September will be a busy month at The Silver Unicorn Bookstore. They have eight author events on their calendar. Several of these are book launches for local authors in their store at 12 Spruce Street, Acton, and one special event is being held at the Maynard Fine Arts Theatre.
First up will be Michael Blumberg of Acton on Saturday, September 3. He has a new picture book, “The Value of a Stick: An Outdoor Adventure,” Illustrated by his former neighbor Christine Dunn-Benson. In his newsletter, bookstore owner Paul Swydan says the book explores the many uses of a stick with humor and heart, promoting a sense of community.
The second author event is with Lee McColgan, an architectural conservator and writer, who will discuss his book, “A House Restored: The Tragedies and Triumphs of Saving a New England Colonial” on September 5. The book covers Lee’s experience with the purchase of the 1702-built Loring House and the many challenges he went through in its restoration process. The project was so massive in scope that it overwhelmed Lee to the point of having to give up his day job to dedicate all his time and energy into the writing of this book. It has been getting a lot of buzz from other non-fiction authors, including Kevin O’Connor, the Emmy award-winning host of This Old House. McColgan was also covered in The New York Times recently.
Next up is the middle grade novel launch for “The Owl Prowl Mystery,” the sequel to “Trouble at Turtle Pond,” by local author Diana Renn. Set in the imaginary town of Marsh Hollow, Massachusetts (a place that easily could be mistaken for Acton), the story follows the Backyard Rangers as they investigate the mystery of owl baiters targeting the local celebrity, Bella the Barred Owl. With howling evidence turning up from all over Marsh Hollow, it quickly becomes clear that the Rangers will stop at nothing to come to the rescue of Bella the Barred Owl. Renn will be in conversation with another middle-grade author from the area, Elaine Dimopoulos.
The Silver Unicorn is also hosting an event in Maynard with Boston Celtics Jayson Tatum. Paul Swydan has penned several pieces about Tatum and the Celtics, including one for Boston.com. In his newsletter, Swydan says, “Jayson Tatum is my favorite basketball player, and favorite athlete in general. So, when we learned that he had written a picture book, we immediately found all the stops to pull out to try to land an event with him.” Tatum’s new picture book, “Baby Dunks-A-Lot,” was co-written with Sam Apple and illustrated by Parker-Nia Gordon. The book is a humorous story about a baby who can dunk a basketball and gets recruited to play for a professional team. The event is at the Maynard Fine Arts Theatre on September 12 and sold out within just hours of tickets being made available. Jayson will be in conversation with journalist and writer Howard Bryant.
The Silver Unicorn’s nonfiction debut this month will happen on September 14 when Helen Kampion celebrates her first picture book, “Rollin’ On Down the Line: Lady Bird Johnson’s 1964 Whistle-Stop Tour for Civil Rights.” The story is a picture book biography illustrated by Erin McGuire and co-authored by Reneé Critcher Lyons, recounting the first time a first lady personally campaigned for her husband, and redefining the role of the first lady forever after. And joining her is another picture book author, Elizabeth Shreeve, who also presents her new book, “The Oddball Book of Armadillos.” Illustrated by Isabella Grott, this is the second book by the team that wrote “The Upside-Down Book of Sloths.”
Later in the month, John Hanson Mitchell will be featured at an event at the Silver Unicorn for the first time. He has written many books, but his best known locally is “Ceremonial Time: Fifteen Thousand Years on One Square Mile” — about the history of a single square mile of land in the neighboring town of Littleton. The Silver Unicorn will be celebrating his latest, “The Sweet Revenge of Marcus Aurelius.” This is a historical novel based on a true story of an enslaved person who has managed to trade his master. This event will take place in the bookstore on September 17.
Next, the Silver Unicorn will host their first event with award-winning local author Christie Matheson, who will launch her latest picture book, “One Light.” Illustrated by Anuska Allepuz. “One Light” has a powerful message: you are never too small to make a difference. Christie’s previous work includes “Mamas and Babies,” “Forest,” and “A Mischief of Mice” — all of which she both wrote and illustrated. So, while this event on September 21st will primarily celebrate “One Light,” it will also serve as a kind of capstone to Christie’s incredible output in the past year.
The bookstore will also host Alison Goldberg, who is launching her new book, “Eighteen Flowers for Grandma.” Alison was one of the first authors to do a story time at the Silver Unicorn when it opened in 2018, so this is an opportunity to see her with a new book on September 29th. This is a story of a little girl Sadie and her grandmother, who teaches her not only about their mutual Jewish cultural heritage but also about the art she is learning in college.
That is what is coming up for September at the Silver Unicorn Bookstore!
Earlier this year, I wrote an article for the Acton Exchange that asked, “How does a local business compete with Amazon?” And the answer was “by offering something you can’t get online: a chance to meet authors in person and ask them to autograph their books.”
Well, it also helps if your bookstore is in a community with more authors than you can shake a stick at. And the Silver Unicorn knows how to feature a cornucopia of these prolific authors both in the fall as well as in the summer.
Greg Jarboe is our correspondent from the Senior Center and writes about a lot else, too!