JANUARY 2026 NEWSLETTER

What an independent bookshop can offer in moments that ask more of us. □

View this email in your browser Here to Stay: On Persistence, Presence, and Resistance What it means to keep showing up—for one another, and for the work—when the moment asks more of us. A (Somewhat Longer Than Intended) Note From Your Bookseller, I’ve struggled with how to begin this first newsletter of the new year, knowing that anything I write feels small against the scale of what we’re living through. We’re not even a full month into 2026, and already it feels as though a year’s worth of harm has been inflicted by the regime that promised to “Make America Great Again.” This near-constant state of outrage and dread is exhausting, and it takes a very real toll. I know you’re feeling it too. When we gathered together in the bookshop on Inauguration Day 2025, we understood that the road ahead would be difficult. Still, what has unfolded over the past year—and especially in recent weeks—feels like more than our hearts and our sense of justice should be expected to carry. And yet, somehow, we persist. We keep showing up, even as so much seems intent on breaking our attention, our energy, and our resolve. In recent newsletters, I shared that we would be approaching things a bit differently—separating these bookseller reflections from general shop updates so I could ease some pressure on what needs to be an introspective writing process, while still keeping you informed about bookshop news in real time. But every time I’ve tried to write on behalf of Imprint, I’ve felt the weight of expectation: that I should have something profound to say about the present moment, or a way to frame it that feels hopeful rather than relentlessly bleak. The pace at which everything is unraveling makes this even harder. Even when I know what I want to say, the news cycle has already sped past it, rendering my thoughts moot or insufficient. It’s honestly astonishing how Venezuela, Iran, and Greenland can dominate the zeitgeist one week and feel like distant history the next. The march of fascism and authoritarian overreach rightly occupies so many of our minds, and at times it feels almost obscene—if not impossible—to make plans, personally or professionally, when so much is at stake.  Each week in the shop, we have conversations with parents who share our deep concern for a country that feels as though it is unraveling in real time—and who are nonetheless trying to put on a brave face for their children. Depending on their age, these young people can sense that something isn’t right, even if they don’t yet have the language or context to fully understand it. What gives me hope is how often these conversations turn to stories—because literature has long helped us make meaning in moments like this. Through the books and films many of us grew up with--The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games—we were taught not only how to recognize the dangers of empire, but where we are called to stand when power is abused. Again and again, these stories remind us that resistance begins with choosing one another, with refusing to accept cruelty as inevitable, and with believing that collective courage can prevail. That inheritance matters deeply right now. It’s why it feels so important to model for our young people—quietly, clearly, and without apology—where we stand in the difference between domination and dignity. As we mark the 250th year since this nation’s founding, we are reminded that revolutions are not static moments preserved in history, but ongoing demands placed on the living. To inhabit a revolutionary time is to recognize that the work of justice, repair, and collective responsibility is never finished—it is renewed, again and again, by each generation. It’s from this understanding of what revolutionary times demand—not spectacle, but sustained courage and collective responsibility—that many people are now asking how best to act in the present moment. In recent days, there has been a growing call for a General Strike in solidarity with Minnesota following the killings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. Social media is filled with calls to refrain from work, school, or shopping. As booksellers who are fully aligned with the work of resisting—and ultimately dismantling—this fascist regime, we stand firmly with the values and urgency behind this movement. At the same time, resistance takes many forms, and each community must determine how it can act with the greatest impact. As a small, independent bookshop in Port Townsend—where we are not currently seeing ICE activity—we have been intentional about asking not only whether to act, but how. Independent bookstores operate within narrow margins, especially during this slow season, but more importantly, they also serve as rare and vital civic spaces: places where people gather, exchange ideas, encounter dissenting narratives, and build the relationships that sustained movements require. Our responsibility, then, is not only economic, but cultural and communal. Movements are sustained not only by the moments of withdrawal, but by the places that remain standing long enough to support them.  Yesterday I spoke with more than half a dozen small business neighbors, both in person and by phone, as we collectively tried to discern the right thing to do. Every one of us shared the same desire: to support this movement in ways that are meaningful and effective. We know that real resistance requires participation from all of us, in whatever ways we can manage. We are deeply moved by the courage and resolve of the people of Minnesota, who are showing us what becomes possible when communities come together—how peaceful resistance and collective action can stand up to authoritarianism. We are grateful that our town has not yet been forced to confront these same realities, and we stand in solidarity not only with Minnesota, but with every community targeted by ICE and Border Patrol. For us, the most meaningful contribution we can make right now is to remain open—holding this space as a place of refuge, connection, and organizing. This is not a retreat from resistance, but a commitment to it. A single day of striking will not abolish ICE or dismantle this regime overnight. The work ahead is long, and the true targets of our resistance are not our small-business neighbors, but the billionaires, technocrats, and oligarchs—the big-box stores and online retailers who are utterly indifferent to whether communities like ours survive at all. For now, what feels most aligned for our shop and for Port Townsend is to keep our doors open on January 30th. We are also actively coordinating with neighboring small businesses so that when greater collective action is required—and it will be—we can respond together, thoughtfully and with impact. This weekend, I have the opportunity to gather with local business leaders and community organizers to explore how we build resilience in the face of emerging systems collapse. I’m hopeful that these conversations will lead to tangible, community-rooted solutions. As part of our work, we are committed to pulling together resources and making them available as they emerge—sharing what we find in real time, in conversation with one another. I believe deeply that when we bring our heads and our hearts together, we can build forms of resistance that are both principled and enduring. Resistance is not a single moment or gesture; it is built over time through relationship, coordination, and sustained pressure. Meaningful change has never come from silence or retreat, but from people who choose one another—who organize, coordinate, and refuse to normalize injustice. This work will require patience, imagination, and sustained care for one another, but it will also demand courage. Stay engaged. Stay connected. Pay attention to where you are needed, and be ready to show up when the moment calls for collective action. Kindness will sustain us, but courage will move us forward. We were not placed in this moment by accident. We were called to this place and time—and together, we will meet what is required of us. In much love and solidarity, John Blomgren Imprint Bookshop   Earlier this month, we held our first author event of 2026, welcoming Florence Caplow—former minister of the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship—to read from her new book, Tend to Your Spirit: Mindful Living With Chronic Illness. Florence’s reading and unmistakable humanity felt like a genuine breath of fresh air amid an otherwise heavy January, and the evening became one of the best-attended events we’ve hosted since taking the helm at Imprint. What stayed with me most was the warmth in the room—the care, attentiveness, and quiet reverence people extended to one another. It was a powerful reminder of why we do this work: creating space for connection, reflection, and shared presence. While some events can feel draining after a long day, this one left us feeling genuinely restored and deeply excited about the community-centered programming we’re continuing to build here. Moments like this remind us that even in difficult seasons, there is quiet work unfolding here—work rooted in conversation, care, and the simple act of gathering. Upcoming Events & Opportunities to Gather... With that spirit of fellowship in mind, here’s a look at what’s coming up for Imprint Bookshop in the weeks and months ahead. On Friday, April 10, 2026, Imprint Bookshop is honored to welcome best selling author Terry Tempest Williams to Port Townsend for an evening in conversation around her luminous new book, The Glorians: Visitations From the Holy Ordinary. In this revelatory work of narrative nonfiction, Williams reflects on beauty, climate change, and hope, inviting us to attend to the “holy ordinary”—the small, often overlooked moments and presences that remind us of our shared vulnerability and interconnectedness in a time of profound uncertainty. This is a co-sponsored event with the Jefferson Land Trust held at the QUUF and will feature special musical guest Aimée Ringle. Advance reservations are required and tickets are expected to go quickly. PURCHASE: Single Ticket (1 Seat + 1 Signed Copy) for $40 What I Am Currently Reading... Outgrowing Modernity: Navigating Complexity, Complicity, and Collapse with Accountability and Compassion by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira is a reflective and urgent exploration of how the structures and assumptions of modernity—rooted in colonialism, capitalism, and denial—have shaped our thinking, relationships, and capacity to respond to overlapping crises. The book invites readers to recognize and interrupt deep-seated worldviews that no longer serve us and to develop capacities like sobriety, discernment, maturity, and responsibility as we navigate complexity, accountability, and collective transformation in a time of endings. Evelyn in Transit: A Novel by David Guterson follows Evelyn Bednarz, a restless and unconventional woman who abandons conventional life to hitchhike across the American West, seeking truth and meaning in everyday experience. Her life becomes unexpectedly entangled with Tibetan Buddhist tradition when strangers arrive claiming her young son is the reincarnation of a revered lama, sparking a profound personal and cultural reckoning as she and the reader explore what it truly means to live with intention and compassion. And a poem to end on...   If They Should Come for Us   BY FATIMAH ASGHAR   these are my people & I find them on the street & shadow through any wild all wild my people my people a dance of strangers in my blood the old woman’s sari dissolving to wind bindi a new moon on her forehead I claim her my kin & sew the star of her to my breast the toddler dangling from stroller hair a fountain of dandelion seed at the bakery I claim them too the sikh uncle at the airport who apologizes for the pat down the muslim man who abandons his car at the traffic light drops to his knees at the call of the azan & the muslim man who sips good whiskey at the start of maghrib the lone khala at the park pairing her kurta with crocs my people my people I can’t be lost when I see you my compass is brown & gold & blood my compass a muslim teenager snapback & high-tops gracing the subway platform mashallah I claim them all my country is made in my people’s image if they come for you they come for me too in the dead of winter a flock of aunties step out on the sand their dupattas turn to ocean a colony of uncles grind their palms & a thousand jasmines bell the air my people I follow you like constellations we hear the glass smashing the street & the nights opening their dark our names this country’s wood for the fire my people my people the long years we’ve survived the long years yet to come I see you map my sky the light your lantern long ahead & I follow I follow Copyright © 2026 Imprint Bookshop, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have either signed up to be on our email list, made a purchase from our online store, joined our facebook fan page or taken a workskhop offered through The Writers' Workshoppe. Our mailing address is: Imprint Bookshop 820 Water Street Port Townsend, Washington 98368 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.