Thurs. Oct. 2

We remember Stona Fitch, from the country-punk band Scruffy the Cat, back in the heyday of '80s Boston rock. Scruff went by the boards - not without giving me a band poster, which I proudly hung outside my cat's litter box for years - and Stona disappeared from, at least, my world. He's back and with a uniquely distributed novel called "Give and Take.'' "My novel," says Stona, "is about a jazz pianist who sidelines as a thief, stealing diamonds and BMWs. He gives away all the money, but his career as a latter-day Robin Hood is about to come to an end." No less a literary lion than Russell Banks calls this “a fresh, funny, and deeply subversive novel from a writer with important things to say about our consumer culture.” Stona will be reading Thurs. Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. and the Concord Book Shop.

He says, "It's a reading and launch party for Concord Free Press, which publishes original new books and gives them away for free—online and via a network of independent bookstores. In exchange, readers make a voluntary donation to a local charity or someone in their community. It's a revolutionary experiment in publishing and community. Writers  Stephen McCauley, Gregory Maguire, Megan Abbott, and others are behind the project. Gregory and I will be reading." (Banks, who blurbed Stona above, is also involved.) Concord Free Press will distribute the entire 1,000-copy press run of this trade paperback novel for free—online and via a network of independent bookstores throughout New England and beyond.The non-profit press will publish two books a year—original works by established authors interested in being part of a new publishing experiment. Their hope is "Give and Take" raises $50,000. Further links: www.stonafitch.com and www.concordfreepress.com .
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65 Main Street, Concord, 978-369-2405 www.concordbookshop.com