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Upcoming Readings and Events

July 8, 10am: Brenda Nakamoto will appear on Insight with Jeffrey Callison on Capital Public Radio (89.3 in Sacramento) during the 10 o'clock hour. Tune in!

July 12, noon-1pm: Brenda Nakamoto will read from Peach Farmer's Daughter at the UC Davis Bookstore.

July 16, 4:30-5:30pm: Brenda Nakamoto will read from Peach Farmer's Daughter at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, 1900 Alhambra Blvd., Sacramento. Check back for more details on this event soon!

August 4, 7pm: Brenda Nakamoto will read at the Gridley Public Library, 299 Spruce Street, Gridley.

Available now Peach Farmer's Daughter, an unconventional, poetic, yet gritty memoir by Davis-based author Brenda Nakamoto, evokes her childhood as the daughter of a peach farmer in rural northern California, investigates her roots as sansei (third-generation Japanese-American), and movingly reflects on the decline of her aging parents. Nakamoto's deep connections to the land, farming, family, and the complexities of personal and family history give her work weight and balance. Writer Rae Gouirand praises the book: "In this remarkable memoir, life floats between land and sky, people are transformed by work, dirt comes in both clean and dirty varieties, roots are deepened across time and space, and luck is given its place among the fruits. Storytellers generally bend and enter their hands into the stream of the story they're telling, but it's rare that they'll show us so gorgeously what the blur of love does to them in the telling. To the grown daughter, the world in front of us delivers us always to new love for what we've come from. It is impossible to step into this story without stepping into a new relationship with time. In these pages you will come undone as simply and completely as you have been grown."

Recent Publication

Visions of Joanna Newsom is a book of essays, poems, and art responding to the singer-songwriter's evocative, controversial work. A tribute to a unique talent, the book is also a testament to the deep reflections and powerful emotions her followers and critics have experienced under her spell. Read on for praise of the volume:

"This fascinating, enlightening, and fun book is a study of an artist who has made two masterpieces and been a success both commercially and with unspeakable music snobs. Joanna Newsom's work will continue to be a must-hear for decades. If for no other reason, get this book because it will be worth a lot of money on eBay one day."

- Hal Willner, legendary music producer and music supervisor of Saturday Night Live

"The exquisite songwriting and ethereal singing of the superb Joanna Newsom are the occasion of this fascinating, celebratory collection of wise essays, astute reflections, and poetic reckonings with this unique artist's work. This is a book for long-time devotees and new initiates both. Buy this book today."

- David St. John, professor of creative writing at University of Southern California and author of The Face: A Novella in Verse

"Serious without being eggheady, playful without being frivolous, Visions of Joanna Newsom is a passionate investigation into one of America's most unique living musical forces. In its determination to rescue Newsom from the lost island of 'quirk,' this sharp, frequently witty collection digs deep into the too-often unspoken question that drives fans and non-fans alike: What is beautiful?."

- Katrina Onstad, columnist for Chatelaine Magazine and author of How Happy To Be

Call for Submissions

Check back soon for calls for submissions for planned and forthcoming volumes.