Has your summer had enough art?

Take a chance on a summer destination—say, Portland's
Pioneer Courthouse Square on July 29—you'll never
know what you'll find, just maybe not this Montana totem.

Before heading out to check on the purple mountain majesties of the home territory, I'll make one more big urban outing for the summer: to party down with independent authors participating in the Northwest Book Festival, running from 10 to 4:30 Saturday, July 29, in Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 S.W. Sixth Ave.

I'll have on hand my presentation showing the nine biggest milestones in bookbinding, starting in China and ending with Gutenberg, plus models to show the evolution of the world's most durable and sustainable communications device.

Oh, yes, and you can buy a copy of China Under the Covers: A Binder's Journey to the Roots of Books, there as well.

Chinese bookbinding—now you can bank on it

From now through September 30, drop by the Umpqua Bank branch at 4335 Northeast Fremont Street here in Portland, Oregon, for a hands-on history lesson in the world's oldest communications device. 

As part of Umpqua's Local Spotlight program, neighborhood entrepreneurs are encouraged to display their wares at the bank's branches. Who else better to illustrate my book's months in the spotlight than Scott Nasburg, who designed the cover for China Under the Covers? Using milestones in the history of books (the last involves Gutenberg), we put together a visual parade showing the evolution of this tidy, durable, and oh-so-appealing format.

You can actually buy copies of my book there, too, which has already come a long way in the six months since its release. I haven't put the marketing plan into full gear yet, but so far the book has done a great job of selling itself.

As The Seattle Review of Books noted during the book's rousing Kickstarter campaign:

"This is exactly the kind of book a large publisher would find a tremendous risk, but is perfect for Kickstarter. It proves there’s a market, and it proves there’s interest in stories this personal, interesting, and specific."