March 2023

March was fast!  

Mid-month we were delighted to be invited to have a stall at the Celtic Village at Charleston’s seventh annual Celtic Calling. It was a somewhat different experience compared with anything we have attended so far, with a whole lot of tartan and a whole lot of bagpipes, but Blackwater Press was received exceptionally well and we sold a good many books.

We introduced our new tote bags (US only, for now) at the event, thanks to our City of Charleston grant. Aren’t they pretty? For $9.49 only!

On Monday April 3 Cameron Alam’s much-anticipated Anangokaa will be published. Check out the latest review here, order here, and read her blog post on the inspiration for her novel. 

On Tuesday April 4, Joseph Horowitz is reading from his forthcoming novel, The Marriage: The Mahlers in New York at the Argento Music Project in New York. Go, if you can, and pre-order it if you can’t. 

On Thursday April 6, Melanie McGee Bianchi will be in conversation with award-winning banjo player and author Pete Kosky and our very own Elizabeth about the ballad narrative in Appalachian literature, at 5.30pm at Booktenders in Barboursville, WV. The program will repeat the next day at noon, at the main branch of the Kanawha County Public Library in Charleston. 

Check out the latest review of The Ballad of Cherrystoke here. 

And if that wasn’t enough, we have two books coming out in May: The Flounder by John Fulton and A People Without Shame by Patrick Colm Cogan, as well as one in June: Mission to Madagascar: The Sergeant, the King, and the Slave Trade by David H. Mould. 

And Kate Mueser recently interviewed her heroine, Sarah Johnson, for Books By Women. 

We’re introducing a standing 20% for pre-orders for all newsletter subscribers! Spread the word: don’t let your friends miss out on good literature! 

Peace and love.