Welcome to “Live Life Local”—where we celebrate the books and authors who are rooted in our beautiful, diverse region, helping you connect with it in new and exciting ways. Each “Live Life Local” feature (we do two a month) will also include a chance to win a copy of the book and a gift to a local business!
This month our first pick is Seattle Walk Report: An Illustrated Walking Tour Through 23 Seattle Neighborhoods by Susanna Ryan because July is for getting outside and we believe this book of cool, quirky, comic-style illustrations will inspire plenty of you to get out and explore our beloved city by foot—on your own or with friends and family.
Find out how the formerly anonymous creator of the Instagram account @seattlewalkreport became a Sasquatch Books author, as Sasquatch Editorial Director Jen Worick describes how she discovered her, became thoroughly smitten with her delightful art, and continues to find joy in her daily quarantine walks through the lens of this unique book.
Enter our giveaway to win our book bundle, a copy of Seattle Walk Report and a $25 gift card to the Seattle bookstore of your choice (on us) that offers gift cards. To enter, head over to our Instagram page @sasquatchbooks, follow, and tag the Seattle bookstore you want a gift card to! Stay tuned for our next “Live Life Local” feature in a couple of weeks, celebrating more beauty of a PNW summer!
Sasquatch Books Editorial Director, Jen Worick, on the Special Sauce of Seattle Walk Report and Why It’s a Book for Our Time
Seattle Walk Report appeared on my radar right after I joined Sasquatch Books. As the new Editorial Director, I immediately started casting about for untapped talent and book ideas. Within a week, I had read about @seattlewalkreport and its anonymous creator. One look at her Instagram account and I was down the rabbit hole. This unknown artist was able to capture Seattle, warts and all, but with a sly gentle humor that I found completely charming and addictive. She was creating an ongoing love letter to the city, reminding all of us of why we fell for Seattle in the first place, and why we keep coming back for more.
So, I did what any good acquisitions editor would do: I slid into her DMs. We arranged to meet IRL, back when you could do that sort of thing. Susanna (she told me her name after being sworn to secrecy) sent me an e-mail with an embedded image, so I’d know what she looked like when we met. She sent me this:
Not helpful.
We managed to find each other and the rest is history. Susanna brought loads of creativity and work ethic to the project, potentially ruining me for all other authors to come. She was a delight to work with and it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that every e-mail or sketch resulted in me chuckling at my desk.
However, the initial question was how best to translate a perfect Instagram art form to the pages of a book. We considered a walking journal that was not tied to Seattle but, in the process, it lost a little bit of Susanna’s special sauce. So, we leaned into the Seattleness of it all and decided to showcase the city’s many distinctive neighborhoods, through Susanna’s quirky lens. Sasquatch Books is at heart a regional publisher—the PNW is in our DNA. One of our missions is to find “cool stuff from here” and Susanna and Seattle Walk Report are lousy with coolness.
But as hip as it is, it’s also old school. Susanna sketches as she walks, she likes to walk alone, she doesn’t have any fancy gear, and she celebrates the little things that normally go undetected or unappreciated. Sure, we all love a cute dog but how many of us wonder about the history of Chinatown’s tiny alleys or the backstory of a straw through a carrot or the magic of a well-designed staircase?
I’m walking a lot these days and I’m taking time to literally smell the roses…and the lilacs…and bushy rosemary plants (shout out to my Ballard neighbors, who are bringing it with the landscaping during quarantine!). Using Seattle Walk Report as inspiration, I’ve checked out all the murals on shuttered businesses in my neighborhood, regularly spy bunnies under bushes, make eye contact with neighbors even while our smiles are hidden by masks. And then there’s the weird: I took a walk to the beach recently and noticed an exercise bike perched on top of a bluff. The thought bubble above my head (in keeping with comic form), was a giant question mark. With every walk, I am connecting with my surroundings on a much deeper level. I’m falling in love with my block and my city all over again and seeking out small adventures when I can’t plan a big trip.
Seattle Walk Report is the perfect book for our times and it continues to delight and entertain me, as well as act as a call to action to move away from our devices and toward the world outside. Every walk is an opportunity to choose your own adventure. How cool is that?
Happy walking!
Jen Worick
Editorial Director
Seattle Walk Report Book and Seattle Bookstore Gift Card Bundle Giveaway
Enter our giveaway to win our book bundle, a copy of Seattle Walk Report and a $25 gift card from the bookstore of your choice (that offers gift cards)! To enter, head over to our Instagram page @SasquatchBooks, follow, and tag the Seattle bookstore you want a gift card to!
SEATTLE WALK REPORT GIVEAWAY OFFICIAL RULES
IMPORTANT: Please read these Official Rules before entering the SEATTLE WALK REPORT (the “Sweepstakes”), presented by SASQUATCH BOOKS, a division of Penguin Random House LLC (“Sponsor”). By entering the Sweepstakes, you agree to the terms of these Official Rules. These Official Rules shall govern in the event of any inconsistency with other Sweepstakes-related materials.
Penguin Random House is the sole sponsor of this Sweepstakes, which is no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
ELIGIBILITY: The Sweepstakes is open to residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 years of age or older at time of entry. If this is a Sweepstakes offer on Instagram, entrants must have a public Instagram profile. All federal, state, and local regulations apply. LIMIT ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER METHOD OF ENTRY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED. Employees of Sponsor, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, and agencies, and their immediate family members and persons living in their household are not eligible to enter the Sweepstakes.
ENTRY PERIOD: The Sweepstakes begins at 2 PM PST on July 13, 2020, and ends at 11:59 PM PST on July 15, 2020.
HOW TO ENTER: Enter by:
1) Following and tagging a Seattle bookstore that offers gift cards in @SasquatchBooks Instagram post as required in the applicable Sweepstakes announcement.
In the case of a dispute, entries will be deemed made by the authorized holder of the applicable social network account and/or e-mail address used for entry. Automated entries are prohibited, and use of any automated devices will result in disqualification. Sponsor is not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate entry of information by entrants; lost or late entries or transmissions; interrupted or unavailable network, server, or other connections; scrambled transmissions or other errors or problems of any kind whether mechanical, human, or electronic, technical malfunctions of any computer hardware, software, or any combinations thereof; or problems associated with any virus or any other damage caused to entrants’ systems. Incomplete or ineligible entries will be voided. All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be returned. If for any reason the Sweepstakes is not capable of being conducted as described in these rules, Sponsor shall have the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Sweepstakes.
Comments and/or posts including photographs may not include obscene, offensive or inappropriate (in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion) material or defame any person, or otherwise infringe on any person’s proprietary rights. If you are posting a photograph, you must have permission from the photographer (or be the photographer yourself) and have permission from any persons who appear in the photo before submitting it.
PRIVACY POLICY: All information submitted in connection with entry to this Sweepstakes shall be governed by Sponsor’s privacy policy. By entering this Sweepstakes, you acknowledge that you have read and agree to this privacy policy.
PRIZE:
ONE (1) Grand Prize Winner(s) will receive (i) a copy of SEATTLE WALK REPORT; and (ii) A $25 gift card to SEATTLE BOOKSTORE OF CHOICE THAT OFFERS GIFT CARDS (Grand Prize Approximate Retail Value: $45.00).
TWO (2) Runner-Up Winner(s) will each receive (i) a copy of SEATTLE WALK REPORT (Runner-Up Prize Approximate Retail Value: $20.00).
No transfer or cash or other substitution of all or part of a prize is permitted, except by Sponsor, which reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute the prize or prize component with another of comparable or greater value. Any and all taxes on the prize will be the responsibility of the winners. Sponsor shall not be responsible for any delays, damage in the delivery of the prize, and/or loss of any prize in connection with delivery of the prize via mail. In the event that there is an insufficient number of eligible entries, Sponsor reserves the right not to award the prizes.
WINNER SELECTION: ONE (1) Grand Prize Winner(s) and TWO (2) -Up Winners will be selected in a random drawing on or about July 16 from all eligible entries received by the entry deadline. The odds of winning depend on how many eligible entries have been received. For Facebook and Twitter sweepstakes, winners will be notified via direct message on whichever social media platform their winning entry was posted. For a Twitter sweepstakes, winners must allow for direct messages so that Sponsor can contact winners via direct message. For Instagram sweepstakes, winners will be notified via a comment by Sponsor that he/she is a potential winner and Sponsor will provide an email address (or other contact information) where he/she can make a prize claim. Winners must respond to such notifications within ten (10) days of receipt. Winners must provide Sponsor with full contact details in order to be awarded the prize. Winners may also be required to complete, execute and return an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release. Noncompliance with these conditions may result in forfeiture of the Prize, and Sponsor reserves the right to select alternate winners (in random drawing from other eligible entries received before the deadline) in such circumstance. If winner notification of the Prize is returned as undeliverable, Sponsor may, at its discretion, select an alternate winner.
DISCLAIMERS: By competing in this Sweepstakes and/or accepting the prize, entrants agree that Sponsor, Facebook, and Instagram and their respective parent companies, assigns, subsidiaries and affiliates, and advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies and all of their respective employees, officers and directors will have no liability whatsoever, and will be held harmless by entrants for any liability for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind to person and property resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from the acceptance, possession, misuse, or use of the prizes, or participation in this Sweepstakes. By accepting a prize, each Winner consents to the use of his/her name for publicity and promotional purposes on behalf of Sponsor with no additional compensation or further permission (except where prohibited by law).
Any dispute arising from this Sweepstakes will be determined according to the laws of the State of New York, without reference to its conflict of law principles, and by entering the entrants
consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in New York County and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.
WINNERS LIST: For a list of the Winners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope by January 16, 2021 to SASQUATCH BOOKS, Attn: SEATTLE WALK REPORT GIVEAWAY, 1904 3rd Ave #710, Seattle, WA 98101
SPONSOR: SASQUATCH BOOKS, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 1904 3rd Ave #710, Seattle, WA 98101
