Events this week - Deborah Harkness, Scholastic Read-A-Palooza, Dean Strang with Mitch Teich, Rochelle Melander with Jeanette Hurt

Here's what's going on this week at Boswell.

Monday, June 24, 7 pm, at Boswell
Dean A Strang, author of Keep the Wretches in Order: America's Biggest Mass Trial, the Rise of the Justice Department, and the Fall of the IWW, in conversation with WUWM's Mitch Teich

Madison attorney Dean A Strang returns to Boswell with his latest book, a sharp legal history of the largest mass trial in US history. Cosponsored by Wisconsin Justice Initiative. This will also be WUWM Lake Effect Executive Producer and Host Mitch Teich's last conversation at Boswell before he leaves to be the General Manager at North Country Public Radio in New York.

Dean Strang analyzes the fragility of the American criminal justice system as he details United States v. Haywood et al, the fascinating case that had a major role in shaping the modern Justice Department. Before World War I, the government reaction to labor dissent had been local, ad hoc, and quasi-military. When the United States entered the conflict in 1917, the Department of Justice embarked on a sweeping new effort - replacing gunmen with lawyers. Soon, the department systematically targeted the nation’s most radical and innovative union, the Industrial Workers of the World, also known as the Wobblies.

In the first legal history of this federal trial, Strang shows how the case laid the groundwork for a fundamentally different strategy to stifle radical threats and had a major role in shaping the modern Justice Department. As the trial unfolded, it became an exercise of raw force, raising serious questions about its legitimacy and revealing the fragility of a criminal justice system under great external pressure.

Dean A Strang is a criminal defense lawyer in Madison and teaches at the University of Virginia School of Law. He is the author of Worse than the Devil: Anarchists, Clarence Darrow, and Justice in a Time of Terror. Mitch Teich is the new station manager of North Country Public Radio in  Canton, New York. Until recently, he was executive producer of WUWM's Lake Effect.

Tuesday, June 25, 7 pm, at Boswell:
Rochelle Melander, author of Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination, and Increase Productivity, in converastion with Jeannette Hurt

Milwaukee-based Rochelle Melander, book coach, teacher, and author of ten books, including the National Novel Writing Month guide, Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Live to Tell About It), turns every obstacle you face into quests, offering the perfect productivity solution. This event cosponsored by Red Oak Writing.

Melander offers creatives an opportunity to tackle their most common creative problems by turning them into quests. These short adventures challenge readers to investigate their life and habits to discover and use their own best practices.

Instead of playing someone else’s game, creatives will design their own game, create a playbook, define the rewards, and reap them all. Adopt a secret identity, recruit allies, identify villains, and celebrate epic wins by using a gameful approach to shaping creative life. Completing these quests won’t be a chore. Instead, Melander helps creatives relish investigating life, play with the possibilities, and maybe even have some fun along the way.

Rochelle Melander is a Milwaukee-based writing coach, teacher, and author. She is Founder of Dream Keepers, a writing workshop for children and teens in Milwaukee. She interviews authors and publishing professionals on her blog, at the Write Now! Mastermind class, and in her podcast, Business Boosting Books.

Wednesday, June 26, 7 pm, at Boswell Deborah Harkness, author of Time’s Convert:
Deborah Harkness, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches visits us with her latest novel about what it takes to become a vampire.

Please register for this free event at harknessmke.bpt.me, or upgrade to a book-with-registration option for $19, which includes a paperback copy of Time's Convert, signing line priority, and all taxes and fees.

A passionate love story and a fascinating exploration of the power of tradition and the possibilities not just for change but for revolution, Time's Convert channels the supernatural world-building and slow-burning romance that made the All Souls Trilogy instant bestsellers to illuminate a new and vital moment in history and a love affair that will bridge centuries.

A Discovery of Witches was made into a television series starring Teresa Palmer, Matthew Goode, Edward Bluemel, Louise Brealey, Malin Buska, Aiysha Hart, Owen Teale, Alex Kingston, and Valarie Pettiford. It aired on Sky One in the UK last fall and debuted on AMC in April. It just finished its run, but do not fear - the production has been renewed for two more seasons. If you just discovered the All Souls Trilogy via television or streaming, it's time to read the books, which, of course, are even better.

Deborah Harkness is the New York Times bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships.

Friday, June 28, 3-5 pm, at Boswell:
Scholastic Read-A-Palooza, featuring Dog Man and Clifford the Big Red Dog

Boswell hosts a Scholastic Read-a-Palooza Summer Reading Celebration! There will be activities for young readers and giveaways of goodies like stickers, temporary tattoos, and more. Plus, we’ll have a visit from (costume characters) Dog Man and Clifford the Big Red Dog. Great for kids and adults. We’ll also have a Summer Reading Give Back donation box to collect donations of new children’s books for Next Door Foundation.

Those who wish to attend this free event are asked to register at readapaloozamke.bpt.me.

Scholastic Read-A-Palooza is a nationwide effort to unite kids, parents, educators, public librarians, community partners, and booksellers in a movement to get books to kids in need during the summer, keeping every child reading.

Milwaukee’s Next Door Foundation supports the intellectual, physical, and emotional development of children by partnering with their families for success in school and the community.

Saturday, June 29, All Day, on Downer Ave:
Downer Classic Bike Races

Historic Downer Avenue is home to one of the most famous urban criterium courses in the country, The Cafe Hollander Downer Classic Pro Criterium. Global in reach and extremely local in flavor, this promises to be one of the highlights of cycling in Wisconsin this summer. The full day of racing also features a popular kids’ race, a Belgian Beer Festival, the famous Ben’s Cyclery Super Prime, as well as a full slate of racing all afternoon and evening.

Boswell will be open during our normal Saturday hours, 10 am – 9 pm, on the day of the races, though please note that the race course runs directly in front of the store. While the sidewalks will be open to foot traffic, the street will be closed.