Wellesley Books

Upcoming Events
Details on our website: wellesleybooks.com/events/calendar

Winners of the 2026 Women’s Prize

'The Correspondent' by Virginia Evans has won the prize for Fiction

Chair of Judges, , described it as "a remarkable novel, with an exemplary combination of originality, excellence and accessibility. It is no mean feat to write a life in letters, but Evans makes this feel effortless, asking the reader to consider the choices we make, whilst elevating an ordinary life in the most heartfelt of ways. This is a novel that captured our hearts, and should be read and savoured by all.”

'The Finest Hotel In Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan' by Lyse Doucet has won the prize for Nonfiction

Chair of Judges described it as "a perfect work of narrative non-fiction: it is not only cleverly constructed and brilliantly researched, but each and every element is handled with extraordinary sensitivity and warmth – it will move you to tears or make you laugh, or perhaps both.”

Links to the books on our website:
The Correspondent
https://wellesleybooks.com/book/9780593798430
The Finest Hotel in Kabul
https://wellesleybooks.com/book/9780735243415

We’ve got World Cup Fever!⚽️ Do you?

🌈Happy Pride Month-our displays are full of books and gifts to help you celebrate.

Here's what Literary Hub had to say about Real Animals by Emaline Atwood coming out 7/7, our event with the author is Thursday, 7/23 at 7PM, details in the link below.

"This is a book that is a caliber above and beyond what we have come to expect from the young-twenties-girl-bildungsroman. There’s men, yes, and s*x, a lot of it, and yearning to be understood, and for power and a place in the world, but A Real Animal is about the wild, deep, feral core of those themes. It’s about something subterranean, underneath one’s lived experience, underneath, even, one’s trauma. The book follows the protagonist from college, when she experiences a horrible s*xual assault, through the next decade, as she builds and breaks relationships, as she builds and breaks a life. There is no straight line. There is no healing. But the book has this feeling about it, like there’s so much within the pages that’s just bursting to get out: a violent and powerful urge for something, for more survival, for more agency, to express one’s pain, to feel better. A Real Animal is as raw and visceral as an open-mouthed scream: you hear it in your bones. You can see its teeth. As recommended in Lit Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026 list." –Julia Hass, Book Marks Associate Editor Lit Hub.

Author Event: Emeline Atwood - "A Real Animal" Author Event: Emeline Atwood - "A Real Animal" Thu, 7/23/2026 - 7:00pm - 8:00pm Place: Wellesley Books 82 Central St Wellesley, MA 02482-5714 Buy tickets to Author Event: Emeline Atwood - "A Real Animal" Prize-winning writer Emeline Atwood joins us to discuss her debut novel, A Real Animal, which T...

Wellesley Books is thrilled to invite you to a luncheon with Dear Committee Members author Julie Schumacher to celebrate the release of her new book, Patient, Female next Friday, June 12th, at noon.

Exquisitely honest and expertly crafted, Patient, Female renders—with dark humor and wit—the foibles of human behavior and our endearing imperfections. Each protagonist—ranging from girlhood to senescence—receives her own indelible voice as she navigates social blunders, generational misunderstandings, and the absurdity of the human experience.

"Shrewd, sage, and so darkly funny." --Claire Lombardo, author of The Most Fun We Ever Had

Reading while listening to books? Who out there has tried immersive reading?

Having trouble focusing on your book? Try immersive reading Reading text of a book while listening to the audiobook is gaining steam among online book communities.

Upcoming Author Event Saturday, July 18th, at 6 PM

North Woods author Daniel Mason joins us to discuss his new book, Country People, the story of a year in the life of a family as they strike out into the unknown (aka Vermont).

Joyous, absurd, and life-affirming, Country People is a luminous exploration of marriage and parenthood, the nature of belief and the power of stories, and the ways in which we find connection in an increasingly fragmented world.

"Wonderful—full of joy—and exactly the kind of reading experience we could all do with right now . . . the book of the summer." —Mick Herron, bestselling author of Slow Horses

It's BRUCE! Our e-newsletter dog of the week.

Bruce is a five-year-old Boston Terrier who, as a new resident of Newton, is learning the suburbs. He likes food, stopping in the middle of the street, and other dogs, particularly his cousin Olive (a former DOtW), but he loves a sun spot most of all. He dislikes vacuums and motorcycles. We hope your future is quiet and bright, Bruce.

Bring us your dogs! We are a dog friendly bookstore and would love to meet your bestie- and perhaps feature them in our next newsletter.

You can read our current e-newsletter and sign up for it on our website https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Wellesley-Books-Newsletter.html?soid=1104982944822&aid=ZuQ9bjXTOIs

The wonderful Kate DiCammillo’s thoughts on Summer Reading.

I'm a year-round reader, but I still love to think of summer reading.
When I was a kid, I went to the public library's summer reading programming.
And I spent a lot of time in a tree fort in our backyard, happily lost in books.
I hope (for kids and adults) that you all have a hammock, a tree fort, a library or a quiet nook where you can give yourself over to summer reading.
P.S. Every book is better if you read with a dog (or (okay!) a cat) at your side.

Here are a few books I have been reading and recommending:

Noodles on a Bicycle, by Kyo Maclear and Illustrated by Gracey Zhang
This is a fantastic read-aloud and also features mesmerizing, kinetic art. The impossible happens right before our eyes. Plus, it begins and ends with noodles.

Fireworks written by Matthew Burgess, illustrated by Cátia Chien
Winner of the Caldecott Medal and a love letter to summer. Radiant, beguiling, timeless.

The Peter Rabbit Library by Beatrix Potter
These books charmed me as a kid, and I find them just as beguiling as an adult.
Perfect for curling up and reading in a tree house, or on a front porch.

Birdy by N. West Moss
This novel about Birdy and her brother Mouse is a book about loving the world, and learning to let yourself be loved in return.

For adults:
Whistler by Ann Patchett
What can I say? Ann is the best there is. This book will make you believe in the world again.

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
Published in 1982, I remember reading it on the beach in Florida. I revisited it early this summer for the first time, and I realized I have carried the book in my heart for all of those years. Definitely worth revisiting.