Upcoming Events
Pop-Up Game Night
Join us for another SUPER FUN pop-up game night hosted by our friends Grace Kendall and Mike Belsole from the Tabletop Inn right here in Marion, NC!
Mike and Grace will be bringing a variety of games with them from the inn that are suitable for families and seasoned gamers alike.
Come out and try your hand at some fun party games and/or strategy games!
“Mike and Grace were the most amazing and accommodating hosts! Truly could not ask for better. Also, Mike is an excellent teacher for rules and how to play different board games!” —Tabletop Inn visitor review
Live Music with Freddy Bradburn and the Youth String Band
Join us for a night of LIVE MUSIC featuring Freddy Bradburn and the NEW Intermediate Youth String Band!
Freddy Bradburn has taught communications, theater, and storytelling at McDowell Tech for more than 20 years. He is also an award-winning songwriter, mulit-instrumentalist, and member of the local trio The Happy Enchiladas. He has had two original musicals produced by the local theater. Presently, Freddy created and directs a youth string band that performs in the community. Come see them perform right here at Bigfoot Books & Brews!
Juneteenth Festival in the Park
Bigfoot Books & Brews is honored to be a sponsor of the 5th Annual Juneteenth Celebration hosted by West Marion Inc. Come see us out at West Marion Community Park, 4-8pm on Saturday, June 20th!
This family-friendly festival will feature live music, cultural performances, food trucks, and local vendors. Come celebrate together in a joyful and welcoming atmosphere!
Melvin Bray at West Marion Racial Equity Book Club
West Marion Inc. and Bigfoot Books & Brews welcome Melvin Bray, the Atlanta-based author of the new book UnLearn InEquity: An Invitation to Truth & Transformation.
Melvin will talk and do a Q&A, followed by this month’s West Marion Racial Equity Book Club discussion. Dinner will be provided.
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED. (please fill out form below:)
ABOUT MELVIN BRAY
Melvin Bray is a problem-solving and equity design specialist. Melvin has extensive experience and training in group facilitation, design thinking/doing, collaborative problem-solving, systems thinking, power dynamics, innovation strategy, community organizing, curriculum/program development, discovery learning, and sustainability. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including an EMMY® (NATAS) for outstanding storytelling.
Through Collabyrinth, Melvin helps communities of goodwill design better systems and structures, policies and practices, that transform persistently inequitable outcomes into equitable ones.
ABOUT UnLEARN InEQUITY
This is for you. Yes, you!
Whether you are a person of color, a woman, queer, poor, un/under-employed, under-educated, disabled, in poor health, or some combination thereof. This is also for you if you are white, male, straight, wealthy, healthy, Christian, highly educated, and/or currently able-bodied. Perhaps you don't fit neatly into any of these categories.
Whether you are historically privileged, historically marginalized, or a little of both, the journey charted herein is yours for the taking.
Why? Because we are all part of a society that is designed to advantage some, while disadvantaging others. Advantaging some while disadvantaging others is called inequity. Inequity harms us all in more ways than most know-morally, materially, spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and even physically.
The medley of stories, essays, and activities found herein is an invitation to process through the personal and structural complexities of unlearning your participation in and acceptance of inequity.
Just as importantly, it is an invitation to heal.
Snail Mail Society
Join us for the Snail Mail Society!
We gather every Wednesday at 1pm for a casual letter writing group, hosted by Grace Kendall from the Tabletop Inn. Grace will bring some stationary, but feel free to bring your own.
Anybody can write letters to people they know or maybe there's a letters-to-strangers project you'd like to participate in. Just bring your ideas, and let’s write together!
Open Mic Poetry Night hosted by Greg Feightner
Join us for a night of open mic poetry — hosted by Dark City poet Greg Feightner! Get here early and sign up to read.
Greg Feightner is a big nerd whose right and left brains are constantly in conversation and occasionally disagree. He comes to us here in Marion from spending time recently in the Dark City Poetry Society in Black Mountain, NC, through open mics and monthly critique circles.
The puzzle pieces of his life as a former pastor, IT support manager, systems administrator, one-time festival organizer, men’s group facilitator and public storyteller/writer at first seem to impossible to fit together, but somehow, they do. The result is a wonderfully abstract tableau resembling a Picasso painting smeared into a JMW Turner-esque canvas. His proudest achievements are recipes, particularly figuring out how to perfectly cook thick cut bacon in the oven.
Yonder Youth Collective presents … Theatre Kid Karaoke
Expect showtunes, pop music, or the genre your heart desires. Mics will be hot and bad art is encouraged. All are welcome. Art is for all.
Hosted by the Yonder Youth Collective!
“Don’t Move to Asheville” Author Talk & Book Signing with Paul Wilczynski
Join us for a special Sunday afternoon author talk and book signing with “Senior Techie” Paul Wilczynski, author of the new book Don’t Move to Asheville: A Ruthlessly Honest Guide That Will Ruin Everywhere Else.
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out the form below):
ABOUT DON’T MOVE TO ASHEVILLE
Everyone told you to move to Asheville. You’re already thinking about it. You’ve looked at the listings. You’ve watched the reels. You may have told people you’re considering it.
Don’t.
Don’t Move to Asheville: A Ruthlessly Honest Guide That Will Ruin Everywhere Else is the reverse-psychology relocation guide that takes the standard “here’s why you’ll love it” format and turns it inside out.
Nine chapters.
Nine reasons to stay put.
None of them will work.
You’ll learn about the food scene that earned two James Beard Awards and a Michelin Bib Gourmand in a city of 95,000 people. The outdoor access that puts world-class hiking, whitewater, and trout fishing within 30 minutes of downtown. The creative economy that attracted artists, brewers, musicians, and makers who arrived as visitors and couldn’t make themselves leave.
It covers what you actually need to know: the hospital situation, the housing costs, the cost-of-living math, what happened after Hurricane Helene, and whether any of it is still worth it.
Spoiler: It is. Annoyingly.
Written by a reluctant Ashevillian since 2014, this is the honest guide that relocation books are too polite to write: funny, specific, and completely useless as a warning.
Consider yourself warned.
ABOUT PAUL WILCZYNSKI
For most of his working life, Paul Wilczynski was a software developer, which means he spent decades persuading computers to do things they didn't want to do.
He started writing COBOL code in 1973. Along the way he taught computer science at Suffolk University in Boston, owned a website development and hosting company, represented one of the first commercial email services (MCI Mail), and spent 11 years as a software engineer supporting payroll and financial systems for a major supermarket chain.
Eventually he retired, which is when the writing started in earnest. It turns out that 50 years of explaining technology to computers leaves you reasonably well-positioned to explain it to people instead.
TheSeniorTechie.com exists because a lot of technology writing assumes its readers are 25 years old and grew up with a smartphone in each hand. Paul writes for people who didn’t. Practical, direct, no unnecessary jargon.
Paul served on the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment since 2024, as well as being a member and Chair of the City of Asheville’s Board of Adjustment from 2017 to 2023. It’s quasi-judicial work involving zoning, variances, and a surprising amount of patience. It’s not glamorous, but someone has to do it, and Paul has found he’s reasonably good at sitting through long meetings without losing his mind.
Don’t Move to Asheville started as something else entirely and became a book that’s part honest guidebook, part memoir, and part argument that Asheville is one of the few places in America that actually delivers on its reputation.
Silent Book Club - First Fridays
Bring a book with you (or grab one off of our shelves!), read quietly for one hour (7-8pm), then talk about it with other people (or not) if you choose to (8-9pm)! Tell people about what you’re reading and hear about what other people are reading. (Or just keep reading quietly by yourself for the second hour—it’s up to you!)
PowerPoint Party: Nostalgia
We are hosting another PowerPoint Party! The theme for July is Nostalgia (so all things Furbies, arcades, McDonald’s playplace, etc.).
What’s something that makes you feel nostalgic? Fire up your slideshow for a 3- to 5-minute presentation to make friends and bring back some precious memories. (Sign up now by filling out the form below!)
I am feeling a little extra so…
Each presenter will get a cool little monster polaroid intro slide!
Kelsey Davis “The Athlete Devotional” Author Event & Book Signing
Join us for a special author talk and book signing with local NC author and former professional women’s soccer player Rev. Kelsey Davis, about her new book The Athlete Devotional: 40 Days of Spiritual Practice.
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out the form below):
ABOUT THE ATHLETE DEVOTIONAL: 40 DAYS OF SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
The Athlete Devotional offers a devotional for student-athletes and the athletic community that is grounded in progressive theology, character and identity formation, and ancient spiritual practices.
The authors and editors of this book are LGBTQ+ affirming pastors and Christians, and so this devotional not only seeks to meet athletes at the intersection of faith and sports, but additionally offers loving and affirming theology for all people.
ABOUT REV. KELSEY DAVIS
Rev. Kelsey Davis lives in Asheville with her wife and two kiddos. She is the vicar at St. George’s Episcopal Church. She also serves as Bishop’s Deputy for Disaster Response & Recovery at the Episcopal Diocese of WNC. She is a former pro athlete, coach, and loves to spend time outdoors. She loves exploring the spiritual life, pondering theology, studying scripture, teaching and facilitating, listening to people’s stories, engaging in the community, and witnessing the transforming power of the sacraments.
She is Co-Founder of Christian Athlete Circles, Co-Host of the Spirit of Sport Podcast, serves on the board of The Center for Contemplative Justice, and is a member of the NCAA Common Ground Leadership Team.
Kelsey holds a Masters of Divinity & Certificate of Religion in the Arts & Contemporary Culture from Vanderbilt Divinity School, Certificate in Anglican Studies from Iona WNC, and a B.A. in Theology with a minor in Education from the University of Portland. She is a certified Narrative Enneagram Teacher & Circle Process Facilitator.
She is a member of the Choctaw of Oklahoma.
“Soccer Is Football” Author Talk & Book Signing with Raymond Elume
Join us as for a special afternoon event with Raymond Elume, international sports analyst and author of the new book Soccer Is Football: Recognizing the Global Influence of Football on the American Sports & Entertainment Culture.
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out form below):
ABOUT SOCCER IS FOOTBALL
Soccer Is Football explores how the world’s most beloved sport has evolved into a powerful cultural and economic force across North America.
Blending history, insight, and passion, Raymond Elume examines football’s global journey, its growing influence in the U.S., and the significance of the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
A celebration of unity, diversity, and the beauty of the game, Soccer Is Football reveals how a sport born on distant fields has become a shared language that connects the world.
Craft Night - Junk Journaling
Bring all your receipts, old takeout menus, movie tickets, etc. and lets start a junk journal. It is never too late to start appreciating the small things in life.
Additional supplies will be provided but it is always recommended to bring your own junk so the journal is personalized to you!
Shoutout to Omi for the idea!
“National Tattoo Day” Poetry Event & Book Signing with Angela Leigh
Join us for a special National Tattoo Day (July 17) author talk and book signing with local NC author Angela Leigh, about her debut poetry book Tattoos, Tacos, and Time!
We’ll have a temporary tattoo station & MORE TBA!
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out the form below):
ABOUT TATTOOS, TACOS, AND TIME
Angela Leigh paints an unfiltered portrait of love, lust, partnership, loss, and transformation. Tattoos, Tacos, and Time traces the author’s journey home to herself. Sapphic, sensual, sweet, raw, and empowering, this poetry collection celebrates the quiet everyday moments and the ones that change everything.
Along with celebrating queer love and identity, the book also promotes LGBTQ+ advocacy efforts. Leigh donates $2 from each retail-priced copy sold to a local Pride organization associated with signing events or, if none exists locally, to The Trevor Project.
ABOUT ANGELA LEIGH
Originally from Salisbury, NC, Angela Leigh has also lived in Buies Creek and Fuquay-Varina before settling in western North Carolina. An assistant professor and program coordinator for the online bachelor of arts and applied sciences degree in human services at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, Leigh has been writing seriously for over a decade. While her early focus was mainly on fiction, poetry gradually became a more deliberate creative outlet over the last several years, expanding from free verse into various poetic forms and styles.
She holds both a PhD and a master’s degree in counseling and mental health, and has spent more than 20 years working in education and mental health services.
Leigh is also a member of Mensa and previously owned an independent bookstore (Adventure Bound Books in Morganton) known for its embrace of inclusivity and advocacy. One memorable moment from that chapter was turning a critical online review calling the store “the wokest bookstore east of the Mississippi” into merchandise that raised funds for The Trevor Project.
Silent Book Club - First Fridays
Bring a book with you (or grab one off of our shelves!), read quietly for one hour (7-8pm), then talk about it with other people (or not) if you choose to (8-9pm)! Tell people about what you’re reading and hear about what other people are reading. (Or just keep reading quietly by yourself for the second hour—it’s up to you!)
Thrive WNC presents Emma Churchman, MDiv, on Resilient Leadership
Join us for a special Thrive WNC Women’s Networking Event featuring Emma Churchman, MDiv, author of the new book Navigating the Deep End: Resilient Leadership in a Volatile World.
COST IS $12 (includes soup sampler from The Parlor Car and a beverage from Bigfoot Books & Brews):
ABOUT NAVIGATING THE DEEP END
How do you lead resiliently when everything you thought you knew disappears in an instant?
In these pages, you’ll discover the stories of leaders who navigated their businesses through Hurricane Helene, COVID supply chain disruptions, California wildfires, personal health crises, and market collapses.
You’ll also journey with author Emma Churchman through her own story of loss, heartache, and the path back to purposeful leadership.
This isn’t just another business book filled with theories and frameworks—though you’ll find practical tools throughout. This is part leadership guide, part roadmap for staying human in the midst of chaos. It’s your invitation to consider what it truly means to lead from a place of vulnerability and authenticity, empowering yourself and everyone around you to show up fully, especially when the ground beneath you shifts.
Working with leaders in crisis has taught me the most resilient leaders aren’t the ones who never fall down, they’re the ones who know how to get back up, bring others with them, and find a way to honor both the weight of their responsibility and the fullness of their humanity.
This book will show you how.
ABOUT EMMA CHURCHMAN, MDIV
Emma Churchman is a sought-after international speaker and coach, teaching trauma recovery techniques that empower individuals and organizations alike. She also writes about trauma recovery and building resilient leadership for national and global publications. As a trauma recovery specialist and PhD candidate in Conscious Business Ethics, Emma bridges the gap between soulful leadership and practical strategies for navigating life’s storms.
Vanessa Miller “The Ladies Hall” National Book Tour Event
Join us for this very special national book tour event with USA Today bestselling author Vanessa Miller to discuss her new historical fiction novel The Ladies Hall.
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out form below):
ABOUT THE LADIES HALL
The lives of real heroes prove this truth: equality is won when we rise together.
1880s, Ohio. When Mary and Anna enter the Bachelor of Arts program, also known as the “gentlemen’s course” of study, at Oberlin College, they have little in common other than the color of their skin and their passion for education.
While Mary was raised in luxury, attending presidential inaugurations with her wealthy father, Anna is a schoolteacher, likely the daughter of her enslaved mother’s former owner, and works a second job to pay for her room and board. But despite their differences, both women share strength, ambition, and a deep yearning for change. If they can bridge the gaps between them, they just might build a lasting legacy.
From its earliest days in the 1830s, Oberlin College admitted men and women, white and Black students. Though the doors are officially open, school policy cannot change the hearts of classmates who refuse to see a woman, and especially a Black woman, excel. Despite constantly being forced to prove themselves, the women triumphantly overcome every obstacle and push through their pain. And as the world evolves around them, Mary and Anna persevere to build a legacy of success and excellence.
Based on the real lives of Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper, and Ida Gibbs Hunt, The Ladies Hall is a mirror into times of great change—where progress and new possibilities are met with violence and resistance … but hope always rises. And it rises still.
ABOUT VANESSA MILLER
“Miller captivates with a propulsive historical based on a true story.” —Publishers Weekly
Vanessa Miller is a USA Today bestselling author. Her writing has been centered on themes of redemption and books about strong Black women in pivotal moments of history. Vanessa is a best-selling author, playwright, and motivational speaker. She started writing as a child, spending countless hours either reading or writing poetry, short stories, stage plays and novels. Vanessa’s creative endeavors took on new meaning in 1994 when she became a Christian. Since then, her writing has been centered on themes of redemption, often focusing on characters facing multi-dimensional struggles.
Miller’s book, The American Queen won the prestigious Christy Award, the Audie Award, and was the 2024 American Fiction Award winner for Historical Fiction. The American Queen is a North Carolina Reads pick for 2025.
Her novel, The Filling Station, has received starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist. It is a Positively Charlotte book club pick and a USA Today bestseller.
Vanessa’s novels have received rave reviews, with several appearing on Essence Magazine’s Bestseller’s List.
Miller graduated from Capital University with a degree in Organizational Communication. She and her family live in the Charlotte, NC, area.
Letting Grief Speak: A Live Conversation featuring Anna Caldwell and Diane Zinna
Join us for a very special in-person/virtual hybrid event featuring local writer Anna Caldwell (in-person) reading and discussing her contribution to the new book by Diane Zinna, Letting Grief Speak: Writing Portals for Life After Loss. Zinna plans to join us live virtually, so you can ask her questions about her work, as well!
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out form below):
ABOUT LETTING GRIEF SPEAK
Society doesn’t always make it easy to tell stories about loss. Grief can make us feel that we have crossed over to another side, where people can’t reach us and we can’t reach others. We’re encouraged to move quickly through the often-misunderstood “stages of grief”; we fear that we are burdening others with our pain. But pain can feel more manageable when we find ways to describe it—and writing about grief can help us connect with others who have felt pain of their own.
Letting Grief Speak is a creative writing craft book on the art of telling our hardest stories. Based on a class called Grief Writing Sundays that Diane Zinna has led for several years, it provides 90 writing prompts with accompanying craft techniques to help people find language for their grief.
By turns gentle, unexpected, rebellious, and wonderfully strange, these prompts open portals: entryways into spaces where difficult emotions can become meaningful narratives.
Warm, sensitive, and honest, Letting Grief Speak is a memoir of the craft, interwoven with stories from the author’s own life. It also includes pieces from acclaimed writers and more than 40 of her Grief Writing students, inviting readers to find their own ways to tell vulnerable stories. A tool for writers and a companion for grievers, this book meets writers of all levels where they are, no matter what kind of grief they hold.
ANNA CALDWELL
ABOUT DIANE ZINNA
Diane Zinna is the author of The All-Night Sun (2020), which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize.
Her work has appeared in Brevity, the Bellevue Literary Review, Split Lip, and CutBank.
A Pushcart Prize nominee, she has taught creative writing for more than 20 years.
Diane received her MFA from the University of Florida and was the longtime membership director for The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP). There, she created the Writer-to-Writer Mentorship Program, helping to match more than 600 writers over 12 seasons.
She is also the creator of Grief Writing Sundays, a popular writing class on telling difficult stories that has met since 2020.
In 2023, she served as the Darden Professor of Creative Writing in the MFA program at Old Dominion University, where the Diane Zinna Prize for Creative Nonfiction is now awarded annually. She lives in Fairfax, Virginia, with her husband and daughter.
Pre-WNC Bigfoot Festival 2026 Kick-off Event - 18+ Only
We have SOMETHING BIG (AND BAD 👀) planned … for Bigfoot lovers (18+ ONLY) … to kick off the entire WNC Bigfoot Festival weekend with a BANG here in downtown Marion, NC …
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE UPDATES!
WNC Bigfoot Festival 2026 at Bigfoot Books & Brews
We have BIG THINGS planned for this year’s WNC Bigfoot Festival here in downtown Marion, NC! (see below)
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE UPDATES:
11am — LIVE MUSIC
BIGFOOT TROUBADOUR
Bigfoot Troubadour paid us a surprise visit last year, but this year we have him for a whole set of his unique Bigfoot takes on classic songs!
3pm — AUTHOR TALK
“HIDDEN HISTORIAN” HEATHER LEAH
We are excited to have “Hidden Historian” Heather Leah returning to Marion to give a special presentation of her talk on North Carolina myths and legends, which includes Bigfoot and much more! DO NOT MISS THIS!!
4pm — AUTHOR TALK
ERIN McGUIRE-THOMPSON
Coming to Marion all the way from Kentucky, author Erin McGuire-Thompson will be talking about her brand-new book Cross Country Cryptids: A Road Trip Guide to American Monsters!
A travel book for the strange and strange at heart with shadows of whimsy and wellness, Cross Country Cryptids outlines a cryptid road trip quest of epic proportions to bring adventure and nature back into your daily life.
TBA
One more major announcement is still coming … Stay tuned!
BIGFOOT BUCKETS!
Stop here first to pick up a GIANT 32-ounce iced coffee bucket with your choice of dairy and/or flavor.
EXCLUSIVE BIGFOOT HATS!
We are your one-stop shop for all your Bristol Hat Company Bigfoot hat needs! And you NEED one of these hats. This is not a want situation. Stop by anytime all day and pick yours out. There will be all kinds of styles and colors to choose from!
BIGFOOT MUGS AVAILABLE!
Nick Larson Pottery, a previous vendor at the WNC Bigfoot Festival, will be selling Bigfoot mugs and steins exclusively through Bigfoot Books & Brews! Come get one here from us this year. These mugs are truly beautiful and classic.
“Bigfoot Woods” Indie Film Screening followed by Q&A with Writers Bruce Pavalon and Abel Pavalon
McDowell Arts Council Association, McDowell SAGE, and Bigfoot Books & Brews present …
A very special screening of the new indie film Bigfoot Woods followed by an exclusive Q&A with co-writers Bruce Pavalon and Abel Pavalon!
Seating is limited so get your tickets early.
ABOUT BIGFOOT WOODS
When a 14-year-old struggling with their gender identity and their father accidentally capture video evidence of Bigfoot, they contend with being small-town heroes in a town that would rather believe in Bigfoot than accept someone they once knew as a girl as a boy.
Starring Rich Sommer (Mad Men) as Paul Benally and Ambrose Velasco Jenkins as Bridget/Jonah Benally.
ABOUT BRUCE PAVALON & ABEL PAVALON
Bruce Pavalon is a teacher and co-writer and executive producer of Bigfoot Woods. He is based in Los Angeles.
Abel Pavalon is Bruce’s son and co-writer of Bigfoot Woods. He is currently studying writing in college.
Appalachian Horror: Andrew K. Clark & David Allan Voyles In Conversation
Join us for a special evening of Appalachian horror featuring local authors Andrew K. Clark and David Allan Voyles in conversation, to celebrate the release of Andrew’s new novel Hollow Folk!
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out form below):
ABOUT HOLLOW FOLK
The night shift at the Holloway was supposed to be quiet.
It wasn’t.
When grad student Ethan Ray clocks in as night auditor at the aging Holloway mountain resort, he expects paperwork, silence, and a paycheck. Instead, reddish-brown lights bleed across the Appalachian sky. Hard winds whip through the trees without making a sound and mysterious owl gargoyles come to life.
At 3 a.m., every clock stops.
Trapped inside with his co-workers Kal and Teresa, Ethan realizes the hotel isn’t just old. It's now a boundary.
Something ancient has been waiting and is now awake.
To escape, they must uncover the Holloway’s secrets. The problem is, the visions haunting each of them carry the same warning: someone in the hotel cannot be trusted.
A chilling Southern Appalachian folk horror set in 1993, where the mountains are watching and the dark leaves marks.
ABOUT ANDREW K. CLARK
Andrew K. Clark is a writer from Western North Carolina where his people settled before the Revolutionary War. His debut novel, Where Dark Things Grow, published by Cowboy Jamboree Press, was a finalist for the Manly Wade Wellman Award, shortlisted for the Sir Walter Raleigh Fiction Award, and winner of an IPPY from the Independent Book Publishers Awards.
The sequel, Where Dark Things Rise, was published by Quill & Crow Publishing House. His third novel, Hollow Folk, is being published by Quill & Crow in September 2026.
His poetry collection, Jesus in the Trailer, was published by Main Street Rag Press and shortlisted for the Able Muse Book Award. His work has appeared in The American Journal of Poetry, UCLA’s Our of Anonymity, Appalachian Review, Rappahannock Review, The Wrath Bearing Tree, and many other journals. He received his MEA from Converse College.
ABOUT DAVID ALLEN VOYLES
Some of the tales in David Allen Voyles’ first collection of original horror stories The Thirteenth Day of Christmas and Other Tales of Yuletide Horror were those he told while conducting tours for his ghost tour company Dark Ride Tours in Asheville, NC. Playing the role of gravedigger / storyteller Virgil Nightshade, Voyles entertained guests as they were transported to various spooky sites in a 1972 Cadillac hearse converted for that purpose.
Having taught literature for 30 years, Voyles is no stranger to weird tales and horror fiction in general.
In addition to publishing his stories in various anthologies, he is also the creator of the horror podcast, Dark Corners with David Allen Voyles, a program in which he narrates many of his tales of horror. Dark Corners can be found on most podcast apps including Spotify.
Snail Mail Society
Join us for the Snail Mail Society!
We gather every Wednesday at 1pm for a casual letter writing group, hosted by Grace Kendall from the Tabletop Inn. Grace will bring some stationary, but feel free to bring your own.
Anybody can write letters to people they know or maybe there's a letters-to-strangers project you'd like to participate in. Just bring your ideas, and let’s write together!
“Rise Up, Sing Out: Concert for the First Amendment” Virtual Watch Party
On June 14, the Committee for the First Amendment will be hosting “Rise Up, Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment,” an uplifting evening of song, solidarity, and action. Featuring an all-star line-up of performers, this 90-minute concert event will celebrate the freedoms guaranteed by our First Amendment—of speech, religion, press, assembly, and protest—and the people power that both fuels these rights and is essential to guarantee them.
Featuring Rufus Wainwright, Bette Midler, Patti Smith, Sasha Allen, Joy Reid, Jane Fonda, and more to be announced!
Come sing along, find inspiration in the performances, build community, and let’s take meaningful action together.
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out the form below):
PowerPoint Party: Conspiracy Theories
It’s a PowerPoint Party in the USA! We are hosting our very first PowerPoint Party on the theme of Conspiracy Theories.
What’s a conspiracy theory that you actually believe right now? Fire up your slideshow for a 3- to 5-minute presentation to make friends and influence people (or just for laughs). Sign up now (below) to speak!
Snail Mail Society
Join us for the Snail Mail Society!
We gather every Wednesday at 1pm for a casual letter writing group, hosted by Grace Kendall from the Tabletop Inn. Grace will bring some stationary, but feel free to bring your own.
Anybody can write letters to people they know or maybe there's a letters-to-strangers project you'd like to participate in. Just bring your ideas, and let’s write together!
Prince Day 2026 at Bigfoot Books & Brews
Looking for a place to pay homage to Prince this year? It’s been a decade since he left this realm. Come celebrate the Purple One with us all day long on what would have been his 68th birthday!
(We can’t say there will be Prince music, or else the ASCAP/BMI people will blow up our phones — again! — BUT … 😉)
Tracey Devlyn Author Talk & Book Signing
Join us for a special afternoon author talk and book signing with local NC author and podcast host Tracey Devlyn!
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out the form below):
About Tracey Devlyn
Tracey Devlyn is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and historical suspense, often layered with mystery, romance, and environmental crime. Despite the thrilling, emotional journeys she creates for her readers, Tracey lives an annoyingly normal life in the mountains of North Carolina with her husband and rescue dog.
About Steele Ridge: The Blackwells
The Steele Ridge: The Blackwells series is a high-stakes, small-town romantic suspense collection by Tracey Devlyn and Adrienne Giordano. It focuses on five "black sheep" brothers running Blackwell Asset Recovery Services (BARS) in Western North Carolina, using illicit means to recover assets and protect their romantic interests.
Silent Book Club - First Fridays
Bring a book with you (or grab one off of our shelves!), read quietly for one hour (7-8pm), then talk about it with other people (or not) if you choose to (8-9pm)! Tell people about what you’re reading and hear about what other people are reading. (Or just keep reading quietly by yourself for the second hour—it’s up to you!)
Snail Mail Society
Join us for the Snail Mail Society!
We gather every Wednesday at 1pm for a casual letter writing group, hosted by Grace Kendall from the Tabletop Inn. Grace will bring some stationary, but feel free to bring your own.
Anybody can write letters to people they know or maybe there's a letters-to-strangers project you'd like to participate in. Just bring your ideas, and let’s write together!
Spring Vintage Clothing Pop-Up
Pop in for a Spring Vintage Clothing Pop-Up featuring curated affordable local goods from our friends at Thrift Stop!
LIVE! Virtual Conversation with Fr. James Martin, SJ
Join us for a very special LIVE virtual/in-person interview event with Fr. James Martin, SJ, about his new memoir, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest, hosted by Fr. Castello Vore!
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out the form below):
About Fr. James Martin, SJ
Rev. James Martin, SJ, is a Jesuit priest, editor at large of America magazine, consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, and author of the New York Times bestsellers Learning to Pray, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything. Father Martin is a frequent commentator in the national and international media, having appeared on all the major networks and outlets, including The Colbert Report, NPR’s Fresh Air, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
About Work in Progress
This coming-of-age story is set in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, a lighthearted tale for readers who enjoy personal narratives, and it’s unlike anything Father Martin has written before. As he puts it, “This is a spiritual memoir from a different angle … told ‘slant’ as Emily Dickinson might say.”
Work in Progress teaches us small but important life lessons: work hard, be on time, don’t be mean, apologize when you need to, forgive frequently, ask if you don’t know something, don't misuse power, pay attention to those who are struggling, listen and, above all, be kind.
“Funny, charming, inspiring and wise—this is a memorable memoir.” —Stephen Colbert
About Fr. Castello Vore
Rev. Father Castello Vore serves as the current Director of Vocations of the Old Catholic Missionary Province of North America and assists the bishop and the tribunal in recruiting, selecting, and vetting persons seeking ordination or incardination. He is also a spiritual director and leads an LGBT inclusive Catholic community, Christ the Healer. Fr. Castello resides near Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Death Café” Agenda-Free Discussion About Death*
Join us for our next “Death Café”*!
“Death Café” is a space where people can engage in open, meaningful conversations about life, death, and living fully every day.
An agenda-free discussion about death*
Hosted by Becky Knight
*Not a support group or grief counseling
Snail Mail Society
Join us for the Snail Mail Society!
We gather every Wednesday at 1pm for a casual letter writing group, hosted by Grace Kendall from the Tabletop Inn. Grace will bring some stationary, but feel free to bring your own.
Anybody can write letters to people they know or maybe there's a letters-to-strangers project you'd like to participate in. Just bring your ideas, and let’s write together!
Yonder Youth Collective presents … Theatre Kid Karaoke
Expect showtunes, pop music, or the genre your heart desires. Mics will be hot and bad art is encouraged. All are welcome. Art is for all.
Hosted by the Yonder Youth Collective!
Open Mic Poetry Night hosted by Greg Feightner
Join us for a night of open mic poetry — hosted by Dark City poet Greg Feightner! Get here early and sign up to read.
Greg Feightner is a big nerd whose right and left brains are constantly in conversation and occasionally disagree. He comes to us here in Marion from spending time recently in the Dark City Poetry Society in Black Mountain, NC, through open mics and monthly critique circles.
The puzzle pieces of his life as a former pastor, IT support manager, systems administrator, one-time festival organizer, men’s group facilitator and public storyteller/writer at first seem to impossible to fit together, but somehow, they do. The result is a wonderfully abstract tableau resembling a Picasso painting smeared into a JMW Turner-esque canvas. His proudest achievements are recipes, particularly figuring out how to perfectly cook thick cut bacon in the oven.
Songwriter Night hosted by Freddy Bradburn
Join us for a night of original music hosted by Freddy Bradburn!
Hosted by award-winning songwriter, educator, and playwright Freddy Bradburn, FEATURING performances from all of you!
Would you like to perform at our first Songwriter Night? Just contact Freddy to get on the list to perform!
Freddy Bradburn taught communications, theater, and storytelling at McDowell Tech for more than 20 years. He is also an award-winning songwriter, mulit-instrumentalist, and member of the local trio The Happy Enchiladas. He has had two original musicals produced by the local theater. Presently, Freddy created and directs a youth string band that performs in the community.
Snail Mail Society
Join us for the Snail Mail Society!
We gather every Wednesday at 1pm for a casual letter writing group, hosted by Grace Kendall from the Tabletop Inn. Grace will bring some stationary, but feel free to bring your own.
Anybody can write letters to people they know or maybe there's a letters-to-strangers project you'd like to participate in. Just bring your ideas, and let’s write together!
Let’s Go Herping, Y’all! Teach-In with Dr. Josh Holbrook
Join Dr. Josh Holbrook from Montreat College for a discussion about herping—what it is and how to do it!
FREE EVENT BUT RSVP IS REQUESTED (please fill out the form below):
Pop-Up Game Night
Join us for another SUPER FUN pop-up game night hosted by our friends Grace Kendall and Mike Belsole from the Tabletop Inn right here in Marion, NC!
Mike and Grace will be bringing a variety of games with them from the inn that are suitable for families and seasoned gamers alike.
Come out and try your hand at some fun party games and/or strategy games!
“Mike and Grace were the most amazing and accommodating hosts! Truly could not ask for better. Also, Mike is an excellent teacher for rules and how to play different board games!” —Tabletop Inn visitor review
Snail Mail Society
Join us for the Snail Mail Society!
We gather every Wednesday at 1pm for a casual letter writing group, hosted by Grace Kendall from the Tabletop Inn. Grace will bring some stationary, but feel free to bring your own.
Anybody can write letters to people they know or maybe there's a letters-to-strangers project you'd like to participate in. Just bring your ideas, and let’s write together!
CLOSED for Family Event
We will closed on Saturday, May 9 for a family event. We will be back open on Sunday, May 10, 1-9pm! Hope to see you then.
Community Conversation: School Supply Drive - Hosted by David Sharpe from Hometown Pro Wrestling
Join David Sharpe from Hometown Pro Wrestling for a community conversation about the upcoming Backpacks & Bodyslams event and school supply drive!
Snail Mail Society
Join us for the Snail Mail Society!
We gather every Wednesday at 1pm for a casual letter writing group, hosted by Grace Kendall from the Tabletop Inn. Grace will bring some stationary, but feel free to bring your own.
Anybody can write letters to people they know or maybe there's a letters-to-strangers project you'd like to participate in. Just bring your ideas, and let’s write together!
May Day National Strike CLOSED
We will closed on Friday, May 1 for the National General Strike Day. Because of this, there will be no first Friday “Silent Book Club” this month.
“Death Café” Agenda-Free Discussion About Death*
Join us for our next “Death Café”*!
“Death Café” is a space where people can engage in open, meaningful conversations about life, death, and living fully every day.
An agenda-free discussion about death*
Hosted by Becky Knight
*Not a support group or grief counseling
Snail Mail Society
Join us for the Snail Mail Society!
We gather every Wednesday at 1pm for a casual letter writing group, hosted by Grace Kendall from the Tabletop Inn. Grace will bring some stationary, but feel free to bring your own.
Anybody can write letters to people they know or maybe there's a letters-to-strangers project you'd like to participate in. Just bring your ideas, and let’s write together!
John Pavlovitz Author Talk & Book Signing
Join us for a special evening author event and book signing with best-selling North Carolina author, pastor, and activist John Pavlovitz to help us close out the First Annual McDowell Literary Festival!
PLEASE RSVP IN ADVANCE so we know how many people to plan for:
ABOUT HERE AND NOW AND SMALL AND CLOSE
A partnership with award-winning Canadian illustrator Stacey Chomiak, Here and Now and Small and Close is a hopeful, spirited, heartfelt reminder of the ability each of us has in making the world a kinder and more loving place.
Through a joyful and meandering journey, a diverse cast of characters from disparate places encounter one another, as they each learn how easy it is to do something powerful right where they are, without delay.
Their trip together culminates in a vibrant depiction of what happens when everyone does the little bits that they can, as our friends’ individual offerings bring on a big, beautiful collective celebration.
Speaking about his first foray into children’s books, John Pavlovitz says, “This has been so long in coming! HNSC has been a dream of mine for nearly a decade, and once I met Stacey, I knew I’d found someone who could tell this story visually in a way that no one else could. It’s truly a thing of beauty!”
The book will be accompanied by an interactive group guide developed by John for families, classrooms, and libraries to help readers make the concepts of the book come to life where they are; to take the ideas right from the pages and into their communities.
ABOUT JOHN PAVLOVITZ
A former megachurch pastor turned progressive Christian leader, John Pavlovitz speaks candidly about inclusion, empathy, and the radical love of Jesus.
Through his widely read Substack newsletter, The Beautiful Mess, and his best-selling books, including If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk and Worth Fighting For, John challenges readers to live out a faith and life that welcome everyone. He continues to travel, speak, and write, inspiring communities to pursue justice, compassion, and spiritual integrity in a divided world.
We have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT to make, and we’ll be making it at John’s author talk at the St. John’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall building, so please RSVP now and plan now to join us!
Independent Bookstore Day
Come celebrate Independent Bookstore Day at Bigfoot Books & Brews in downtown Marion, NC!
NOTE: We will be closing early (at 6pm) to shift all of our attention to the John Pavlovitz book event taking place at St. John’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall building on Main Street in downtown Marion (339 S. Main St.). Everyone is invited and encouraged to join us 7pm there for a BIG announcement and for John’s first public reading of his new powerful and inspiring children’s book Here and Now and Small and Close!
Want a chance to win a year of free audiobooks?
We’re partnering with Libro.FM to give one winner 12 free audiobooks on Independent Bookstore Day / First Annual McDowell Literary Festival Day.
Just visit Bigfoot Books & Brews on Saturday, April 25th (1-9pm) and find the hidden Golden Ticket!
First Annual McDowell Literary Festival
The First Annual McDowell Literary Festival is a collaboration between three of the independent bookstores in McDowell County, NC!
Taking place on Independent Bookstore Day 2026 (always the last Saturday in April), the festival will include a local authors book fair, special author events and book signings, book sales and promotions, and other related events to celebrate authors and books in McDowell County, NC.
Please join us at 7pm for a very special author talk with John Pavlovitz discussing his new children’s book Here and Now and Small and Close!
We have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT to make, and we’ll be making it at John’s author talk at the St. John’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall building, so please RSVP now and plan to join us for that.
Want a chance to win a year of free audiobooks?
We’re partnering with Libro.FM to give one winner 12 free audiobooks on Independent Bookstore Day / First Annual McDowell Literary Festival Day.
Just visit Bigfoot Books & Brews on Saturday, April 25th and find the hidden Golden Ticket!
Open Mic Poetry Night hosted by Greg Feightner
Join us for a night of open mic poetry — hosted by Dark City poet Greg Feightner! Get here early and sign up to read.
Greg Feightner is a big nerd whose right and left brains are constantly in conversation and occasionally disagree. He comes to us here in Marion from spending time recently in the Dark City Poetry Society in Black Mountain, NC, through open mics and monthly critique circles.
The puzzle pieces of his life as a former pastor, IT support manager, systems administrator, one-time festival organizer, men’s group facilitator and public storyteller/writer at first seem to impossible to fit together, but somehow, they do. The result is a wonderfully abstract tableau resembling a Picasso painting smeared into a JMW Turner-esque canvas. His proudest achievements are recipes, particularly figuring out how to perfectly cook thick cut bacon in the oven.
Civic Sound-Off LIVE! Featuring Matt Suttles
Join co-hosts Tina Wolfe and Christy Lewis from Civic Sound-Off as they interview Matt Suttles, Democratic candidate for the McDowell County Board of Commissioners, followed by a LIVE Q&A with you!