Join us September 26th through October 2nd for Banned Books Week!

The theme of this year’s Banned Books Week, hosted by the American Booksellers Association, is
“Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.”
Come to Francie & Finch to celebrate the freedom to access ideas and stories through books, art, journalism, and much more!

BANNED BOOKS 101
Book bans generally start with a challenge – a verbal or formal written attempt to restrict access to materials or to remove them entirely. A ban happens when those materials are actually removed from shelves, classrooms, or performace spaces. Every year, the American Library Association tracks hundreds of challenges to books in schools and libraries all over the United States, and ALA estimates that the unreported number of challenges is significantly higher. Bans may be more frequent in countries that don’t have the protection of the First Amendment. People continually try to take away readers power to decide what books are right for themselves or their children by initiating challenges to materials in libraries, schools, and beyond. This infringes on readers rights and limits access to ideas, especially for those who cannot purchase books.

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in book challenges. it is held to celebrate the impotance of free and open access to information. It started in the United States and has been celebrated at libraries, schools, theaters, bookstores, and other locations around the country.

Find a list of the top ten most challenged books HERE.

Please join us for a virtual launch event for YOUR LEGACY, a proud, empowering introduction to African American history that celebrates and honors enslaved ancestors, written by Schele Williams and illustrated by Tonya Engel.

Your story begins in Africa.

Your African ancestors defied the odds and survived 400 years of slavery in America and passed own an extraordinary legacy to you.

Beginning in Africa before 1619, Your Legacy presents an unprecedentedly accessible, empowering, and proud introduction to African American history for children.  While your ancestors’ freedom was taken from them, their spirit was not; this book celebrates their accompishments, acknowledges their sacrifices, and defines how they are remembered – and how their stories should be taught.

Schele Williams is a Broadway director committed to cultivating new musicals and devised work.  She is directing the upcoming Broadway revivals of Aida and The Wiz, as well as the premiers of Mandela the Musical and Indigo.  She has directed at regional theaters and festivals across the country and has a long history of work on Broadway in Rent, Aida, and Motown:  The Musical.  Passionate about pairing social justice with the arts, Schele is on the steering committe of We Stand United and is a founding member of Black Theatre United, an organization committed to dismantling systemic racism on our streets and stages.  She has been a member of Broadway Inspirational Voices for over two decades and serves as Chairperson of the Board.

Tonya Engel is a self-taught artist living in Houston, Texas.  Folk artists of the deep South have influenced her work, as well as contemporary masters such as Marc Chagall, Frida Kahlo, Romare Bearden, and Gustav Klimt.  Her bold style is figurative, textured, colorful, and ripe with symbolism.  Engel made a spectacular debut in children’s publishing with her illustrations in Rise!: From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou, written by Bethany Hegedus and published by Lee & Low Books in 2019 , and the recently published My Hair is Magic! by M.L. Marroquin.

ADVANCED PRAISE FOR YOUR LEGACY:

“A lovingly written, beautifully illustrated and stunningly timely book.” – Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming

“We are grateful to Schele and her dedication to making our beautiful history accessible to our children!  Your Legacy is an educational and celebratory piece we’ve enjoyed sharing with our family.  We are extremely excited for this story to be shared with other families as we continue to celebrate our rich history in this world.” – Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union, New York Times bestselling authors.

Register for the Virtual Event Link HERE.

Order your signed copy HERE.

Join Brian Ardinger with InsideOutside Innovation for a live recording of the InsideOutside.io Podcast with Brant Cooper, author of the new book Disruption Proof: Empower People, Create Value, Drive Change

About the Book – 

CEO and founder of Moves the Needle and New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Entrepreneur Brant Cooper teaches leaders how to ensure their organizations are resilient, agile, and dynamic enough to endure long-term, weathering the storms of disruption and uncertainty.

One thing in life is certain: change is constant. Thanks to the rapid pace of technological innovation in the digital age–and further accelerated by the global COVID-19 pandemic–massive structural change is happening on a greater scale than ever before. Faced with unprecedented complexity and uncertainty, most business leaders struggle to see the way forward. Company organization, systems, and management are still largely based on what was most effective in the Industrial Age. Disruption Proof offers a new approach that addresses our current reality.

Through powerful case studies of notable corporations like Intuit, 3M, Cargill, and more, Cooper demonstrates how, with the right mindset and practical strategies, companies that focus on creating value for customers can thrive in the 21st century. Disruption Proof provides readers with detailed methods for progressing through four stages of implementation to embrace a new way of working company-wide, including how to:

• develop an understanding of customers and colleagues that lead to insights (empathy)
• run tests to challenge assumptions (exploration)
• leverage data and insights to breakthrough biases (evidence)
• balance operational execution with learning (equilibrium)
• manage behavior to match corporate values (ethics)

By adopting these 5Es, company leaders can empower employees to become creative problem solvers, ensuring their company’s ability to navigate moments of crisis and find transformative opportunities. Cooper explains how reimagining work at every level is the key to organic and sustainable growth, and guides leaders to create lasting value in the world. With Cooper’s action-oriented advice and tools, anyone can help steer their company towards durable success.

About the Author – 

Brant Cooper is CEO and Founder of Moves the Needle, a global consultancy specializing in innovation for Fortune 50 companies and entrepreneurs, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Lean Entrepreneur. With over two decades of expertise helping companies bring innovative products to market, he blends agile, design thinking, and lean methodologies to ignite entrepreneurial action within large organizations. Brant is a sought-after keynote speaker, startup mentor, and trusted executive advisor. He speaks around the world on organizational agility, digital transformation, and how to refocus missions on creating value. Learn more at BrantCooper.com.

Register HERE.

Pre – Order a signed copy of the book HERE.

We’re helping promote the brand new Eastmont Building Better Brains Book Club!

Join a humorist, a fiction writer and a poet for this energizing book talk.

Register for Zoom link HERE.

Purchase Nowhere by Katie Schmid HERE.

Purchase Build Your Own Christmas Movie Romance by Riane Konc HERE.

Purchase All My Mother’s Lovers HERE.