Off to America
a.k.a. The book tour begins this week, plus a few key updates
Tomorrow I’ll be hopping on a plane to the US, and on Thursday, my North American book tour will officially begin.
Have you secured your spot at one of the events? You should, because space will be limited at many of these venues and you don’t want to be left out.
Here’s the full tour itinerary:
(Click the individual links for more details and ticket / RSVP info.)
September 21 - New York, Dripping at Nowadays (moderated by Avalon Emerson)
September 22 - Montreal, OSMO X MARUSAN (moderated by Patrick Holland)
September 23 - Miami, Paradis Books & Bread (moderated by Nick León)
September 25 - Washington DC, Eaton House (moderated by Joyce Lim)
September 27 - Los Angeles, Late Breakfast at 2220 Arts + Archives (moderated by Laurel Halo)
September 28 - Seattle, Vermillion (moderated by Doc Sleep)
September 29 - Portland, Colleen (live) at Holocene (moderated by Spencer Doran)
September 30 - San Francisco, Public Works (moderated by Christina Chatfield)
As you can see, my tour schedule (eight cities in ten days) is going to be pretty hectic, which unfortunately means that First Floor’s publishing schedule is likely to be disrupted during the next few weeks. This Thursday’s mailer—the digest edition that includes news, release announcements, new track recommendations, etc.—will be sent out per usual, but after that, we’ll see what happens. Although I’m definitely going to check in periodically from the road, I’ll probably have to wait until I’m back home in Barcelona to get the newsletter fully up to speed once again, so please bear with me. (Allow me to thank you in advance for your patience. I know there’s been a whole lot of book and tour talk happening this year, but I haven’t forgotten that the newsletter is what this whole thing is built upon.)
In the meantime, however, I do have a few important updates that are ready for your perusal right now:
Perhaps you’ve noticed already, but First Floor’s design has been given a much-needed refresh that includes a new logo and a variety of new graphic templates. The work was done by Tim Saputo, a dear friend of mine who was also the Creative Director of XLR8R during my tenure at the magazine. He’s since gone on to bigger and better things in the design world, and has also delved heavily into photography, which he showcases regularly via his Studio Bucatini Substack.
As part of the design update, I’ve reorganized the First Floor homepage, and have also added to its navigation menu. There are now separate categories for essays, interviews, weekly digests and year-end lists, which should make things a lot easier for anyone who wants to take a trip through the newsletter’s archives.
First Floor now has its very own Instagram account, so please give it a follow. After years of intermittently sharing newsletter content via my personal IG account (which you’re also welcome to follow), I figured the time had come to create a dedicated place for all those who really want to keep up with everything that’s being published around here. (And yes, First Floor still has its own Twitter account as well, but as that platform continues its slow death spiral, Instagram felt like the next-best option.)
That’s all for today. As I said before, I’ll be back on Thursday with a “normal” version of the newsletter, which will lands in your inbox just hours before the tour chaos gets underway.
Thanks so much for reading, and if you’re in North America, hopefully I’ll see you very soon. In all sincerity, if you’re a regular newsletter reader or someone who I’ve previously only interacted with online, please down come and say hello in person. Making IRL connections is the best part of doing these book tours.
Shawn
Shawn Reynaldo is a freelance writer, editor, presenter and project manager. Find him on LinkedIn and Twitter, or you can just drop him an email to get in touch about projects, collaborations or potential work opportunities.