Open Book Club
Imagine this. In small-town Seeley Lake and Condon, book lovers can meet prominent Western authors 6-10 evenings each year, listen to them read from their work, and engage in discussion. AAI's Open Book Club has made these author readings an enjoyable reality. We're not a “real book club.” We’re OPEN in the sense that everyone is welcome, all the time.
Russel Rowland at Holland Lake Lodge
Starting each autumn and running through spring, the Open Book Club brings in authors to read and discuss their work. In the past, it was held most often at Seeley Lake's Grizzly Claw Trading Company, and recently in the West Wing of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation building. We occasionally relocate in the summer to Swan Valley locations such as the Historical Museum or Holland Lake Lodge. Our enthusiasm is a surprise to many authors, who often praise the level of audience participation. Past authors have included John Maclean, William Kittredge, Jamie Ford, Peter Stark, Pete Fromm, Annick Smith, and Gretel Ehrlich.
“Sometimes, you find grace and true kindness in the most unexpected of places. When I was originally invited to participate in the Open Book Club, I truly did not know what to expect. They couldn't get me off the stage! I answered questions for over an hour, and our conversation became such an indelible, important discussion that I wish it had been recorded. I have never experienced that feeling before. The Open Book Club allowed me to be the very best version of myself, and I felt truly free to be open and honest. It stopped being a performance, and became an experience, one that I knew would never be duplicated.”
— Author Richard Fifield, The Flood Girls
The Open Book Club collaborates with the Creative Writing Program at Seeley Swan High School, featuring a student author reading from their work to begin the evening's program.
“In my experience, reading for the AAI Open Book Club has been such an amazing opportunity because it give young writers stage time and experience. We also get to meet published authors who can give us advice and some praise. This gives so much opportunity to young up and coming artists. I'm thankful for what they have done for me and I look forward to what they will do with lot of other great young artists.”
— Kyle Peltier, AAI Senior Scholarship Recipient, 2019
Current Schedule
The next event will be
Saturday, May 11 (time yet to be confirmed) in the
West Wing of the Seeley Lake Community Foundation
Join us to hear
Brad Orsted
read from his book,
Through the Wilderness - My Journey of Redemption and Healing in the American Wild
Check back in the future for additional details.
Near the end of February,
Betsy Gaines Quammen
shared her book:
TRUE WEST -
Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America
“True West explores myths of the West and how, if left unexamined, they distort the realities of the present and exacerbate polarizations. These misperceptions about land, politics, liberty, and self-determination threaten the wellbeing of western communities overrun by newcomers seeking a dream the country, unless America recognizes the dangers of building a national identity on illusion. “
from Betsy’s website: https://www.betsygainesquammen.com/true-west
In January, Author Peter Stark discussed with Montana Poet Laureate Chris La Tray Stark’s latest historical novel:
Gallop Toward the Sun:
Tecumseh and William Henry Harrison’s Struggle for the Destiny of a Nation
The book is a vivid account of the rivalry between future president William Henry Harrison and the Shawnee chief Tecumseh—and of the Native American alliance that fought westward expansion.
In October, author
Christopher J. Preston
talked about his book, Tenacious Beasts, explaining what is meant by the term as well as sharing thoughts on the recovery of various animals, including bison and wolves and how knowledge into their recovery can help inform decisions about wildlife management. Certainly this is an important topic in Montana (and the West in general) making this an insightful book to read.
In September, Alpine Artisans in partnership with the
Seeley Lake Public Library, had author
Jess Walter, The Cold Millions: A Novel
It was a grand evening, with a good crowd that delighted in learning more about the book, how it came together and interested in the similarities of issues in 1910 as in today.
To learn more about the event, read the September 28, Seeley Swan Pathfinder article by Griffen Smith by clicking HERE.
This was funded in part by NEA Big Read, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.
Last year’s schedule (autumn 2022 - summer 2023 ) included…
In July, Alpine Artisans and Swan Valley Connections welcomed
Chris Dombrowski
reading from his new memoir, The River You Touch Making a life on moving water inside the Swan Valley Community Hall.
“You won’t soon read a more beautiful book, nor one so earthy, wise, delicious, and alive. This is not a book about fish or rivers or Montana or parenting. This is a book, to paraphrase another poet, plain and simple, to break open the frozen sea within.” - Rick Bass
On Saturday, May 13th,
Jamie Ford, featured his book,
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy.
Read a review by AAI member Lynn Ingham (Click here for a PDF version of her review. )
In this new book, Jamie blends history and fiction as he bridges the past, present and future by writing about Afong Moy, the first known female Chinese immigrant to the United States, and then imagining the future generations of women who were related to her as daughters, granddaughters and on down the line. Jamie masterfully and sensitively brings to life the trauma Afong endured as she was showcased as an oddity for her ethnicity, her language and clothing; she was also the subject of much public (and medical) curiosity because of the spectacle created around her traditionally tiny bound feet. Afong’s traumatic beginnings in America, where she had no freedom or ability to make any decisions about her life or to move about on her own, sets the baseline for the novel’s exploration into Epigenetics and a related area of scientific study that shows how a person’s life experiences can imprint and impact their genetics. Under this lens, the idea of generational trauma and discussion of “nature vs nurture” take an entirely new turn.
Jamie’s dedication at the beginning of this book is a wonderful distillation of the book’s message. He writes: “This book is for anyone with a complicated origin story. I feel you.” As someone with a complicated origin story myself, I can attest to the fact that he does, indeed, feel us.
It is hard to distill a book that covers six generations of women touching three centuries, Afong and her five female descendants, into a simple review without necessary spoilers to connect the dots. In the novel, Jamie writes about the lives of each woman, and he also writes about many of the sweeping historical and political changes to the landscape over those decades, as well as the many concurrent changes to the climate, no small feat. Each successive descendant leads as interesting, if as conflicted, a life as that of Afong, and each female character is deserving of a book on their own. Taken in entirety, the story is compelling and tightly knit in an almost impossible-to-pull-off way. Jamie himself, in the epilogue, admits to the complexity of this novel, which he refers to as his big box of crayons: “I wanted to use all of my colors to draw a story, with the old and the new, the familiar and the unfamiliar. To create a word-picture with as much wonder and possibility as history and remembrance.”
All I can say is that Jamie has a rather impressive box of crayons.
Reviewers and fellow writers and admirers use phrases like “simply transcendent”, “lyrical and profound”, “haunting” when describing this book. Perhaps my favorite is on his book jacket as a quote from the New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang. She says, “A searing and vibrant epic of generational love, trauma, and healing. To read it is to be transformed – and to transcend.” Here’s to transforming and transcending!
In April
Max Loskutoff shared his book Ruthie Fear.
To learn more, listen to an MTPR interview by Lauren Korn here.
During his presentation, Max described various life experiences and how those experiences shape his writing. He read several sections from the Ruthie Fear, tying an event near the beginning of the story to another in the middle of the book. Taking questions, Max expanded on his views of what he hopes readers might come away with after reading the book - perhaps a different focus on the nostalgia of books set in Montana and how important getting away from a place and then returning is if a person wants to truly understand what makes it special and unique.
Maxim Loskutoff is a critically acclaimed author having received numerous awards including; the High Plains Book Award, Nelson Algren Award, M Literary Prize, and Montana Innovation Award. His stories and essays have appeared in numerous periodicals, including the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Ploughshares, and GQ.
In February 2023
Mark Gibbons shared his book of poetry, In the Weeds.
Mark is the author of ten collections of poetry. A 2013 recipient of the Artist Innovation Award from the Montana Arts Council, he has edited poetry collections for Drumlummon Institute and FootHills Publishing where he is the current editor of their Montana Poets Series.
Gibbons has worked with Poetry Out Loud, the national recitation competition, and taught poetry in schools over the last three decades. He lives in Missoula, Montana, with his wife and their cat.
To learn more about Mark and his work, visit: https://gibbonspoetry.com/
Last November
Jamie Harrison’s book, The Center of Everything was featured.
Author of six novels: The Center of Everything January 2021, Counterpoint), The Widow Nash (2017), and the four Jules Clement/Blue Deer mysteries, slated to be reissued soon by Counterpoint Press: The Edge of the Crazies, Going Local, An Unfortunate Prairie Occurrence, and Blue Deer Thaw. She was awarded the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Reading the West Book Award for The Widow Nash, and was a finalist for the High Plains Book Award.
In October, Bozeman based author, Keith McCafferty spoke about his latest book in the Sean Stranahan series, The Bangtail Ghost.
It’s easy to appreciate a book that describes the beauty and wildness of Montana and the state’s interesting people, unique places and magnificent wildlife. Throw in a great mystery and what do you have? A novel from the Sean Stranahan mystery series by Keith McCafferty, complete with humor and plenty of adventure thrown in.
In the most recent novel, The Bangtail Ghost, initial evidence seems to show that a woman was attacked by a mountain lion. However, her death would not be the last suspicious killing that needs to be investigated.
Other books in the series include:
The Royal Wulff Murders (2012) The Gray Ghost Murders (2013)
Dead Man's Fancy (2014) Crazy Mountain Kiss (2015)
Buffalo Jump Blues (2016) Cold Hearted River (2017)
A Death in Eden (2018) The Bangtail Ghost (2020)
Back in August 2022 Caroline Patterson shared her book, The Stone Sister.
The book tells the moving story of how the decisions we make shape our lives and define our future. Beautifully written and compassionately told, this is a novel that will stay with you for a long, long time.
Spanning the mid to late 20th century and set in the Elkhorn Valley of southwestern Montana, THE STONE SISTER is told from three points of view—a father's, a nurse's, and a sister's. Together they tell the unforgettable story of a child's birth, disappearance, and finally discovery in a home for "backward children." Winner of the 2020 Big Moose Prize
In The Stone Sister, Caroline Patterson tells the moving story of how the decisions we make shape our lives and define our future. Beautifully written and compassionately told, this is a novel that will stay with me for a long, long time.
All Open Book Club events, whether in person or via Zoom are free and open to everyone.
In the case of virtual events, registration is required. After registering, you will receive an
email containing information about joining the meeting.
Questions Contact Jenny@alpineartisans.org
The Open Book Club was recently in the news.
Humanities Montana awarded Alpine Artisans' Open Book Club the Montana Center for the Book Prize.
Read the complete article from the Seeley Swan Pathfinder, October 22, 2020 here.
OBC Archives
Open Book Club was founded by Sara Wilcox in 2007, and to date has presented over 100 authors.
View the full archive of authors below.
