Book Launch: Bradley Sides, The Volcano Keeper

Join us to celebrate a nostalgic new novel set in Alabama by local author Bradley Sides — especially for fans of Southern fiction. Fans of Southern fiction will be enthralled with Bradley Sides's novella, The Volcano Keeper. It is filled with nostalgia for Alabama summers—with watermelons, tomatoes, and lightning bugs—and will take you on an emotional journey with young Charlie and his family. Join us to celebrate this local author's lovely new book! Two ticket options are available: • Ticket with Book: $19.95 • Ticket Only: $5 (includes a $5 credit toward any book purchase at the event) About The Volcano Keeper: When a volcano suddenly emerges in the middle of his family’s Alabama cattle pasture, young Charlie Melvin is confronted with a promise his grandfather once made—that something extraordinary would rise from the land. As Charlie comes of age, he wrestles with the meaning of the volcano and the legacy of his family. His story unfolds through evocative vignettes that explore love, loss, responsibility, and faith. About Bradley Sides: Bradley Sides is the author of Crocodile Tears Didn’ t Cause the Flood, a 2024 Book of the Year finalist at Southern Literary Review, and Those Fantastic Lives. His fiction has been featured on LeVar Burton Reads, and his reviews, interviews, and essays appear at Chapter 16, Electric Literature, The Millions, The Rumpus, Southern Review of Books, and elsewhere. He lives with his wife in Madison, Alabama, and teaches writing and literature at Calhoun Community College.