Prologue Bookshop

Shoutout to Haylee, Megan, and Morgan, first to complete the Summer Read-A-Thon! 🌞🍕

If you haven't signed up yet, what are you even doing with your summer? Grab a worksheet next time you're in the shop (and join our loyalty program if you haven't already). All you have to do is buy 4 books before September 2nd, write a little report about them on the sheet, and be rewarded with a free $15 gift card for Yellow Brick Pizza- and our undying admiration.

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Haylee, Megan, and Morgan smiling and holding up their completed Read-A-Thon book report sheets in front of the bookshelves in Prologue.

Our artist in resident Rebecca takes the ever-popular tiny colored pencils for a spin (on a tiny notepad, no less). If you missed the signup for her first workshop at Prologue, don't fret! The August meeting will be announced soon, so stay tuned 👀.

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Rebecca stands in front of the pen display in the bookstore in an embroidered vest, intently drawing on a tiny notepad with a tiny colored pencil.

Please welcome Abbey, our new bookseller! (She/her)

In her own words, "Abbey studies ghosts and is preoccupied with metaphor. She loves the Gothic, 19th century British lit, q***r/trans nonfiction, freaky literary fiction, fantasy, and the occasional thriller/mystery. Abbey's hometown is Aspen, Colorado, where she worked at Explore Booksellers for several years. She holds a Master's in Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Utah. She moved to Columbus in August of 2023 to pursue her PhD in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies." We're so glad to have her as part of the team!

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Abbey standing in front of a bookshelf, smiling and wearing a very cool multicolored top, a lavender skirt, and hot pink tights.

The Columbus Book Festival is less than a week away!
🎉🎉🎉

Food trucks, live music, panels, poetry readings, a star-studded cast of authors, and of course, all your friendly local book peddlers…what more could a literary nerd ask for? See you all down at the Main Library! For more info, peep the link in our bio.

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A graphic featuring the Columbus Book Festival logo and the festival’s dates- July 13-14 at Main Library

#614

Jonathan recommends "Little Rot" by Akwaeke Emezi, which just hit the shelves two weeks ago 💚.

"Little Rot feels like a continuation of Emezi's past work exploring the messiness of humanity. The characters attempt to navigate a world filled with corruption without falling in too deeply. And they are all connected by one night, one party, where they are all free to indulge in whatever they desire. Emezi does not shy away from the awfulness of humans, but shows us the process of working to discover what being human really means."

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An image of Jonathan in a brightly colored cardigan, holding up a copy of "Little Rot" in front of the fiction shelf in the bookstore.

Join us this Saturday for our next sidewalk sale!

From 11-3pm on Saturday, July 6th we'll be set up up out front of our storefront to sell you great books at discount prices! We have another incredible selection this month, and hope you can join us.

Attention! This Wednesday and Thursday, we'll be closing at 7PM instead of 8PM for Red, White, and Boom and the 4th. Hope everyone has a safe and lovely time at all the festivities! 🎆

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A graphic featuring a black-and-white image of the entry of Prologue in a Polaroid frame with the text "Summer Holiday Hours July 3 & 4 11am-7pm.

We love a tiny book! 💛
A tiny book stuffed with potent food for thought on disability, trans rights, abolition, hashtag activism, and more? Even better. Forerunners is a thought-in-process series from University of Minnesota that draws together scholarly work on important topics initiated in social media, journal articles, and more. Keep an eye out for these little guys in the store!

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A copy of "Illness Politics and Hashtag Activism" (bright blue), "Trans Care" (bright yellow), and "Everything is Police" (bright green) arranged in a triangle on a checkerboard backdrop.

The itty-bitty colored pencils are back by popular demand! 🌈

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A plastic display of tiny white cylindrical containers of the tiny pencils, with a hand with lavender nail polish in the foreground holding an open container.

Angel or devil? Now you don’t have to choose sides. "Pandemonium: A Visual History of Demonology" from is a regular fixture in our art section- now we have its cherubic twin "Elysium: A Visual History of Angelogy". More than mere coffee table decor, these lushly illustrated volumes offer a fascinating history of the celestial beings in literature, history, and art 😈😇.

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A copy of "Pandemonium," which has a red spine and an elaborate illustration of a demon eating a human leg, alongside a copy of "Elysium," which has a white spine and a painting of a dark-haired angel with white wings and a white dress.

Summer issue 248 of is here! ☀️
Featuring Kim Hyesoon, Nancy Lemann, Douglas Kearney, Mosab Abu Toha, art from G. Peter Jemison and Lauren Halsey, interviews with Mary Robison and Elaine Scarry, cover art by Jeremy Frye, and much more.

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A copy of the Paris Review stacked on top of three other copies against a black bookshelf, with cover art featuring bright red and blue details from a basket sculpture created by Jeremy Frye. The second image is of a brightly colored collage by Lauren Halsey. The third is of the Mosab Abu Toha poem, “My Library”
My books remain on the shelves as I left them last year
but all the words have died.
I search for my favorite book,
Out of Place.
I find it lying lonely in a drawer,
next to the photo album and my old Nokia phone.

The pen inside the book is still intact,
but some ink drops have leaked.
Some words breathe its ink,
the pen like a ventilator
for a dozen patients.

Home, Jerusalem, the sea, Haifa,
the rock, the oranges, the sand,
the pigeon, Cairo, my mother,
Beirut, books, the rock, the sea, the sea.

Meghan recommends "Victim" by Andrew Boryga!

"Our main character, Javier, first realized inventing traumatic life experiences could lead to personal gain when he was a boy. From then on, he continues to twist everything and everyone around him until there’s no truth left – from fudging a college admissions essay to completely making up national op-eds. Just shy of 300 pages, the story is entertaining and moves fast, making you anticipate Javier’s downfall. There’s also good commentary on performative allyship and how people of color often only receive recognition when they speak about trauma."

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An image of Meghan in a bright blue Prologue tee-shirt smiling and holding a copy of "Victim" against a bookshelf in the store.

Caroline recommends "Craft Stories I Wrote For the Devil" by Ananda Lima, which just came out this week from Tor Books! 😈

"Strange, poignant, and often hilarious, these stories deftly blur the line between the real and the surreal, the familiar and the uncanny. The ghosts of living people, a vending machine of tiny humans, Gremlins 2, and of course the Devil himself, make an appearance. Such a powerful commentary on the anxiety of being an immigrant amidst the hostility and nationalism of recent (and ongoing) American history- as well as the anxiety that accompanies writing itself. The structure is so fun and utterly unique. Glad I had a chance to meet Ananda in Chicago this spring. Can't wait for her appearance at the Columbus Book Festival next month!"

“Look at my books- I often wonder what I’d do if there weren’t any books in the world.”

How stunning are these new deluxe editions of James Baldwin’s principal novels (Giovanni’s Room, Go Tell It On the Mountain, and If Beale Street Could Talk) that dropped yesterday? 😍 Featuring portraits painted by James’s dear friend and fellow Harlem Renaissance icon Beauford Delaney. Whether you’re a first time Baldwin reader or a lifelong devotee, these belong in your collection.

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The three new editions lined up against a black shelf in the bookstore. Giovanni’s Room has a bright yellow spine and a colorful impressionistic full-body portrait of James sitting with his arms held out in a bright blue shirt and khaki pants. Go Tell It On the Mountain has a blue spine and a close-up portrait of James’s face with a slight smile. Beale Street has a light pink spine and a portrait of James smiling.

Reminder! Author and musician Scott Guild be joining us in the shop at 6PM on Friday, June 21st to chat with Rob Harvilla about his gorgeous apocalyptic novel “Plastic”.

Scott collaborated with fellow musician Jonny Rodgers on an album accompanying the novel -- "Plastic: The Album" -- which is streaming everywhere.

Rob Harvilla is the podcast host and author of 60 Songs That Explain the 90s, available now!

We hope to see you on Friday at 6pm!

In the mood for haunting poems about love, grief, addiction, Appalachia...and the Mothman? Caroline recommends "Mothman Apologia" by 🖤.

"Persona poems about the Mothman? Amazing. Far from a gimmick, these poems are dark and dazzling, with potent lines that grab you by the throat and stop you in your tracks. From strip mining to the opioid crisis, Lynn confronts Appalachia's tragedies in an utterly unique way. Both an elegy and a love letter to a region in crisis. These poems will stay with me for a long time."

Image Description:
A stack of copies of Mothman Apologia, featuring a black and white photo of the doomed Silver Bridge on the cover and an image of the poem "The Mothman Googles Its Own Name."

The sleepless corners of the internet
call me a harbinger. A word I learned
how to say but not spell- like syringe,
like tourniquet- until after I'd already
begun to doubt my own existence. How
did I come to live life as a warning?
Same as you: disappointment strung out

together in series, the way August's
Christmas lights hang on to a mood.
Never off, never all the way on.
Scrolling pages of me asleep among
you, on t-shirts, tattoos. A red-eyed
bird, a migration without a name.
Ramps for off-route eighteen wheelers.

Jackknife as a form of crying. I'm older
than the selfie, not the self. This too
turned out to be a way of staying
invisible. I'm starting to get good at the
others. Don't you recognize my absence
from your rearview camera? I wonder if
the interstate ever follows itself home.

Must-read fiction from q***r Black authors 🌈✨️

Wishing everyone a safe and fantastic time at all the Pride festivities this weekend! The battle for LGBTQ+ rights is far from over and it’s important to remember that whatever mainstream assimilation we’ve seen in very recent years has excluded marginalized q***r communities. Please consider donating to .ohio, an amazing grassroots organization working for the liberation of Black LGBTQ+ folks.

Giovanni's Room, James Baldwin
D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding, Chencia C. Higgins
The Late Americans, Brandon Taylor
Pet, Akwaeke Emezi
Blessings, Chukwuebuka Ibeh
My Government Means to Kills Me, Rasheed Newson
Boys Come First, Aaron Foley
Family Meal, Bryan Washington
Homebodies, Tembe Denton-Hurst
Moon Witch Spider King, Marlon James

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A stack of these titles against a holographic backdrop.

We are less than a month away from the 2nd Columbus Book Festival! The festival is taking place on July 13th and 14th, 10am to 6pm, at the Main Library and Topiary Park downtown. We're incredibly excited to be part of the official festival bookstore as well as exhibiting books from a bunch of our favorite authors and publishers.

The festival website has been updated and now includes the full schedule and festival marketplace map! There are also still volunteer opportunities that are open. Visit https://www.columbusbookfestival.org/ for more information!

Headlining authors include Hanif Abdurraqib, Kennedy Ryan, Veronica Roth, Porochista Khakpour, Nick Petrie. Plus, there will be panels with local favorites John Scalzi, Skye Quinlan, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Christopher Buehlman, Kerry Winfrey, and 150 more!

You won't want to miss out on this incredible event, we can't wait to see you there!

How gorgeous are Gracie's saints? 😍
Don't forget, the artist herself will be here on June 17th, next Monday at 7PM discussing painting and her book and ongoing art project "The Modern Saints." This will be a fun evening, we're stoked!

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An image of one of Gracie's paintings from the book, featuring Our Lady Un-doer of Knots as a Black woman in a blue dress with a blue flower in her hair. The second image is of the cover of "The Modern Saints," featuring a painting of Saint Martha, patron saint of cooks, in a red headband and holding a spoon.

Life in plastic, it’s fantastic 🖤.
Author and New Collisions musician Scott Guild be joining us in the shop at 6PM on June 21st to chat with Rob Harvilla of “60 Songs That Explain the 90’s” fame about his gorgeous apocalyptic novel “Plastic” and the accompanying "Plastic: The Album," which is streaming everywhere. This is one you don’t want to miss!

Camila Sosa Villada appreciation post 💛❤️

"Bad Girls" is a gritty, fantastical trans coming-of-age tale. The genre-bending short story collection "I'm A Fool to Want You" just came out last week from Other Press! Must-reads for any magical realism fan ✨️.

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An image of both titles against a checkerboard backdrop

Dan recommends "Whale Fall" by Elizabeth O'Connor 🐳⁠
⁠
"This is a beautiful, quiet novel about a girl growing up in a remote island village in Wales, just before World War II. There is a pervasive sense of longing, of uncertainty, of listlessness among the villagers. They know they cannot stay, but leaving is perilous. The novel represents these conflicting emotions and the turbulence they cause as the main character Manod grows up amidst visitors from the mainland and experiences change in her own life. This novel is not what I normally read, but it hooked me and I couldn’t tear myself away from life on the island."⁠
⁠
Image Description: Dan holding a copy of "Whale Fall" in front of the staff pick section in the bookstore

We're closing early today, Thursday, June 6th for a staff meeting! Our hours today are 11am to 7pm. Apologies for the inconvenience!

On Wednesdays, we read pink 💞

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Two stacks of pink books laid on a table in the bookstore.

Local artist Gracie Morbitzer will be joining us on Monday, June 17th at 7PM to talk about her book and ongoing art project “The Modern Saints" ✨️.
Gracie’s work reimagines the saints in a modern, subversive context and portrays their true ages and ethnicities, rather than the whitewashed, Eurocentric versions most commonly seen. Whether you have a personal connection to the saints or simply enjoy cool art, this will be a fun evening!

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A graphic featuring the event information, the book’s cover, and a photograph of Gracie standing in front of a wall holding one of her paintings in front of a studio wall.

Yesterday was such a lively day in the Short North! 💖 Huge thanks to and to everybody who stopped by the shop to grab some books and meet the Poe kittens. We’re thrilled they received so many adoption applications. Looking forward to the next street closure!

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A carousel of images featuring the five tabby kittens in their pen, Caroline and Mandy each cuddling a kitten, and a silly close-up of a kitten peeking through the mesh of their playpen.

Said farewell to one of our favorite people and most loyal regulars this week 😢. Best of luck in Michigan, Elijah! We'll miss your smile and your zany sense of humor!

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A carousel of pictures featuring Dan and Elijah, Gary and Elijah, and a group shot of Dan, Elijah, Caroline, and Gary all together in the bookstore.

It's gonna be an action-packed Saturday! 🎉

We're doing a sidewalk sale AND will be in the store from 11 to 2 with the adorable (and adoptable!) Poe litter. Be sure to stop by and say hi to the fur babies!

Kicking off summer, Pride month, and the 40th anniversary of Gallery Hop, Hops on High will be running from noon to 8PM on Saturday. High Street will be pedestrian-only from Starr to 5th Ave, with live music, comedy, drag, pop-up art installations, over 60 street vendors, and way more all over the Short North. See you there! 🌞

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An image of kitten Berenice yawning, with a speech bubble advertising the kittens and sidewalk sale.

The Summer Read-A-Thon has officially begun! 🌞

You've got until September 2nd to read four books purchased from yours truly and attain pizza glory 🍕. Be sure to join our loyalty program, if you haven't already, and grab a book report sheet from us (you can also download it on our website). Happy reading!

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A sandwich board sign in front of the store advertising the Summer Read A Thon.

Attention, bibliophiles! 📣
We are hiring for two part-time year-round booksellers! The position will be 12 hours a week, with plenty of opportunities to pick up extra hours during special events, staff vacations, holidays, etc. In a small store like ours, everybody has a voice and an opportunity to make a huge impact 🖤. Apply on our website! More details on the position on the site, too. Application deadline is June 7th, so don't sleep on this!

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An image of the bookstore's interior in black and white, featuring "We're Hiring!" in the foreground