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Authors on the Map Breakfast

Monday, September 30  -  7:45 am – 9:00 pm

Washington/Clark/Clackamas Ballroom

​(Tickets required)


​An event for ten newer authors from the PNBA member region interested in connecting with and visiting PNBA stores.

Samantha Allen | Roland Rogers Isn't Dead Yet | Zando
An unlikely romance makes for some quirky fun in Samantha Allen’s new novel, Roland Rogers Isn’t Dead Yet (Zando/IPS). Ex-Mormon and almost-famous memoirist Adam Gallagher has landed the job of a lifetime – ghostwriting the memoir of Roland Rogers, a closeted A-list actor poised to come out to his public. The only hitch is that Roland Rogers is dead. As in an actual ghost. Sort of. And ghost and ghostwriter have just one month to get the memoir written, before the avalanche which killed Roland melts, releasing him forever. Samantha Allen is the author of the Lambda Literary Award finalist, Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States, and the highly-praised queer-romance Patricia Wants to Cuddle. She lives in Seattle.
Olufunke Grace Bankole | The Edge of Water | Tin House
Set between Nigeria and New Orleans, The Edge of Water (Tin House Books/W.W. Norton), by debut novelist Olufunke Grace Bankole, tells the story of a young woman who dreams of life in America, as the collision of traditional prophecy and individual longing tests the bonds of a family during a devastating storm. Despite her mother’s prophecy of danger, Amina leaves Nigeria for a new life in New Orleans. But just as her new life begins, a hurricane threatens to devastate the city. Years later, Amina’s daughter is left with questions about the mother she barely knew, and about the family left behind in Nigeria. Portland writer Olufunke Grace Bankole’s work has appeared in various literary publications, and she has received several fellowships and grants for her writing.
Stephanie Booth | Libby Lost and Found | Sourcebooks Landmark
An unlikely friendship and the life-changing power of imagination and books are at the heart of Stephanie Booth’s debut novel Libby Lost and Found (Sourcebooks Landmark/Sourcebooks). Libby Weeks, mega-selling author of a fantasy series, has always maintained her privacy, even writing under a pseudonym. But Libby has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, and the manuscript for her final book is months overdue. As her symptoms increase, Libby knows she needs some help finishing that last book. Desperately, she turns to eleven-year-old superfan Peanut Bixton, who harbors a dark secret of her own. Stephanie Booth’s writing has appeared in numerous magazines and publications, from Cosmopolitan and Real Simple to the Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times. She lives in Portland.
Leyla Brittan | Ros Demir is Not the One | Holiday House
Seattle writer Leyla Brittan’s Ros Demir is Not the One (Holiday House/PRH) is a not-quite rom com for young adults with an unconventional happy ending. Starring a bold, outspoken antiheroine, and featuring witty, whip-smart dialogue, this Turkish-American Romeo and Juliet remix is refreshingly snarky. Missteps in Ros’ past have left her in need of a reputation reset, and showing up at the homecoming dance with the perfect date is just the ticket. But even the best-laid plans can go awry. Leyla Brittan is a graduate of the Tin House YA Novel Workshop, and her short fiction has recently appeared in The Harvard Advocate, 5x5, and Pigeon Pages. She has worked as an outdoor sports journalist and travel writer, as well as in film and television.
Faith Conlon | Timelight | Flashpoint
Seattle writer Faith Conlon combines time travel, magic, adventure and history in Timelight Flashpoint/IPS), the first book of a planned adventure series for middle grade readers. When his grandmother is injured in a strange snowstorm, Charlie Winter discovers that his grandmother is a time traveler, and so is he. Armed with this knowledge, Charlie enlists his friends to search for a magical amulet, hoping it will lead him to the solution to his mother’s disappearance three years before. Faith Conlon has had a long career in publishing, including two decades directing the publishing program at the independent feminist company Seal Press, where she launched the careers of many notable women writers. She has also worked as a writing and reading mentor to young students in schools and libraries.
Zaynab Mohammed | Are You Listening?| Pownal Street Press / Orca Book Distribution
From award-winning Canadian performance poet Zaynab Mohammed, Are You Listening? (Pownal Street Press/Orca Book Pubs.) is an artful tapestry of narrative nonfiction and poetry, a unique memoir based on her popular one-woman show of the same name. Child of immigrant parents who fled war-torn countries, Mohammed tackles topics like displacement, immigration, cultural inequity and colonization in a deeply personal way, paying homage to her ancestors, and seeking to transform trauma into beauty. Zaynab Mohammed is an artist, writer and performance poet. Born in British Columbia, she traces her roots to Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine. She currently lives in Nelson, B.C, where she hosts the Nelson Poetry Slam and writes custom poems for passersby.
Emma Pattee | Tilt | Simon & Schuster / Marysue Rucci Books
Portland writer Emma Pattee’s debut novel, Tilt (Marysue Rucci Books/S&S, due 3/25), takes place over the course of one very tumultuous day. Nine months pregnant, Annie is shopping at a Portland-area IKEA for a crib when a massive earthquake hits. With no way to contact her husband, no phone or money, Annie decides that the only way to reach the safety of home is to walk across a city left in chaos. Along the way, Annie will experience the best and worst of human nature, while confronting the problems in her marriage, career and the anxiety of approaching motherhood. Emma Pattee is a climate journalist and fiction writer. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and elsewhere.
Holly Searcy | The Shiver Tree | Blackstone Publishing
The Shiver Tree (Blackstone Publishing), the debut novel from Oregon writer Holly Searcy, is a sweeping fantasy filled with elven druids, pitiless pirates, and an ancient and powerful Druidic relic. Kiana, daughter of the High Druid of Amarra, is eager to make a difference in the world and help her people heal the ills besetting them. In search of the ancient artifact called the Shiver Seed, Kiana joins forces with her estranged sister to challenge the malevolent Deep Ones and bring the splintered five Druid clans back together in peace and plenty. Holly Searcy is a self-avowed nerd and lover of words. An avid reader and writer, she has worked in publishing, marketing, and advertising. She lives in Southern Oregon.
Megan Williams | One Bad Mother | Sibyline Press
After her six-year-old daughter puts a hammer through a wall, Megan Williams decides to abandon a career as an academic and become a police officer. One Bad Mother (Sibylline Press) is Megan’s unique memoir about the equally-matched rigors of motherhood and the police academy. Intertwining narratives of police recruitment and motherhood, One Bad Mother provides an unflinching view of big-city law enforcement, set atop a personal journey during which Megan learns gratitude and makes peace with a motherhood far different from the dream sold to her by our culture. Williams, who taught English at various universities for over twenty years, is the winner of the PNWA award for nonfiction, and currently lives in Bellingham.
Kelsea Yu | It's Only a Game | Bloomsbury Publishing
In It’s Only a Game (Bloomsbury YA/Macmillan), Kelsea Yu’s fast-paced and twisty thriller for young adults, Marina Chan has been living in fear that the old life she ran away from might be discovered. When her online gaming team has a chance to tour the headquarters of their favorite game, Marina can’t resist, even though she knows it’s a risk. Then the company founder is murdered during the tour, and it looks like Marina and her team will be framed for the crime, unless they can win four rounds of a very dangerous game. Kelsea Yu is the author of the novella Bound Feet, and her short stories and essays have appeared in several magazines and anthologies. It’s Only a Game is her debut novel.