Blue Bicycle Books

Thurs., Nov. 29, 5 – 7, Charleston authors and their canines will be on hand to celebrate the release of the anthology Literary Dogs and Their South Carolina Writers (Hub City Press, pb., 140 pp, &19.95) at the Charleston Library Society, 164 King St. Dorothea Benton Frank, Mary Alice Monroe, Christopher Dickey, Josephine Humphreys, Marjory Wentworth, Nicole Seitz, Beth Webb Hart, John Lane, and Betsy Teter will introduce their dogs as well as participate in a panel discussion about writers and their dogs. A book signing and reception will follow. Blue Bicycle Books is excited to join Hub City Press and the Charleston Library Society as sponsors of this event.

In Literary Dogs & Their South Carolina Writers twenty-five of the Palmetto State’s most beloved authors introduce you to their most memorable dogs. There is Padgett Powell’s “Ode to Spode,” Josephine Humphreys’ paean to a poodle, and Roger Pinckney’s Daufuskie Dog-ageddon. Meet Marshall Chapman’s Impy, Mindy Friddle’s Otto, Beth Webb Hart’s Bo Peep, and more. From bird dogs to bad dogs, wild dogs to café dogs, get to know these canines and their literary companions. Other authors featured include: Elise Blackwell, Lou Dishler, Andrew Geyer, Dot Jackson, Dinah Johnson, Drew Lanham, Melinda Long, Janna McMahan, Kate Salley Palmer, Mark Powell, and Glenis Redmond.

A portion of proceeds from book sales will be donated to the Charleston Animal Society. An admission donation of $5 is appreciated. To make sure you can get into this event, please register here.

For additional information you can call us here at the store, 722.2666 or email us at info@bluebicyclebooks.com

Join us this Fri., Nov. 16, 2 – 4 pm, as master Southern chefs Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart sign their new, largest-to-date full-color cookbook, Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking (Gibbs Smith, hb, $45). With a forward by Pat Conroy and covering everything from carrot slaw to Nana Stuffie’s fried shrimp, this book may be the definitive guide to Southern cooking. Nathalie Dupree is the author of twelve cookbooks, including two James Beard Award winners. She currently lives in Charleston. Cynthia Graubart produced Nathalie’s PBS show New Southern Cooking, has co-authored and written several cookbooks of her own. She currently lives in Atlanta.

They will be signing alongside Cliff Graubart, an longtime Blue Bike friend and former owner of the Old New York Book Shop, who is signing his short story collection The Curious Vision of Sammy Levitt and Other Stories. (Cliff’s bookshop even snags a shout-out in Pat Conroy’s My Reading Life.)

Join us Thurs., Nov. 1, 5:30 – 7:30 pm for Greg Tavares signing his new book Improv for Everyone. Co-founder of Theatre 99 and the local improv troupe The Have Nots!, Greg has been teaching improv for over ten years and to over 500 classes. In an interview, he compares learning improv to learning a new language and says this is the book he wish he had when first starting  improvisation.  Based on his own teaching curriculum, Improv for Everyone offers tips, techniques, and practical exercises for mastering the art of improv.

Fri., Oct. 12, 7 pm, California poets David St. John and Anna Journey will speak and read selections of their work at the Poetry Society of South Carolina, 164 King St. The writers of more than ten collections of poetry, David St. John is the recipient of fellowships from the NEA and the Guggenheim Foundation as well as a National Book Award nomination. He currently teaches at the University of Southern California and lives on Venice Beach. He will sign copies of his most recent book, The Auroras (Harper, 96 pp., h.b., $24.99).

Anna Journey is the author of two poetry collections, Vulgar Remedies(University of Georgia Press, 2013) and If Birds Gather Your Hair for Nesting (UGAP, 104 pp., p.b., $16.95). She teaches Creative Writing at the University of Southern California.

South Carolina’s first on-street bike corral was installed this week in front of the store. Thanks to the City of Charleston Planning Dept., the Civic Design Center, Charleston Moves and many others who’ve worked towards this for more than two years. The corral replaces the 15-min. parking meter, which was little used, except by confused and subsequently angry visitors. If the almost fall weather isn’t enough to get you downtown and on your bike, hopefully this will.