HANOVER — Still North Books & Bar and Literary North are teaming up to host a Summer Reading and Writing Kick Off.
The event features Upper Valley-based authors Makenna Goodman, KJ Dell’Antonia and Michele Campbell. The trio all have books being released this summer.
“All three authors we had planned to host their book launches this summer and with that being so up in the air we wanted to make sure we still had a really great way to still introduce the Upper Valley community to all three of them,” said Allie Levy, owner of the Hanover bookstore. “We thought what could be more fun than getting a thriller writer, a literary fiction writer and a comedic writer all together for one event?”
It will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday on Crowdcast. People can sign up at stillnorthbooks.com/summer-kickoff. The event is free, but people are asked to make a $10 donation, half of which will go toward Still North for operating costs for the event and the other half which will be donated to an area nonprofit organization. No one will be turned away for not making a contribution.
“I feel like it’s such a cool opportunity to have three writers who write so differently yet all live in the Upper Valley to come together for a chat and I love all of their books,” Levy said. “They appeal to such different readers and it shows how much talent we have in the Upper Valley.”
In addition to speaking about their upcoming novels, the authors will also discuss “what they’re reading, what keeps them inspired,” Levy said. Goodman writes literary fiction (The Shame), Dell’Antonia writes comedic fiction (The Chicken Sisters) and nonfiction, and Campbell writes thrillers (The Wife Who Knew Too Much). “Then we’re just going to have a conversation and open it up for discussion among the three authors and people who are in attendance virtually as well.”
Attendees can also receive bingo cards for the Summer Reading Challenge, which encourages participants to “use the summer to read stuff they might not always read,” Levy said, “or if they’re a writer to test their writing skills a little bit.”
Still North was open for just three months before the COVID-19 pandemic began and the business had to close its doors to customers. Levy and other staff pivoted to virtual events, including a poetry open mic night that drew in around 50 people.
“The whole time I hosted it from the store and the whole time I was just grinning because it felt like for the first time in awhile people were there with me, even though it was virtually,” Levy said.
There is more work and more expenses associated with hosting a virtual event than one that takes place in person, including technology costs.
“We’re being really mindful about what we take on,” Levy said. “We have to really focus our resources right now.”
It’s also allowed the book store to expand its reach.
“It’s been a really great way for us to stay connected with our community and then to just really get out there with the larger literary community across the country,” Levy said. “They’ve been really neat. It’s been amazing to have the opportunity to stay connected to the community virtually.”
Here are some other Upper Valley-based virtual events coming up over the coming days.
■Thetford Libraries, along with Liz Horan of the Feral Journal of Poetry and Art, are hosting a poetry open mic night via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Participants can share poems they have written, read ones written by their favorite poets or tune in to listen. The event is open to adults and teenagers. For more information or to sign up, email Librarians@thetfordlibrary.org.
■Join a “one-shot, bite-sized” Dungeons and Dragons game hosted by the Royalton Memorial Library at 4 p.m. The games use Zoom and Google Drive to take place. Email Tyler Strong at tyler@royaltonlibrary.org for more information.
■Watch a Raptor Encounter program at 1:30 p.m. An environmental educator from the Vermont Institute of Natural Science will introduce viewers to different raptors that live at the Quechee-based nonprofit organization and take questions. Visit vinsweb.org for streaming information.
■Ana Mejia, Climate Projects Coordinator at Vital Communities, will discuss community-based projects that participants from the Upper Valley Climate Change Leadership Academy (2CLA) are working on during a virtual Green Drinks gathering from 5:30-6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Email ana@vitalcommunities.org for more information and Zoom credentials.
Royalton Memorial Library is hosting an online storytelling event at 7 p.m. Per the library’s description, “Tell a story or join in and listen as participants tell a story based on a specific theme: no props, no preparation, no notecards.” Email librarian@royaltonlibrary.org or Alexis at ataylor.young2020@gmail.com for details and instructions.
■This weekend is shaping up to be beautiful, weather wise. Check out https://trail.services/find-a-trail/ for hiking suggestions from the Upper Valley Trails Alliance via Trail Finder.
Editor’s note: Please submit Upper Valley-based virtual events to the Valley Calendar at calendar.vnews.com or calendar@vnews.com. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
