Category Archives: Malvern Events

Sunday Delights at Malvern Books

Posted on by

Sandra and FrankHere’s wishing you a very happy National German Chocolate Cake Day, book fiends! Let’s honor this joyous occasion by recalling something equally sweet: a sunny Sunday afternoon spent in the company of talented poets Sandra Storey and Frank Pool (pictured at right). We were celebrating the recent release of Every State Has Its Own Light, Sandra’s first full-length collection and a finalist for the May Swenson Poetry Award. Sandra was visiting us all the way from Boston, and many of her Texas-based family members came out to support her. Sandra was joined on our stage by Austin local Frank, who has recently returned to writing poetry—and we’re very glad he’s back. Thanks to both Sandra and Frank for such a delicious day of verse!

Check out footage from their readings below… and if you like to balance your poetry with a little prose, why not come by the store tonight for Novel Night? We’re very generously offering a sweet-as-cake 20% OFF ALL FICTION TITLES from 6pm till closing!

BookExpo 2015

Posted on by

It’s that time of year again… BookExpo America! Three days of bookish ballyhoo, featuring an assorted cast of publishers, buyers, and book nerds from across the country…

BEA 15 01And so we put on our sensible shoes and headed off to the ginormous glass monstrosity that is the Javits Center for our annual dose of destiny and power books. (If you missed BookExpo but fancy a trip to the Javits Center anyway, I’m sure there are still tickets available for future Javitsian expos of the non-literary variety… Plastics Today or Cannabis World Congress, anyone?)

BEA 2015 02

Your tote bag game was strong this year, BEA! Well done. And we can’t wait to take a look at all the intriguing catalogs we happily toted home; nothing gives us more pleasure than contemplating our upcoming orders from brilliant indie presses like Biblioasis, New York Review of Books, and Graywolf Press.

BEA 15 10 BEA 2015 03

Of particular interest—three fantastic titles coming up from San Francisco’s City Lights, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Keep an eye out for I Greet You at the Beginning of a Great Career (correspondence between Allen Ginsberg and City Lights’ founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti); Pictures of the Gone World (a limited edition reprint of City Lights’ first book, a collection of poetry by Ferlinghetti); and Shock Treatment (a 25th anniversary edition of the first book by iconoclastic performance artist/poet Karen Finley).

BEA 2015 06

If it’s not already obvious, we love small, independent presses! Even really small presses.

BEA 2015 05

Of course, the publishing giants were out in full force (is it just me, or was the Ellora’s Cave booth surprisingly low on be-thonged spokespeople this year?) and they had some… interesting offerings lined up. No, we won’t be stocking any of the three titles pictured above—but a taco cleanse does sound pretty fun.

BEA 2015 07

A Novel Night in May

Posted on by

Last Thursday we hosted the fifth edition of our Novel Night reading series, a monthly celebration of all things prose. Check out the footage below and take a look at the photos we posted on our Facebook page.

Our first reader was Gary Hobbs, who introduced us to his debut novel, Access to Capital, a page-turner that gives you a glimpse into the faltering and frantic financial world of the 1980s.

Richard Kendrick read from Déjà Vu, described by Rick Russo as “a rare book that combines modernist formal experimentation with excellent post-modernist content and prose.” The novel tells the story of Alden Homer and Blake Whitman, two very different adventurers whose paths cross as they explore Asia.

And last but not least, Malvernite Schandra hosted the Book Talk segment, in which a member of staff introduces the audience to one of their favorite titles on our shelves. Schandra discussed Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener,” the classic tale of rat-race-rejection—which we happen to stock in a very stylish Melville House edition that comes complete with online access to a recipe for ginger nuts!

Sunday Afternoon with Issa Nyaphaga & ComeDrumForFun

Posted on by

What a wonderful Sunday at Malvern Books! We got the afternoon off to a lively start with Mae Stoll and ComeDrumForFun, a small community of hand drummers who love to play and celebrate West African rhythms on traditional West African instruments like the djembe. Have a listen to their fantastic performance below—and, as Mae says, foot-stomping is definitely encouraged!

DrumForFun

I think you’ll agree ComeDrumForFun is a tough act to follow—but Issa Nyaphaga was certainly up to the task. An acclaimed multi-media artist and dedicated human rights activist, Issa published over 5000 cartoons, drawings, and comics in his home country of Cameroon, reaching over 5 million readers, many of whom were marginalized and illiterate. In the late 1990s in Paris he was a contributing cartoonist with Charlie Hebdo. He has also conducted art therapy programs for child soldiers and at-risk children and teenagers, and earlier this year he addressed the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on the subject of freedom of artistic expression. Issa was visiting Malvern to introduce his new book, Art Stronger Than Hate (Alamo Bay Press), a collection of provocative political cartoons that demonstrate his commitment to free speech, artistic expression, and social justice. Have a listen to Issa below, and prepare to be educated and inspired by this extraordinary artist and activist.

Issa

Novel Night III

Posted on by

Last Thursday we hosted the third edition of Novel Night, our monthly reading series devoted to all things prose. Our first reader was author Thomas McNeely, who was visiting us from Boston. Thomas read from his debut novel Ghost Horse, a wise and compelling coming-of-age tale set in 1970’s Houston. The novel’s protagonist, Buddy Turner, is a smart and sensitive eleven-year-old boy who is struggling to make sense of the failures of his feuding parents.

Next up was Houstonian Mike Freedman, who read from School Board. This smart and subversive first novel follows the rabble-rousing misadventures of Tucker ‘Catfish’ Davis, a high school senior and aspiring politician who takes on the school board incumbent, a senior executive at an Enron-like company.

Our store manager Becky Garcia hosted the Book Talk segment, in which an enthusiastic Malvernite introduces the audience to one of their favorite titles on our shelves. This month Becky discussed Ken Fontenot’s For Mr. Raindrinker (Slough Press), a novel set in the New Orleans of the ’70s, which Becky recalls from trips with her family—in contrast to her “staid” hometown of San Antonio, she describes it as “a rare and wild animal.” Have a listen to Becky’s wonderful reading from the novel; it’ll definitely make you want to pick up a copy of Raindrinker next time you’re in the store.

And last but certainly not least, we invited members of the audience to brave our open mic and share with us some of their unpublished prose. (Anyone is welcome to take part; if you’re keen to join in next month, just sign up in store on the night.) This month we enjoyed readings from Fred Afflerbach, Katie Battistoni, and Molly Schulman. We hope you like the footage—and if you do, why not come along in person next time? Our next novel night is on April 9th, and will feature readings from Drew Hayes and David Heymann, among others.

Poetic New Releases at Malvern Books

Posted on by

Spring has well and truly sprung here at the bookstore, and what better way to celebrate the season of growth and rejuvenation than with the release of two brand-spanking-new titles from a couple of poets who are dear to our hearts…

First up, we hosted the launch of Scott Wiggerman’s new poetry collection, Leaf and Beak: Sonnets. Joe Blanda got the evening off to a foot-tappin’ start with some wonderful guitar playing. Our store manager Becky then introduced Scott, who read a selection of sonnets from Leaf and Beak. The collection was inspired by walks Scott took on the trails at Mueller Lake Park, where he often encountered his old friend Paul Licce, a photographer who shares Scott’s fascination with Mueller, and whose photographs were on display on our walls—so it was only fitting that Paul joined Scott on the stage to talk about his work and answer a few questions from the audience. Thanks to Scott, Paul, and Joe for a very entertaining evening of verse, art, and music, and all the best to Scott and David, who are shortly moving to New Mexico. Malvern will miss you, and we hope you’ll come back and visit us soon!

And we were also thrilled to host a release event for Laurie Saurborn Young’s brilliant new collection, Industry of Brief Distraction. Laurie read a selection of poems from the book, as well as a moving new work called “Like A Demon” (which starts at around 1:15 mins in the second video below). It was a fantastic night of poetry—our heartiest Malvern thanks to Laurie, and to the large and lively audience who came by to show their support.