, worldbuilding expert and former D&D game designer, this lavish tome also features original cover and chapter opener illustrations. Daily life in each world is creatively explored through exclusive stories penned by Jasmine Bhullar, Geoffrey Golden, Jody Houser and Eric Campbell, and Jaleigh Johnson.
From the more familiar worlds of the Material Plane to the strange and intriguing Parallel Planes, and the truly mind-bending worlds and planes beyond, both longstanding and recent D&D fans will gain new perspectives on the most beloved and memorable places in the game.
“Worlds & Realms is a masterwork of in-universe storytelling and organic worldbuilding that narratively unifies the D&D multiverse for the first time in its history. It is for everyone who skips the stats and tables to devour the narrative details of the campaign setting and the legendary heroes who define them.” —Wil Wheaton
“This incredible journey through the fantastical realms that inspired countless tables to roll dice together is both an educational and a visual treat! A wonderful collection that marries the history of the game with in-world stories and gorgeous art to present a unique and wondrous new way to engage, or re-engage, these worlds. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” —Matt Mercer
Adam Lee worked for Wizards of the Coast for more than a decade creating worlds and adventures for Dungeons & Dragons and Magic the Gathering. He now works as a story consultant, world-builder, and creative writer for Mysterious Alchemy, an IP development company that he cofounded with fellow creative and friend Ari Levitch. He is also the author of two tarot booklets and has been a tarot reader for most of his life. When he’s not writing books and adventures, he’s adventuring in the real world exploring the beauty of nature and consciousness.
Local librarian, artist, and author Brooke Pederson is going to share the art and craft of paper-cutting in tandem with the release of her book Story Snowflakes – don’t miss this amazing family holiday experience, plus a live demonstration!
Immerse yourself in the visual intricacies of Brooke Pederson’s story snowflakes. Learn how to read the uniquely designed hand-cut paper stories while you reacquaint yourself with the original fairy tales. The seven stories illustrated are Little Red-Cap, Hansel & Gretel, Briar Rose, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Jack & the Beanstalk, and East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Meet your fairy tale favorites anew, puzzling out their papercut patterns. Entertain all ages with these visual stories and look for more of Pederson’s story snowflakes in the years to come.
Brooke Pederson enjoys being a librarian in the Pacific Northwest. She has been honing her papercraft artistry since childhood, perfecting the patient art of storytelling with scissors. In addition to art and reading (in all its forms), she loves family time and beachcombing for rocks naturally engraved with question marks.
Experience Bellingham through poetry.
Presented by the Salish Sea Poetry Festival, this fun “crawl” of four local Sunnyland hangouts connects poets and poetry groups with each other and the community.
Enjoy spoken poetry in a public house setting and taste local fare. Meet regional writers and learn about the groups that support them. Network at the meet and greet, and then explore each stop with featured poets from the local writing groups below.
FOUR LOCATIONS, ONE NEIGHBORHOOD
1pm Greens Corner | 2208 James Street – Meet & Greet
2pm Kulshan Brewing Sunnyland | 2238 James St – Chuckanut Sandstone Writers Theater
3pm Otherlands Beer | 2121 Humboldt St. – Red Wheelbarrow Writers
4pm El Suenito Brewing Company | 1926 Humboldt St – SpeakEasy
Join Village Books in welcoming global lecturer, educator, and author Kelly Goto for a discussion on her new book, Seattle Samurai: A Cartoonist’s Perspective of the Japanese American Experience.
Sam Goto created the character Samurai Shigeru in the comic strip “Seattle Tomodachi,” telling the stories of the first Japanese immigrants and their descendants in the Pacific Northwest. His comics blend Japanese culture and tradition with his own experiences of balancing the samurai values of loyalty, honor, and honesty while pursuing the American dream. Author Kelly Goto pays tribute to her father’s artistic legacy by weaving his illustrations of history, family, and culture into an accessible narrative. For Kelly, compiling this work has been a journey of reconnecting with her cultural heritage and identity, culminating in a true coming home.
Kelly Goto is a global lecturer, educator, and author of the industry classic “Web Redesign 2.0: Workflow That Works.” She currently leads gotomedia, a global leader in research-driven strategy and solutions for digital products and connected experiences. Kelly aims to simplify content for the tech-addicted new generation, hoping that stories of culture, history, and wisdom will be better understood. After three decades away, she returned to Seattle in 2020 and now lives in her childhood home with her energetic 85-year-old mother, Dee, her two teenage daughters, and a playful Bernedoodle named Suki.
Join Village Books and North Cascades Institute in this bonus Nature of Writing event with Jon Waterman!
Into the Thaw alternates between adventure and wilderness memoir, side-noted with scholarly research into climate change and natural history. Waterman recounts encounters with bears, enduring weeks alone amidst swarms of mosquitoes, and witnessing phenomena like the Greening of the Arctic, teardrop-shaped landslides (thermokarsts) caused by thawing permafrost, and an increasing loss of sea ice as he travels along the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The book features 78 stunning color photographs and a half dozen detailed maps. Complimentary Reader’s and Teacher’s Guides, as well as an interactive story map, will be available at Patagonia.com.
With humor and humility, Waterman not only shows how climate change has impacted the land, sea, and animals, but also the kindhearted, welcoming Inuit people. Most affected by a crisis that has heated up the Arctic several times faster than the rest of the world, the ever-resilient villagers share how their age-old culture has attempted to cope with “the thaw.” Waterman paints an intimate portrait of the North—with its treasured parklands—because “it’s high time that we truly understand the Arctic,” he writes, “lest we forget what it once was.”
Despite the unfolding climate crisis, Into the Thaw is a book about wonder—and through one man’s life-changing experiences in the wilderness—the narrative ends with a message of hope, urging actionable steps to mitigate further thawing and preserve the Arctic’s extraordinary biodiversity and cultural heritage.
Jon Waterman has also worked as a director of a small press, an editor, a naturalist, and a wilderness guide. Among his many publications, Jon’s work has often appeared in The New York Times, Outside, Men’s Journal, Adventure, Climbing, and Sailing World. His 17 books include In the Shadow of Denali, Kayaking the Vermilion Sea, and Running Dry; he is a frequent grantee of the National Geographic Society. By taking risks and tackling difficult issues, his work transcends traditional outdoor yarns and has garnered numerous awards, including a Literary Fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts, three Best Adventure Book Awards from the Banff Book Festival, a National Park Service Special Achievement Award, and the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award. He lives in Carbondale, Colorado.You can find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jonathan.waterman.96 or on Instagram at @waterman_jonathan.
North Cascades Institute envisions healthy Northwest ecosystems where all communities and species thrive. Our mission is to inspire environmental stewardship through transformative learning experiences in nature. Since 1986, we have helped connect people, nature and community through the hands-on study of the natural and cultural history of the Pacific Northwest.
Since 2006, Christian Martin has served as the lead writer and editor for Institute print and online media, the contact for media inquiries and organizer of many of the Institute’s community events. In the past, he has been the features editor for the Bellingham Weekly, an English instructor at Whatcom Community College, backcountry host on the Snake River in Jackson Hole and a field educator in Alaska. Christian’s freelance writing work can be found in publications throughout the Pacific Northwest and he is a contributing author to The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby. He loves to take road trips, make soup, hike, read, observe birds, paddle the Salish Sea, practice yoga, serve traditional oolong tea and explore the lands and history of the Vikings.
In the underground Fae realm, only the strongest and most ruthless have power—but a young human woman forced into a life of servitude is about to change everything.
Kenna Heron is best known in her village for being a little wild—some say half feral—but she’ll need every ounce of that ferocity to survive captivity in the cruel Fae court.
Trapped as a servant in the faeries’ underground kingdom of Mistei, Kenna must help her new mistress undertake six deadly trials, one for each branch of magic: Fire, Earth, Light, Void, Illusion, and Blood. If she succeeds, her mistress will gain immortality and become the heir to Earth House. If she doesn’t, the punishment is death—for both mistress and servant.
With no ally but a sentient dagger of mysterious origins, Kenna must face monsters, magic, and grueling physical tests. But worse dangers wait underground, and soon Kenna gets caught up in a secret rebellion against the inventively sadistic faerie king. When her feelings for the rebellion’s leader turn passionate, Kenna must decide if she’s willing to risk her life for a better world and a chance at happiness.
Surviving the trials and overthrowing a tyrant king will take cunning, courage, and an iron will… but even that may not be enough.
Sarah Hawley is the author of A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon, A Demon’s Guide to Wooing a Witch, and A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire. She has a master’s degree in archaeology and has excavated at an Inca site in Chile, a Bronze Age palace in Turkey, and a medieval abbey in England. When not dreaming up whimsical love stories, she can be found reading, dancing, or cuddling her two cats.
USA Today bestselling author Jo Segura lives in the Pacific Northwest with her doggo, who vies for her attention with his sweet puppy dog eyes whenever she’s trying to write. Her stories feature strong, passionate heroines and draw upon aspects of her life, such as her Mexican heritage and her fascination with archaeology. When she’s not writing you can find her practicing law, shaking up a mean cocktail, or sitting out on the patio doing Buzzfeed quizzes (though she doesn’t care what the chicken nugget quiz said–her favorite fruit is not banana).
Join award-winning poet Caitlin Roach with local poet and memoirist Jane Wong to celebrate Roach’s debut collection of poems, Surveille!
Surveille’s queer speaker is on the cusp of motherhood, vacillating between attentiveness and paranoia. Exploring drone strikes, scorpion eradication, bird behavior, mating deer, ICE detainees, and family relationships, Caitlin Roach’s poems stare into and through the truth with a blazing intensity. This is a book about control (self-inflicted and external), about watching and being watched (by oneself, by others, by the state), and about the desperate search for meaning in a world that feels increasingly violent and filled with despair.
Caitlin Roach is a poet originally from San Diego, California. Her poems appear in Best New Poets (2023, 2021, and 2017), Narrative Magazine, Tin House, The Iowa Review, jubilat, Poetry Daily, Colorado Review, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere. She earned an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was the Provost Fellow and a Postgraduate Fellow. A three-time National Poetry Series finalist, she lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, the essayist José Orduña, and their two sons. More can be found at caitlinroach.com.
Jane Wong is the author of the memoir Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City (Tin House, 2023). She also wrote two poetry collections: How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James, 2021) and Overpour (Action Books, 2016). A Kundiman fellow, she is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and fellowships and residencies from the U.S. Fulbright Program, Harvard’s Woodberry Poetry Room, Artist Trust, Hedgebrook, UCross, Loghaven, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and others. An interdisciplinary artist as well, she has exhibited her poetry installations and performances at the Frye Art Museum, Richmond Art Gallery, and the Asian Art Museum. She grew up in a take-out restaurant on the Jersey shore and is an Associate Professor at Western Washington University. Find her on Instagram @paradeofcats.
Join Village Books and the North Cascades Institute for an evening of music, stories, and fun with writer, editor, producer, and fisherman Steve Duda!
Doors open and music begins at 6:30pm.
Interviewer and Musical Guest: Andy Bunn
Spaces are limited and REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED to secure your spot so don’t delay.
River Songs is rich with bracing, authentic, generous stories–writing that revels in language and spirit.
Avoiding most of fly fishing’s clichés–the romantic elegies, the Moby-Dick-like conquests, the play-by-play detailing a “victory” over a fish–Steve Duda instead offers pieces that breathe lived experience, reveal vulnerabilities, and convey a broad perspective of what it means to have “a long run with a tight crew.” Duda is interested in what has been learned out there on the river: what is it about this “ridiculous activity” that connects us to this planet, makes us human, gives us hope?
River Songs focuses on the in-between moments and the unexpected revelations–awe, fear, frustration, doubt, joy–that are as much a part of fishing as tying knots and chucking flies. Readers ride along with Duda in battered pickup trucks, fish “between jobs,” look longingly at unfished famous rivers while touring with a country-punk band, and wonder how a fishing trip led to getting a tooth pulled while being surrounded by trash-talking friends. They will find beauty, discovery, heartbreak, good dogs, and the wonder of nature within the expanse of Northwest landscapes and beyond.
Steve Duda is a writer, editor, and producer whose work in film, magazines, books, and live appearances has shaped the voice of fly fishing for over three decades. He is the former editor of The Flyfish Journal and a founding editor at Boise Weekly. Steve’s cultural writing has been featured in Rolling Stone, Huffington Post, Seattle Weekly, MTV, San Francisco Bay Guardian, The Fretboard Journal, and many others. Currently, Steve is Head of Fish Tales at Patagonia, guiding the brand’s fly fish activism and storytelling through film, video, web, social media, and more. He lives in Seattle with his partner and a semi-feral feline/raccoon hybrid.
Andy Bunn is a songwriter living in Bellingham WA who writes character-focused songs. Some stick mostly to the facts and some are tall tales. They feel real to him and that’s enough. Andy co-hosts the Neighborhood Songwriter Showcase and plays in the High Mountain String Band. Find his stuff on Bandcamp here!
The Chuckanut Radio Hour, a recipient of Bellingham’s prestigious Mayor’s Arts Award, is a radio variety show that began in January 2007. Each Chuckanut Radio Hour includes guest authors, musicians, performance poet Kevin Murphy, and episodes of “As the Ham Turns” serial radio comedy performed by the Chuckanut Radio Players Les Campbell, Tonja Meyers, Lisa Colburn, Dee Robinson, Sarah Hawley, and Robert Muzzy. Not to mention groaner jokes by hosts Paul Hanson, Kelly Evert, and announcer Rich Donnelly. The Chuckanut Radio Hour’s first guest was Erik Larson and has since included, Tom Robbins, Maria Semple, Christopher McDougall, Erica Bauermeister, and Garrison Keillor, among many others. Tickets for the Chuckanut Radio Hour are $5 and are available on Eventbrite.The Radio Hour airs Sundays at 7pm on Community Powered KMRE at 88.3FM and kmre.org. Co-sponsored by 12th Street Shoes.
*Online registration closes two hours prior to the event. Tickets may be available at the door.
Join local author Elaine Miller Bond in the Readings Gallery for this free family event!
Amidst a stunning and remote landscape of mountains and desert, THE PUPFISH HERO is the true story of a quick-thinking, young scientist, Edwin “Phil” Pister, who saved an entire species of fish using two five-gallon buckets! Read along to learn about the Owens pupfish, their brush with extinction, their desert oasis, and what it takes to be a fishery biologist.
Elaine Miller Bond is the author of THE PUPFISH HERO, a picture book biography of courageous and compassionate biologist, Edwin “Phil” Pister. She is the author and photographer of WILD COLORS OF THE WEST, RUNNING WILD, and LIVING WILD, fun kids’ board books that celebrate wildlife and wild places. She photographed THE UTAH PRAIRIE DOG, a scientific book by Dr. Theodore Manno. Her photographs have appeared on Discovery Channel Canada and publishing credits include Science, BBC Earth News, The American Naturalist, Scholastic (My Big World with Clifford), and Bay Nature Magazine. She got her start as Senior Science Writer for the University of California Natural Reserve System. Bond grew up far from pupfish, near Berkeley, California, and recently, moved to wildly inspiring Bellingham, Washington, where five Pacific salmon species have been documented running through town.
Although author Linda Lappin lives in Italy, we’re thrilled to be celebrating her newest novel The Etruscan with a dramatic reading by two Bellinghamsters! Don’t miss this amazing event! The author will join us on Zoom, followed by a fifteen-minute reading with Lauren and Rich.
In Lappin’s prize-winning, literary gothic tale, the tantalizing love story between American heroine Harriet Sackett and the enigmatic Count Federigo, self-proclaimed Etruscan spirit, is played out in 1922 against the backdrop of eerie Etruscan tombs, boar-infested woods, and elegant Tuscan villas. The mystery at the heart of Harriet’s experience draws the reader on: who is Federigo del Re? Noble lover, unscrupulous conman, Etruscan ghost, village shaman, or simply the product of Harriet’s delusion? Lappin keeps the suspense pulled taut till the very last page.
A former Fulbright scholar to Italy, Linda Lappin has lived mainly in Rome and Tuscia for over thirty years. In 2023, Pleasure Boat Studio published a deluxe, illustrated, paperback edition of Signatures in Stone to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Bomarzo Park of Monsters. The 2024 publication of The Etruscan by Pleasure Boat Studio is the first U.S. print edition of this book and the first paperback edition in any country. The author is at work on volume 3 of her Tuscia trilogy—Melusine—set in the area of Lake Bolsena, and featuring Daphne DuBlanc, heroine of Signatures in Stone. Her website is www.lindalappin.net. Follow her on Substack at LL in Italy https://lindalappin.substack.com/ Instagram @linda_lappin_author
Lauren Grosskopf is a native Seattleite. She has been the publisher of Pleasure Boat Studio: A Nonprofit Literary Press since 2017. She creates book and cover designs for Pleasure Boat, as well as for other authors and some covers for Empty Bowl Press. She enjoys this work, occasionally making art and hanging with her 13 year old daughter, Maude and other friends and family.
Richard Simon is an adjunct literary professor at Fairhaven and has been a music journalist for Rolling Stone in the past.
Join us for an extra special Tuesday Story Time (and a craft!) with author Mary Boone!*
*This story time will be held in the Readings Gallery, rather than the kids’ section!
We’ll color fish scales and faces, then attach crepe paper streamers, before turning our artwork into a salmon-themed windsock.
Emmy and her classmates raise salmon from eggs to the fry stage. The students learn about salmon in science class, paint colored fish cutouts in art class, play a predator-prey game in gym, make a list of descriptive words in the writing nook, spend time in the library reading about salmon’s significance to Indigenous peoples, and, in math class, figure out how far the average salmon might swim over the course of its life. As the weeks go by, the alevin hatch and eventually turn into fry. The students care for the fish by recording water temperatures, feeding the fry, and testing for water quality. Soon it’s time for Salmon Release Day. Emma and her classmates travel to a stream, inspect water samples, learn about invasive species, and practice casting and reeling fishing lines. Lastly, they name their fry, wish them well, and send them on their way.
Mary Boone has hung out backstage with a boy band, DNA-tested salmon, and baked dozens of cricket cookies – all in the interest of research for her books and magazine articles. She’s written 70+ nonfiction books for young readers. Her newest picture book, SCHOOL OF FISH, is about a group of students who work together to raise salmon to release into the wild. Mary lives in Tacoma, where she enjoys being outdoors, reading, and hanging out with her very stubborn Airedale Terrier, Ruthie Bader.
