In a NYT story about authors who own bookstores (Summer Reading Recommendations, From 6 Novelists Who Own Bookstores) in a side note Alexandra Alter noted that Emma Straub’s staff recommendations at her new store Books Are Magic include Magic for Beginners:

On a sunny afternoon in late April, the day before the opening of Books Are Magic in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, the novelist Emma Straub was apologetically shooing away potential customers.

A woman with a dog poked her head in the door, which was still being painted, to say that “there has never been more buzz” about a store opening in the neighborhood. Ms. Straub, an owner of the bookstore, told her the place was dog-friendly and invited her to come back when it opened.

The space, a former clothing boutique on Smith Street, still smelled like fresh paint and sawdust. By the register were shelves full of new fiction and nonfiction and a bookcase dedicated to eclectic titles published by The New York Review of Books. Nearby, the fiction section held a mix of contemporary works and classics, including two editions of “Middlemarch,” Ms. Straub’s favorite novel.

Staff picks sat on the opposite wall — Ms. Straub, 37, had recommended “Magic for Beginners,” a collection of short stories by Kelly Link. Down a few stairs, a separate bright, airy room with exposed brick walls, wooden rafters and a skylight was filled almost entirely with children’s books. . . . Read on

Kelly was interviewed ahead of the Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City where she was on the Fail Safe podcast and did a reading. Here’s the introduction to the interview and a link:

Her prose has a lilting tone and a conspiratorial voice — and she has a way of creating narrators who get inside your head. Link’s work can be deeply unsettling, because it never feels too far out of reach. The premises and settings that pull her work out of the mundane world can (sometimes literally) take on a life of their own, but it’s the way that the characters — and the readers — react that does the heavy lifting in her stories.

Interview

Kelly’s story “Most of My Friends are Two-Thirds Water” was adapted as part of this week’s Snap Judgment:

Bionic Blondes – Snap 724

The hottest alien takeover of all time. This story was originally written by Kelly Link, and comes from her collection, Stranger Things Happen. It was adapted, directed, and produced by Mark Ristich and Eliza Smith.Voice Actors: Glynn Washington and Joyce LeeYou can find all things Kelly Link at her website, kellylink.net/

As announced in Boston Magazine the Boston Book Festival One City One Story selection for 2016 is “The Faery Handbag.”

Kelly reviews Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a play by Jack Thorne, based on a story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, in the New York Times Book Review.

Carrie Frye interviews Kelly about her story “The Summer People” and Shirley Jackson. (You can read the story here.)

The NEA has just announced that Pretty Monsters is included in their new list of books in the Big Read program.

Update: Listen to Kelly Link chat with Josephine Reed on the NEA’s Artworks podcast.

Small Beer Press is running its first Kickstarter and up for grabs are:

A Short Short Story by Kelly Link
A hardcover edition of the book plus a 4-6 sentence short, short story Kelly Link all of your very own. (Does not include publication rights: this is just for you.)

Bookshopping Consult by Kelly Link
A hardcover edition of the book plus: Want to get some personalized recommendations for next time you’re in your favorite bookstore? A 30 minute phone chat with former bookseller Kelly Link. Time and date to be mutually arranged by you and Kelly.

Tuckerization by Kelly Link.
A hardcover edition of the book plus Kelly will include your name in a work of fiction.