For 26 years, the Reader’s Loft bookstore in Green Bay has served the community, but on August 31, the store closed its doors. This comes following store owner Virginia Kress’s announcement of her retirement on the Reader’s Loft website and Facebook page. “These past 26 years have brought so much joy I don’t even know how to properly express it,” she writes, “Not just the books themselves but all the people that have come into my life as a result; customers, authors, and co-workers alike. My goal from the beginning was to create a haven from the frantic world we all find ourselves living in. I hope you have found over the years that The Reader’s Loft was a place of refuge and peace for you. From our book clubs to writing circles to poetry readings I hope you have also found nourishment for your mind and soul. I will miss you all!” However, the announcement wasn’t all sad news. Kress also revealed that Amy Mazzariello, who worked as the bookstore’s buyer and events coordinator for 13 years, will be opening a new independent bookstore in downtown Green Bay called Lion’s Mouth. Opening in October, the new bookstore will be located at 401 N. Washington St., but “will offer the same basic services as [the Reader’s Loft], featuring new and used books, specialty gifts and cards, searches for out of print books, online sales of both new and used books, space for reading and writing groups, story times for kids,…

After an absence that followed the cancelation of their 2020 festival due to the pandemic, UntitledTown has partnered with the Friends of the Brown County Library and Lion’s Mouth Bookstore and is making a comeback with a one-day event of readings from your favorite Wisconsin and Midwestern authors. UntitledTown: the Comeback Event will take place on Saturday, August 21 from 10am to 4pm at the Central Branch of the Brown County Library in downtown Green Bay. Almost twenty authors including Nickolas Butler, Rebecca Makkai, Andrew Graff, Miranda and Baptiste Paul, Amanda Skenandore, Pao Lor, and many more will be reading their works. The one-day UntitledTown event includes readings for all ages and interests, featuring fiction and mystery writers, poetry and nonfiction writers, and children’s writers and storytellers. “Readers, writers, and lovers of stories will rejoice to learn that they can expect the same great literary experiences they have come to know and love from UntitledTown events,” reads a news release from Brown County Library. Detailed event information including times and author bios can be found on the Lion’s Mouth Bookstore website, and participating authors’ books are available for purchase on the website as well. “We are so excited to welcome back authors and the community for this special event,” a post on the Lion’s Mouth Bookstore website reads, “We can’t wait to see you there!” The revived UntitledTown is planning a variety of literary events throughout 2022, with the Book & Author Festival returning in 2023, so stay tuned!

For twelve years, the Fox Cities Book Festival has been connecting writers and readers of all ages and interests, and this year the festival will take place over the week of October 7-13. Different this year compared to previous festivals, “Each day, a different Fox Cities community will become the focus of the festival with all, or most of the events taking place in one location,” states their website. This means no competing events and no rushing across the Fox Valley to get to the next event. Instead, festival attendees can sit back and relax without having to worry about too much travel time. The headliner for this year’s festival is Elizabeth Letts, “the #1 New York Times bestselling author of both historical fiction and non-fiction.” She will be at the Lawrence Memorial Chapel on October 13 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. to discuss writing her newest novel, Finding Dorothy. “This richly imagined novel tells the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the book that inspired the iconic film, through the eyes of author L. Frank Baum’s intrepid wife, Maud,” reads the book’s description. Find out more about Elizabeth Letts and her event at the Fox Cities Book Festival here. No matter what your favorite genre is or how old you are, Fox Cities Book Festival has something for you. Hone your writing skills at a workshop, enjoy a reading or performance by authors from every genre, get advice on publishing and writing craft, and attend a presentation…