Latest News

Latest News

Plot Twist Books to Open in South Charleston, W.Va., this Spring

Charleston-based author Matt Browning is partnering to open an independent bookstore in downtown South Charleston, West Virginia, in the spring of 2023. Plot Twist Books will offer a blend of new and used books, bookish gifts, and community events.

More details, including an opening date, are coming soon. In the meantime, Browning and his partner have set up a crowdfunding campaign to help with start-up costs. Perks range from $1 to $1,000 and include things like store merchandise, becoming a “bookseller for a day,” commemorating a shelf in honor of a loved one, and more. Visit the Indiegogo campaign page to learn more and contribute.

New Podcast Explores the Magic of Independent Bookstores

A new podcast by author Matt Browning goes behind the shelves with booksellers to explore the magic of independent bookstores. “Bookstore Explorer” launches Tuesday, July 26, and will be available on all major podcasting platforms.

With each episode, Browning talks with a bookseller about their shop, from what inspired them to open a bookstore to how they manage to survive and thrive in the age of e-readers and online retail. Topics range from how inventory is chosen, how business has fared during the pandemic, quirky customer interactions and more. 

Listen to “Bookstore Explorer” wherever you get your podcasts or visit BookstoreExplorer.com.

Reflections on GOLDEN-CON, the Inaugural Golden Girls Fan Convention

The first-ever Golden Girls fan convention, GOLDEN-CON: THANK YOU FOR BEING A FAN, was held in Chicago April 22-24, and Matt was a featured panelist! He joined author Jim Colucci (“Golden Girls Forever”) and host Taylor Miller for Encyclopedia Goldennica, a Q&A panel full of behind-the-scenes show trivia. Then, Matt hosted a special conversation with actress-turned-author Dinah Manoff (“Empty Nest,” “Grease”) – Dinah Manoff’s Real True Hollywood Stories – to discuss her show business career and her new novel “The Real True Hollywood Story of Jackie Gold.” The Charleston-Gazette Mail caught up with Matt to reflect on the experience.


The Definitive Golden Girls Cultural Reference Guide Available Now from Lyons Press

Have you ever watched The Golden Girls and wondered, why would Gary Hart’s campaign manager wear a night gown? How could Robin Givens return a prize fighter? Does Bea Arthur actually look like Fess Parker in heels? So Danny Thomas isn’t a lesbian? And – more importantly – who are all these people?

Wonder no more, because you can now find the answers to all these questions and more in The Definitive Golden Girls Cultural Reference Guide, out now from Lyons Press, an imprint of Globe Pequot, the trade division of Rowman & Littlefield.

Meticulously researched episode by episode,  The Definitive Golden Girls Cultural Reference Guide is an eye-opening, illuminating encyclopedia of “the who, the how, and the ha!” of hundreds of topical jokes. From Joe Isuzu to Socrates, Alan Alda to Shinola, Martha Raye to Madge, and Ishtar to Tattletales, at long last fans of The Golden Girls will finally be saying, “Oh, now I get it!”

ORDER NOW: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Books-a-Million | Bookshop.org| IndieBound.org


Grease, Empty Nest Star Dinah Manoff Chats with Matt About Debut Novel

Dinah Manoff, the Tony award-winning star of such classics as Grease, Ordinary People, Soap, and Child’s Play, joined Matt for his website, EmptyNestTV.com, to chat about her debut novel, The Real True Hollywood Story of Jackie Gold, released in July by Star Alley Press. Dinah shares her inspiration for the book, answers questions from fans, and dishes on her seven-year run as Carol Weston on The Golden Girls spinoff series Empty Nest.


Get a Signed Copy of Award-winning Children’s Book Chicks and the City 

Honorable Mention – 2020 New York Book Festival | Gold Level Honoree – 2021 Mom’s Choice Awards | Preferred Choice – 2021 Creative Child Magazine Awards

Featuring artwork by award-winning illustrator Ashley Belote, “Chicks and the City,” published by Headline Books, is a children’s picture book about urban farming.

Chicken Stu isn’t a typical barnyard bird. From the top of the silo, he stares at the city in the distance, dreaming of lattes, museums, and penthouse suites. But the other animals warn him the city is no place for agriculture. A chicken’s home, they say, is on the farm. When Stu accidentally finds himself on a truck headed toward the bright lights and tall buildings, he decides to prove just how citified farming can be.

You can order a personalized, signed copy of Chicks and the City through PayPal! Cost: $16.95 + $4.35 tax/shipping = $21.30 TOTAL

How to Order: Send payment through this PayPal link and, in the Notes section, be sure to include (A.) a personalization if you’d like one and (B.) the address you’d like the book mailed to. I’ll follow up via email to confirm shipment. You can also order unsigned copies of the book from Headline Books or Amazon!  And check out the book trailer:


Visit the Mountain State’s Indie Bookshops with Bookstore Explorer: West Virginia

It’s a celebration of the Mountain State’s independent bookstores, with feature profiles of every store, plus firsthand interviews and essays with such literary luminaries as West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, author Rajia Hassib, and many others, about what the indie bookstore means to them and to community.

Released December 2019, you can order online or see a list of retail locations at BookstoreExplorer.com.

ABOUT | BOOKS | EVENTS | MEDIA | BLOG | CONNECT