Powell’s is excited to offer virtual event programming featuring authors from around the world. We’re using Zoom Webinar as our virtual event platform (as it comes with enhanced security features). Missed an event? Watch past virtual events on our YouTube channel.
Questions about how to attend our virtual events? Click here for our FAQ.
Tuesday, November 24 @ 6pm (PT)
Three siblings search for their missing mother across a ruined America in Ignatz Award nominee Jonathan Hill’s new original graphic novel, Odessa (Oni Press). Eight years ago an earthquake — the Big One — hit along the Cascadia fault line, toppling cities and changing landscapes up and down the west coast of the United States. Life as we know it changed forever. But for Vietnamese American Virginia Crane, life changed shortly after the earthquake, when her mother left and never came back. Ginny has gotten used to a life without her mother, helping her father take care of her two younger brothers, Wes and Harry. But when a mysterious package arrives for her 18th birthday, her life is shaken up yet again. For the first time, Ginny wants something more than to survive. And it might be a selfish desire, but she's determined to find out what happened to her mother — even if it means leaving her family behind. Hill will be joined in conversation by Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers.
Register for the Zoom event / Buy the Book
Sunday, November 29 @ 2pm (PT)
Accountability means accepting responsibility for your actions and repairing any harm you have done. Joe Biel and Faith G. Harper’s new workbook, How to be Accountable (Microcosm), can be used by anyone who is ready to do the work to change toxic behaviors and patterns, from quitting smoking to atoning for abuse or crimes. Biel and Harper will walk you through your own head to understand your patterns and behaviors, untangle them, and live the kind of life you want. Bestselling author Harper also presents her two other new books, Unfuck Your Worth: Overcome Your Money Emotions, Value Your Own Labor, and Manage Financial Freak-Outs in a Capitalist Hellscape (Microcosm) and Unfuck Your Year: a Weekly Unplanner and Self-Care Activity Book to Manage Your Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Triggers, and Freak-Outs (Microcosm).
Register for the Zoom event / Buy the Book / Buy the Book / Buy the Book
Thursday, December 3 @ 5pm (PT)
In her new book, Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut’s Story of Invention (The MIT Press), Kathryn D. Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space, recounts her experience as part of the team that launched, rescued, repaired, and maintained the Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionized our understanding of the universe. It has, among many other achievements, revealed thousands of galaxies in what seemed to be empty patches of sky; transformed our knowledge of black holes; found dwarf planets with moons orbiting other stars; and measured precisely how fast the universe is expanding. In Handprints on Hubble, the retired astronaut describes her work on the NASA team that made all of this possible. Along the way, Sullivan chronicles her early life as a “Sputnik Baby,” her path to NASA through oceanography, and her initiation into the space program as one of “thirty-five new guys.” (She was also one of the first six women to join NASA’s storied astronaut corps). Sullivan describes in vivid detail what liftoff feels like inside a spacecraft (it’s like “being in an earthquake and a fighter jet at the same time”), shows us the view from a spacewalk, and recounts the temporary grounding of the shuttle program after the Challenger disaster.
Register for the Zoom event / Buy the Book
Monday, December 7 @ 5pm (PT)
Ernest Cline’s Ready Player Two (Ballantine) is the highly anticipated sequel to his beloved worldwide bestseller Ready Player One, the near-future adventure that inspired the blockbuster Steven Spielberg film. Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday's contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday's vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS a thousand times more wondrous — and addictive — than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest — a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who'll kill millions to get what he wants. Wade's life and the future of the OASIS are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance. Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again.
Please note: This is a ticketed event. Purchasing a preorder copy of Ready Player Two ($28.99) entitles you to attend our virtual event with Cline on Monday, December 7, at 5pm (PT). After you’ve purchased the book, we will automatically register you for the Zoom event, and will send you an email two days prior to the event containing a link to the event and instructions on how to access it.
There are two ticketing options available for this event (each $28.99):
- Golden Tier (SOLD OUT): A signed first edition of Ready Player Two + a limited-edition enamel pin (limit 2 per household)
- Silver Tier: An unsigned first edition of Ready Player Two
Buying two books/tickets? When placing your order, in the notes field, please be sure to include a second email address where you would like the other unique Zoom login link invitation to be sent (log-in links are not transferable).
This is a live event. To access the event, you must tune in on Monday, December 7, at 5pm (PT). No replays or event recordings will be available after the event.
Have a question for Ernie? After purchasing your book/ticket, please submit it to [email protected] for a chance to have it asked on the virtual stage on December 7.
Buy the Book-Inclusive Event Ticket
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I attend a Powell’s virtual event?
You’ll be able to access our virtual event programming via your home computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone, or other Internet-ready device. If you’re new to Zoom, please visit their Getting Started guide.
Are Powell’s virtual events free to attend?
As with our prior in-store programming, nearly all of our events are free to attend. On occasion, we will host a special event for which tickets or a book purchase are required for virtual admission — but details will be shared for those specific events separately.
How do I buy an event author’s new book?
Each event listing will include a link to purchase a copy of an author’s new book. A purchase link will be shared by us during the event itself, as well. Purchasing a copy of an author’s new book helps support both the author and Powell’s event programming.
Will I be able to get my book signed?
Unfortunately, we’re not able to offer signed editions or personalizations at this time. In some cases, signed bookplates will be available on a limited first come, first served basis.
How can I keep up with all of Powell’s upcoming virtual events?
Please sign up for our marketing emails using the field at the bottom of this page. All of our upcoming events will be listed above on our online calendar. Please also consider following us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
I’m having my problems with my Zoom account. Can you help me?
Zoom offers a troubleshooting guide which is helpful in solving whatever problems you may be experiencing with the platform. Zoom FAQs are available here.
When will you have in-store events again?
We don’t yet know when we’ll be able to host authors in our stores again, but hope to do so as soon as we can. We are continuing to review CDC guidelines and evaluating the information shared by city and state officials regarding public events. Updates, when available, will be posted on our website.