THURSDAY, MAY 16
9:15am | PHOENIX | FAMILY EVENT | BABY TIME | Babies (accompanied by a favorite adult) enjoy songs, activities to promote movement, rhymes, books, and playtime in each lively session with Mr. Tom. Baby Time gives your baby the opportunity to hear lots of language while you get to know other families with young children.
Also join us in Phoenix at 9:15am on Thursdays, May 23 and 30. More »
10am | PHOENIX | FAMILY EVENT | STORYTIME | Join us for interactive storytime with Mr. Tom for pre-schoolers and kindergarteners.
Also join us in Phoenix at 10am on Thursday, May 23. More »
6pm | OFFSITE | MARK MANSON | EVERYTHING IS F*CKED: A BOOK ABOUT HOPE | The bestselling author of
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck shares his latest, a fresh approach to understanding why modern comforts and conveniences are also harming our ability to find meaning in our lives.
Tickets available online »
6:30pm | PHOENIX | WRITING WORKSHOP WITH AMY SILVERMAN AND DEBORAH SUSSMAN | "WRITE NOW: JUMP-START YOUR SUMMER WRITING" | Silverman and Sussman present a four-part workshop for writers of all genders working in any genre. In this workshop, they’ll offer tips and tricks to get you started on a summer writing project. From prompts designed to get you writing in class to a brainstorming discussion that will help you figure out your next steps (start a blog? submit a story for publication? write a book proposal? make a goal to journal? create a writing group?) and several opportunities to workshop essays, this class will help you figure out your next step.
Cost: $80 for four sessions. More »
7pm | PHOENIX | NISHTA J. MEHRA | BROWN WHITE BLACK: AN AMERICAN FAMILY AT THE INTERSECTION OF RACE, GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND RELIGION | Nishta J. Mehra shares her new book, a collection of intimate and honest essays on motherhood, marriage, love, and acceptance.
Brown White Black is a portrait of Nishta J. Mehra’s family: her wife, who is white; her adopted child, Shiv, who is black; and their experiences dealing with America’s rigid ideas of race, gender, and sexuality. Her clear-eyed and incisive writing on her family’s daily struggle to make space for themselves amid racial intolerance and stereotypes personalizes some of America’s most fraught issues. Mehra argues passionately for a more nuanced and compassionate understanding of identity and family. Both poignant and challenging,
Brown White Black is a remarkable portrait of a loving family on the front lines of some of the most highly charged conversations in our culture.
More »
FRIDAY, MAY 17
6pm | TEMPE | TWEEN EVENT | TODD MITCHELL | THE LAST PANTHER | Join the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing and incoming Distinguished Visiting Writer Todd Mitchell for a reading from his newest YA novel
The Last Panther.
Co-presented by Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. More »
7pm | PHOENIX | IMAGES OF AMERICA: PHOENIX TELEVISION | Dr. John E. Craft and Lisa Honebrink discuss and sign their book
Phoenix Television, featuring stories and archival photos that let you experience the early days of TV—"a time when the flickering blue light from a new receiver first danced on the curtains of darkened living rooms all over Phoenix."
Book sales help fund scholarships for journalism students at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. More »
7pm | PHOENIX | STORYLINE SLAM | "FAVORITES" | 10 tellers will have 6 minutes each to share a story based on the theme "Favorites." Sign up on TheStoryline.org to tell a story. Eight names will be drawn and posted on the TheStoryline.org. At least two more names will be drawn at the beginning of the show. Five members of the audience will be the judges. The storyteller with the most points at the end of the show receives a $30 cash prize.
Cost: $6 online / $8 at the door. More »
SATURDAY, MAY 18
5:30-8:30pm | TEMPE | INSIGHTS TAROT READINGS | Mystic Journeyz with Suzi Coggins. "Your Angels Are Waiting."
Cost: $20 for 15 minutes. Registration at 480.730.0205. More info: mysticjourneyz.com.
5:30-8pm | TEMPE | WRITERS, INK. | Share and critique two to four pages of writing with a group of peers.
RSVP (required) at janiemae1083@gmail.com.
7pm | PHOENIX | COSPLAY PREVIEW HAPPY HOUR | Have a costume you want to test drive before taking it out on the Fan Fusion convention floor? Have more ideas than you can fit into one four-day weekend? Join us at First Draft Book Bar (the wine, beer, and coffee bar inside Changing Hands Phoenix) for Cosplay Happy Hour. Mingle with other cosplayers, enjoy happy hour pricing and a playlist created for your geeky listening pleasure.
More »
SUNDAY, MAY 19
4pm | PHOENIX | OUR HEARTS GO OUT TO YOU: FOUR CHAMBERS FINAL FAREWELL | Last January, "after five years of publications and events, Four Chambers officially flatlined as the heart of literature in Phoenix, AZ. But our stories and poems live on in your hearts." Join local literary journal and small press Four Chambers for a final farewell, and take a piece of their heart with you. Four Chambers will have a variety of books and artwork that were published throughout their lifetime all available for free. There will be a short reading at 5:30pm to celebrate the life of Four Chambers Press and finally put it to rest.
More »
MONDAY, MAY 20
7pm | TEMPE | CITA STELZER | WORKING WITH WINSTON | Cita Stelzer discusses and signs her new book detailing the women who worked with Winston Churchill throughout his life. Many reflect upon their years working for him as the best years of their lives. Intelligent and hard-working, these women were far from sycophants. Just as Churchill was no ordinary Prime Minister, these women were not ordinary secretaries. Indeed, in today’s terms their titles would be much grander, as their work encompassed ultra-secret documents and decrypting and reading enemy codes. A treasure trove of insight and research,
Working with Winston reveals the man behind the statesman and brings long-overdue recognition to the "hidden army" that, like Churchill, was never off-duty.
More »
7pm | PHOENIX | LYSA ALLMAN-BALDWIN | I CRIED. AND PEOPLE LOVED ME ANYWAY | Motivational speaker and freelance writer Lysa Allman-Baldwin shares her debut book. Lysa Allman-Baldwin’s almost 25 years of freelance and travel writing have led her on many amazing journeys. A few years ago, her travels crossed paths with a very personal, inner journey resulting in her new book,
I Cried. And People Loved Me Anyway. In it, Allman-Baldwin teaches us how to overcome emotional trauma by living with passion, authenticity and purpose.
More »
TUESDAY, MAY 21
10:15am | TEMPE | FAMILY EVENT | STORYTIME | Join us for interactive storytime with Mr. Tom for pre-schoolers and kindergarteners.
Also join us in Tempe at 10:15am on Tuesday, May 28. More »
7pm | PHOENIX | ZACHARY KRAMER | OUTSIDERS: WHY DIFFERENCE IS THE FUTURE OF CIVIL RIGHTS | What is the future of civil rights law? Join Zachary Kramer, a law professor at ASU, for a conversation about his new book,
Outsiders: Why Difference is the Future of Civil Rights. Mixing legal doctrine and theory, art, and personal narrative,
Outsiders offers a new way to think about identity, equality, and discrimination. It argues for civil rights for everyone.
More »
7pm | PHOENIX | JANA BOMMERSBACH | A STOLEN LIFE: THE DEBRA MILKE STORY | The local author and journalist discusses her latest novel. Arizona decided Debra Milke was a "confessed" babykiller who deserved to die. But 25 years later, federal and state courts demanded she go free.
A Stolen Life: The Debra Milke Story is Jana Bommersbach’s latest in-depth investigative book.
More »
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22
7pm | PHOENIX | FIRST DRAFT BOOK CLUB | NORMAL PEOPLE | Join
Arizona Republic reporter Barbara VanDenburgh at First Draft Book Bar (the wine and beer bar inside Changing Hands Phoenix) for a discussion of this month’s pick,
Normal People by Sally Rooney, a new novel about a universal story of love, friendship, and growing up.
Stop by either Changing Hands location or order online to get your copy of Normal People
for 20% off, then meet us at First Draft to discuss and enjoy happy hour prices during the event. More »
THURSDAY, MAY 23
9:15am | PHOENIX | FAMILY EVENT | BILINGUAL STORYTIME | Interactive bilingual storytime for preschoolers and kindergarteners.
More »
5:30-8:30pm | TEMPE | WRITERS, INK. | Share and critique two to four pages of writing with a group of peers.
RSVP (required) at janiemae1083@gmail.com.
7pm | TEMPE | ROBERT MCWHIRTER | "THE CONSTITUTION AND DONALD J. TRUMP - PART NINE" | Attorney and Bill of Rights expert Robert McWhirter presents the next in his ongoing series about President Trump and the Constitution. As Trump claims to "make America great again," he finds himself repeatedly bumping up against the greatest charter of government on earth: The United States Constitution. Tonight, the author of
Bills, Quills, and Stills leads a presentation and question-and-answer session about what the Constitution really says about what Trump wants to do.
More »
FRIDAY, MAY 24
7pm | TEMPE | CANYON RECORDS CONCERT | NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE PLAYER AARON WHITE | Canyon Records and Changing Hands Bookstore present GRAMMY nominee Aaron White performing selections from his latest CD
Moonlight Love Songs. Join us for a night of music featuring the sounds of White’s original songs about the many facets of love—hope, yearning, commitment—through melodies of the traditional Native American flute.
More »
7pm | PHOENIX | LISA WINGATE | BEFORE WE WERE YOURS | The bestselling author and former journalist shares her latest, a
New York Times,
USA Today, and
Wall Street Journal bestselling work of historical fiction. Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.
More »
SATURDAY, MAY 25
5:30-8:30pm | TEMPE | TAROT READINGS | Tarot readings by Sonya Lee Stockhaus, a.k.a. "The Joy Detective."
Cost: $20 for 15 minutes. Registration at 480.730.0205. More info: actualizejoy.com.
