The Nightcapper Autographing Party

Monday, October 4, 8:30 - 10:00 pm

Sponsored by Blackstone Publishing

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Cai Emmons / Sinking Islands        

Eugene writer Cai Emmons offers up an intriguing look at climate change in her newest novel, Sinking Islands (Red Hen Press), sequel to Weather Woman. Bronwyn Artair is a meteorologist who possesses the power to influence the weather – a power the earth now needs more than ever. If she can teach just a few other people her skill, could they together make a real difference to a struggling planet? Emmons’ novel His Mother’s Son was an Oregon Book Award winner.
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​Seth Kantner / A Thousand Trails Home: Living with Caribou    

Writer, photographer and outdoorsman Seth Kantner paints an extraordinary and intimate picture of Alaska’s wilderness in A Thousand Trails Home: Living with Caribou (Mountaineers). The book vividly illuminates the critical story of the interconnectedness of the Iñupiat of Northwest Alaska, the Western Arctic Caribou herd, and the larger Arctic region, accompanied by Kantner’s stunning photographs. Seth Kantner is the author of several books, including the PNBA Award-winning novel Ordinary Wolves. He lives in Alaska’s Northwest Arctic region.

Sundee Frazier / Mighty Inside        

Drawn from author Sundee Frazier’s own memories of 1950s Spokane, Mighty Inside (Levine Querido/Chronicle) is the story of Melvin, challenged by a speech impediment and a growing awareness of racism, as if starting high school is not daunting enough. Melvin will need to stand up and speak out to prove just how mighty he is, inside and out. Frazier is the author of several acclaimed books for young readers, including the award-winning Brendan Buckley books. Raised in Spokane, she now lives near Seattle.
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​Mac Barnett & Carson Ellis / What Is Love    

Two huge names in children’s books, Mac Barnett and Carson Ellis, team up to answer an age-old question in What Is Love? (Chronicle). A young boy’s quest to find the answer takes him first to his grandmother, who replies “I can’t answer that.” So, on he goes, asking everyone he meets, and getting a different answer every time. It’s a fish, says the fisherman; applause says the actor; a list or words many pages long, says the poet. But it’s only in returning home that the boy begins to understand. Barnett’s gentle and engaging text is perfectly complemented by Ellis’ whimsical and colorful drawings, making this a perfect book for adults and children to share. Mac Barnett is the best-selling author of over 20 books for young readers, including Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and Leo: A Ghost Story. Caldecott Honor-winner Carson Ellis’ artwork has appeared in books and journals; she is author and illustrator of Du Iz Tak? and illustrator of the Wildwood Chronicles.
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Danya Kukafka / Notes on an Execution 
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Danya Kukafka, internationally bestselling author of Girl in the Snow, offers a different perspective on our cultural obsession with violent crime in her new novel, Notes on an Execution (Morrow/HarperCollins). Told through the eyes of three women touched by the life and crimes of Ansel Packer, a man awaiting his fate on death row, this is an atmospheric and chilling tale exploring the emotional and psychological wakes that crime carries behind it. Notes on an Execution will be published in January, 2022.
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Rick Bleiweiss / Pignon Scorbion & the Barbershop Detectives    ​

A sleepy English village in the 1910s is the backdrop for Pignon Scorbion & the Barbershop Detectives (Blackstone Pub.), the start of a new mystery series featuring police inspector Pignon Scorbion and a quirky ensemble cast of village characters. Rick Bleiweiss enjoyed a long career in the music business as a rock performer, songwriter, producer and record company executive before moving to the publishing world in 2006. Pignon Scorbion, which will be published in February, 2022, is his first novel.

Brian Coleman / Private Gardens of the Pacific Northwest        

Seattle old-house enthusiast Brian Coleman offers a sumptuous look at 20 incredible gardens in Private Gardens of the Pacific Northwest (Gibbs Smith). From sprawling estates to small sanctuaries, there is something here for every gardener, or every garden lover. Brian Coleman is the author of over 20 books on architecture and design, and is an editor-at-large for Old-House Interiors magazine. He divides his time between New York and Seattle, where he can be found in his own Queen Anne neighborhood garden.
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Matt Kracht / The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World    

Everyone needs a good laugh, even birdwatchers. Thankfully, Matt Kracht returns with The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World (Chronicle), a fabulous, and perhaps inevitable, sequel to his best-selling TFGtoDBofNA. Bird identification has never been so snarky, and the book’s anger-filled drawings make birdspotting all over the world that much more fun. Based in Tacoma, Matt Kracht enjoys gazing out the window at the beautiful waters of Puget Sound and making fun of birds.
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Kristin Thiel / Fire & Water: Stories from the Anthropocene        

Portland writer, editor and reviewer Kristin Thiel is both a contributor to and co-editor of Fire & Water: Stories from the Anthropocene (Black Lawrence Press), a new collection of 17 stories that take readers on a rare journey through the physical and emotional landscape of the climate crisis—not in the future, but today. Kristin Thiel’s work has appeared in many newspapers and journals, and she is the author of several nonfiction books for children.
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Karen DeWitz / Look at That Bird!: A Young Naturalist’s Guide to Pacific Northwest Birding        

Beginning birdwatchers – kids and their adults - will love learning about more than 50 Northwest birds in Look at The Bird! (Little Bigfoot/Random), by Oregonian Karen Dewitz. Filled with lots of kid-friendly facts and accompanied by helpful photographs, this book explains bird life while it teaches how to identify commonly-sighted species. Karen DeWitz is a self-described bird nerd, with a love for the beauty of the Northwest woods and a background in outdoor education.
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Hunter Shobe & David Banis / Upper Left Cities: A Cultural Atlas of San Francisco, Portland & Seattle        

Combining colorful infographics and modern cartography techniques, Upper Left Cities: A Cultural Atlas of San Francisco, Portland and Seattle (Sasquatch/Random) is a fascinating look at the similarities and differences of these three great West Coast cities. Cultural geographer Hunter Shobe and geographer and cartographer David Banis have created a unique visual portrait of these cities, covering topics from geography and history, to food and pop culture. The result is a perfect blend of form and function, each map meticulously and ingeniously designed. Hunter Shobe is an assistant professor at Portland State, and has spent decades examining the cultural, political, and economic dimensions of how people connect to places. David Banis leads Portland State’s Center for Spatial Analysis and Research, exploring the diverse ways cartographers can narrate human stories through maps, with a focus on nontraditional subjects. They previously collaborated on Portlandness, is an unexpected and graphically intriguing look at the Rose City.

Dr. Paul Conti, MD / Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic        

Portland-based psychiatrist Dr. Paul Conti offers a comprehensive and understandable look a condition not always associated with disease in Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic (Sounds True/Macmillan). Using the most recent research, and citing clinical best practices and dozens of real-life stories, Dr. Conti examines the roots of this epidemic, and suggests concrete changes that we can make both as individuals and as a society to alleviate trauma’s effects and prevent further traumatization in the future.
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Tracy Subisak, illustrator / Amah Faraway

For little ones who live far away from grandparents and other family members, Amah Faraway (Bloomsbury Children’s Books/Macmillan) is a gently reassuring picturebook about a little girl and her Amah who live an ocean apart. Portland illustrator Tracy Subisak drew on her own memories of connecting to her Taiwanese grandmother to create the colorful artwork which perfectly complements the story by Margaret Chiu Greanias. Amah Faraway will be published in January, 2022.
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Carmen T. Bernier-Grand / We Laugh Alike / Juntos nos reímos 

Six children are ready already for play, but three speak English, y tres hablan español. We Laugh Alike / Juntos nos reímos (Charlesbridge/RH) is a clever playground adventure highlighting what we all have in common, and what we can learn from those who are different from us. Carmen T. Bernier-Grand is the author of numerous books for children, including Diego: Bigger than Life, a Pura Belpré honor book. She lives in Portland.

​Susan Hill Long /  The Care and Keeping of Freddy
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In The Care and Keeping of Freddy (Simon & Schuster), Portlander Susan Hill Long’s newest book for middle grade readers, three kids – and one bearded dragon lizard – learn what and who they can count on. These three friends think they’ve escaped their problems when they find a place of refuge in an abandoned glass house, but glass, too, can be broken. Susan Hill Long is the author of several novels, including Whistle in the Dark.