I’m thrilled to kick off the Wham! Bam! Book! Slam! series with author Jill Swenson. We’re celebrating the publication of her memoir, The Land of Everlasting Sky, published by She Writes Press*.
This is the first book launch event of many Wham! Bam! Book! Slams! to come.
I’ve brought the book tour to you. It’s not a regular reading or launch, either. It’s a book event à la Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam!
Our authors are telling 4-minute stories based on Jill’s theme:
“Who ARE you?” and “WHERE are you from?”
The event was terrific, the stories were great, and you can watch the entire show, above, or if you just want to catch the stories, you’ll find them below.
Jill’s guests: Elizabeth Rynecki and Susan J Tweit. I told a story, too!
Storytellers are listed in order of appearance.
Susan J Tweit
In college Tweit was the only “girl” in her botany field courses, and the guys wondered loudly and often if she could hack it. Hack it she did, graduating into a career working in the backcountry that included grizzly-bear poop patrol—collecting bear poop to dissect and learn what plants the big bears eat—fighting wildland fires with a backpack pump and pick axe, controlling the invasive bullies of the plant world, and researching the lives and habits of her favorite plant, aromatic big sagebrush. Now she writes about the wild nearby and lives where she can inhale sagebrush every day.
Susan is the author of thirteen books, and her newest book is Earthbound, A Year of Mindful Connection in Nature. It will be published on October 20, 2026 and may be preordered in Wham! Bam! Book! Slam’s Amazon or Bookshop stores.
Elizabeth Rynecki
Elizabeth Rynecki asks inconvenient questions and digs up stories history somehow misplaced. She divides her time between being a writer, filmmaker, podcaster, business owner, wife, mom, and cat herder, which pretty much means most days you'll find her spending too much time doom scrolling and wondering why there are never enough hours in the day.
Her book, Chasing Portraits can be purchased on Amazon. The documentary by the same name is available there for rental or purchase. Elizabeth’s oral history novel, Fern Court Fiasco is coming out in March 2027 (IngramSpark). As soon as it’s available for pre-order, our listing will be updated.
Nan Tepper
I’m the creator of Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam! And the memoirist-in-chief at The Next Write Thing. I style stacks for writers on the Substack platform. I’m living my dream, writing, designing, and being a kosher ham on stage.
One of these days, Nan will get back to writing her memoir-in-progress. Nan’s essay, “Are You My Mother?” will be published in an upcoming anthology, Every Mother’s Daughter, due to be released in Fall 2027. Of course, she’ll be scheduling a book slam for the contributors. As soon as it’s available for pre-order, I’ll be sharing links and QR codes. I can’t wait to add my copy to its place of honor on my bookshelf!
To wrap the individual stories, here’s Jill Swenson! She slays.
Jill remembers asking her mother if she should take shorthand in high school. “You do not want to take dictation from men all your life.” Raised by a working mom, Jill writes her way in and out of good trouble.
Jill’s memoir,The Land of Everlasting Sky, can be purchased in Wham! Bam! Book! Slam’s Amazon or Bookshop stores.
On Lake of the Woods. Jill’s Substack publication.
About the book, The Land of Everlasting Sky:
When Jill Swenson returns to her mother’s hometown after her funeral, she finds a new Seven Clans Casino under construction in Warroad, Minnesota, on Lake of the Woods. There, she learns, Red Lake Nation has recently dispossessed descendants of Ojibway spiritual leader Kakaygeesick from their land—land where the family has lived for the last two centuries—and has also denied them tribal membership.
In searching for answers, Jill meets the great-grandson of Kakaygeesick. Over weeks, months, and years, a friendship forms between them, and Jill gradually discovers what allotments, blood quantum, and the history of the Bureau of Indian Affairs have to do with her, the great-granddaughter of immigrants who homesteaded on reservation land. Estranged from her father, still mourning the suicide of her husband and the loss of their farm in upstate New York, and now grieving her mother’s death, Jill has spent decades trying to put the past behind her—but discovers the only path forward is to reckon with history.
Clear-eyed and yet deeply personal, The Land of Everlasting Sky is a compelling exploration of the history we inherit and our relationships to land and each other.
Wham! Bam! Book! Slam! events are free to all.
Support the authors. Buy their books.
And we need paid subscribers to help us cover costs to run all the live monthly story slams at WBTYS.
Become a matron of the arts! Even if you’re a man.
You’ll get into the live slams for free. The book slams are an added treat.
Or, you can buy a ticket when it’s time for the next slam!
If you can’t afford either option, DM Nan. We’ll make it work.
Help this project grow by spreading the word. There’s more than one way to support Wham! Bam! Thank You! Slam!
We have a fiscal sponsor, the nonprofit arts organization, Fractured Atlas. Direct donations made in WBTYS’s name are tax deductible as permissible by law in the U.S.
Law? Do we still have that here?
