Events

 

Storytime with Bookseller Monica
First Wednesdays at 1 PM 

Gather up your little readers and head down to Spiral for a monthly Storytime! Bookseller Monica will read aloud from a hand-picked children’s book full of magic and wonder. Selections will vary every month, but the chosen title will also be available for purchase just in case you fall in love. We kindly ask that children are with a guardian at all times in the shop. This event is free to attend!  

"to rule the desert" Release Reading
Friday, May 19 at 6 PM | Canal View Park

You are cordially invited to celebrate the release of our very own Monica Robinson’s debut novella, “to rule the desert.” Join us at Canal View Park in Manayunk to dive into this gothic, Greek-mythology inspired love story set in an endless desert and punctuated with queer resistance and simmering revenge. Monica will read from “to rule the desert” and answer questions about their work. Copies of “to rule the desert” will be available for purchase during the event. Monica’s other titles, themed merchandise and a special collaboration with Old Growth Alchemy will also be available for purchase during this event. 

You may also pre-order a copy of “to rule the desert” here!

This event is free to attend. No seating will be provided, so we encourage you to bring anything you need to be comfy! Masks are encouraged, but as this is an outdoor event, they are not required. 

Canal View Park is located on Main Street across from Lucky’s Last Chance and Blondie. Metered street parking is available throughout the neighborhood. The closest recommended lot is Venice Island, located at 5 Lock Street, Philadelphia PA 19127. At this lot, payment can be made ahead of time and via the ParkMobile app.  

Medusa's Birthday
Monday, May 22 at 7 PM EST

You are cordially invited to the one-year anniversary of Raegen M. Pietrucha’s book, “Head of a Gorgon.” We’ll celebrate Medusa’s first birthday with an evening of poetry and magic! Writers, publishers and booksellers that have helped little Medusa grow big and strong will read from selected works, and the evening will conclude with poetry from Raegen herself. We encourage anyone with an interest in poetry, Greek mythology and feminine rage to join us! This event is free to attend and will be hosted on Zoom. Pre-registration on Eventbrite is required. Click here to register! 

MORE ABOUT THE READERS:

RAEGEN M. PIETRUCHA writes, edits, and consults creatively and professionally. Her debut full-length poetry collection, Head of a Gorgon, won a 2023 Human Relations Indie Book Award; her debut poetry chapbook, An Animal I Can't Name, won the 2015 Two of Cups Press competition; and she has a memoir in progress. She received her MFA from Bowling Green State University, where she was an assistant editor for Mid-American Review. Her writing has been published in Cimarron Review, Puerto del Sol, and other journals. Her photography has been published in Rivanna Review, Seaside Gothic, and other outlets. Connect with her at raegenmp.wordpress.com, on Twitter @freeradicalrp, and on Instagram @raegenmp.

GREG BLAKE MILLER, Ph.D., is an award-winning writer and editor who teaches literary nonfiction and media studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is also the editorial director of rjmagazine and director of Olympian Creative, a coaching and mentoring service for creative professionals. Honored as Nevada’s Outstanding Journalist, Miller also writes fiction; he is the author of the illustrated short-story collection Decemberlands, and his recent work appears in Red Canary’s Eco Lit series. He is a former staff writer for The Moscow Times and is currently completing a novel set in the 1960s Soviet Union. Learn more at GregBlakeMiller.org.

LEIGH ANNE HORNFELDT’s work has appeared widely in journals including New Southerner, Lunch Ticket, and Spry. She has written three chapbooks, most recently Fleshed (Winged City Press). She is the recipient of the Kudzu prize in poetry as well as the Juliette Miller Scholarship from SAFTA. She lives and writes in North Carolina.

KELLY DUMAR is a poet, playwright and workshop facilitator from Boston. She’s author of four poetry collections, including jinx and heavenly calling, published by Lily Poetry Review Books in March 2023. Kelly teaches a variety of creative writing workshops and runs Play Labs for the International Women’s Writing Guild and the Transformative Language Arts Network. Kelly produces the Featured Open Mic for the Journal of Expressive Writing. Reach her at kellydumar.com

JULIA LEVERONE is a comparatist who has taught writing, literature, culture, and Spanish. Her debut full-length poetry collection, Duo, is forthcoming from Kelsay Books. Her book of translations of selected poetry of Francisco “Paco” Urondo, Fuel and Fire, won a grant from the Argentine government, and her second poetry chapbook, Little Escape, won the 2016 Claudia Emerson Prize from JMWW. She holds a PhD from Washington University in St. Louis and an MFA from the University of Maryland at College Park. She currently lives in the Appalachians, but is native to northeastern Massachusetts and has lived in Dallas. She has served on the editorial staffs of Smartish Pace, Sakura Review, and Asymptote, and is the founder and editor of AzonaL, the online magazine of poetry in translation. Her website is julialeverone.com and she can be found on Facebook and Instagram (@julia.leverone).

IGNATIUS VALENTINE ALOYSIUS earned his MFA in Creative Writing from Northwestern University, where he won the Distinguished Thesis Award for fiction and is currently a lecturer in writing and experimentation there. He is the Twice Pushcart nominated author of the literary novel Fishhead. Republic of Want (Tortoise Books, 2020), and his prose and poetry have appeared in or are forthcoming in Cold Mountain Review, Tofu Ink Arts Press, Trampset, and the Coalition for Digital Narratives, among other venues. A host and curator of Sunday Salon Chicago, a literary reading series in its 17th year, Ignatius is shopping his second novel, a literary/speculative work, and his two poetry collections are under contract with Tofu Ink Arts Press for release in 2023-24. He is currently finishing a poetry collection collaboration with David Allen Sullivan, recent Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz, CA.

FREDDY LA FORCE is the founder and editor of Vegetarian Alcoholic Press, an independent publisher with over thirty books in print, including “Head of a Gorgon.” Learn more at http://vegetarianalcoholicpress.com.

VICTORIA MIER is a disabled writer, independent bookshop owner and suspected changeling. In Victoria’s work, you’ll find strange doors, spilled cups of tea, star-crossed souls, and gloomy train stations. You can read their writing in Del Sol SFF Review, Fifth Wheel Press, Vulnerary Magazine, SORTES Magazine and Luna Luna Magazine. She’s currently working on a full-length manuscript. Learn more at victoriamier.com and follow along on instagram at @victoriamier. 

An Evening of Dark Poetry with Hamant Singh
Tuesday, May 23 at 7 PM EST

Please join us for an evening of esoteric poetry, prophetic wonder and forbidden knowledge with author Hamant Singh. Joined by guest reader Effy Winter, Hamant will read from “The Sibyl,” his debut poetry collection. After the reading, Hamant and Effy will answer questions about their work and what influences their creations. This event is virtual and free to attend. Due to the nature of Hamant’s work, we recommend this event for attendees ages 18+. Join here on Zoom!

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

HAMANT SINGH is a Singaporean writer who is influenced by horror, different cultures and the occult. In 2022, he completed his first collection of poems titled The Sibyl.

Seventy Demons and Inseparable have since been published in the July 2021 edition of Illumen, a quarterly digest for science fiction/fantasy poetry. Inseparable was also nominated for the prestigious 2022 Rhysling Award by the Science Fiction Poetry Association.

He currently resides in the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico where he enjoys gardening, reading and making music. He is currently working on a second book featuring more international writers. Learn more at https://www.hamantsingh.com/about-the-author/

EFFY WINTER is an American poet and scholar specializing in literary studies with a concentration on the life and work of German writer, Assia Wevill. A nominee for The 2018 Pushcart Prize, her poetry has appeared in numerous publications including Vulnerary, Rust & Moth and Resurrection Magazine. She is currently pursuing her academic work in England, where she divides her time between West Yorkshire and London. Learn more at https://www.effywinter.com/. 

June ‘23 Selkie Book Club: The Buried Giant
Wednesday, June 14 at 7:30 PM EST

Join us for the virtual gathering of Spiral’s Selkie Book Club! Focused on magical adult fiction, this book club meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM EST via Zoom. Dive deep into Victoria’s selection of stranger worlds, shimmering doors, supernatural quests and mystical landscapes. For the June Selkie Book Club, we’ll be reading Kazuo Ishiguro's "The Buried Giant."

To join this book club, we just ask that you purchase each month’s title through the shop! Click here to purchase "The Buried Giant." Your email will be added to the book club list with your purchase. 

Other options for entry:

- Visually impaired or blind and need to use audiobooks? Please purchase the audiobook through Spiral’s LibroFM if possible, and forward us the email confirmation. If purchase through LibroFM is not possible, simply email us and let us know you’d like to join!

- Already own this book but did not purchase it from Spiral or another indie bookshop? You can purchase a book club ticket on our website! 

- Already purchased this month’s title from Spiral or another indie bookshop? Just email us at spiralbookcase@gmail.com and let us know you already have the book but would like to join!

 

 _______________________________