Braver Than You Think: Around the World on the Trip of My (Mother’s) Lifetime

"Downs has a fluid, conversational writing style, zooming in to particular anecdotes that illuminate her experience rather than trying to cover the entire year . . . The travel sections are compelling and lively. A poignant tale of connection and disconnection through travel." - Kirkus Reviews "With a mother in the final stages of Alzheimer's, Maggie Downs tries to run from her grief, but instead takes us to the far reaches of the globe, cuddling (and being bitten) by endangered monkeys, bonding with elephants, and working to save sea turtles. It's a journey to make any of us wonder if we're braver than we think." -Diana Marcum, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of The Tenth Island Book Description Marketing : Bookseller outreach and Indie Next campaign [deadline: 4/2/2020] Bookseller outreach and Indie Next campaign [deadline: 4/2/2020] Library outreach and LibraryReads campaign [deadline: 4/1/2020] Library outreach and LibraryReads campaign [deadline: 4/1/2020] Campaign tie-in to Mother’s Day 2020, including co-ops, AMS campaigns, and giveaways Campaign tie-in to Mother’s Day 2020, including co-ops, AMS campaigns, and giveaways Indie bookstore preorder campaign partnership Indie bookstore preorder campaign partnership ARCs at Wi15, ALA Midwinter, and PLA ARCs at Wi15, ALA Midwinter, and PLA Digital advertising and paid social media campaigns Digital advertising and paid social media campaigns Book club advertising including Goodreads and GalleyMatch giveaways; reading group guide available Publicity Plans: Book club advertising including Goodreads and GalleyMatch giveaways; reading group guide available Publicity Plans : National National Targeted pitching to print and online outlets for Mother’s Day roundups Targeted pitching to print and online outlets for Mother’s Day roundups Targeted pitching to Most Anticipated 2020 Lists, released in January Targeted pitching to Most Anticipated 2020 Lists, released in January Pitching to all major applicable books clubs, including BOTM, Buzzfeed, HelloSunshine, Oprah, Today Show Pitching to all major applicable books clubs, including BOTM, Buzzfeed, HelloSunshine, Oprah, Today Show Major influencer campaign Major influencer campaign Author promotion through website at maggieink.com Event Schedule: Author promotion through website at maggieink.com Event Schedule : Events throughout California and the Midwest Events throughout California and the Midwest Participation in LATFOB, Bay Area Book Festival, Printer’s Row Tour Schedule: Participation in LATFOB, Bay Area Book Festival, Printer’s Row Tour Schedule: 5/6/20 4:00pmPST: Virtual reading event, in conversation with Sylvia Harvey and Lauren Francis-Sharma, at Let's Talk Books With Christina 5/6/20 4:00pmPST: Virtual reading event, in conversation with Sylvia Harvey and Lauren Francis-Sharma, at Let's Talk Books With Christina 5/12/20 6:00pmPST: Virtual Zoom webinar event at Writers Blok 5/12/20 6:00pmPST: Virtual Zoom webinar event at Writers Blok 5/13/20 3:00pmEST: Virtual Twitter reading, in conversation with Laura Zam at Book Party Chat 5/13/20 3:00pmEST: Virtual Twitter reading, in conversation with Laura Zam at Book Party Chat 5/13/20 6:00pmPST: Virtual Zoom event, in conversation with Tod Goldberg, at UCR Palm Desert 5/13/20 6:00pmPST: Virtual Zoom event, in conversation with Tod Goldberg, at UCR Palm Desert 5/19/20 6:00pmPST: Virtual Crowdcast reading, in conversation with Edan Lepucki, at Book Soup 5/19/20 6:00pmPST: Virtual Crowdcast reading, in conversation with Edan Lepucki, at Book Soup 5/28/20 7:00pmEST: Virtual Crowdcast reading, introduced by Faherty, the library director; in conversation with Sharon Coolidge, at the Mercantile Library 5/28/20 7:00pmEST: Virtual Crowdcast reading, introduced by Faherty, the library director; in conversation with Sharon Coolidge, at the Mercantile Library 6/26/20 5:00pmPST: Virtual Zoom via Facebook Live reading, with Frederick-Douglass Knowles II, Tim Horvath, Rita Banerjee, Diana Szokolyai, Devynity Wray and Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, at Fourth Friday Literary Salon Series: Benefit Reading for Black Visions Collective, Creative North Shore 6/26/20 5:00pmPST: Virtual Zoom via Facebook Live reading, with Frederick-Douglass Knowles II, Tim Horvath, Rita Banerjee, Diana Szokolyai, Devynity Wray and Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, at Fourth Friday Literary Salon Series: Benefit Reading for Black Visions Collective, Creative North Shore 7/25/20 10:00am: Reading and book signing at California Writers' Club: Inland Empire chapter at the Ovitt Community Library, Ontario, CA 7/25/20 10:00am: Reading and book signing at California Writers' Club: Inland Empire chapter at the Ovitt Community Library, Ontario, CA 10/4/20 12:30pm: Programming, in conversation with Dean Kuipers and Darcy Ann Gaechter; moderated by Samantha Dunn, at The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, CA 10/4/20 12:30pm: Programming, in conversation with Dean Kuipers and Darcy Ann Gaechter; moderated by Samantha Dunn, at The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, CA Maggie Downs is an award–winning writer based in Palm Springs, California. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Palm Springs Life , and McSweeney’s and has been anthologized in The Lonely Planet Travel Anthology: True Stories from the World’s Best Writers and Best Women’s Travel Writing. Braver Than You Think is her first book. Find out more at maggiedowns.com. Read more