Everyone’s Books is thrilled to host “Eyes Wide Open” to be held outside at the Retreat Farm in Brattleboro, Vermont on Saturday, May 22nd from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. Eyes Wide Open offers the reading public not just one, but four local authors. This spring delivers exciting new and diverse works from four Windham County women: Ann Braden, Angela Berkfield, Shanta Lee Gander, and Diana Whitney.

Ann Braden’s The Flight of the Puffin, releasing May 4th, is about one small act of kindness that ripples out to connect four kids who feel isolated. When a message of hope takes flight and starts a chain reaction, it helps each kid summon the thing they need, whether it’s bravery, empathy, or understanding. But best of all, it makes each one realize they matter — and that they’re not flying solo anymore. www.annbradenbooks.com/

Angela Berkfield is the lead author of Parenting 4 Social Justice: Tips, Tools and Inspiration for Conversation & Action with Kids due out in early May 2021 by Green Writers Press. Angela and her co-authors write about social justice issues through the lens of their personal experiences both growing up and as parents. Illustrated conversations, honest stories and creative ideas prepare caregivers to initiate age-appropriate and engaging conversations with kids about social justice issues. You are likely to be inspired to take action for social justice. www.parenting4socialjustice.com/

Shanta Lee Gander’s first full-length collection, GHETTOCLAUSTROPHOBIA: Dreamin of Mama While Trying to Speak Woman in Woke Tongues, debuts in June from Diode Editions. What does it mean to move away from the shadow of one’s mother, parents, or family in order to come into being within this world? As collective memory within the Black diaspora has been ruptured, Shanta Lee time travels by creating and recapturing memory from a fractured past to survive in the present and envision a future. www.Shantaleegander.com

Diana Whitney’s anthology, You Don’t Have to be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves, is an inclusive collection featuring 68 poets, from luminaries like Maya Angelou and Mary Oliver to innovators like Amanda Gorman and Natalie Diaz. These candid poems address the complex feelings of coming-of-age and offer teen girls a message of self-acceptance and strength, giving them permission to let go of shame and perfectionism. www.diana-whitney.com/

Eyes Wide Open will include readings, book signings, and a discussion moderated by local author Robin MacArthur. The event is free and open to the public. Please come ready to be socially distant, bring a lawn chair or blanket and be prepared by the weather. Masks are required. Rain date is Sunday, May 23rd at 3:30pm. The Retreat Farm is located on Route 30 in Brattleboro www.retreatfarm.org/

For more information about Everyone’s Books and Eyes Wide Open including authors’ biographies, go to www.everyonesbks.com/event