In 2011 we welcomed the following authors who made personal visits to Dog Ears Books: Ellen Airgood, SOUTH OF SUPERIOR; Danielle Sosin, THE LONG-SHINING WATERS; Elizabeth Buzzelli, DEAD DOGS AND ENGLISHMEN; Bonnie Jo Campbell, ONCE UPON A RIVER; Dee Blair, THE VIEW FROM SUNNYBANK; and Jerry Dennis, THE WINDWARD SHORE: A WINTER ON THE GREAT LAKES. In December we had a surprise addition to our guest list, with a visit from Susan Newhof, author of a Michigan novel entitled SPIRITS AND WINE, and throughout the year we also had repeated informal visits from a best-selling Up North author of 2011, John Mitchell, whose engaging and award-winning history, GRAND TRAVERSE: THE CIVIL WAR ERA started flying off the shelves the moment it appeared. All in all, it was a stunning and very satisfying year.
In 2012, on Friday, March 23, from 4-6 p.m. we will host the Leelanau launch of a new memoir, DUST TO DUST, by Benjamin Busch, published by HarperCollins. Doug Stanton (IN HARM’S WAY; HORSE SOLDIERS) says, “Busch is a brilliant prose stylist for whom every pause counts, a man of three worlds—the heart, the mind, the earth. DUST TO DUST is a stunning literary work about this mysterious trinity, and a return to home.” Busch’s essay “Growth Rings” was published in MICHIGAN QUARTERLY REVIEW in January 2010 and brought him to my attention. Subsequently I learned that he had appeared in several seasons of the HBO series “The Wire.” He has also directed and produced his own independent film, “Bright,” had several exhibitions of his photographs, and you may have heard him on NPR reflecting on various aspects of his experience as a Marine in Iraq. So get out your 2012 calendar and mark this date NOW. Ben’s spring visit to Northport will be our first author event of the new year at 106 Waukazoo Street, and we will be kicking the year off in style.
