Saturday, June 7th- 2:00pm to 3:30pm- At the Alderney Gate Library- Join us for the book launch of Jacqueline Halsey’s new middle-grade historical fiction, Joe and the Wreck of the Tribune, and maybe learn to sing a Sea Shanty.
It’s 1797. Joe has lived with Gram ever since the crusty old midwife found him on her doorstep thirteen years ago. He must now earn his keep working as a fisher boy for her bad-tempered bully of a son, Eli. Joe loves the ocean, with its unpredictable moods and rolling waves. Could the Atlantic Ocean be his ticket to freedom? The battered, abandoned rowboat he finds could be his chance to break free from his miserable life and earn his own living. But mysteries surround the boat. The local carpenter is upset at the sight of it, and the initials carved on the boat match those on an old sea chest hidden in the back of Eli’s shed. Could this have anything to do with what happened to Joe’s parents?
Joe spends his time fixing up the boat and trying to solve these mysteries until a cold, stormy November day when a frigate wrecks at the mouth of the harbour. Joe’s neighbours don’t dare launch their boats into the raging storm to save the survivors. Can Joe stand by and listen to the desperate cries of the exhausted sailors, or should he brave the wild Atlantic in his patched-up rowboat and attempt to rescue them?
Inspired by the true story of the shipwreck of the HMS Tribune on the Herring Cove cliffs and the heroism of a boy known as “Joe Cracker,” this exciting coming-of-age adventure story is brimming with rich detail and captivating suspense.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing from Dartmouth Book Exchange.
Thursday, June 12th, 6:30 pm- 7:30 pm- Blind Date Speed Dating Night– with special guest Cathryn Fox. Cathryn Fox has some of the best first lines in her novels. Our Blind Date books will use their first line(s) as their pick-up lines, so Cathryn will be here to tell us all about first lines: how she comes up her first lines, and their importance. She’ll also discuss her novel The Blurbs and the Bees that has a one of the best first lines. $10.50- preregistration is required for this event to monitor numbers. Everyone gets one of these, never seen before, specially made, high-demand Blind Dates. Advanced registration required.
Wednesday, June 18th- 6:30 pm-7:30 pm- Locally Authored Book Club Meeting with guest author Marjorie Simmins’ new book In Search of Puffins.
June 20th-June 27th- ONLINE spotlight for OC Publishing’s Francene Gillis’s book launch: Where did I go? a Memoir Plus.
July- Note different date: July 23rd- 6:30pm-7:30pm: Locally Authored Book Club Meeting
Sunday August 17th, 3pm-5pm- Bookstore Romance Day. Details to come.
Wednesday, August 20th- 6:30 pm-7:30 pm- Locally Authored Book Club Meeting
Wednesday, September 17th- 6:30 pm-7:30 pm- Locally Authored Book Club Meeting
Thursday September 18th and 25th-6:30pm- 8:00pm- Cindy Campbell-Stone will be presenting Lady in the Lighthouse: The Catherine Gallagher Story in two repeat performances. Catherine, also known as Mrs. Edward Gallagher, was known as one of the main sources for folklorist Dr. Helen Creighton. This show contains various stories from her life and eight of the forty songs that she sung for Helen.
Thursday, October 9th- 6:30 pm-7:30 pm Blind Date With A Book Speed Dating Night. It’s the 11th anniversary since we sold our first Blind Date With A Book, what better way to celebrate than by having another Blind Date With a Book Speed Dating Night? Special guest Amy Spurway and her novel CROW will be joining us! If you have not had the pleasure, Crow has a GREAT first line(s), and for our Blind Dates Speed, the first line is the pick-up line. Amy will be discussing her book Crow, how she came up with her first line, and the importance of GREAT first lines. Advanced registration will be required.
Wednesday, October 15th- 6:30 pm-7:30 pm- Locally Authored Book Club Meeting
Wednesday, November 19tth- 6:30 pm-7:30 pm- Locally Authored Book Club Meeting
Wednesday, December 10th- 6:30 pm-7:30 pm- Locally Authored Book Club Meeting
We are currently limiting all our in-store author or book-themed events to:
- Already well-known, established authors that we know will draw a crowd and be of interest to our local customers.
- Or to group, and themed events, where we host several authors at once.
- Or to community groups that are interested in us hosting a particular author or themed event for their group to attend.
We do offer week-long online spotlights and book giveaways for local authors
What a Spotlight entails:
What a spotlight entails is for a week (Monday- Sunday) we do posts on our Facebook page promoting the author and book. At the end of the week, we give away a copy of the book spotlighted, provided by either the author or the publisher. The authors, in advance, provide us with any interviews, reviews, or special posts about their book or of them, that we can share. The more the author/publisher provides the more that we can post.
Dartmouth Book Exchange Events Group
Authors, bloggers, aspiring authors, reviewers, publishers, editors, professional storytellers, and other supporters of local authors are more than welcome to join our Book Events group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/899347560587433
***If you are a Local Author/ Publisher interested in having an online spotlight done on our social media pages, please contact us on our contact page. Thank-you
Our Locally Authored Book Club Exchange
We generally meet on the third Wednesday of the month from 6:30pm to 7:30pm.
• Each participant will bring a locally authored novel that they have recently read and can part with. Locally authored will be defined as an author living within the Atlantic Bubble.
• During the meeting, each person will take a turn telling everyone what they liked about the book they brought and why the others should read it.
• Each book will go into a basket and at the end of the meeting, if a book sparked your interest, you’ll be able to take it home to read.
• If there is more than one person interested in reading the book, it will be brought back to the next meeting, for another person’s turn.
• We may even host an author occasionally and Dartmouth Book Exchange may even seed the basket once in a while.
• All are welcome to come and listen during the meetings, but only the people who brought a book will be guaranteed to leave with a book.
Our Book Club aims to promote local authors, their books, and the writing of reviews. #supportlocalauthors
Meeting space
***If you are looking for a meeting place for your small group of 10 people or less, such as your book club group, we have a space. We charge a small $25 set-up and take-down fee for a 2-hour meeting, but should your group spend that or more in our store, the fee is waiv
