Happy #PubDay, BOOKISH PEOPLE! Susan Coll, president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and longtime events coordinator for Politics and Prose bookstore, writes from the heart in her sixth novel, in which a perfect storm of comedic proportions erupts over one soggy summer week at a quirky independent bookstore in Washington, D.C. In this zany social commentary that begs comparison to the fiction of Maria Semple and Laura Zigman, independent bookstore owner Sophie is burned out on books, mourning the death of her husband, and considering leaving the literary world behind. Meanwhile, a major poet is scheduled to read at her store after being canceled in the court of public opinion over rumors that he’s to blame for his wife’s death. Fearful of blowback, Sophie asks her events coordinator—an aspiring novelist and daughter of a famed literary agent—to call off the appearance. But her events coordinator suspects the poet might be her own biological father, and she can’t say no to the chance of finding out for sure. Featuring a cast of oblivious authors and over-qualified booksellers, BOOKISH PEOPLE captures the endearing quirks of some of the best kinds of people: the ones who love good books. “The wacky world of books and the people who love them, as seen through a week in the life of a Washington, D.C., bookstore. As much fun as Coll has with vacuum cleaners—a truly surprising amount—it’s literary humor where she slays.” —Kirkus