Hey friends, I asked this a while ago, but returning to it: who's publishing your favorite nonfiction craft books? I've got my list, so I'm wondering if I've missed any.

Next up, @karenbabine.bsky.social's "Prince Edward Island," excerpted from THE ALLURE OF ELSEWHERE: A MEMOIR OF GOING SOLO from @milkweededitions.bsky.social @therumpus.net #RumpusEssays therumpus.net/2025/05/16/e...

Knoxville friends, I'm going to be reading at Union Ave Books for their First Friday event on Oct 3--would love to see you there! unionavebooks.com/event/2025-1...

“I’m also glad to see such an excellent choice by the Library of Congress, which has recently been a target of Trump and his hogmen—I was afraid this year’s Laureate would be someone like Kid Rock.” lithub.com/arthur-sze-i...

Irreverent RIP to Robert Redford: when I was growing up, other cookbooks offered Better than Sex cake recipes. My mom made Better than Robert Redford cake.

Because Miss Ruby, our custodian, asked me last week when I was going to make snickerdoodles. My house smells awesome right now. Can’t wait to see her face tomorrow.

Dara offers Peets of Skepticism to all in need. The world is back on its bullshit today, so make sure you sniff the milk before you drink it. And if whoever’s knocking at your door was important, they would have texted first.

"But who do you come from is not the question we ask: we ask where do you come from? We ask where, as if the place, the land, the terra pater, the Motherland, is what we mean when we want to know our origins." -Karen Babine, The Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo

MINNEAPOLIS: “A deliberate act of violence… don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.” 2 kids dead, over a dozen others wounded by another heavily armed gunman. Heartbreaking.

Tis the season, so if you've got students writing craft papers, you might find this useful! assayjournal.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/p...

#watercolors, Day ??? Classes start tomorrow, so here’s how I spent my afternoon

"Babine’s adventure celebrates life in the margins: not just as a woman camping alone, but as a woman in her mid-thirties who defies the usual categorical boxes of “married” (or partnered) and “mother.” www.tupeloquarterly.com/uncategorize...

It's profoundly saddening to read that AP will no longer be assigning or running book reviews because readers don't engage with them enough and they take too much effort to plan and assign. People complain about critics as gatekeepers; wait until all that's left is marketing.

Needing some comfort food to distract me from the semester starting next Monday, so I think I’m going to hang out with Cordelia Cupp

Look at The Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo--in such good company! mspmag.com/arts-and-cul...

Happy 15th anniversary of the peak achievement of literary criticism, to all who celebrate

Thrilled that my conversation with the amazing Abby Manzella about The Allure of Elsewhere for CRAFT is out now! www.craftliterary.com/2025/07/30/h...

The Apostle Islands put on a show last night! Might have had an extreme heat warning, but it’s lovely anyway! #camping #scamp #apostleislandsnationallakeshore

🤬

Summer's not over, so grab your copy of The Allure of Elsewhere and kick back! mspmag.com/arts-and-cul...

The story of building the adobe house in Ramona, CA in the late 1930s was one of three stories my grandfather told--they made the bricks themselves. Grandpa liked to tell the same stories, the ones that gave him an identity, an expertise. The house is still standing and I'd love to see it one day.

My great-grandfather was drafted by the Americans for WW1, despite being Canadian, then drafted in the 4th draft (the Old Man's Draft) for WW2. Six weeks after my grandfather and his twin left for boot camp, just before he was supposed to report, he took his own life. He was not going back to war.

"If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “Man, I’d really love to get a camper, pack up my stuff, and head into the Canadian wilderness with my two cats,” then Karen Babine’s new book is going to speak to you with stunning specificity." racketmn.com/fake-unicorn...

In 1755, my Acadian ancestors were and weren't deported. The ones who weren't were in prison. The British deportation of the Acadians (some of whom became the Cajuns in Louisiana) was a master class in cruelty.

Excited to be in conversation with Chris Hewitt about The Allure of Elsewhere at Magers and Quinn in Minneapolis on Wednesday 7/23! Registration is free and required (to help us plan the space)--link below!

New #CNF craft essay on microcharacterization in creative nonfiction out in the world! Thanks to Fourth Genre for giving it a home! fourthgenre.org/craft-essay/...

Thrilled to see The Allure of Elsewhere included in MSP Mag's Guide to the Summer Reads of 2025! mspmag.com/arts-and-cul...

My sister and I took our nephews to see the Alebrijes: Keepers of the Island on Raspberry Island in St. Paul—and it was amazing! The woodpecker was my favorite, but it was so hard to choose. The exhibit runs into the fall, so go see it! #mn #stpaul #alebrijes #family #summer

This Romer's Gap chapter happens late in the book and is one of my favorites--check it out on Terrain.org! #travelwriter #womenwhotravel #homeiswhereyouparkit #camperlife #traveltrailerlife #memoir

I took my 8 yr old nephew Sam camping to Duluth for the first time (we got 3+ inches of rain the first day) and I thought he might not get to see any lakers--but one came in overnight and docked at Two Harbors and as we were leaving for Split Rock Lighthouse, we saw another! Never gets old.

BREAKING: Federal judge bars enforcement of the part of Tennessee's "abortion trafficking" law that criminalizes "recruiting" minors to obtain abortions on First Amendment grounds, finding that the law is unconstitutionally overbroad b/c it criminalizes communication about lawful abortions.

MN friends, I'm at Magers and Quinn in Minneapolis on Wednesday 7/23 for my last MN reading (in conversation with Chris Hewitt!) before I head back to Chattanooga--would love to see you there! Registration is required (it's free)--link below!

Standing on the same ground my ancestors walked wasn’t some ‘spiritual awakening’—it was a punch in the gut. History isn’t something you read about. It’s something you feel, in the soil under your feet. Ever stood on a place that felt like it was trying to tell you something you couldn't hear?

Storytelling is the bridge between the past and the present, and sometimes, that bridge is under construction. We don’t tell stories to feel better; we tell them to understand why we’re here. What story are you still carrying around, whether you want to or not? #travelwriter #womenwhotravel #memoir

I didn’t go to Nova Scotia to find myself. I knew exactly who I was when I left. But I went to dig up stories, and let’s be honest, a road trip is just a more scenic way to air out the family’s dirty laundry. This book was never about answers—it was about asking the right questions. #memoir

#theallureofelsewhere Sometimes I wonder how far back I could go and still recognize my dad's face in my ancestors. Dad, 1971; Grandpa, 1946; Great-Grandfather Bill Babine, 1920s. #familyhistory #travel #travelwriting

#theallureofelsewhere Family camping, Babine-style, late 1920s. My great-grandparents weren't afraid to take two very small boys camping at the beach, apparently! #camping #beach #travel

#theallureofelsewhere After my great-grandfather died by suicide, my grandfather and his brother set up an allotment to send some of their military pay to their mother. She banked it all and gave it back to them when they got home from war. She was a badass. #familyhistory #memoir

#theallureofelsewhere I cannot with these pics of my grandfather and his twin. Walt would go to with the Marines to the South Pacific, Gpa with the Army to Europe. When I asked my dad why his grandmother and uncle had the same death date in 1976, I never expected the answer to be murder.

We know too well the devastating consequences of such action—families torn apart, livelihoods destroyed, and multigenerational trauma inflicted on a community for decades. #AlligatorAlcatraz #NeverAgainIsNow

👀

Central to quest of The Allure of Elsewhere: A Memoir of Going Solo is my great-grandfather, William Henry Babine, Sr., born in Nova Scotia, drafted by the Americans for WW1 because he was living in Maine, and died by suicide in 1943 after receiving his draft notice for WW2. #familyhistory #memoir

#watercolors, Day 809: bird! This one was really fun.

If one of these people is your senator, it is incredibly important that you call them today. Urge them to vote NO on the Senate budget bill that would make most Americans poorer to give billionaires a tax cut they don't even need.

🚨 JUST NOW — All the remaining Republican holdouts cave, selling out their constituents. (With Marsha & Hagerty) #TrumpsTrillionsTransfer

Thrilled to be in such good company! mspmag.com/arts-and-cul...

Holy shit.

JUST IN: Suspect in killing of Minnesota lawmaker and husband taken into custody and charged.