Fall News from Empty Bowl Press
September 11, 2024
Dear Empty Bowl friends,
We hope you’re enjoying the last golden light of late summer days, wherever you are. Fall is in the wings here in the Northwest, bringing with its tumbling leaves the season of readings, as we come indoors and return to our chairs by the fire. We have a full slate of fall events to share so we’re checking in early—these readings will take place over the coming months.
We have several readings lined up for our latest release, Plum Blossom Wine, a bilingual collection of poems by Li Qingzhao, a female Chinese poet of the Song dynasty, translated by Sibyl James and Kang Xuepei.
September 14, 7 p.m. at the Friends Meetinghouse in Port Townsend.
September 22, 2-4 p.m. at the Seattle Chinese Garden in Seattle.
October 19, 2-4 p.m., reading & tea tasting at Seattle Fair Trade store in Seattle.
Sibyl James will provide background on Li Qingzhao, share her poems, and talk about the translation process. You can find more details on the Empty Bowl website.
Also in September, Anna Linzer, author of the powerful poetry collection Season Unleashed, will read and be in conversation with copublisher Holly J. Hughes as part of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art’s Curated Conversations series. Join us Monday, September 23, at 6 p.m. for a reception with the author, followed by the reading and conversation at 7 p.m. NOTE: You need to purchase tickets in advance. Click here for details.
You can read a review of Season Unleashed by Nina Burokas in Raven Chronicles.
Be Broken to Be Whole, a posthumous collection of work by Oregon poet Tom Crawford, was launched in August in Portland. Readings in two other communities where Crawford lived and wrote are scheduled this fall, thanks to his partner, Mary Judge, and good friend and poet, Gary Thompson. Please help spread the word if you have friends in these communities.
September 28, 6 p.m, Sacramento Poetry Center, 1719 25th St., Sacramento, CA. Hosted by Gary Thompson with readings by Tom’s friends and local poets.
October 20, 6 p.m., Collected Works Bookstore, 202 Gallisteo St., Santa Fe, NM. Hosted by Mary Judge with readings by local Santa Fe writers and actors.
As we announced in our last newsletter, we’re looking forward to releasing Andrew Schelling’s Forests, Temples, Glacial Rivers in November and are happy to report that he’ll be joining us in the Northwest in December for readings with other Empty Bowl authors:
Thursday, December 5, 7 p.m., at Seattle University with Sibyl James
Saturday December 7, 4 p.m., at The Friends Meetinghouse in Port Townsend with Tim McNulty
Meanwhile, the seventh and final issue of The Madrona Project--This Machine Is Made for Earth, edited by Michael Daley--is now out. A reading is planned for November 2, 2-4 p.m. at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner.
Michael & Holly are teaming up for a reading on Sunday, November 3, at 2 p.m., at Griffin Bay Bookstore in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. If you’re on the island that night, please join us!
MORE good news:
The Washington Center for the Book announced the finalists for the Washington State Book Award last week, and we’re thrilled that I Sing the Salmon Home is on the list! Congratulations to editor Rena Priest and to all the contributors. Empty Bowl author Tim McNulty’s book Salmon, Cedar, Rock, Rain, published by Braided River, was also nominated in the general nonfiction category. Winners will be announced on Sept. 24.
In other news:
The Skagit River Poetry Festival is coming up Oct. 3–5 in LaConner, and Empty Bowl will be there, as will several Empty Bowl authors: Tim McNulty, Michael Daley, and Holly J. Hughes. All will be giving readings and participating on panels. View the schedule here.
Empty Bowl will be part of the Finnriver Book Fair at Finnriver Farm & Cidery in Chimacum on Sunday, November 10, from 12-5 p.m., along with several other small local presses. We’ll be offering special discounts in anticipation of the holiday season in addition to short readings by local authors throughout the afternoon. Look for more information on our website as November draws closer.
Sending warm wishes as we turn the page on summer, settle into a comfortable chair, and return to the fire and the rich reading season ahead. May a few Empty Bowl books be in the stack that awaits you.
Holly & John