Featured Events in Story in October, 2024 (June Updated)

Join Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney LIVE at King Phillip High School in Wrentham, MA for The Hot Mess Show, a deliciously entertaining and interactive one hour event. Jeff will be serving up laughs and celebrating the latest Wimpy Kid book, while satisfying your craving for family fun! Audience members will have a chance to join Jeff on stage for a family-style feast of friendly competition! Make your next family outing a HOT one! Tickets for this event are $22.50 and include one copy of Hot Mess and admission for one adult and one child. Those with odd numbered parties will need to register for enough tickets to accommodate everyone in their party (ex. if you have 3 members in your party, you will need to register for two tickets, as each ticket is good for up to two seats). Please note that all books will be pre-signed by Jeff, and there will not be a meet and greet following the event. Tickets for this event go on sale on Thursday, September 12th at 3pm. Once tickets are sold out, a waitlist option will become available. Once the waitlist is full, we will not be able to accommodate any additional signups. PLEASE NOTE: This event will be held offsite at King Phillip Regional High School in Wrentham, MA. ABOUT THE BOOK: In Hot Mess, book 19 of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from #1 international bestselling author Jeff Kinney, Greg Heffley is in for a particularly awkward summer with his whole family. The pressure is building for Greg Heffley, who discovers that when you mix heaps of family, a tiny beach house, and sweltering heat, it’s a recipe for disaster. Speaking of recipes—the secret ingredients behind Gramma’s famous meatballs have been closely guarded for years. Can Greg unpack all of his family’s mysteries before their vacation is over? Or will he just stir the pot? This sidesplittingly relatable summer story is the funniest Wimpy Kid book yet! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and the Awesome Friendly Kid series. He is a six-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book and has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England, where he and his wife own a bookstore named An Unlikely Story. Information Source: An Unlikely Story | eventbrite

Bestselling children's author Susan Verde joins us to discuss the newest installment in her I Am series, I Am We. This beautiful picture book, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, is about what true community looks like, and all of the beautiful things that can happen when we come together. Susan will discuss her book, answer audience questions, and sign copies! Ticket options for this event include: Admission + Book: Each ticket is $16.99 and comes with a copy of I Am We to be signed at the event.Admission + $5 Coupon: Each ticket may be redeemed for $5 off any of Susan's books on the day of the event.PLEASE NOTE: This is a ticketed event. All guests must be registered for a ticket to gain admission to this event. ABOUT THE BOOK: Cultivate connection and kindness in author Susan Verde’s and Peter H. Reynolds’s I Am We, a companion to the New York Times bestsellers I Am Human and I Am Love Connected is what we are: part of a world-wide community, diverse and magnificent, kind and accepting, supportive and present. All of us important, none of us alone. Sometimes we may wonder, how does caring for ourselves help anyone else? But then we realize that the better we feel inside, the more we can be there for others—our friends, families, and communities. We are part of something bigger than ourselves, and when we each turn our goodness and compassion outward, we can create, learn, and love. From the New York Times bestselling team behind the I Am series comes a celebration of caring for ourselves AND others with open hearts and minds. Whether it’s listening to a friend, welcoming newcomers with open arms, or standing up against injustice, I Am We shows us what true community looks like—and the amazing things that can happen when we come together. Inside you’ll also find exercises for building community. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Susan Verde is the bestselling author of I Am Yoga, I Am Peace, I Am Human, I Am Love, I Am One, I Am Courage, I Am Me, The Museum, and You and Me, all illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, as well as the Feel-Good Fairy Tales books, illustrated by Jay Fleck, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Soul, illustrated by Matthew Cordell. In addition to writing, she teaches kids yoga and mindfulness. Susan lives with her three children and their menagerie of pets in East Hampton, New York. Information Source: An Unlikely Story | eventbrite

Caldecott Honor winner and bestselling author Christopher Denise joins us for an event celebrating his stunning new picture book, Knight Owl and Early Bird. In this exciting adventure and follow-up to the New York Times bestselling picture book, Knight Owl makes an unlikely friend in the over-zealous Early Bird, who hopes to be a brave knight, too. Christopher will discuss his books, answer questions, and sign copies! Tickets are required for this event. Ticket options include: Admission + Book: Each ticket is $20.18 and comes with a copy of Knight Owl and Early Bird to be signed at the event.Admission + Coupon: Each ticket is $5, which may be redeemed for $5 off any of Christopher's books on the day of the event.ABOUT THE BOOK: Early Bird wants to be brave and protect the castle, just like Knight Owl. But she falls asleep on the job and then keeps her hero up during the day with her enthusiastic chattiness, well-meaning questions, and cheerful owl impersonations. But there are strange happenings in the forest, and soon Knight Owl and Early Bird find themselves in the throes of danger. Will these two learn to work together to keep themselves and the kingdom safe? Caldecott Honor winner and New York Times bestselling creator Christopher Denise delivers another endearing medieval tale that shines with warmth and goodwill, and shows just how important teamwork is to saving the day. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Christopher Denise is the award-winning creator of Knight Owl, which was a Caldecott Honor Award winner, a New York Times bestseller, and an ALA-ALSC Notable Book for Children, among many other honors. Christopher is also the illustrator of many critically acclaimed books for young readers, including Groundhug Day and Firefly Hollow. He invites you to visit him online at christopherdenise.com. Information Source: An Unlikely Story | eventbrite

Bestselling author and Massachusetts native J. Courtney Sullivan joins us to discuss her newest novel, The Cliffs. Set on the seaside cliffs of Maine, the book follows a Harvard archivist researching the history behind an old (and possibly haunted) mansion that was a hideaway for her as a child. Following her presentation, J. will answer questions and sign books! Tickets will go on sale on Friday, August 30th at 10am. Tickets are required for this event. Each ticket is $30.81 and come with a copy of The Cliffs to be signed at the event. ABOUT THE BOOK: REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • A novel of family, secrets, ghosts, and homecoming set on the seaside cliffs of Maine, by the New York Times best-selling author of Friends and Strangers “A stunning achievement, and J. Courtney Sullivan’s best book yet. Sullivan weaves a narrative that’s fascinating and thought-provoking. I literally could not put this book down.” —Ann Napolitano, New York Times best-selling author of Hello Beautiful On a secluded bluff overlooking the ocean sits a Victorian house, lavender with gingerbread trim, a home that contains a century’s worth of secrets. By the time Jane Flanagan discovers the house as a teenager, it has long been abandoned. The place is an irresistible mystery to Jane. There are still clothes in the closets, marbles rolling across the floors, and dishes in the cupboards, even though no one has set foot there in decades. The house becomes a hideaway for Jane, a place to escape her volatile mother. Twenty years later, now a Harvard archivist, she returns home to Maine following a terrible mistake that threatens both her career and her marriage. Jane is horrified to find the Victorian is now barely recognizable. The new owner, Genevieve, a summer person from Beacon Hill, has gutted it, transforming the house into a glossy white monstrosity straight out of a shelter magazine. Strangely, Genevieve is convinced that the house is haunted—perhaps the product of something troubling Genevieve herself has done. She hires Jane to research the history of the place and the women who lived there. The story Jane uncovers—of lovers lost at sea, romantic longing, shattering loss, artistic awakening, historical artifacts stolen and sold, and the long shadow of colonialism—is even older than Maine itself. Enthralling, richly imagined, filled with psychic mediums and charlatans, spirits and past lives, mothers, marriage, and the legacy of alcoholism, this is a deeply moving novel about the land we inhabit, the women who came before us, and the ways in which none of us will ever truly leave this earth. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: J. COURTNEY SULLIVAN is the best-selling author of the novels Commencement, Maine, The Engagements, Saints for All Occasions, and Friends and Strangers. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages. Sullivan's writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, New York, Elle, Glamour, Allure, Real Simple, and O, The Oprah Magazine, among many others. In 2017, she wrote the forewords to new editions of two of her favorite classic novels—Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children. Information Source: An Unlikely Story | eventbrite