Hub City Writers Project

Hub City Press is getting ready to officially move offices next week! We still have a couple things lingering from the last tenant in the new space. The purple desk is wired for gaming, $20 OBO. The pedicure chair is HEAVY but still in working condition (a little well loved), $150 OBO. Pick up only. Comment or call the shop to claim!

We are gearing up for fall with these new t-shirt colors. Not to mention, have you seen our new Vintage HCWP Crewneck now in navy? We can't wait to wear ours as the season gets cooler and
cozier.🍂🍵😊

🍁Navy
🍁Burgundy
🍁Gray
🍁Vintage HCWP Crewneck

Get yours at the bookshop today!

We are so excited to partner with Isla's on the Square for this event! Come on out next Tuesday for some wine and book pairings!

🍷📚 Join us for "Read Between the Wines" at Isla's on the Square! 📚🍷

📅 Tuesday, September 17th
🕕 6 - 8 PM
💰 $35 per person

Get ready for a one-of-a-kind evening that pairs hand-picked wines with books curated by our friends at Hub City Bookshop. Sip, savor, and dive into literary worlds while enjoying wine samples, insights from our wine vendors, light hors d'oeuvres, and your choice of one book to take home!

📞 Call us at (864) 308-1245 Tuesday-Saturday after 3pm
📧 Or email [email protected] to reserve your spot!

Spaces are limited, so book today! 🍇📖

Pick up your books for the weekend this Saturday! Hub City Bookshop will be closed on Monday, September 2nd for Labor Day. Regular store hours will resume on Tuesday. Happy Reading!

Happy pub day to Minrose Gwin's BEAUTIFUL DREAMERS! We're thrilled to launch Hub City Press's Fall 2024 season with Beautiful Dreamers, the fourth novel by award-winning author Minrose Gwin! In gorgeous prose and narration by precocious Memory Feather, Beautiful Dreamers tackles LGBTQ issues in midcentury Mississippi, focusing on a mother and daughter, their gay best friend, and a con man who tears their family apart. Minrose Gwin expertly paints a picture of innocence, betrayal, and care within an unconventional family who is ahead of its time. This book is perfect for fans of Jill McCorkle, Ann Patchett, and Silas House.

Copies are available anywhere books are sold, but we have free shipping (automatically applies in your cart) if you order from our website through next Tuesday, 9/3 at hubcity.org/beautifuldreamers

You can hear a bit more about Minrose’s background and get a sense of her writing from an essay she wrote in the spring for the New York Times, “How I Met My Father.” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/18/style/how-i-met-my-father.html?mc_cid=ba747dc522&mc_eid=cfffb12242

Read Minrose's list of great villains in books here: https://electricliterature.com/7-literary-villains-and-a-group-of-malevolent-nuns/

Listen to Minrose talk about the book on WWNO's The Reading Life here: https://www.wwno.org/podcast/the-reading-life/2024-08-16/the-reading-life-minrose-gwin and on Scenic Roots https://www.wutc.org/scenic-roots

Read reviews of the book at the AJC and Chapter16 here. https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/50s-era-lavender-scare-comes-to-mississippi-in-beautiful-dreamers/M7LPX73PDRDM7KLT5HYQTK2T3Q/ / https://chapter16.org/the-world-according-to-memory/

We are so excited for our Back to School Book Fair at Dr. T. K. Gregg Community Center this Saturday, August 10th from 12 PM to 4 PM!

This event is free of charge. Books selected will be for children ages 4 -14 and will be first come, first served. TKG staff members will also be sharing community center programs as well.

Due to incliment weather expected later in the week, we will be postponing Thursday's event with Stephanie Clare Smith. Stay tuned as our teams work on a new date for this event. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out by calling the bookshop. Thank you!

We are excited to announce that Executive Director Meg Reid was recently appointed as a board member of South Arts! Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, South Arts is a nonprofit regional arts organization empowering artists, organizations, and communities, and increasing access to arts and culture.

South Arts' board consists of 30 leaders from within their nine-state region and beyond who generously donate their time and skills in pursuit of the South Arts mission: advancing Southern vitality through the arts.

Congratulations, Meg!

There are still a few weeks left for
summer and we are making sure our calendar is
packed with events for y'all to attend! Find a full list of
our events on our website (www.hubcity.org/events) or
just follow the link in our bio.
What are you excited to attend?

‼️Help us find tenants for our downtown office space!

Do you ever look at everything Hub City Writers Project does—publishing, programming, education, outreach—and wonder: how do they get it all done? The truth is much of it happens in this two-room office, lovingly referred to as The Annex. When we moved to 200 Ezell Street in 2020, we had just two full-time staff members in a 600-square-foot office—now we have four people working in the same space, doing everything from administration to order fulfillment.

The reality is we need more space. And so, we are looking for someone to take over the remainder of our lease!

Located within walking distance to the restaurants, the incoming baseball stadium, the Hub City Bookshop (of course), and everything else Spartanburg has to offer! Public parking is available and the landlord pays TICAM, power, water. You can head to Spencer Hines's website to learn more but we're also happy to answer any questions we can by DM. Office space is tough to come by right now—please share widely with folks your know who might be looking for an affordable, light-filled option in the heart of downtown. spencerhines.com for more info!

Hub City Writers Project is excited to announce a Back to School Book Fair happening on August 10th from 12 PM to 4 PM!

The book fair will be held at Dr. T. K. Gregg Community Center and will be free of charge. Books selected will be for children ages 4 -14. This is first come, first served. TKG staff members will also be sharing community center programs as well.

🦪Early final copies of BEAUTIFUL DREAMERS by Minrose Gwin have arrived! It officially hits shelves on August 27, and you can preorder a copy now from your local bookshop or over at hubcity.org/beautifuldreamers (and we’re having a rare sale that includes 2024 preorders right now, so it’s 20% off!).

For fans of Silas House and Jill McCorkle, Beautiful Dreamers focuses on a mother and daughter, their gay best friend, and a con man who rips their family apart. Sweeping, dramatic, and vividly rendered, it is a novel of innocence and betrayal, love and intolerance, and the care and honesty we owe the families we choose. Booklist, says, “With luscious prose, sharply drawn characters, and a dash of magical realism, Gwin’s atmospheric novel confronts both prejudice and the price we pay for protecting our loved ones.”

Minrose Gwin is the author of the novels The Queen of Palmyra, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, and a finalist for the John Gardner Fiction Book Award; Promise, which was shortlisted for the Willie Morris Award in Southern Literature and The Accidentals; among many other awards and citations. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her partner, Ruth Salvaggio.

Last month we had the wonderful opportunity to work with Alex Tufino as our high school summer intern. Alex is a rising Senior at Spartanburg High School /Viking Early College. As a regular customer, he was hardly a stranger to the bookshop before being chosen to be our 2024 summer intern. Alex spent his bookshop days learning how we choose and curate our inventory, and how we help customers find exactly what they're looking for. At the press, Alex focused on press inventory and researched book tours for our authors. By learning how the book industry works from the first creative idea to getting a finished book in the hands of an eager reader, we trust Alex will take away knowledge and experience that will help him in all his future adventures. Thank you, Alex!

We also want to thank Marjy Marj for her donation in supporting our organization, specifically our High School Literary Internship intended to introduce an intern to publishing and bookselling and the closely knit industries and job opportunities within them. Marjy is a literary advocate, and believes in the importance of representation in literature. She is the host of Humanity Chats — a show about everyday issues impacting humans — and an author. Some of her titles include Conversations About Race, The Shimmigrant, Same Elephants, The Young Shimmigrant series, The Spelling King, and more. Find her books at Hub City Bookshop!

Upcoming on Thursday, July 11th: Hub City Bookshop is proud to provide books to two events happening at our Spartanburg County Public Library branches.

PLEASE NOTE: the following events are in partnership with SCPL. Hub City Bookshop will be at these events selling books.

☀️Kristy Woodson Harvey at Chesnee Library at 12 PM
Book: A Happier Life

☀️Beatriz Williams at Landrum Library at 6PM
Book: Husbands & Lovers

For giveaways and more event information or registration please visit the Spartanburg County Public Libraries website.

Hub City Bookshop will be closed Thursday, July 4th for Independence Day. Our Regular store hours will resume on Friday, July 5th.

There is still time to sign up for our workshop with Libby Flores! Now $300 with promo code "SUMMER".

How can a writer begin a story or get unstuck when they are in the middle of a draft? In this workshop, we will look specifically at (very short) stories to discover what captivates and arrests our attention and what resonates with a reader long after the last line is read. After we discuss examples in class you will be then given a series of writing prompts. Come ready to write and be inspired! Students will produce writing to start a new story or find fresh avenues into a work already in progress. You will receive in-class feedback from the instructor and your classmates. This class can work for fiction and non-fiction writers.

This virtual workshop will be held on Zoom on Wednesdays, June 5, 12, 19, & 26 at 6:00 ET.

Sign up on Eventbrite with the link!

Virtual Workshop: A Four-Week Generative Workshop with Libby Flores How can a writer begin a story or get unstuck when they are in the middle of a draft? A workshop for fiction and nonfiction writers.

"Fathers don’t fare well in my fiction. They are white supremacist killers and domestic abusers. They trick their wives into becoming pregnant. They have affairs. They abandon their families. My biological father, Albert Coleman Bryan Jr., was 22 when I was born. He was a dashing air force pilot who flew off into the wide blue yonder, leaving my mother and me grounded."

Minrose Gwin appeared in The New York Times over the weekend in Episodes, writing about how she met her father for the first time at 69 years old. Her novel, BEAUTIFUL DREAMERS, comes out from Hub City Press on August 27!

How I Met My Father (Gift Article) “What took you so long?” he said.

We're saddened to hear of the passing of Katherine Davis Cann. An author of two of our most successful historical local titles at Hub City Press, 'Dr. Cann was an accomplished scholar. She published articles on South Carolina history in the 19th and 20th centuries. She was the author of Common Ties: A History of Textile Industrial Institute, Spartanburg Junior College and Spartanburg Methodist College. With Dr. George Fields, she wrote Turning Point, a study of the American Revolution in the Upstate.' Her essay, “Improving Textile Town, 1910-1929,” appeared in Textile Town: Spartanburg.

https://www.goupstate.com/obituaries/pspa0815878

Spots are still available in our 4-week prose workshop with Libby Flores!

If you missed out on our first workshop with award-winning writer and teacher Libby Flores, you’re in luck! Sign up now to work with Libby on getting past writer’s block. Whether you’re stuck on something you’ve been working on or are needing new inspiration to get back to writing, there’s something in this class for everyone.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtual-workshop-a-four-week-generative-workshop-with-libby-flores-tickets-867585721247?aff=oddtdtcreator

A note to our members and customers: after 15 years with our bookshop membership set at $30, we have decided to increase our baseline membership donation to $40 per year. This is mainly to address the rising costs of both books and labor. The new membership pricing will be effective as of May 1, 2024. Not sure if your membership is current? Call us or ask a bookseller in the store to check.

Included in your membership:
📚 Not auto-renewable (no surprise charges when it expires)
📚 10% discount on in-store purchases in the Hub City Bookshop
📚 20% discount on current NYT Bestsellers
📚 25% discount on Hub City Press titles
📚 $10 coupon for every $100 spent
📚 New member-exclusive Zora Nelle sticker (not for sale, see last slide!)

Your donations to the Hub City Writers Project, whether online or in the bookshop, help us make an impact in our community. What does this look like? We have donated thousands of new books to schools and partner organizations in the Upstate through our outreach programs. We have hosted free author readings and signings in our bookshop, and coordinated author visits to surrounding schools. These are only a few of the ways your donations have helped us continue our mission to cultivate readers and nurture writers and we couldn't do it without you! Thank you for your continued support.❣️

Take a look at the upcoming events happening in May!

For more information or registration, visit the link https://www.eventbrite.com/o/hub-city-writers-project-1392301361

The Intensive Workshop is back! Apply to join a cohort of fiction writers to workshop your story with Garrard Conley on the weekend of August 2-4 at the AC Marriott in downtown Spartanburg, SC.

The Hub City Summer Intensive is a brand-new program that consists of a weekend of dedicated fiction workshops with limited participants (10-12 per class). It is geared toward experienced writers who are working on a book-length project and will benefit from a dedicated workshop environment. Applicants must be 21+ years old.

Our inaugural Intensive Workshop leader will be acclaimed writer Garrard Conley. He is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Boy Erased and the new novel All the World Beside.

Cost of Attendance
Tuition: $1000
Room and Board: $418 (includes hotel room, with two breakfasts, one lunch, and one dinner)

Apply at hubcity.org/intensive until Friday, May 10.

Intensive Workshop | Hub City Writers Project The Summer Intensive Workshop Hub City Writers Project is thrilled to host a new program, the Intensive Workshop, for the first time in 2024, on the weekend of August 2-4, at the AC Marriott in downtown Spartanburg, SC. The Hub City Winter Intensive is a brand-new program that consists

Celebrate with us! This Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day where we celebrate the cultural hubs and community wonders that are indie bookstores! Support local and shop small this Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM.

How Hub City Bookshop is celebrating:
📕 Galley Giveaway with purchase of a book
📕 20% discount with purchase of three of more books
📕 Enter our free raffle for a Zora Nelle tote bag filled with slightly damaged books and advance readers copies of Hub City Press's upcoming titles
📕 Exclusive Indie Bookstore Day merchandise for sale (including IBD exclusive edition Blackwing pencils!)

Come by the bookshop and celebrate with us. Get all these goodies while supplies last!