A note from Daniel. To tie in with our earlier email about books fighting racism, we focused more on nonfiction titles. But we know you read a lot of fiction too, so here are some titles that have gotten recent acclaim, many of which have staff recommendations from Boswell Booksellers (like Everywhere You Don't Belong - more info below). And for this feature, we're going to do something different. We're not going to link to Boswell, but instead ask you to consider buying from a black-owned bookstore.

While Milwaukee had a long history of African American bookstores, we currently have a hole in our market with the closing of Reader's Choice, which was run by the knowledgeable book lover Carla Allison. I have talked to someone who has a grant to open a store in Milwaukee - we'll keep you posted on that development. Meanwhile, there are some great stores around the country you can support.

The Lambda Literary Awards were recently announced, and this tied into a discussion we had about how pride comes in all colors. Several books I enjoyed received top honors. In the lesbian fiction category, the winner was Patsy, the second novel from Nicole Dennis-Benn, about a woman who moves from Jamaica to New York to follow her lover (doesn't go well), but in the process leaves her daughter behind. Patsy, just released in paperback, is sort of a bookend to Dennis-Benn's first novel, Here Comes the Sun, which featured an anti-heroine who nonetheless would do anything for her younger sister. On the other hand, it's hard not to fall in love with Patsy, except for that parenting blind spot.

I also recently read Lot, the winner of the gay fiction category. It's a collection of stories that are often focused on a young protagonist, child of a Latinx mother and a Black father, working at the family restaurant, and, as the publisher notes, "weathering his brother's blows, resenting his older sister's absence. And discovering he likes boys." I was convinced to read the book after hearing Washington on NPR, where he's talked a lot about Houston, which is almost a character in the collection. It was also recommended to me by fellow bookseller Jen. We're so looking forward to Memorial, Washington's first novel which comes out in October. Jacqueline Woodson has called it "a  true page-turner," noting "Bryan Washington is a great writer and I love the story he tells here."

Parker and I were talking about the great LGBTQ memoirs by folks of color, and I told them about How We Fight for Our Lives, by Saeed Jones, which won the Lambda award for gay memoir/biography. The publisher notes the author chronicles Jones's life as a young Black gay man as "he fights to carve out a place for himself, within his family, within his country, within his own hopes, desires, and fears." I was fascinated by how Jones navigated his identity with his mom, a Buddhist, and his grandmother, a traditional Christian. There's not too much about Jones's childhood life with his mom, and I would definitely read another memoir that focused on that clearly intense relationship.

When I attend the Winter Institute conference, I try to say hello to Janet Webster Jones, the proprietor of Source Booksellers in Detroit. Their website has a limited selection of titles to order, and I should note that they can also take orders over the phone at (313) 832-1155. We had a nice conversation about August Snow, the wonderful mystery series by Stephen Mack Jones featuring the eponymous hero. Looking forward to the third novel! I should also note that I've recently enjoyed several novels set in small-town Michigan with African American protagonists, notably Megan Giddings's Lakewood and Jeni McFarland's The House of Deep Water, both recently interviewed by Dasha Kelly Hamilton in a virtual event.  You can watch it here.

Semicolon is a black-owned bookstore and gallery space in Chicago that our friends at Women and Children First are recommending. I haven't yet finished it, but I've been looking forward to the Chicago-set Saving Ruby King, a novel by Catherine Adel West that comes out on June 16 - I had been hoping to convince the author to drive up to Milwaukee in pre-COVID times. Publishers Weekly noted that " West's ambitious, keenly observant debut follows two friends growing up on Chicago's South Side, where the cycle of domestic violence repeats over generations." I am also still advocating for Gabriel Bump's Everywhere You Don't Belong. A virtual event with Bump is still a possiblilty. Hope you tune in.

And finally, how can I forget Loyalty Bookstore in Washington DC? Hannah Oliver Depp's been a leader in diversity issues in bookselling and her Silver Spring location is close to where my nephew and niece live. I visited the store after our Winter Institute conference, but it was closed for renovation. Fortunately Depp's business partner recognized me from a seminar we were both at and gave me a private tour - can't wait to return with my family when it's open and I'm traveling again. I am intrigued by their June 10 virtual event with Bethany C Morrow for A Song Below Water, a modern fantasy "about black mermaids, friendship, and self-discovery set against the challenges of today's racism and sexism." RSVP here. 

Join Alliance Française and Boswell for an Evening in 1920s Paris with Alex George

 

It's a pleasure to announce that on Tuesday, June 9, 7 pm, we will host a virtual event with Alex George, author of  The Paris Hours, a dazzling new novel that will transport you to a single day in Paris in 1927, a place you'll be reluctant to leave. George will be in conversation with Boswell Book Company's Daniel Goldin. This event cosponsored by our friends at the  Alliance Française de Milwaukee.

This event will be broadcast via Zoom, and registration is required to view.  Click this link right here to register today! And be sure to purchase your copy of  The Paris Hours from Boswell for 20% off the list price from now until the event!