Voices of Inclusion in Essex and Westford (VIEW), Migrant Justice, Phoenix Books, and Essex Free Library present this opportunity to gather in community and discuss Vermont Reads 2022 choice: The Most Costly Journey. This book is a collaboration between migrant workers and New England Cartoonists and offers a series of non-fiction comics about migrant workers' experiences here in Vermont.

We will discuss the book and receive a presentation from members of Migrant Justice as part of their Milk with Dignity Campaign at Essex Free Library on April 17th from 6-8 pm. Food will be provided at the event.

Immigrant dairy workers are traveling across the northeast this spring to connect with supporters and take action for Milk with Dignity! Farmworker organization Migrant Justice is calling on grocery chain Hannaford supermarkets to source its store-brand milk from farms where workers' human rights are independently monitored and protected, and the long-term interests of farm owners are supported. Join us to learn more about the rampant abuses that workers face on dairy farms and the powerful organizing they are doing to improve conditions and protect their rights....

Phoenix Books is honored to present an evening with National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson to celebrate the release of his new novel, Elf Dog and Owl Head a magical adventure about a boy and his dog—or a dog and her boy—and a forest of wonders hidden in plain sight. M. T. Anderson will be in conversation with fellow author, Dayna Lorentz.

About Elf Dog and Owl Head:  Clay has had his fill of home life. A global plague has brought the world to a screeching halt, and with little to look forward to but a summer of video-calling friends, vying with annoying sisters for the family computer, and tuning out his parents’ financial worries, he’s only too happy to retreat to the woods. From the moment the elegant little dog with the ornate collar appears like an apparition among the trees, Clay sees something uncanny in her. With this mysterious Elphinore as guide, he’ll glimpse ancient secrets folded all but invisibly into the forest. Each day the dog leads Clay down paths he never knew existed, deeper into the unknown. But they aren’t alone in their surreal adventures. There are traps and terrors in...

Please join us for a National Poetry Month celebration!

Virtually appear to read and/or to listen. Those interested in reading can sign up at the beginning of the meeting, via the Zoom Chat Box feature. 

ABOUT THE EVENT HOST:  Bianca Amira Zanella is a cis queer Vermont-based performance poet, artist, and advocate living on traditionally Abenaki land. She is the Poet-in-Residence at Phoenix Books Rutland, hosting an international monthly open mic. Her poems have most recently appeared in The Artful Mind, The Rutland Herald, The Mountain Troubadour, and The Reverie. Their poem films, sculptural poems, and poem paintings have also been on exhibit with PoemCity Montpelier, Merwin Gallery, Stone Valley Arts, SPACE: a Pop Up Art Gallery, and Surdam Gallery.

They received the Corrine Eastman Davis Memorial Award for their poem, "A prayer –before the soup– for the suicidal son" (2018). In 2019, Bianca acted as Wellness Coordinator for the Feminine Empowerment Movement Slam (FEMS) tournament based in Cambridge, MA, and founded "Infinite Lit: a night of spoken word poetry," co-producing the...

Are you getting excited about Indie Bookstore Day? We're celebrating this beloved bookish holiday's 10th anniversary at all of our locations on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information on ARCS (advanced reader's copies) and other goodies we will be offering. We hope to see you there!