2025 Nightcapper Autographing Reception
Sunday, September 28 - 9:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Spokane Convention Center, Spokane WA, Ballroom 111B
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Sponsored by: |
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Open to all badged attendees |
A room full of authors at signing stations with a reception wrapping up the first day of the show.
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Kevin Abrams | Mt. Forgotten | Oso House Mercantile Kevin Abrams' novel Mt. Forgotten (Oso House Mercantile/Bublish), the first book of a planned trilogy, is a multi-generational story exploring the ever-changing cultural, industrial, and spiritual framework of the fictional Northwest mountain town of Fortooth Bend. Once the sacred land of the Le'Echuwanna people, Fortooth Bend is now home to the Glory Peak Ski Resort, thanks to the relentless ambitions of the Mackelmore family. Plans to enlarge the resort mean prosperity, but also conflict - within the family and within the community. Keven Casanova Abrams is a film producer and co-founder of Alpine Labs, a full-service multimedia production company based in Los Angeles.
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Sheldon Costa | The Great Work | Quirk Books Sheldon Costa's debut novel, The Great Work (Quirk Books), paints an unsettling, supernatural vision of frontier America, a dark tale of an alchemist and his nephew on the hunt for a legend. That legend is a monster that should not exist - a giant salamander that drives men mad. Add to the mix a bloodthirsty hunter, a sadistic judge, and a doomsday cult, and The Great Work has all the makings of a spin-tingling, hair-raising adventure tale; nonetheless it remains a strangely hopeful novel. Sheldon Costa's award-winning work has appeared in numerous journals, including The Georgia Review, Conjunctions, and Electric Literature.
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Michelle Jing Chan | From Seattle illustrator Michelle Jing Chan comes Weiwei's Winter Solstice (Bloomsbury Children's), a vibrant picture book about Dongzhì, the Chinese winter solstice holiday. On the longest night of the year, WeiWei finds herself in a new place, where winter is cold and feels nothing like home. But Dongzhì is all about finding warmth through togetherness, even amid the cold and darkness. And as Yeye reminds Weiwei, soon, spring will return. Michelle Jing Chan is a queer Chinese American author-illustrator who studied engineering and economics, but now creates books and comics for kids and teens. She gravitates towards empowering stories that celebrate diversity and self-acceptance –books she would have loved to read as a kid!
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Kamilah Cole | An Arcane Inheritance | Poisoned Pen Press Kamilah Cole's new novel for adult readers, An Arcane Inheritance (Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks), is a propulsive dive into the world of dark academia, filled with magic, romance and a secret society that will do anything to keep their powers burning bright, no matter who they sacrifice along the way. Woven into this captivating story is the thoughtful examination of memory, generational inheritance and the position of BIPOC women in spaces traditionally dominated by white males, making it perfect for book clubs looking for something a little different. Seattle writer Kamilah Cole is the author of two previous bestselling young adult fantasies, So Let Them Burn and This Ends in Embers.
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Two cousins work together to unravel their family's fractured past in What Happened Then (Scholastic), a new novel for middle grade readers from bestselling writer Erin Soderberg Downing. The story is told in alternating chapters by cousins Avery and Jax, opposites in character but united by their desire to uncover the secret that left their family shattered and scattered. If they want any chance of gluing their broken family back together, they’ll have to first figure out what happened then. Erin Soderberg Downing is the author of several middle grade series, including Just Like Home and The Great Peach Experiment.
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Portland writer Polly Dugan explores the legacy of a family secret long-buried in The House of Cavanaugh (Sibylline Press). In 1964, young wife and mother Joan Cavanaugh falls into a passionate affair with Peter Hutchinson; when the affair ends, she returns to her marriage and raises her children, protecting her secret until her death thirty years later. Another twenty years passes until, by chance, another generation of Cavanaughs and Hutchinsons are brought together. As decades of deception unravel, bonds are tested, loyalties waver, and the meaning of family is redefined. Polly Dugan is the author of the linked story collection So Much a Part of You and the novel The Sweetheart Deal.
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Faith Freed | DIY Spirituality | The Collective Book Studio Building your own spiritual practice can be fun as well as fulfilling with Faith Freed's DIY Spirituality (The Collective Book Studio/S&S). Freed, a licensed psychotherapist and spiritual guide introduces the playful yet profound Divine Disco Ball framework to explore four dimensions of spiritual connection: Infinite Source (the divine), Infinite Self (spirit), Incarnate Self (body and mind), and Incarnate Source (nature). With colorful illustrations, daily practices, and step-by-step exercises, it provides everything needed to build a meaningful, sustainable spiritual path. Freed is the author of IS: Your Authentic Spirituality Unleashed, and Starting Therapy, and is the founder of Freed-Om, a company dedicated to inspiration, DIY spirituality, and authentic self-expression. DIY Spirituality will be published in January, 2026.
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In Martha Freeman's Kitty vs. Kindergarten (Disney Hyperion), Kitty likes things just the way they are - breakfast at 7:30, dinner at 4:00 and his favorite raggedy mouse toy to play with. So when Kitty's good, nice boy announces they are going to kindergarten, Kitty is not pleased that his life will be changing. But with the help of his boy and their teacher, Kitty learns that it's nice to try new things, and that supper will still be ready when he gets home. Eugenean Martha Freeman is the author of numerous books for young readers, including Zap!, Born Curious, and the Astrotwins books co-authored with astronaut Mark Kelly.
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The Once and Future Queen (Erewhon Books/Kensington) by Paula Lafferty is a new take on an old, old story - the legend of King Arthur and Camelot. In modern-day Glastonbury, 22-year-old Vera is waiting tables, nursing her grief over a broken relationship and hoping to see a brighter future. But it's the past, not the future, which awaits her. At the urging of a strange old man, Vera slips through time and finds herself in the fabled Camelot - where magic is everywhere and she seems to be the Queen. If Vera is truly destined to save Camelot, she’ll have to trust her instincts. And her king will have to trust her . . .
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In this shivery blend of queer psychological thriller and horror, evocatively set in the secluded islands of the Pacific Northwest, H. Lee Justine's You Watched in Silence (Blackstone Publishing) is full of bite and twists, with plenty of atmospheric tension to keep readers enthralled. After being cut off by her best friend, Caitlyn takes a job as a nanny on a remote island with hopes for a fresh start. All is well until she sees a mysterious girl - a girl no one else can see. H. Lee Justine is a career ghostwriter. After years of writing other people’s stories, she’s excited to see her debut novel bearing her own name on bookshelves.
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Lisa Mantchev | Trouble with Giraffes | Paula Wiseman Books When a girl has a giraffe as a pet, there are bound to be some problems. Like Lisa Mantchev's previous award-winning picture book, Strictly No Elephants, this new book, The Trouble with Giraffes (Simon & Schuster) offers a lovely story about friendship, inclusiveness and accessibility. When the giraffe won't fit through the clubhouse door for Pet Club, everyone comes together to find a way for him - and everyone else - to be included. Lisa Mantchev, who lives on the Olympic Peninsula, has written a number of books including Someday, Narwhal for young children and The Théâtre Illuminata trilogy for young adults.
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In the third picture book of her collaborative series with illustrator Thomas Hilley, Walla Walla writer Sherri Maret celebrates the glory of the fall season in Twelve Days of Autumn (Muddy Boots/NBN), an enchanting reimagining of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Little ones will love counting along, spotting a curious turtle on every page and identifying the wildlife, from turkeys to bears to skunks to bats, as they all prepare for the coming colder months. Sherri Maret is a former English teacher/library media specialist whose book The Cloud Artist: A Choctaw Tale was a finalist for First Nation Communities Read Award.
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In Alexandra Oliva's forthcoming novel, The Radiant Dark (SJP Lit/Zando), Carol Girard and her young family are living an ordinary life when something extraordinary happens. An inexplicable flickering in the sky turns out to be some sort of communication from intelligent life on a planet eleven light-years away. The novel follows the Girards over five decades as they face not only the ordinary joys and sorrows of family life, but also the knowledge that we are not alone. Alexandra Oliva is the author of Forget Me Not and The Last One, her debut novel which was selected as a Best Book of 2016 by The Seattle Times. The Radiant Dark will be published in April, 2026.
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Tami Parr | Goats in America | Oregon State University Press The humble goat has played a surprising and important role throughout the history of the United States. Despite this, goats are often overlooked by most Americans, even if they have strong opinions about these complex animals. In Goats in America (Oregon State Univ. Press), Tami Parr calls attention to these disregarded creatures, uncovering the remarkable stories behind everything from goat meat and milk to goat yoga and more. Portland writer Tami Parr is a developmental editor as well as the author of Artisan Cheese of the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Northwest Cheese: A History.
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Mopreme Shakur | Writer, producer and performer Mopreme Shakur offers an intimate look inside the Shakur family in This Thug's Life (Dafina/PRH). Chronicling life with his Black Liberation activist father, Mutulu, the death of his younger brother Tupac, and his own storied career as both a solo artist and as a member of T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. and Outlaw Immortalz, Mopreme tells this story as no one else can, from the inside of a family which has had an outsized influence on American culture. As a producer, Mopreme Shakur has appeared in and executive produced documentaries including "Tupac Assassination," "American Gangster," "Who Killed Tupac?". This Thug's Life will be published in February, 2026.
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Micha Thorp | Aegolius Creek | Type Eighteen Books In Micah Thorp's novel Aegolius Creek (Type Eighteen Books/IPG), Oregon homesteader and lumberman Don Karlsson finds himself engulfed in conflict, both in his tight-knit community and within his own family. A new, possibly endangered species of vole is discovered on his land, adding many competing and conflicting voices to Karlsson's sense of meaning and purpose on the land he calls home. Micah Thorp is a physician and writer in Portland, author of two previous novels, Uncle Joe’ s Muse, which won a 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Award, and its sequel Uncle Joe’ s Senpai. His writing has been published in Cleaver Magazine, Fictional Cafe and Blind Corner.
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Tom Toro | And to Think We Started as a Book Club...| Andrews McMeel Fans of the New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro will rejoice at And to Think We Started as a Book Club ... (Andrews McMeel), the debut collection of Toro's brilliant cartoons depicting the many absurdities of modern life. Showcasing hundreds of Toro's greatest hits from his fifteen-year career at the New Yorker as well as previously unpublished cartoons, this wonderful collection offers just what we need most - humor. Toro's work has appeared in numerous publications, and he has illustrated several books for adults and children, including A User's Guide to Democracy and How to Potty Train Your Porcupine. He currently serves as the chair of the Northwest Chapter of the National Cartoonist Society.
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What if justice isn't something the legal system is truly capable of? In Gabriel Urza's captivating and emotionally charged novel, The Silver State (Algonquin Books), a young lawyer is forced to reexamine his role in a sensational murder case when he receives a letter from a prisoner on death row. Illuminating the deals that get cut in the name of justice, The Silver State explores the murkiness between victim and perpetrator, and the cost of a life in the law. Gabriel Urza is a writer, attorney, and university professor originally from Reno, Nevada. He teaches Fiction in the MFA program at Portland State University and lives in Hood River, Oregon.
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