Three years ago, Richard Ford came to 826michigan for a visit. He was in Michigan for a reading in East Lansing, and Amanda — who I think it is safe to call a SUPERFAN of his — contacted him to see if he was interested in stopping by. As you hopefully gleaned from the opening sentence, he was.
When Richard was in town two weeks ago, I mentioned that visit. He said, “Yes, I feel like I walked into 826michigan three years ago and never left.” And it was, quite literally, a very long visit. What started out as “stopping by” became an afternoon filled with questions and stories and anecdotes and, very importantly, a desire to collaborate on a project.
Flash forward to today. (What happened in the interim was interesting, as a thousand or so emails between Amanda and Richard are wont to be, but not as exciting as what happens today.) Today, we are thrilled to announce the official release of this:
Blue Collar, White Collar, No Collar: Stories of Work is a collection of fiction centered around the theme of work. It holds within it stories by talented writers from Alice Munro to Tobias Wolff to Junot Diaz, and is the product of untold hours on Richard Ford’s part. We could not be more excited, or more grateful. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the book go to, you guessed it, your friends here at 826michigan.
So get your copy today! We can promise you it’s a good read (and we know good reads). Pick one up at the robot shop, or order one online here. If you order online, you have the option of getting a copy signed by our good friend Richard Ford!
At this point, I’d love to invite you to meet Richard Ford (and another Pulitzer Prize winner, Jeffrey Eugenides) at our Storymakers Dinner on May 12 at Zingerman’s Roadhouse, but, wouldn’t you know it, the event is already sold out. (Hey! We told you it would happen.)