Friends, readers, fellow travellers,

I'm writing from a dear friend's dining room table in St Louis, where I'm listening to sparrows, petting a perfect orange cat, and catching my breath. From March 4 to March 8 I was in a different city every day: New York, Portland (Maine), Chapel Hill, Cincinnati, and finally here, meeting booksellers and readers, reconnecting with friends and colleagues, some of whom I hadn't seen since before the pandemic. The years dissolved between us like sugar. On Friday...