I can't think of a better place to wrap up our Bay Area book tour than at the sublime Living Green Design space in San Francisco, surrounded by lush plants, tropical flowers, and beautiful Buddhas--while sipping a festive adult beverage, or three. Come raise a glass (or three) with us!
My beautiful superstar sisters Blake Spalding and Jen Castle of Hell's Backbone Grill and I will be celebrating (and signing) our newest book, and serving up some bites and festive libations.
We'll have copies on hand of both This Immeasurable Place, our newest narrative cookbook, and With a Measure of Grace, our first book, which we just redesigned and updated! Both are filled with delicious recipes, stunning photos, and stories about the land and the restaurant community. The books also tell the full story of how Blake and Jen, two-time James Beard Award semi-finalists, came to own an incredible Buddhist-based, farm-to-table restaurant in a tiny, remote town in southern Utah.
If you haven't seen it yet, Blake and Jen and their mission to save the Grand Staircase were the subject of this amazing twelve-page feature in The New Yorker last month! (My name is in there, too. You'll find it around paragraph 33. It was a big moment for me.)
We hope to see you at the party!
p.s. I feel I would be remiss to add that these books, signed and personalized, make exceptionally terrific holiday gifts. I'll bet you didn't see that coming. But don't just take it from me. Here's what some very awesome people are saying:
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"Blake Spalding and Jen Castle are alchemists, truly changing the world through their hands, their hearts, their farm, their food. In community, everything is possible. Theirs is a leadership of love." -- Terry Tempest Williams, author of The Hour of Land.
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"... Filled with remarkable recipes and essays, it breathed life back into my radical, sometimes flagging hope for humanity, and is as inspiring as it is mouthwatering. We need this book now more than ever." -- Elissa Altman, author of Poor Man's Feast
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"The wisdom found in the pages of this beautiful and surprising book is immeasurable. It's wisdom from the edge, from one of the most glorious hidden kitchens there is. The story of Blake and Jen, true kitchen sisters -- their cooking, friendship, and farming--is expansive and illuminating. Land, food, family, stewardship, and spirit all course through these tempting, gorgeous pages. A book that feeds us on so many levels." -- Davia Nelson, NPR's Kitchen Sisters
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"As this book shows, horizon and history can't be separated from the majesty of what we grow and prepare. Among hallowed lands, creators Jen Castle and Blake Spalding channel a culinary spirituality, and through these beautiful pages, the warmth and love abiding at Hell's Backbone Grill." --Jacki Lyden, author of Daughter of The Queen of Sheba and former NPR hostWe'll be celebrating our new book (and signing and selling it, of course)
Living Green Design, 1485 Custer Avenue, San Francisco , California
Writing Away Book Launch Party
June 7
2009
Hell's Backbone Grill
Boulder, UT
Reading at Sundancer Books
June 8
2009
Sundancer Books
Springdale, UT
Glen Canyon Lecture Series
June 9
2009
Carl Hayden Visitor Center
Page, AZ
Book Reading at The Wine Loft
June 11
2009
The Wine Loft
Flagstaff, AZ
Book Reading at Starrlight Books
June 12
2009
Starrlight Books
Flagstaff, AZ
Book Reading at Terroir Wine Pub
June 13
2009
Terroir Wine Pub
Scottsdale, AZ
Book Reading at Changing Hands Bookstore
June 14
2009
Changing Hands Bookstore
Tempe, AZ
Book Reading at Lavendar Moon Store
June 15
2009
Lavendar Moon Store
Goodyear, AZ
Book Reading at Antigone Books
June 19
2009
Antigone Books
Tucson, AZ
Book Reading at The Anasazi State Park Museum
June 22
2009
Boulder, UT
Book Reading at King’s English
June 23
2009
King’s English Bookstore
Salt Lake City, UT
Writing Away Book Launch
June 29
2009
Orbit Room
San Francisco, CA
Travel Lit & Lecture Series
July 13
2009
Books Inc
San Francisco, CA
Book Reading at Green Arcade
Monday
October 12
2009
Green Arcade Bookstore
San Francisco, CA
The Art of Journaling
March 6
- 7
2010
Canyon Community Center
Zion, UT
BWTW 2011 Book Launch Party
May 23
2011
Place Pigalle
San Francisco, CA
Reading at Books Inc Marina
Wednesday
May 25
2011
Books Inc
San Francisco, CA
Travel Lit & Lecture Series
Thursday
May 26
2011
Books Inc
San Francisco, CA
BWTW Reading at Books Inc Berkeley
Friday
June 3
2011
Books Inc
Berkeley, CA
BWTW Reading in San Rafael
Saturday
June 4
2011
San Rafael, CA
BWTW Reading in Pasadena
July 8
2011
Vromans
Pasadena, CA
BWTW Reading in LA
July 9
2011
Travelers Bookcase
Los Angeles, CA
Book Reading at Newtonville Books
Friday
November 11
2011
Newtonville Books
Newton, MA
TEDx Conference
April 27
2012
Park City, UT
BWTW 8 Book Launch Party
August 19
2012
Brick & Mortar Music Hall
San Francisco, CA
Weekday Wanderlust
September 24
2012
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA
Weekday Wanderlust
October 17
2012
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA
Book Reading at Diesel in Malibu
Sunday
November 4
2012
Diesel, A Bookstore in Malibu
Malibu, CA
Weekday Wanderlust
November 12
2012
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA
Art of the Noun: People, Places, Things & Ideas
January 2
- 9
2013
San Miguel de Allende
Mexico
Weekday Wanderlust
January 28
2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA
Writing & Publishing the Travel Essay
February 7
to March 21
2013
The Grotto
San Francisco, CA
Story Farm
February 9
2013
Intersection For The Arts
San Francisco, CA
Weekday Wanderlust
February 25
2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA
BWTW Reading at Book Passage
Tuesday
February 26
2013
Book Passage
Corte Madera, CA
Weekday Wanderlust
Monday
March 25
2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA
Restless Legs
Monday
April 15
2013
Lolita Bar
New York, NY
Travel and Transformation w/ Lavinia Spalding and Rolf Potts
April 26
- 28
2013
Riverlight Wellness Center
Stonington, CT
Weekday Wanderlust
May 28
2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA
Art of the Verb: Action, Occurrence, State of Being
June 4
- 11
2013
Boulder, UT
Writing The Literary Travel Essay
June 24
to July 29
2013
The Grotto
San Francisco, CA
Litcrawl with AFAR magazine
October 19
2013
Adobe Books
san francisco, california
Reading at Book Passage for Best Women’s Travel Writing Volume 9
October 20
2013
Book Passage
Corte Madera, CA
Weekday Wanderlust’s One Year Anniversary!
October 23
2013
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, CA
Travel Writing, UC Berkeley Guest Lecture
November 5
2013
San Francisco, California
Best Women’s Travel Writing Volume 9: Book Launch Party!
December 9
- 10
2013
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
San Francisco, California
Writing The Literary Travel Essay: From Inspiration to Publication
January 29
to March 5
2014
The Writers' Grotto
San Francisco , California
Beyond What You Did Last Summer: Teaching Travel Writing
Thursday
February 27
2014
AWP Conference
Seattle, WA
There She Goes Again: Women Writing Travel
Friday
February 28
2014
AWP Conference
Seattle, WA
Book Launch Party at The Mount
June 22
2014
The Mount
Lenox, MA
The Great Books Summer Program at Stanford
Wednesday
July 9
2014
Stanford
Palo Alto, California
Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference
August 14
- 17
2014
Book Passage
Corte Madera, California
The ROAR Retreat in Costa Rica
September 25
- 28
2014
Playa Conchal
Costa Rica
LitCrawl with Travelers’ Tales
October 18
2014
San Francisco
Machu Picchu Writing Workshop
November 10
- 15
2014
Peru
Anthology Night at Weekday Wanderlust
November 17
2014
Hotel Rex
San Francisco, California
The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 10 at Diesel Books in Brentwood
November 18
2014
Diesel Books
Brentwood, California
The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 10 Reading at Diesel Books in Oakland!
November 20
2014
Diesel Books
Oakland, CA
The Best Women’s Travel Writing Comes to Half Moon Bay
December 5
2014
Harbor Books
Half Moon Bay, California
Launch for Lonely Planet’s An Innocent Abroad at Book Passage
December 13
2014
Book Passage
Corte Madera, California
Writing the Travel Essay: From Inspiration to Publication
January 8
to February 12
2015
The San Francisco Writers' Grotto
San Francisco, California
Women’s Travel Fest 2015
March 1
2015
San Francisco, California
Adventure Travel Stories With an All-Star Line-up
April 8
2015
Creekside Room at the Mill Valley Library
Mill Valley, California
The Book Passage Travel Writers & Photographers Conference
August 13
- 16
2015
Book Passage
Corte Madera, California
“An Evening with Travel Writer Lavinia Spalding”
Tuesday
October 6
2015
Oshman Family Jewish Community Center
Palo Alto, California
Interviewing the great Don George
October 23
2015
The Presidio Officer's Club
San Francisco, California
Writing the Travel Essay: From Inspiration to Publication
April 13
to May 18
2016
The San Francisco Writers' Grotto
San Francisco, CA
The Annual Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference
August 11
- 14
2016
Book Passage
Corte Madera , CA
Cultivating Compassion through Intentional Journaling
January 18
2017
St. Claud Social Club
New Orleans , Louisiana
How to Get an Editor’s Attention
February 5
2017
The Women's Travel Fest
New Orleans, Louisiana
The Best Women’s Travel Writing Book Launch Party
Monday
May 15
2017
Brick and Mortar Music Hall
San Francisco , CA
The Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference
August 8
- 12
2017
Book Passage
Corte Madera
Storytelling in Writing: Workday, Inc
November 7
- 9
2017
The Marriott
San Ramon, California
Turning the Wheel
February 26
to March 8
2018
the Khatmandu Valley
Nepal
On the Detour
July 29
2018
Five Senses Festival
Washington, Connecticut
The Annual Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference
August 9
- 12
2018
Book Passage
Corte Madera , California
In Conversation with Apricot Irving
October 16
2018
Garden District Bookshop
New Orleans , Louisiana
Litcrawl with AFAR
October 20
2018
The Mission (exact location TBA)
San Francisco, California
Reading & Signing: This Immeasurable Place: Food and Farming from the Edge of Wilderness
December 10
2018
Book Passage Bookstore & Cafe
Corte Madera , California
This Immeasurable Place, Food and Farming from the Edge of Wilderness
December 11
2018
McRoskey Mattress Factory Third Floor Loft Space
San Francisco, California
Deep Travel Morocco
March 31
to April 8
2019
Fez and Moulay Idriss
Morocco
Deep Travel Anthology launch
August 7
2019
Book Passage Bookstore & Cafe
Corte Madera , California
The Book Passage Travel Writers and Photographers Conference
August 8
- 11
2019
Book Passage Bookstore & Cafe
Corte Madera , California
Paris American Academy Summer Creative Writing Workshop
July 1
- 31
2020
Paris
France
The Annual Book Passage Travel Writers Conference
August 20
- 23
2020
Book Passage
Corte Madera, California
Virtual Book Launch for The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 12
December 8
2020
Book Passage (via Zoom)
Corte Madera, CA
There You Go: Write the Travel Essay
January 5
to February 9
2021
The Writers Grotto (online)
Anywhere!
Virtual Bookstore Reading at Magers & Quinn
February 18
2021
Magers & Quinn
Minneapolis, MI
The Best Women’s Travel Writing, Volume 12, at Elliott Bay Books
March 1
2021
Elliot Bay Books
Seattle, Washington
A Journey Into Personal Travel Writing
April 26
to May 13
2021
Santa Fe Workshops
In Conversation with Janna L. Goodwin (online)
May 19
2021
Book Passage
Corte Madera
Podbean Live Storytelling Salon
July 21
2021
Podbean
Letter to a Stranger Reading
Wednesday
May 4
2022
Book Passage (online)
A Fresh Start: Reawaken the Mind Through Writing and Meditation
November 6
- 16
2022
Himalayan Writing Workshops
Kathmandu
Nepal
The Art of Tranquilo
March 15
- 22
2024
Yelapa, Mexico
Divining Creativity
May 13
- 17
2024
Cummari
Siracusa
Italy