No promise of an in-coffin arrival or sexy vampire swag, yet, but news came in yesterday from Anne Rice and Changing Hands Bookstore that the bestselling author will be visiting the store on February 11. The author will be signing copies of her latest title, Of Love and Evil, a…
The Irish Cultural Center of Phoenix has announced plans to expand its operations into a 11,000-square-foot Irish Cultural Center Library that will be the first of its kind in the Southwest. The spot at 1106 North Central Avenue will feature more than 6,000 books, a performance space, and a slick…
Before his death in 2004, celebrated writer, actor, and storyteller Spalding Gray took to the stage with a collection of his beloved and irreverent autobiographical monologues. Gray was at the forefront of spoken word theater in the ’80s, and now his work is coming back to the stage in “Spalding…
Remember this passage from Mark Twain’s seminal book? “Hipsters would come miles to hear Jim tell about it, and he was more looked up to than any hipster in that country. Strange hipsters would stand with their mouths open and look him all over, same as if he was a…
Horror fiction writer Howard Phillips “H.P.” Lovecraft may not have invented the bogeyman, but his creations make that old creep look like a fluffy little bunny. Lovecraft filled his pantheon with powerful and hideous creatures like Cthulu, a cosmic sea god described as a scaly octopus with huge tentacles and…
Three pages into the debut issue of Psychic Violence, the main thought — especially after reading the “Reasons to Kill Yourself” spread — is this: “Whoa. This person sure is emo.” But like the late Sun Ra once said, “You can’t have a white house without a black house,” and zine creator…
This zine probably won’t help someone avert 2012’s end of the world catastrophe. What the DIY publication can do is provide the exact lighthearted fare you’ll want to read after such a serious happening as the so-called end of the Mayan calendar. Written and drawn by Tristan Jemsek, the Jobot…
The creators of the inaugural print edition of Downtown Phoenix Journal are clearly stoked that CityScape has arrived in downtown’s core. However, after arriving at the end of the 20-page publication — where three-quarters of a two-page spread is devoted to two different CityScape ads — it seems that the…
Tania Katan’s offering up some expert advice, and you’ll take it if you know a thing or two about local literature and performance art. Katan’s a playwright, actor and writer who grew up in Phoenix, moved away, and (lucky for us) came back. She’s written a few plays, including Saving…
Don’t mistake passion for hate in Susan Pants’ inaugural issue of her indie food zine The Not So Lazy Susan – Issue One: With Alotta Issues. It’s just that the writer loves chow so much that she tends to get a bit worked up. (Don’t we all with stuff that…
Do you love LOL cats? Then thank Seattle resident Ben Huh, creator of the website Icanhascheezburger.com, which features fuzzy cats making funny faces above captions their humans write. You can even thank Huh in person on Friday, December 3, when he signs his latest LOL tome, Teh Itteh Bitteh Book…
Maybe it’s because I couldn’t skate a lick when I was younger (my I-just-gotta-land-an-ollie re-do in my late ’20s was the pathetic equivalent of a mid-life-crisis man buying a Harley), but for whatever the reason, I’m digging issue 12 of Hoozdo, which mostly focuses on Phoenix’s skateboarding and underground cultures…
Yes, this is eye candy. It’s true, we’re fans of Frances and Smeeks (the local boutique and candy shop in Phoenix) and when they both happened to land in the first issue of “Holiday with Matthew Mead” this month, we only had one thing to say: Double whammy. Mead, and…
It’s nearly midnight and I’m sitting in an IHOP, you know, like you do. Somewhere in the dark of the East Valley night, trick-or-treaters are counting up their confectionery haul. Me, I’m sipping stale coffee with a room full of would-be famous, published writers gearing up for the start of…
It’s November 2, which means National Novel Writing Month will be over in 29 days. Ready to give up the 50,000-word challenge? Don’t, because there are some local groups that may help you get cranking as you try to hammer out a book in just 30 29 days. National Novel…
Halloween is creeping up early on The Poisoned Pen. This weekend, the indie book store in Scottsdale will host a costume party featuring five well-known horror, sci-fi, and fantasy authors, and plans to roll out the smoke machine and hand out prizes for the best costumes. Even if you’re not…
Phoenix is a city with many unsung virtues, one of which happens to be its active poetry scene. With open mics scattered across the Valley happening almost every night, there are plenty of opportunities to hear and speak the written word. And over the next two weeks, a few additional…
Authors Reyna Grande, Alberto Rios, Evelyn Cruz and Terry Greene Sterling each know their share about border issues and immigration. On Thursday, October 21, the four will meet to read from their books and lead an open discussion about the border and immigration — an issue with which each has…
Jane Joyce just published her fifth book in as many years, and bookworms can get all over the new tome starting today. With Portrait of the Artist — available online (and in about a month in physical form) at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and www.buybooksontheweb.com — the local writer, musician,…
Courtesy of Amy Stewart.Gotta love that cover art.Any book titled Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities is sure to grab some interest.And if you end up grabbing a copy by author Amy Stewart, you won’t be disappointed. Since we snagged ours, we’ve thumbed through…
Changing Hands Bookstore announced last week that David Sedaris — National Public Radio contributor and author of Me Talk Pretty One Day and When You Are Engulfed in Flames — will read from his latest collection Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, at the Tempe bookstore at 6 p.m. Wednesday, December…
From now through early next year, the Volunteer Non-Profit Service Association, which puts on the yearly VNSA Used Book Sale, is accepting your no-longer-needed hardcovers and paperbacks. The book-buying potpourri — the largest book sale west of the Mississippi River that will be entering its 55th year — is scheduled…
