One Book Winner Cassie Premo Steele Leads Community Discussion on Her Novel Beaver Girl

On Tuesday, August 27th, Cassie Premo Steele will offer insight into her 2023 novel Beaver Girl during her author’s talk at All Good Books (734 Harden St). 

The Jasper Project, in conjunction with One Columbia, and All Good Books, announced Steele’s novel as the selected community reading for the 2024 One Book project earlier this year.

One Book was first adopted by Columbia in 2011, modeled after the One Book, One Community project that started in the Seattle public library system in 1998. The goal is to highlight literary art by South Carolina authors and to emphasize a sense of community around storytelling. 

Beaver Girl is “set against the backdrop of a post-pandemic and climate-collapsed world” as it follows 19-year-old Livia through a journey with a beaver family in Congaree National Park. The story both reveals the unique role of beavers in the world’s ecosystem and the “redemption, resilience, and interconnectedness of all living beings.” 

Next week’s Community Book Discussion will give readers of the book a chance to pick Steele’s brain and interrogate the themes of the story. Even locals who have not had an opportunity to read the book can take advantage of the evening to get to know a local author and learn more about this community-oriented project. 

Jasper talked with Steele ahead of the event to find out just why this event is so vital—both as part of this project and beyond.

JASPER: Why does this discussion matter to you as an author?

STEELE: For the past five months, the 2024 One Book Project has hosted events giving people the opportunity to read and learn about the themes in Beaver Girl. I’ve led workshops on beaver ecology and ethics from Congaree National Park to Oregon and Washington State. I’ve engaged in panel discussions about the novel with beaver scholar Emily Fairfax online and a host of scholars and activists here in our community at the Nickelodeon Theater. And I’ve given classes on writing “the code of the water way” to writers and science educators from across the states of Oklahoma and South Carolina. 

Tuesday’s discussion, though, will be a homecoming, returning back to the local bookstore where the Jasper Project, One Columbia for Arts and Culture, and All Good Books chose Beaver Girl for this year’s community reading selection. And as the characters Livia and Chap learn in Beaver Girl, there’s no place like home. 

JASPER: Why might people want to get a behind the scenes look for this book specifically? 

STEELE: The community book discussion will be an opportunity for people to share stories about their fears about environmental disasters and the losses the pandemic and political upheavals have caused — themes addressed in the novel— but also their [positive] experiences with the natural world, their strategies for self-care and connection, and their hopes for a future where we enjoy the abundant richness of diversity in our human and more than human communities. 

JASPER: Why should people take the time to meet local artists? 

STEELE: We have a rich, diverse city filled with creative people, and we live in a unique biosphere region that is unlike anything else on earth. The book shows us how we can learn to live together in harmonious ways — and what can happen if we do not. 

JASPER: Why should the community be excited for this event, specifically?

STEELE: In the end, Beaver Girl is really a book about family and community. Who do we love? How can we learn to trust again after great trauma? What members of our community need care, and how can we be open to communicating with those who are different from us? The moderator of our discussion, Ruth Smyrle, took care of my stepdaughter when she was a baby, so there’s an element of family woven into the event itself. I hope people will feel that reading and discussing Beaver Girl gives them an opportunity to feel part of a beautiful and diverse community. 

The Community Book Discussion will be Tuesday, August 27, from 6:00pm—7:30pm at All Good Books.

If you can’t make it on the 27th you can also meet Steele at one of the following events:

• Monday, September 9 at 6:30-7:30 PM - Queer-Themed Book Discussion with Cassie Premo Steele, Author of Beaver Girl, Moderated by Maggie Olszewski, Queer Poet and Employee at All Good Books, to be held at The Hoot, 2910 Rosewood Drive, Suite 1, Columbia SC

• Saturday, September 7 at 10 AM-12 PM - Summer Forest Journaling with the Author of Beaver Girl and Earth Joy Writing at Congaree National Park : Free but space is limited. Register here.

• Tuesday, September 17 6:00-7:30 PM - All Booked Up, the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium’s Coastal Reading Club for formal, non-formal, or homeschool educators, discussing Beaver Girl. Online. More info here.

• Sunday, September 22 at 3:00-6:00 PM - ONE BOOK 2024 Round-Up Party and Potluck Dinner with BYOB. Music, Art, DJ, Poetry, Cozy Conversations and Hugs! One Columbia Co-Op, 1013 Duke Avenue, Columbia, SC

Cassie Premo Steele's BEAVER GIRL is the ONE BOOK 2024 Selection!

The Jasper Project, in partnership with One Columbia for Arts and Culture and All Good Books, is delighted to announce that Cassie Premo Steele’s novel BEAVER GIRL has been chosen as the community reading selection for the ONE BOOK 2024 Project.

Set against the backdrop of a post-pandemic and climate-collapsed world, Beaver Girl follows the journey of Livia, a 19-year-old confronting the aftermath of environmental upheaval. As wildfires encircle her, Livia seeks solace in Congaree National Park, where an unexpected alliance with a beaver family becomes a central theme in her fight for survival.

Steele skillfully intertwines elements of a morality tale, shedding light on humanity's role in climate disaster. The novel delves into the ecological significance of beavers as keystone species, emphasizing their ability to shape landscapes and create sustainable water sources.

Beaver Girl  transcends traditional genres, offering a narrative that explores themes of redemption, resilience, and the interconnectedness of all living beings. Anxiety and Outcast Press, through this joint venture, bring forth a powerful story that challenges readers to reflect on the consequences of environmental negligence.

Jasper, One Columbia, and All Good Books have joined hands to provide a summer-long celebration of the project with programming, readings, an arts competition, and a culminating project party in September.

Pick up your copy of BEAVER GIRL,* read along, and join us for the following free events!

• April 21 – Earth Day Celebration with Jasper and One Columbia Arts and Culture

• April 27  – Congaree National Park Spring Forest Wellness Journaling

• May 2 – Can Beavers Really Save the World? Ask the Author and Scholar

• June 10 – Uniquely Close: Biodiversity at Congaree and Diversity in Columbia

• July 1 – The Art of ONE BOOK 2024 Contest Deadline                                                      

• August 27 – Community Book Discussion with Cassie Premo Steele

• September 7 – Congaree National Park Summer Forest Wellness Journaling 

• September 22 – ONE BOOK 2024 Round-Up Party and Contest Winners Showcase

*Beaver Gril is available at All Good Books, Liberation is Lit, Amason, Barnes & Noble & Bookshop.org

Jasper Partners with One Columbia & All Good Books to present 2024 ONE BOOK Project -- Book Announcement Celebration April 21st at Bierkeller

A few hints: the author lives, works, and writes in Columbia, the book’s theme centers around nature, environmental responsibility, and climate change, and there are characters in the book that transcend perceived racial, gender, sexual orientation, and even biological divisions to remind us that we are all citizens of this planet.

The public is invited to join the Jasper Project, One Columbia, and All Good Books, along with our host, Bierkeller Brewing Company on Sunday afternoon, April 21st from 3 – 5 pm for the announcement of our new book selection for Columbia’s 2024 ONE BOOK project!

As an Earth Day Eve event, the Bierkeller has invited representatives from local environmental organizations to be on hand to help us set the stage for the announcement of this year’s book selection.

A few hints: the author lives, works, and writes in Columbia, the book’s theme centers around nature, environmental responsibility, and climate change, and there are characters in the book that transcend perceived racial, gender, sexual orientation, and even biological divisions to remind us that we are all citizens of this planet.

Columbia city poet laureate Jennifer Bartell Boykin will read a poem dedicated to the city, and southeastern regional poetry event host Al Black has created a new poem inspired by the selected book. Dr. Melissa Stuckey, USC professor of History, will speak as will One Columbia’s Xavier Blake, All Good Book’s Jared Johnson, and the Jasper Project’s Cindi Boiter. There will be an interactive arts table for the children, environmental information booths, and various arts and crafts vendors will share their wares and talents with attendees. And, of course, beer, wine, and authentic German dishes will be available from the Bierkeller.

In addition to announcing the calendar of events for Columbia’s 2024 ONE BOOK  celebration, the pre-Earth Day event will also allow for the announcement of a Jasper Project – sponsored and ONE BOOK - inspired visual art, literary art, and singer-songwriter competition open to Midlands area artists with prizes and a 2024 ONE BOOK culminating party on September 22, 2024.

The ONE BOOK, One Community project began in the Seattle public library system in 1998 when Seattle librarians invited the community of greater Seattle to read and discuss the same book over the course of a summer. Columbia embraced the project first in 2011, and we enjoyed several years of exciting, thought-provoking programming centered around a singular book. One of our most exciting projects was in 2017 when the Columbia community read local author Carla Damron's novel The Stone Necklace, a detailed and ultimately uplifting story focusing on the power of community to combat poverty and homelessness and set in Columbia. Along with One Columbia for Arts and Culture and independent bookstore All Good Books, the Jasper Project has renewed the project focusing exclusively on books by SC authors.

While the title of the book remains embargoed until April 21st, media representatives may be made aware of the information upon request.

What will the selection for Columbia’s 2024 One Book be? Join us on April 21st from 3 – 5 pm at the Bierkeller, 600 Canal Street, Suite 1009 to find out!

For more information contact info@JasperProject.org

All Good Book Events Coming Up

One of the best things about having an independent bookstore in your hometown is the opportunities for community engagement it offers. Especially when the world feels off-kilter (can you remember when the world actually felt on-kilter?) it’s a joy to gather with other curious individuals to learn more about art, science, nature, life — pretty much anything that helps us understand why we are the way we are and why we do the things we do.

Luckily, Columbia has All Good Books now, located at 734 Harden Street. Bonus! Not only does AGB have convenient parking, it also has an excellent selection of coffee, vino, and books plus plenty of places to curl up for a conversation or a good sip and read, and now, there’s a lovely garden area out back where we can enjoy the fresh air and sun.

Thank you All Good Books!

Coming up at All Good Books

Walter Edgar’s Journal - LIVE Recording and BookNook RevealTuesday November 14th, 2023 @ 10:00AM - 12:30 PM

Walter Edgar will be recording his latest episode LIVE from AGB, and will reveal his new BookNook, featuring many of the books he has highlighted over the years, which will be available for purchase at AGB. The recording will be a ticketed event; more information coming soon, but you are welcome to email us at info@allgoodbooks.com or call us at 803-205-4139 if you are interested in attending and we will get back to you soon!

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Queer Writers of Columbia Publishing Strategy WorkshopWednesday November 15th, 2023 @ 6:00PM - 7:30 PM

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Cassie Premo Steele Book Launch PartyThursday November 16th, 2023 @ 6:00PM - 8:00 PM

Thursday, November 16th, at 6 pm, Cassie Premo Steele will be here to celebrate the release of her new book Beaver Girl.

Cassie Premo Steele is a lesbian, ecofeminist, mother, poet, novelist, and essayist whose writing focuses on the themes of trauma, healing, creativity, mindfulness and the environment. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the author of 18 books, including 7 books of poetry and 3 novels. Her poetry has been nominated 6 times for the Pushcart Prize. She was a Finalist for the Rita Dove Poetry Award judged by the current US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. She has also been awarded the John Edward Johnson Prize and the Carrie McCray Literary Award for Poetry. She is a recipient of the Archibald Rutledge Prize named after the first Poet Laureate of South Carolina, where she lives with her wife.

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Anthony Varallo Columbia Book Launch Party Friday November 17th, 2023 @ 6:00PM - 8:00 PM

Anthony Varallo is the author of What Did You Do Today?, winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction, forthcoming from the University of North Texas Press in Fall 2023. His other books include a novel, The Lines (University of Iowa Press), as well as four previous short story collections: This Day in History, winner of the John Simmons Short Fiction Award; Out Loud, winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize; Think of Me and I’ll Know (Northwestern University Press); and Everyone Was There, winner of the Elixir Press Fiction Award. He is a professor of English at the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC, where he directs the MFA Program in Creative Writing and serves as fiction editor of swamp pink literary journal.

All Good in the Neighborhood – A Look into Five Points’ New Bookstore

If there is one thing to get residents of Columbia excited about something, it is a new bookstore. There are a few scattered around the greater Columbia area, from the corporate Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million to the tried-and-true used bookstores like Ed’s Editions and The Book Dispensary, but there have not been very many that fit in between. That was the case until Odd Bird Books opened in the Main Street arcade alongside businesses like Swanson’s Deli. For three years, this was the one bookstore that offered a cozy atmosphere, a great mix of used and new books, and a welcoming staff that was always in the mood to talk about their favorite books or give recommendations.

Of course, the demand for an improved store lingered. When Odd Bird Books’ owner Ben Adams partnered with University of South Carolina Law Professor Clint Wallace and his wife Jenna, the trio birthed the concept of All Good Books: a community driven, independent bookstore. After a successful campaign funded by the community, the bookstore opened in the building formerly occupied by The Thirsty Parrot, which had been closed for quite some time. With a fresh coat of white paint, the space has become revitalized! The grand opening of the store was on March 2nd and was met with tremendously high community support. We looked in the store during the first Sunday afternoon they were open.

The bookshelves are divvied up into cozy little corners that zigzag along the wall, creating pockets of space for specific genres or groups of authors. The fiction section is massive (as to be expected) and spans the right wall next to the entrance until it joins up with sections like poetry, true crime, essays and more. There’s a combination drink bar/checkout area tucked nicely into the front of the store, where customers can enjoy a glass of wine, cold beer, or a coffee while they shop. There are tables with featured book collections in the center of the store as well, and next to the checkout is an adorable young readers’ station, with bookshelves at toddler height and a small reading hut. This one area was enough to make us fall in love with the store (even if all the Board of Directors are 4 times the target height for the reading nook). The store extends further back into a developing area with a huge community table that customers can chat with others and enjoy their new book at.

On opening weekend, a plethora of patrons, including local artists, populated the store, proving our whole community is super excited about All Good Books. Jasper will stay on the lookout for author talks and events that they’ll hold; in fact, they’ve got two lined up for mid-March already:

• Talk with the First Lady of Iceland on March 13th  

• Book Launch with Marie Boyd on March 19th  

Want to go support a local business but not sure where to start? Jasper has compiled their favorite books to give you some horizon-expanding inspiration. Who knows, one may become your new favorite too!

“My favorite authors are Margaret Atwood, Alice Hoffman, and Barbara Kingsolver, but my all-time favorite books are In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens by Alice Walker, The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt.”
- Cindi Boiter, Jasper Project Executive Director

“Going After Cacciato, by Tim O’Brien, will always be on my very short list of all-time favorites.”
- Jon Tuttle, Jasper Play Right Series Manager

“It always depends on who asks. My go to answer switches between The Shining by Stephen King or The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner.”
- Emily Moffitt, Jasper Board Secretary

“I go through too many phases to have solid favorites, but Diary by Chuck Palahniuk was the first thing that popped in my head!”
- Bekah Rice, Jasper Digital Manager

“The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy!”
- Christina Xan, Jasper Treasurer and Gallery Manager

“Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.”
- Kristin Cobb, Jasper Vice President

“A Pooka in Arkansas, by Ed Madden.”
- Bert Easter, Jasper Board Member