Please join us in person for an exciting reading and book release event at Long Bros. Rare & Fine Books in Seattle's Historic Pioneer Square!

Seattle independent publisher Misfit Lit has announced their long-awaited fourth title SPREAD - THE ANTHOLOGY that marks its June 2026 debut along with a re-issued edition of Stacey Levine's acclaimed novel MICE 1961.

Live music by LORI GOLDSTON & FRIENDS will feature Jazz classics from the Golden Era of Jazz in 1961 to coincide with the event.

SPREAD - THE ANTHOLOGY

What it lacks in financial rewards, managing a bookstore comes with benefits that can't be measured in dollars or sense. It was in that capacity that I became aware of the literary treasure, Spread. Beginning in 2019, this modest pamphlet of short form poetry and prose, with occasional comix and correspondence, arrives religiously at the beginning of every month. It is circulated for free at only a handful of locations throughout the city and features many of Seattle's literary luminaries together with obscure authors known only to the most devoted followers of the written word. I soon found myself anxiously awaiting delivery of each new issue. It's difficult to explain the appeal of these unrefined brochures. Each issue is formulated on a loosely based theme, though for me the unifying motif is the sense of place. In a city beset by digital displacement and inelegant discourse, the diverse works in Spread serve as a reminder of a place where poetry was once valued; where blue collar bohemia comfortably coexisted with the complexities of contemporary urban life. Each issue is filled with reminders of people, places, and attitudes that are either lost forever or considered acutely anachronistic.

The impermanence of Spread's informal format seems to give license to experimentation. The trifold publication produced in editions of only a couple hundred copies and sparsely distributed results in memorable, if often esoteric creative expression worthy of a collected volume. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Larry Reid, Publisher
Misfit Lit (misfitlit.net)