Blue Bicycle Books

Join us for the festival’s longest-running event exclusively devoted to fiction. Piccolo Fiction, Sat., May 31, 5 pm, presents local and South Carolina authors reading brief short stories.

Held in the courtyard beside the bookstore, following tradition, each story begins with “I ducked into the alley…”

Since 2000, Piccolo Fiction has featured dozens of S.C. writers, with stories broadcast by S.C. Public Radio and published in the Charleston City Paper.

This year’s featured authors are Patti Callahan Henry (The Story She Left Behind), Julia Elliott (Hellions), Laurie Devore (The Villain Edit), and Finn Merritt.

Featured authors:

Laurie Devore was born and raised in smalltown South Carolina and graduated from Clemson University. She is the author of the YA novels Winner Take All and How to Break a Boy, and most recently crossed over to adult fiction with The Villain Edit. After four years in the Midwest, she now lives and works in Charleston. In her spare time, she reluctantly runs marathons.

Julia Elliott is the author of the story collection Hellions, released this spring by Tin House press, as well as The Wilds, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and the novel The New and Improved Romie Futch. Her stories have been anthologized in Best American Short Stories. She teaches English and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina and lives in Columbia with her husband, daughter, and five hens.

Finn Merritt is a person who writes. (Writer is too much, he’s not quite there yet.) He graduated from S.C. Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities with semi-decent grades and has recently opened for David Sedaris. He is excited to be on stage any chance he gets, including the open mics in his hometown of Greenville. To see Finn again go to seefinnagain.com

Join us Thurs., Aug. 29, 6 pm for an evening with local author Ryan Graudin to celebrate the release of The Enchanted Lies of Céleste Artois (Redhook, 544 pp, $30). Graudin will be joined in conversation by Kathryn Budig of the Inky Phoenix Book Club and the Inky Phoenix Press. 

About the book:

In this lush and lyrical fantasy debut, Ryan Graudin transports readers to the hidden magical pockets of early 1900s Paris, a place of enchanted salons, fortune tellers who can change your stars, and doorways that can take you to the most unexpected places—and introduces readers to the delightful Céleste Artois, a con artist who will make a deal with the devil in exchange for her life…and change the fate of the world. 

Once, Céleste Artois had dreams of being an artist. But when the creative elite of Paris dashed those plans, she turned her talents to forgery and cons. She and the Enchantresses—her two fellow thieves and best friends—see Paris as a rich hunting ground for marks. Yet even though their hideout in Père Lachaise cemetery is bursting with francs, Céleste cannot rest. There is always more to take. And the blood she has begun to cough into her handkerchief means her time is running out.

But everything changes when she encounters Rafe, a mysterious and beautiful stranger who leads her to an enchanted salon—a place where artists can bring wondrous imaginations to life. Céleste is captivated by this establishment, and learns of the existence of magical Paris, hidden in the pockets and alleys of the ordinary world, if one only knows where to look.

Rafe offers Céleste an irresistible deal: the gift of time in exchange for lending him and his benefactor her forging talents. But one must be careful making deals with devils, and there’s more to this hidden world than meets the eye. Shadows have begun to circle Paris. And soon, the Enchantresses will find that true magic is far more powerful, and deadly, than they ever imagined.

About the author:

Ryan Graudin is the award-winning author of ten novels, including the Carnegie nominated Wolf By Wolf duology, Invictus, The Walled City and the The World Between Blinks series. She resides near Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and two daughters. You can find her online at http://www.ryangraudin.com.

Sat., June 1, 5 pm — the festival’s longest-running event exclusively devoted to fiction, Piccolo Fiction returns to the Blue Bicycle courtyard for the 25th year! Four S.C. authors will read brief short stories: Mindy Friddle, Emilie Ross, Sara Cappell Thomason, and Susan Beckham Zurenda.

The reading is in the courtyard beside the bookstore, and, following tradition, each story begins with “I ducked into the alley…” Since 2000, Piccolo Fiction has featured dozens of S.C. writers, with stories broadcast by S.C. Public Radio and published in the Charleston City Paper. This is often a popular event, come early to snag a seat!

Free and open to the public, for more information please call 843-722.2666.

Featured authors:

Mindy Friddle is the author of The Garden Angel and Secret Keepers, both with St. Martin’s Press. Her short stories have appeared in Orca, storySouth, LitMag and other publications. Her third novel, Her Best Self, was published by Regal House in May. She has an MFA in fiction from Warren Wilson and lives on Edisto Island.

Emilie Ross is a writer and painter. She’s worked as a senior editor on Copper Nickel and currently works as an editorial assistant for swamp pink. Currently pursuing her MFA in fiction at the College of Charleston, she received her undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado Denver.

Sara Cappell Thomason was the winner of the 2022 New Flash Fiction Review Prize. Her work has previously appeared in Electric Literature, Tin House, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Witness, SmokeLong Quarterly, and The Citron Review, among others. She has an MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and lives on Isle of Palms.

Susan Beckham Zurenda taught literature and creative writing to high school and college students for 33 years. Her debut novel, Bells for Eli, was nominated for a 2021 Pushcart Prize, and her latest, The Girl From the Red Rose Motel, was released last fall. She lives in Spartanburg with her husband Wayne and two Boston Terriers.

Blue Bicycle Books is proud to welcome Shovels & Rope — Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent –  as they debut their new book C’mon Utah (hb., $30), based on the song from their By Blood album.

Cary Ann, Michael and illustrator Julio Cotto Rivera will be signing copies in the bookstore courtyard, Fri., Apr. 19, 5:30 pm. 

Can’t make it? Order a signed copy here.

“C’mon Utah!” tells the legend of a magical horse that appears to help reunite families that were separated by a border wall. The lyrics are illustrated by former Charleston artist Julio Cotto Rivera.

Cary Ann on the book: “The song was written before actual family separations at the border were in the news, and suddenly the magical realism of a horse with superpower GPS who never gets tired of running seemed like something the world actually needed.” 

This event is free and open to the public.

Join us Fri., May 17 at 5 pm for an evening with Pulitzer Prize finalist Tommy Tomlinson to celebrate the release of his newest book Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show (Simon & Schuster, 256 pp., $29). Tomlinson will be joined in conversation by Garden and Gun editor Amanda Heckert.

About the book:

From Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Elephant in the Room comes the first inside account of the Westminster Dog Show—America’s oldest and most beloved dog show—following one dog on his quest to become a champion.

Tommy Tomlinson was watching a dog show on television a few years ago when he had a sudden thought: Are those dogs happy? This question sparked a quest to venture inside the dog-show world, in search of a deeper understanding of the bond between dogs and humans that has endured for thousands of years. Dogland shares his surprising, entertaining, and unforgettable adventures as he spends three years on the road going behind the scenes at dozens of dog shows across the country. Like a real-life version of Best in Show, Dogland follows one champion show dog—a Samoyed named Striker—and his devoted entourage of breeders, handlers, and owners as he competes in the Westminster Dog Show, the oldest and most famous dog show in America. Tomlinson brings the dog-show circuit to life as he witnesses teams scrambling from town to town in search of championship points and colorful ribbons. Along the way, he also speaks to scientists who have discovered new insights into how dogs and people formed their bond—and how that bond has changed over the centuries.

Engaging, charming, and informative, Dogland is an irresistibly appealing read for pop culture followers and animal lovers alike.

About the author:

Tommy Tomlinson is the author of The Elephant in the Room, a memoir about being overweight in America. He’s the host of the podcast SouthBound in partnership with WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR station. He has written for publications including Esquire, ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, Garden & Gun, and many others. He spent twenty-three years as a reporter and local columnist for the Charlotte Observer, where he was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in commentary. His stories have been chosen twice for the Best American Sports Writing series (2012 and 2015) and he also appears in the anthology America’s Best Newspaper Writing. He teaches magazine writing at Wake Forest University and has taught at colleges, workshops, and conferences across the country. He also has a Substack called The Writing Shed. Tommy and his wife, Alix Felsing, live in Charlotte with Alix’s mom and a cat.