Hey guys! It’s Katie.
I jumped at the chance to help my friend Amy Stewart share the word about her new book. As you know, she’s been instrumental in helping me enjoy my art journey and I know her new book will be enjoyable and informative for you. Without further ado, here’s Amy!
About ten years ago, I met a guy who told me he collected trees. He said he intended to plant one of every kind of tree that grew in his part of Pennsylvania, and that he lined them in rows on his property, like books on a shelf. He also “collected” all the most interesting and unusual trees in Lancaster County, PA where he lived, by building a website and cataloging them.
This immediately appealed to me. I loved the idea of collecting trees the way other people collect books or baseball cards. Over the years I met a few more tree collectors, and eventually I had to write a book about them.
In The Tree Collectors, you’ll meet people who are obsessed with maples or oaks or conifers. You’ll meet people who collect pine cones, leaves, seeds, and wood samples, people who turn multi-grafted trees into art projects, and even someone who has travelled to the moon and back—I’m not kidding—to create what I think is one of the most fascinating collections of trees in the world.
You’ll also meet people whose lives have been transformed by their relationships with trees. People all over the world plant trees to honor the dead, to heal the wounds of the past, and to build a better life for the next generation.
I had great fun writing The Drunken Botanist,Wicked Plants,Flower Confidential, and my other books. But The Tree Collectors is the most personal, heartfelt, and meaningful book I’ve ever written. I illustrated this one, too, with watercolor sketches of the people and their trees.
The Tree Collectors will be available everywhere books are sold starting July 16. I’ll be going across the country for a book tour and branching out (couldn’t resist) to botanical gardens, arboreta, garden clubs, and garden shows over the next year.
You can pre-order signed copies from Broadway Books in my hometown of Portland, OR.
I’d love to see you this summer! Book tour dates can be found here.
For media and publicity inquiries, email loking@penguinrandomhouse.com and mfolkman@penguinrandomhouse.com.
For retailers who wish to order wholesale quantities contact your Penguin Random House sales rep to order copies of THE TREE COLLECTORS.
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I’ll see you soon!
~Amy
