Longfellow Books

this week’s reading: ian mcewan’s postapocalyptic novel of memory & knowledge (WHAT WE CAN KNOW); a skinny murakami memoir about fathers & sons (ABANDONING A CAT); short fiction from local author sarah braunstein (BABY IN A BOX); the shattering new novel from louise kennedy, beloved of longfellow staff (STATIONS); deb olin unferth’s indescribable novel about living on a dying planet (EARTH 7); and a novelist’s understanding of her craft (A LONG GAME)

Celebrate the release of STORM TIDE, the 16th book in the Mike Bowditch series, by Paul Doiron with us on July 1st at Mechanics' Hall!

Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/storm-tide-a-paul-doiron-book-launch-author-talk-tickets-1990524587625

The STORM TIDE book tour begins on publication day, June 30, in Belfast, ME, and then heads south, west, and back east again.

Writing novels is mostly a solitary business, so getting out into the world and meeting readers is one of my favorite parts of the job.

If I’m coming to your area, I hope you’ll stop by and say hello. And if I’m not this time around, I hope we’ll cross paths on a future tour.

See you on the road.

https://www.pauldoiron.com/events

We’ve done a little rearranging in the store, so if you can’t quite find the section you’re looking for, just ask! The biggest change is that all things Maine have moved from aisle one to the corner that was previously home to politics, essays, philosophy, and reference.

Flip through to see our handy aisle signs!

this week: maggie o’farrell’s much-heralded novel of historical ireland (LAND); a baroque family saga (LÁZÁR); a twisty LA noir (A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE); marlen haushofer’s one-woman dystopia (THE WALL) and a teeny novelette of the fleetingness of childhood (THE FIFTH YEAR); chelsea bieker’s stories of precarity and desperate measures (HEARTBROKE)

We're bringing Paul Doiron Books back to Portland to celebrate the release of the newest book in the Mike Bowditch series, STORM TIDE! This year we'll be doing the event with our friends over at Mechanics' Hall and tickets will be required.

Paul will be in conversation with his audio book narrator Paul Leyva, and there will be a Q+A and book signing meet-and-greet after the talk. We hope to see you there!

Purchase tickets here:

STORM TIDE - A Paul Doiron book launch & author talk Join us for an author discussion with Paul Doiron and his audio book with narrator Paul Leyva. Q+A, and book signing meet-and-greet too.

"One of the words that came up when I was initially trying to describe the book was caretaking," author Sarah Braunstein told the Portland Press-Hearld. "I wrote this book over many years while I was raising a son, so writing these stories was a new way to explore the nuances of caretaking, especially earnest but potentially misguided caretaking."

Join Sarah for the launch of "Baby in a Box" in the Mechanics' Hall Library on June 9th at 7 p.m. She'll be in conversation with In conversation with writer Nick Fuller-Googins.

Received a visit from THE today, which means that we currently have signed copies of his books in stock! 🐦

this week’s reading: comedies of errors (LOITERING WITH INTENT, EXCELLENT WOMEN), a thrillery california gothic (GODSHOT), millennial nihilism (AGNES LIVES!), baldwin’s landmark q***r novel (GIOVANNI’S ROOM), music culture in 70s new york and 90s scotland (POSTCARDS…, LOVES GOES…), a novel of delusion, art, and complicity (THE DIRECTOR), and the latest in devney perry’s romantic epic (RITES OF THE STARLING)

June 2 in the store!

https://longfellowbooks.com/event/2026-06-02/dont-fight-back-meg-stone

Join us for a powerful evening of conversation, storytelling, and myth-busting with author Meg Stone at Longfellow Books.

On Tuesday, June 2 at 6 PM, Meg will discuss her book Don’t Fight Back: And 10 Other Myths About Crime, Personal Safety, and Gender-Based Violence alongside Prevention Action Change Director Clara Porter and Maine-based writer and author Margaret Grace Myers, whose recent book The Fight for S*x Ed explores the political battle over s*x education in the United States.

Drawing from decades of violence-prevention work, survivor stories, research, and lived experience, Meg challenges some of the most common narratives we’re taught about safety, danger, and gender-based violence — and explores what actually helps keep people safer.

Expect an evening of thoughtful conversation, practical insight, humor, and justice-centered dialogue about what real safety can look like in our communities.

Tuesday, June 2 • 6 PM
Longfellow Books | Portland, ME
Free and open to the public

We’d love to see you there.