All events are free to attend unless otherwise stated! Please give us a call if you have any questions or concerns.
If you are experiencing COVID-like symptoms or have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, we ask that you please do not attend in-person events. Instead, feel free to order the book over the phone so we can have it signed for you to pick up when you're out of the woods!

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Story Time: Debra Shumaker
@ Pure Green Vienna, 136d Maple Ave. W, Vienna
Sunday, February 9, 10:00Am

*DATE UPDATED: THIS EVENT IS NOW TAKING PLACE ON FEBRUARY 9

Join Bards Alley again at Pure Green Vienna for a story time event great for kids ages 3-8. Local author Debra Kempf Shumaker will be reading her most recent picture book release Wind is a Dance, using figurative language and metaphors to capture the imagination of readers as they learn about seasonal weather and wind. Debra will also be leading an interactive activity to accompany the book!

Pure Green will also be offering 20% off their menu during story time; grab a smoothie or acai bowl while you enjoy the reading! Pure Green Vienna is located at 136d Maple Ave. W in Vienna, near Vienna's Panera Bread and Ben & Jerry's.

About Wind is a Dance: ”You can feel wind … but you can’t see it. What is wind?“ This exploration of different types of wind pairs lyrical descriptions of wind types with accessible, informational sidebars about each. The whimsical narrative uses metaphor to help readers visualize wind’s characteristics: ”Wind is a butterfly – fluffing flower petals and ruffling riverbank grasses.“ Informative bubbles on each page complement these descriptions with short explanations of each wind type, which range from a light breeze to a hurricane. Evocative illustrations further bring the text to life in this fascinating introduction to the ever-changing wind.

About the author: Debra Kempf Shumaker started reading at the age of four and hasn't stopped since. She grew up on a small dairy farm in Wisconsin but now lives in the suburbs of Northern Virginia with her husband, three sons and two cats. She is the author of many nonfiction articles and several books for children. Visit her online at debrashumaker.com.

Author Event: Michael Nayak
Saturday, February 15, 5:00pm - 6:30pm

Join us at Bards Alley for a discussion with debut, local author Michael Nayak for his sci-fi thriller release Symbiote. The event will be held at Bards Alley Bookshop on February 15 at 5PM. Based on real-life experiences, Contagion meets The Walking Dead in this new sci-fi thriller where a biological threat ravages scientists and military personnel at the South Pole. Michael will be signing his book after the talk.

About Symbiote: As World War III rages, the scientists in Antarctica are thankful for the isolation until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base in search of help. In their truck is a horrifying sight, the first ever murder victim in Antarctica. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do.

Within seventy-two hours, thirteen more lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength. An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. It is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.

A small group of survivors try to resist the siren call of the growing hive mind and stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of the symbiotic microbe’s origins. But the symbiote is more than a disease – it could be the key to shifting the balance of power in a time of war. The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season, when planes will arrive to take them – and potentially the symbiote – back to civilization.

​About the author: Michael Nayak was born in Los Angeles and now lives in Washington, DC. By day, he is Doctor/Major Nayak, working for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). He is a USAF Test Pilot School graduate, Rotary National Award for Space Achievement recipient, and has 1,000+ hours of flight time in 40+ aircraft including the F-16, T-38, EA500 and BE-76. His real-world experience in the science and intelligence communities adds next-level authentic details and a touch of hyper-realism to his work.

Crooked Steeple Literary Festival presents:
Amina Luqman-Dawson
@ Falls Church Presbyterian, 225 E. Broad St., Falls Church
​Saturday, February 22, 2:00pm

Join us at Falls Church Presbyterian for their Crooked Steeple Literary Festival as they bring author Amina Luqman-Dawson for a discussion on her award-winning middle grade book Freewater. This event is fantastic for parents, teachers, and young readers aged 9 and up to celebrate this Newberry and Coretta Scott King Award winner, an historical novel about two enslaved children's escape from a plantation and the ways in which they find freedom.

​This event is free to attend, though donations of any amount are welcome so Falls Church Presbyterian is able to continue bringing authors for discussions through their literary festival.

About the author: Amina Luqman-Dawson is the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning and bestselling author of Freewater and the pictorial history book Images of America: African Americans of Petersburg. Her op-eds on race and popular culture have appeared in The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, and more. She, her husband, and her son reside in Arlington, VA. Visit her online at aminaluqman-dawson.com.

About Freewater: Under the cover of night, twelve-year-old Homer flees Southerland Plantation with his little sister Ada, unwillingly leaving their beloved mother behind. Much as he adores her and fears for her life, Homer knows there’s no turning back, not with the overseer on their trail. Through tangled vines, secret doorways, and over a sky bridge, the two find a secret community called Freewater, deep in the swamp.

In this society created by formerly enslaved people and some freeborn children, Homer finds new friends, almost forgetting where he came from. But when he learns of a threat that could destroy Freewater, he crafts a plan to find his mother and help his new home.

Deeply inspiring and loosely based on the history of maroon communities in the South, this is a striking tale of survival, adventure, friendship, and courage. 

Illustrator Talk: Tequitia Andrews
@ City of Fairfax Regional Library, 10360 North St., Fairfax
Saturday, February 22, 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Do you love to draw? Professional artist and illustrator, Tequitia Andrews, will be at the City of Fairfax Regional Library to discuss the books she has illustrated, share some of her creative process, and lead the class through a group art project. Bards Alley will be attending in support, and books will be available on-site to purchase for the author to sign. The City of Fairfax Regional Library is located at 10360 North St. in Fairfax City.

This interactive event is best for ages 7-12, and registration is required through the Fairfax Library calendar.

About the illustrator: Tequitia Andrews (pronounced ta-key-ta) is an artist and illustrator from Richmond, Virginia. A graduate of Virginia State University, Tequitia didn't pursue a career as an artist until her 30's. Starting off primarily as a painter, Tequitia took an independent learning journey in all the different facets of art making. She found her voice in the world of illustration.  Since then, she has illustrated book covers, greeting cards, products, and picture books. 

Author Event: Rebecca Brenner Graham in conversation with Gina Warner
Saturday, March 1, 2:30pm - 4:00pm

Join us at Bards Alley for a conversation between author Rebecca Brenner Graham and Badass Women's Book Club founder and leader Gina Warner to discuss Graham's narrative non-fiction title Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins’s Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany. The event will be held at Bards Alley Bookshop on March 1 at 2:30PM. Rebecca will be signing her book after the discussion.

About Dear Miss Perkins: She was the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, the longest-serving Labor Secretary, and an architect of the New Deal. Yet beyond these celebrated accomplishments there is another dimension to Frances Perkins’s story. Without fanfare, and despite powerful opposition, Perkins helped save the lives of countless Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany.

“Immigration problems usually have to be decided in a few days. They involve human lives. There can be no delaying,” Perkins wrote in her memoir, The Roosevelt I Knew. In March 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, Perkins was appointed Secretary of Labor by FDR. As Hitler rose to power, thousands of German-Jewish refugees and their loved ones reached out to the INS—then part of the Department of Labor—applying for immigration to the United States, writing letters that began “Dear Miss Perkins . . .”

Based on extensive research, including thousands of letters housed in the National Archives, Dear Miss Perkins adds new dimension to an already extraordinary life story, revealing at last how one woman tried to steer the nation to a better, more righteous course.​

About the author: Rebecca Brenner Graham is a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University. Previously, she taught at the Madeira School and American University. She has a PhD in history and an MA in public history from American University, and a BA in history and philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. In 2023, she was awarded a Cokie Roberts Fellowship from the National Archives Foundation and a Rubenstein Center Research Fellowship from the White House Historical Association. Her writing has been published in The Washington Post, Time, Slate, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere.

Books 'n Brews: A Boozy Book Fair with Bards ALley and Caboose
@ Caboose Tavern, 520 Mill St. NW, Vienna
Sunday, March 2, 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Books 'n Brews is back, baby!
Relive your Scholastic book fair childhood at Vienna's own Caboose Tavern for an adult book fair, with newly released fiction and nonfiction, cozy Spring reads, upcoming book club selections, and even more curated reads courtesy of your favorite local indie, Bards Alley!

We will be set up on Caboose's second level with tables and tables of books and fun sideline items from our shop. Browse our reads, ask for a recommendation, and settle down for some drinks and great food from Caboose. Bring your family and friends; this is one of our favorite community events of the year!

Caboose Tavern will also be offering happy hour deals during the book fair, with $1 off of food, $2 off of beer, and $3 off of wine and cocktails. No RSVP required; stop in any time between 4:00pm and 6:00pm to catch us.

Library Visit: Michael Nayak
@ Mary Riley Styles Public Library, 120 N. Virginia Ave, Falls Church
​Sunday, March 9, 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Local author Michael Nayak will be speaking at Mary Riley Styles Public Library on March 9th about his debut sci-fi thriller Symbiote. Bards Alley will be attending in support, and books will be available on-site to purchase for the author to sign. Mary Riley Styles Library is located at 120 N. Virginia Ave in Falls Church. Michael will be signing his book after the talk.

About Symbiote: As World War III rages, the scientists in Antarctica are thankful for the isolation until a group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base in search of help. In their truck is a horrifying sight, the first ever murder victim in Antarctica. The potential for a geopolitical firestorm is great, and, with no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do.

Within seventy-two hours, thirteen more lie dead in the snow, murdered in acts of madness and superhuman strength. An extremophile parasite from the truck, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. It is learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.

A small group of survivors try to resist the siren call of the growing hive mind and stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of the symbiotic microbe’s origins. But the symbiote is more than a disease – it could be the key to shifting the balance of power in a time of war. The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season, when planes will arrive to take them – and potentially the symbiote – back to civilization.

​About the author: Michael Nayak was born in Los Angeles and now lives in Washington, DC. By day, he is Doctor/Major Nayak, working for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). He is a USAF Test Pilot School graduate, Rotary National Award for Space Achievement recipient, and has 1,000+ hours of flight time in 40+ aircraft including the F-16, T-38, EA500 and BE-76. His real-world experience in the science and intelligence communities adds next-level authentic details and a touch of hyper-realism to his work.

Kid's Author Event: Maya Wei-Haas
​A Reading and Presentation
​Saturday, March 22, 11:00am - 12:00pm

Local author Maya Wei-Haas will be presenting on her first nonfiction children's book, What a Rock Can Reveal, on March 22nd at Bards Alley. This is an interactive reading and presentation great for ages 4-10 where kids (and adults!) will get a chance to see some of the rocks and fossils from the book up close with Dr. Wei-Haas' mini-museum. Bring your best rock- and fossil-related questions, because we'll be having a Q&A after her talk! Dr. Wei-Haas will also be signing her book after her talk.

About What a Rock Can Reveal: Award-winning science writer and geologist Maya Wei-Haas introduces young readers to the fascinating world of rocks through the art of observation. Starting with a friendly question-and-answer format, she explores the diversity of rocks and minerals and how a rock’s shape, color, or texture help to tell the stories of how it was formed, where it comes from, and the incredible journeys it has had. This hands-on introduction reveals how rocks are time capsules of our planet’s past, recording the thrilling events that once built Earth’s incredible geology.

The second in a series of visually stunning, scientifically engaging books that explore the natural world through everyday objects found in nature, this book follows on from the global children’s bestseller, What a Shell Can Tell. The text and vibrant illustrations expand on a child’s natural instinct to collect things, nurturing their interest and curiosity by giving them simple observation skills that will help them to explore the connections between objects found in nature, the wider environment, and Earth’s history.

​About the author: Maya Wei-Haas is an award-winning science writer with a PhD in Earth Science. She was previously a staff reporter at National Geographic and an Assistant Editor of Science and Innovation at Smithsonian.com. Now she writes for a variety of publications, including The New York Times and Science. This is her first children’s book.