Hello, everyone! My name is Emily Frantz, and I became a project manager way back in April. Sorry for the delayed greetings! But I promise that during all that time, I’ve been busy helping launch an amazing new project for Ooligan that I am thrilled to finally share with you. The Gifts We Keep, by debut author Katie Grindeland, is the first of the Library Writers Project selections to be annually published through the unique partnership between Multnomah County Library and Ooligan Press.

Since 2015, from mid-October to mid-December each year, Multnomah County Library accepts submissions from local authors who would like to see their work added to the library’s ebook collection. Now, through this partnership, selections from the Library Writers Project will be traditionally published by Ooligan Press—joining the forces of local authors, a local library, and a local publisher to help our literary community as a whole flourish into the future.

I have been working hard with my team on The Gifts We Keep, a selection from 2015 that has been among the most popular titles offered through the Library Writers Project. It is an evocative work of fiction told through the eyes of five protagonists about family, pain, loss, and the gifts left in the wake of tragedy. Dangerous secrets, past tragedies, and a violent obsession emerge when Emerson and her estranged family agree to care for a ten-year-old Native-Alaskan girl and a complete stranger, Addie. Emerson has buried her emotions since her husband’s suicide a decade past. Meanwhile, her younger sister, Tillie, pursues a new romance with a woman and avoids her questions about the accident which left her in a wheelchair. Their mother, Eve, flits through life unable to address her daughters’ pain. And the handsome neighbor, Henry, jumps from one adulterous relationship to another while pining for the woman he truly loves. If these five can face their true selves, each other, and their past, they just might find a way forward to a life filled with love and happiness.

My team is now at the stage where we are collecting reviews, sending out press releases, and crafting social media in preparation for the release of the book in April. But it feels just like yesterday that I was starting out on this project with no idea where it would go. We have come so far, and this partnership will continue long after The Gifts We Keep is published and out into the world. I am so happy that I have seen the beginning of this new chapter at Ooligan and can’t wait to bring you the final version of The Gifts We Keep. Until then, stay tuned on Ooligan’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates. The Gifts We Keep will be available in both trade paperback and ebook versions on April 16, 2019.

To learn more about The Gifts We Keep and Katie Grindeland, please visit our book page.
Click here for more insight on the Library Writers Project and for information on how to submit your manuscript to the library.