Author J. Ryan Stradal at Bookshop Santa Cruz

J. Ryan Stradal, bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest, will join us to share his new book, The Lager Queen of Minnesota—a novel of family, Midwestern values, hard work, fate, and the secrets of making a world-class beer. Chocolate, our neighboring restaurant, will have samples of locally brewed lagers available for attendees 21+. Grab a drink and enjoy the reading!

Two sisters, one farm. A family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living. So she can't help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself.

With the proceeds from the farm, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country, and makes their company motto ubiquitous: "Drink lots. It's Blotz." Where Edith has a heart as big as Minnesota, Helen's is as rigid as a steel keg. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, and she could find a potential savior close to home. . . if it's not too late.

Meanwhile, Edith's granddaughter, Diana, grows up knowing that the real world requires a tougher constitution than her grandmother possesses. She earns a shot at learning the IPA business from the ground up--will that change their fortunes forever, and perhaps reunite her splintered family?

Here we meet a cast of lovable, funny, quintessentially American characters eager to make their mark in a world that's often stacked against them. In this deeply affecting family saga, resolution can take generations, but when it finally comes, we're surprised, moved, and delighted.

J. Ryan Stradal is a contributing editor at TASTE Magazine. His bestselling debut, Kitchens of the Great Midwest, won the 2016 American Booksellers Association Indie's Choice Award for Adult Debut Book of the Year and also the 2016 Midwest Booksellers Choice Award for debut fiction. Born and raised in Minnesota, he now lives in Los Angeles.

"Brilliant. . . a love letter to the Midwest. . . it's hard to put down not only because the storytelling is so seamless and the characters so relatable, but because the author's delight in the written word is so contagious." --Jen Sincero, #1 New York Times bestselling author of You Are a Badass

"Utterly charming. . . Stradal loves and knows his territory, and his affection for the Midwest--with all its stubbornness, stoicism, long memories, readiness to provide aid and quiet pride in excellence--gleams on every page." --Janet Fitch, bestselling author of The Revolution of Marina M.

"Full of the easy-to-love quaffability of a perfect ale, Stradal's The Lager Queen of Minnesota will warm your heart. With empathy, love, wisdom and humor on every page, I wish I could go back for more." -Jade Chang, author of The Wangs vs. The World

This free event will take place at Bookshop Santa Cruz. Chairs for open seating are usually set up about an hour before the event begins. If you have an ADA accommodation request, please email [email protected] by November 2nd.