118 Elliot, Everyone’s Books, and Green Writers Press welcomes celebrated author Jen Ellis who will read from and discuss her hot-off-the-press debut memoir Bernie’s Mitten Maker (Green Writers Press).

Join us on Friday May 12^th, 2023 at 118 Elliot Street, Brattleboro, VT.
Doors open at 6:00 pm; Reading will begin at 6:30.
Books will be available for purchase/signing. Event is free but donations are appreciated.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Bernie’s Mitten Maker is a raw and honest account of the joy, stress, and shock of sudden internet fame. Told with captivating storytelling, this memoir explores the many roads that led to the Bernie Sanders mitten meme sensation that followed the 2021 presidential inauguration. Jen Ellis’s debut publication reads like an intimate conversation with an old friend. Vermont teacher, mother, and crafter, Ellis weaves the stories of her life together with humor and thoughtful insight. She shares her struggles with childhood trauma, infertility, and homophobia and shows us how crafting can build community and generosity can bring joy. 

PRAISE
“In the fine old Vermont tradition, Jen Ellis keeps it real—as well as warm and fuzzy. Not even going viral stays this crafter from her self-appointed rounds of neighborliness, generosity, and radical kindness. Bernie’s Mitten Maker is an engrossing memoir about the healing power of handwork and the generative potential of an openhanded approach to life. And when you think about it, what’s an upcycled, fleece-lined mitten but a wide open hand?”

-- Alison Bechdel, comic artist of Dykes to Watch Out For and Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic

“At the heart of Jen Ellis’s book is the core belief in the incredible power of building human connection. And the thread that binds these chapters together is that having a generosity of spirit feeds others but also feeds us. She points us towards writing that thank you card, telling others what they mean to us, and yes, sending someone a crafted pair of mittens to show our gratitude.”

-- Becca Balint, U.S. Congresswoman, author of The Girl in the Yellow Pantsuit: Essays on Politics, History, and Culture

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jen Ellis was a teacher and crafter when the mittens she sewed for Senator Bernie Sanders became the inspiration for millions of memes. Originally from South Portland, Maine, Ellis’s teaching career spanned nearly two decades in the public schools of North Carolina and Vermont. She is a songwriter, beekeeper, and crafter of the occasional pair of mittens for local non-profit fundraisers. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Counseling from the University of Vermont. This is her debut publication. Ellis lives in Vermont with her wife and daughter.

Join us this Sunday, May 7^th, to celebrate the launch of Ann Braden’s newest middle grade book, Opinions and Opossums!

The event will be held at 3:00 PM in the Main Meeting Room of Brooks Memorial Library. There will be copies of the book for sale and an opportunity to get them signed. 

Ann is also the author of The Benefits of Being an Octopus, and Flight of the Puffin, and this new story is her most personal story yet. Opinions and Opossums is about finding a way forward when we’re not sure we believe what those around us believe, and it’ll resonate with anyone who has ever questioned the status quo — or simply questioned themselves when they couldn’t find a way to fit in.

Ann will read from the beginning of the book, and will talk about her inspiration and the writing process.  You can ask her questions and explore the stories hidden within abandoned shopping carts. (Main character Agnes and her best friend Mo have multiple notebooks worth of stories from the perspective of shopping carts, and it’s amazing what kind of stories emerge when you start asking questions!)

ABOUT THE EVENT

Join us on May 11^th at 118 Elliot Street for a discussion with Chuck Collins about his new book, Altar to an Erupting Sun. 

Doors open at 6 PM, event starts at 6:30 PM. 

This is a free event, RSVP here (via eventbrite) to reserve your spot. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Altar to an Erupting Sun is a near-future story of one community facing climate disruption in the critical decade ahead. Rae Kelliher is a veteran environmental activist and pioneer in the death-with-dignity movement. Facing a diagnosis of terminal illness, she engages in a shocking suicide murder, taking the life of an oil company CEO for his role in delaying responses to climate disruption. Seven years later, Rae’s friends and family gather at her Vermont farm community to try to understand her violent exit and the rapid social transformations around them.

PRAISE

“A fascinating look at movements and the people who make them up, in the spirit of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Ministry for the Future.”

—Bill McKibben, co-founder of Third Act and 350.org

“...This book has it all: a recipe for poppy tea, a short history of U.S. imperialism in the last 70 years, highlights of the nonviolent resistance that met it every step of the way, a compelling argument for green burials and funeral services for the living. You will fall in love with these characters, which will help you love your friends and yourself a little more. You will remember to revere this planet...”

—Frida Berrigan, activist and author of It Runs in the Family: On Being Raised By Radicals and Growing Into Rebellious Motherhood

“This novel is indeed a gift to our remembrance and inspiration for our future. Collins tells a story of a movement, or movements, which need to be told. I know these stories, love them, and have lived many of them with characters bigger than life, more courageous than any heroes of the past, and a commitment to Mother Earth.”

—Winona LaDuke, Honor the Earth, author of All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chuck Collins is a campaigner and storyteller who has worked for decades on environmental and economic justice campaigns. He is the Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies where he co-edits Inequality.org. He is co-founder of DivestInvest.org, a global movement to divest from fossil fuels and invest in climate solutions, a trustee of the Post-Carbon Institute and Resilience.org, and a founding board member of the Patriotic Millionaires.

His 2021 book, The Wealth Hoarders: How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions, is about the wealth-hiding industry (Polity). He is the author of the popular book, Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good (Chelsea Green) and, with Bill Gates Sr., Wealth and Our Commonwealth (Beacon Press), a case for taxing inherited fortunes.