Diving Before Dawn Sandi Madison- Diving Before Dawn: A Dream Exploration
2025-10-11 16:00 - 17:00 (America/Denver)
Welcome local author Sandi Madison to the Readings Gallery for a book talk and interactive activity about her debut book, Diving Before Dawn: A Dream Exploration! What if the strangest dreams you’ve ever had hold answers to your biggest life challenges? ‘Diving Before Dawn: A Dream Exploration,’ explores insights, revelations, and the deep, metaphorical nature of dreams, demonstrating the innate knowledge hidden within our subconscious available to us nightly as inner wisdom for creative guidance.
Local author, Sandi Madison, has faithfully kept a dream journal for over fifty-four years. At sixteen, she became intrigued by the metaphorical language of dreams, began documenting their insights, and taught herself techniques for dream recall and interpretation. During the COVID-19 lockdown, she reviewed thirty-eight years of journals. Her journey into self-discovery told through her dream life, is the rich source of material from which Diving Before Dawn was born. Her ardent desire is to help others utilize their dreams as a rich resource of inner guidance. She currently lives in Bellingham, Washington. Follow her at https://sandimadison.com and @sandimadisonauthor on Instagram.

The Traveling Archivist: Eastern Oregon Book Reading and Q&A
2025-11-15 14:00 - 15:00
https://villagebooks.com/events/3484520251115
Join Village Books for a combined reading and Q&A with Mary B. Hansen about her newest book, The Traveling Archivist: Eastern Oregon! She will be bringing some archival materials for people to explore as she shares the inspiration of her book and how archives impact our lives and our futures.

“STILLS” Poetry Book Launch Party
2025-12-12 18:30 - 22:00
To kick off the year-long celebration, CASCADIA will host a launch party for a collaborative book project, “STILLS,” a poetry anthology inspired by the films of the 2025 festival, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, December 12 at Aslan Depot (1322 N. State St., Bellingham). The event will open with readings by a number of poets featured in the book, followed by live jazz music from 8 to 10 p.m. A special cider created for the event by Greenwood Cider of Seattle will be available on tap. Admission to the all ages event is free and open to the public.
With an introduction by Stefania Heim, poet and Associate Professor of Literature and Director of Graduate Studies in English at Western Washington University, this anthology connects the work of international film directors who presented at the 2025 festival to poetry, prose and art by noted poets from the Pacific Northwest and across the country, including Tobey Hiller, Julie Gard, Luther Allen, Arlene Naganawa, Jed Myers, Jeff Alessandrelli and J. I. Kleinberg.
Books will be available for purchase for $18 at the event from co-host Village Books. The books may also be purchased through CASCADIA’s website. Books purchased directly from CASCADIA through December will also receive a discount code to watch online free short films featured in the book during the month of January.

Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest
2026-03-01 19:00 - 21:00
The Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest will accept entries March 1-31. Whatcom Co. residents of all ages are invited to participate. Submission guidelines can be found at thepoetrydepartment.wordpress.com/contest
An award ceremony will be held May 28 at 7pm at Bellingham Cruise Terminal.

Chef Renee Erickson Author Talk and Book Signing
2026-04-30 17:30 - 20:00
Join us and special guest speaker Chef Renee Erickson on April 30th. Chef Renee will be in store from 5:30 – 8:00 pm, doing an Author talk from 6 – 6:30, and signing books until 8.
This ticket includes access to the entire event:
– Chef Renee Erickson Author Talk
– Glass of Wine
– Snack Plate made from recipes from “Sunlight and Breadcrumbs”
– Copy of “Sunlight and Breadcrumbs” (10% off retail price!) signed by the author
– Meet and Greet with Chef Renee Erickson
Find Tickets and more info at https://helaprovisions.com/

Authors Lara Messersmith Glavin and Caskey Russel in Conversation
2026-05-16 16:00 - 17:00
Saturday, May 16 • 4 PM – 5 PM BELLINGHAM, WA: Authors Lara Messersmith-Glavin in conversation with Caskey Russell for new book Ruiner.
Village Books and Paper Dreams Bookstore
1200 11th Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Event link. Tickets start at $5.
Lara will be in conversation with Caskey Russell, author of The Door on the Sea, one of NPR’s picks for Best Book of 2025!
More about Lara Messersmith-Glavin:Lara Messersmith-Glavin (she/they) lives in the Pacific Northwest, where they write both nonfiction and speculative work, teach creative writing, coach movement practices for all bodies, and serve on the editorial board of Perspectives on Anarchist Theory magazine. While her true loves include forests, crows, and tide pools, she also collects languages, patterns, and magical objects.
Website: https://queenofpirates.netInstagram: @lara.messersmith.glavinMore upcoming events with Lara here.
More about Ruiner: linkRuiner is the first installment of the Tellers series, an epic fantasy of colliding worldviews that demands its fighters draw on all their resources to stop an encroaching extractivist power. It is a political fantasy where storytelling is combat magic and ordinary people must fight against exploitation and environmental destruction. Lush and complex, the story wrestles with trauma, ecological damage, the high cost of resistance, and the nature of violence.
Reviewed by Publisher’s Weekly as, “an ambitious speculative work” that “readers seeking surprising post apocalyptic fiction will want to check out.” An early reader on Netgalley called it, “visionary.”
More about Caskey:Caskey Russell was born and raised in Washington and has lived in Oregon, Iowa, Wyoming, and New Zealand. He is a father, a professor, a musician, and an enrolled member of the Tlingit Nation (Eagle / Kooyu Kwáan) of Alaska. He is the author of the Raven and Eagle Series, a fantasy trilogy based on Tlingit culture. The first book in the series, The Door on the Sea, was published in October of 2025 and was selected as one of NPR’s Best Books of 2025. It also won an Honorable Mention in the International Association for the Fantastic Arts Crawford Award. The second book in the series, The Eagle in the Mountain, will be released on September 22, 2026. The third book in the trilogy is slated to be released in the fall of 2027. His author’s website contains information about the series including a map and glossary: https://caskeyrussellbookeater.com
Instagram: @caskey_russell_author
