This event has passed
Kathleen Carr Foster & Elizabeth Held for The Jewel of Corlivo
Past event
Featured Book
The Jewel of Corlivo
In a reimagined Byzantine empire, a runaway courtesan and her disgraced suitor are on the hunt for ancient treasure. But in Kathleen Carr Foster’s glittering debut, what they find will be far more troublesome . . .
Raised for the most luxurious pleasure house in mountain-ringed Corlivo, Anna has no illusions about her future. She’ll be a courtesan, as her mother was before she disappeared—and like her mother, gamble that her charms attract a patron rich enough to pay her debts.
But when a gruff explorer with connections at the capital notices Anna, it’s her sharp eye that draws him in. Sebastianus thinks Anna’s found a clue within the pages of an ancient book to the lost city of treasure he seeks, and she might well discover more.
Together they escape to the imperial court, where marvels are commonplace—and so is treachery. Anna’s courtesan training has hardly prepared her for the dangers of court life, let alone for delving into artifacts from the empire’s past. But when she uncovers a secret tied to her mother’s fate, Anna realizes more than her life is at stake. She holds the key to untold possibilities not only for herself, but for any of the women of Corlivo . . . if she can use it.
This book will be available for purchase at the event.
About This Event
We're celebrating the debut novel of a major voice in speculative fiction with great conversation, a reading, and a book signing. Join us for a lovely evening and find your next favorite read!
This event is free and open to the public, but RSVP is greatly appreciated. Light refreshment will be provided. Please note that Loyalty Books has a zero tolerance policy for harassment of employees, authors, or attendees.
Featured Author
Foster, Kathleen Carr
Kathleen Carr Foster is an award-winning author of speculative fiction. She earned an MFA from Boston University, where she was the recipient of the Florence Engel Randall Graduate Fiction Prize, and she won the Davis Prize for Fiction as an undergraduate at Wellesley College. She has also received an Emerging Artist Award from the St. Botolph Club Foundation, and her short fiction has been published in Slice Magazine, on Harper Perennial’s Fifty-Two Stories website, and in 236, BU Creative Writing’s Literary Journal. A mother of two, she lives in Massachusetts with her family and an anxious rescue dog named Wendy. Visit her online at kathleencarrfoster.com.
In Conversation With
Elizabeth Held
Elizabeth Held is a reader and writer, living in D.C.. Her first book, ROMANCELANDIA, out in 2028, will chronicle the ways romance authors and fans are rewriting the rules of love and publishing. She writes What to Read If, a book recommendation newsletter and runs East City Bookshop's romance book club. When not reading or writing, she can be found walking her dog around Capitol Hill.
About the Venue
Loyalty Bookstore
HI! WE’RE LOYALTY BOOKSTORES. We like books. We like you. And we aim to bring the best diverse books and events to our community. We aim to be the Mid-Atlantic’s neighborhood spot for wonderful books and unique stationery, gifts, and programming. Our staff and our selection highlight the diverse voices and creatives that make our communities great. Our intersectional community is important to our staff, therefore those are the books you'll find centered in our store, in our programming, and in our promotions.
Visit store pageMore at Loyalty Bookstore
Meet Cute Book Club chats When Forty Blooms
Meet Cute Book Club celebrates sexy, swoon-worthy Romance reads every month. While we'll mostly focus on contemporary love stories, we're excited to read across sub-genres within Romancelandia. Meet Cute Book Club is hosted by Loyalty's resident Romance mavens, Sandie Chen and Chardai Powell, who are committed to an inclusive book club for anyone ready for romances that make you laugh, swoon, blush, and occasionally cry. Please RSVP to the right to let us know you'll be joining us for this month's meeting so that we can reserve enough seats. Email us at events@loyaltybookstores.com with any questions.Use coupon code BKCB10 at checkout online for 10% off each month's book club selection or mention it is for book club at checkout in store!
Author Storytime with Madeleine Odendahl for Augusta's Hands
Join us for a storytime with our friends from Merry Pin to celebrate the first book from their new publishing imprint Merry Pin Press! We'll have a reading of their first book, Augusta's Hands, about the pioneering Harlem Renaissance sculptor Augusta Savage, light refreshments for young and old, and coloring pages for kiddos. There is no ticket for entry, but is limited so please RSVP to help your bookseller out! Books will be available on site for purchase or you may preorder below.Please note Loyalty has a zero tolerance policy for haterade towards staff, authors, or fellow patrons of any kind. ABOUT THE BOOKAugusta's Hands is the inspiring true story of Augusta Savage, an African-American sculptor and arts educator who shaped the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Florida, Augusta had hands that loved to make things, finding her first tools in red clay despite her father's disapproval. Her talent took her from the county fair to New York City, where she excelled at Cooper Union and began sculpting powerful, empathetic portraits of her community. She believed in lifting every voice and dedicated her life not just to her own art, but to teaching and inspiring a generation of young Black artists in her Harlem studio. Though much of her physical work was lost, her true masterpiece lives on in the students she taught, the artists she inspired, and the future she shaped.ABOUT THE AUTHOR Madeleine Odendahl is a writer, maker, business owner, and community builder who believes in the power of handicrafts to bring connection and beauty to our lives. As a stitch witch and ritual artist, she views crafting as a transformative practice of intention.Madeleine is the co-founder of Merry Pin, a one-of-a-kind cafe, craft store, and community hub designed to make creativity accessible to everyone. Since its opening in 2024, she has led the weekly Crafty Tales, a beloved program of storytime and hands-on making. The series served as the spark for Merry Pin Press, an indie publishing house dedicated to nurturing curiosity, empathy, and a sense of belonging—one artistic story at a time. She lives in Washington, DC with her son Rhodes. Augusta’s Hands is her debut children’s book.
The Big Ass Book Club chats The Count of Monte Cristo
We will be discussing the first 400 pages in this meeting! Do you love big books and you cannot lie? We're digging into a large book each season with all the nerdy, zero chill that defines Loyalty. Each month we will meet and discuss the book at large and dive into a specific section of the book as well. Enjoy a Sunday afternoon coffee, wine, tea, beer, or bubbly water with us and chat in depth about books that totally justify their size. Our 2026 reads are The Love Songs of W.E.B Dubois by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, The Iliad by Homer (trans. Emily Wilson), The Dead are Arising: The Life of Malcom X by the Paynes, The Wayfinder by Adam Johnson, and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. Future books for consideration are The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders, Baldwin: A Love Story, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson and more!