Today on Jonesy, we welcome Laura Stanfill, author of the debut novel Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary, from Lanternfish Press.
Laura is the founder of Forest Avenue Press, a Portland-based indie publisher now in its tenth year. Laura's own writing has appeared in Shondaland, The Rumpus, Catapult, The Vincent Brothers Review, Santa Fe Writers Project, and several print anthologies. She's a very kind, supportive, and much-loved member of the Pacific Northwest literary community. I've had the pleasure of interviewing several of Laura's Forest Avenue Press authors, and it's an absolute delight for me to talk to her today about her own book.
In the words of Michelle Ruiz Keil: “Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary is an elegant wonder of a novel. A coming of age fable about an entire family line—with a patriarch who may affect the weather and a son who can sometimes raise the dead—Stanfill’s story of the serinette makers of a small French village bursts with life. Even more magical is Stanfill’s radical compassion as she writes the interior lives of her characters. New mothers, neurodivergent children, and grandmothers who dwell in the clouds live with equal vitality and grace in Stanfill’s world. With delicacy, precision, and a luscious sense of place, Stanfill captures the once-upon-a-time moment at the end of an era and an unforgettable family.”
Laura's upcoming events include an in-person book launch at Powell’s City of Books on Thursday, April 21st, a virtual event at Annie Bloom’s Books on Thursday, May 5th, and another in-person event at Broadway Books on Tuesday, May 24th. You can learn about all of her work and events online at Laura Stanfill dot Com. And you can sign up for her newsletter at laurastanfill.substack.com.
- KBOO