Lookout is thrilled to celebrate the official publication day of Astoria to Zion: Twenty-Six Stories of Risk and Abandon from Ecotone’s First Decade.
We unveiled Astoria to Zion last week during the surprisingly sunny whirlwind that was AWP Seattle. Ecotone, Lookout, and Milkweed Editions co-hosted a book release party atop downtown Seattle’s gorgeous Sorrento Hotel. Longtime friend of Ecotone Ben Fountain, who wrote the foreword, introduced the collection; contributors Brock Clarke, Cary Holladay, and Rebecca Makkai offered fantastic readings from their stories. For more photos from the event, please see our coverage on Facebook. Check back here for upcoming video interviews with the gracious contributors as well.
Cary Holladay reads from her story “Horse People” (see a digital broadside inspired by the story here).
Team Lookout has been working on Astoria to Zion for more than a year now. It seems like so long ago that we sat in Emily Smith’s publishing practicum course, armed with every back issue of Ecotone, fervently debating which stories to include in the anthology. From those early discussions to drafts of the cover and interior design to the planning of readings and other promotions; so much time, energy, and joy has gone into making this anthology a true celebration of the first ten years of Ecotone.
If you haven’t purchased a copy yet, please consider ordering directly from us here, or through an independent bookstore. (Check this blog for an upcoming feature about some of our favorite indie bookstores!)
For this week only, we’re offering Astoria to Zion for $10 with the promo code PUBDAY, as thanks for your support of Lookout and our twenty-six contributors.
Katie Jones,
Lookout intern
Photos by Christine Hennessey