Thursday Themes

Bestseller Spotlight: Be Our Book Valentine!

On Wednesdays, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Bestseller List is published. Every week, we love to see what books have been most popular in independent bookstores around our region. As we peruse the list, we look for something special to showcase. Then we present this weekly feature: Thursday Themes. We can tell people have been shopping for loved ones. Here are some of the books that people are choo-choo-choosing for Valentines: Heart the Lover Lily King (#8 Hardcover fiction) A Marriage at Sea …

Feb 12, 2026

what's new

Feb

11

2026

Awards and Honors

PNW Authors receive 2026 Walter Dean Myers Honors

Congratulations to PNW authors Renée Watson and Idris Goodwin on their Walter Dean Meyers Honors from We Need Diverse Books! Announcing the​ ​2026 ​Walter​ ​Dean​ ​Myers​ ​Awards​ ​and​ ​Honor​ ​Books The​ ​We​ ​Need​ ​Diverse​ ​Books​ ​Walter​ ​Awards​ ​Judging​ ​Committee​ ​has​ ​selected​ ​the​ ​Winners​ ​and Honorees​ ​for​ ​the​ eleventh ​annual​ ​Walter​ ​Dean​ ​Myers​ ​Awards​ ​for​ ​Outstanding​ …

Feb

10

2026

NW Voices

“Become Arndtuos:” A Remembrance of Steve Arndt

Beloved literary community member Steve Arndt died on February 6, 2026. Fond memories and deep appreciations abound. This piece is from a social media post by Nikki Darling of Eugene, OR.  Steve Arndt coined the term “Spanbauerian” to describe all that he’d learned and loved at the hands of his friend and mentor Tom Spanbauer. …

Feb

9

2026

The Storefront

Congratulations to the LX Super Bowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks!

The Seattle Seahawks won the LX Super Bowl, so the region is celebrating! Some stores, like Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, had some fun getting ready for the big game. The sign says: “SUPER BOWL or SUPERB OWL… we have books for both!” The display features books with football themes, Llama Llama Red Pajama …

Feb

6

2026

Borrowed Copy

WA Bookstores featured on PBS’s “American stories: A Reading Road Trip”

Washington | American Stories: A Reading Road Trip Episode 108 Congratulations to Auntie’s Bookstore of Spokane and Elliott Bay Book Company of Seattle for being part of PBS’s Reading Road Trip! Big thanks to Sara Peté of the Washington State Library for sending us the news.

Feb

5

2026

Thursday Themes

Bestseller Spotlight: Timely titles

Every Wednesday, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association publishes the regional bestseller list. On Thursdays, we celebrate Thursday Themes to shine a spotlight on some of the books from the list and give our brains a different way of thinking about books. Two of these books were on our bestseller list in 2021, too. Nevertheless, we persist. Lessons from …

Feb

4

2026

Face Out

Palaver by Bryan Washington

Palaver centers on the relationship between a queer Black man living in Japan and his mother, who unexpectedly visits from the US. The book explores the hurt we accumulate and carry with us as adults. It looks at the difficulties of tending to that hurt while living our day-to-day lives and the hard work of …

Feb

3

2026

Face Out

Ring Shout by P Djeli Clark and Tender Is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica

Two Face Outs/ “walk me to the shelf” recs for Brian Juenemann, the Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, from India at Spoke & Word Books in Milwaukie, OR: Klan members are turning into nasty little monsters (their outsides matching their insides) called ku kluxes. Our trio of badasses is unaliving them in …

Feb

2

2026

Face Out

The History of We by Nikkolas Smith

A history of humanity in picture book form. This book is poetry and art – it is stunning and incredibly moving. More than all that, it’s also a book that seeks to remind us that we are a “we” – that we have more in common than we often think. It’s a celebration of humanity. …

Jan

30

2026

Borrowed Copy

Top Reads of 2025 from Third Place Books
on New Day Northwest

Third Place Books’ Robert Sindelar shared some of the store’s favorite books of 2025 on New Day Northwest with Kelly. The Wayfinder Sky Daddy  Automatic Noodle Is a River Alive? One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This They also mention What We Can Know My Friends (a Kelly’s Book Club pick) As TV …

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