The massive and foreboding Great Dismal Swamp sprawls over 2,000 square miles and spills over parts of Virginia and North Carolina. From the early seventeenth century, the nearly impassable Dismal frustrated settlement. However, what may have been an impediment to the expansion of slave society became an essential sanctuary for many of those who sought to escape it. In the depths of the Dismal, thousands of maroons—people who had emancipated themselves from enslavement and settled beyond the reach of enslavers—established new lives of freedom in a landscape deemed worthless and inaccessible by whites. Dismal Freedom unearths the stories of these maroons, their lives, and their struggles for liberation. Drawing from newly discovered primary sources and archeological evidence that suggests far more extensive maroon settlement than historians have previously imagined, award-winning author J. Brent Morris uncovers one of the most exciting yet neglected stories of American history. This is the story of resilient, proud, and determined people who made the Great Dismal Swamp their free home and sanctuary and who played an outsized role in undermining slavery through the Civil War.

Have you registered for our 3rd annual Tiger Day 5k yet?? We are so excited to celebrate International Tiger Day with you all for the 3rd summer in a row, and this year is extra special since we're kicking off the week-long event on July 29th with an in-person celebration! We are also giving you the opportunity to bid on your favorite cat (not just tiger!!) at the Sanctuary to become your honorary teammate! 🐯All proceeds from the $35 registration fee benefit the animals who call the Sanctuary home! 🐯Recruit your friends and family and form a team! Teams have the change to win prizes! 🐯You'll still be able to run the 5k on your own between July 29th and August 5, but this time we're hosting a kickoff event on the 29th at The Plant in Pittsboro. 🐯You can be a SPONSOR! We'd love to have you or your business sponsor this fantastic event. Sponsor information is included on our race website. If you would like to register for the event or become a sponsor, visit our race website and be sure to pass all of the information along to your friends and family!

Bestselling author Natalie Lloyd returns with her most personal book to date, a story about a girl who—armed with her trusty, snazzy wheelchair—refuses to let her brittle bone disease stand in the way of adventure. Twelve-year-old homeschooled Olive is tired of being seen as “fragile” just because she has osteogenesis imperfecta (otherwise known as brittle bone disease) so she’s thrilled when she finally convinces her parents to let her attend Macklemore Elementary. Olive can’t wait to go to a traditional school and make the friends she’s always longed for, until a disastrous first day dashes her hopes of ever fitting in. Then Olive hears whispers about a magical, wish-granting hummingbird that supposedly lives near Macklemore. It’ll be the solution to all her problems! If she can find the bird and prove herself worthy, the creature will make her most desperate, secret wish come true. When it becomes clear that she can’t solve the mystery on her own, Olive teams up with some unlikely allies who help her learn the truth about the bird. And on the way, she just might learn that our fragile places lead us to the most wonderful magic of all . . . Natalie Lloyd lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She collects old books, listens to bluegrass music, and loves exploring quirky mountain towns with her dog, Biscuit. She is the author of A Snicker of Magic and The Key to Extraordinary.

It's that time again! Our Summer Clearance Sale is happening in both stores AND online (no coupon code needed)! • 40% OFF Sandals • 30% OFF Shorts & Skirts • 30% OFF Short Sleeved Shirts & Dresses • 20% OFF Gifts, Jewelry & Bags • 20% OFF Swimsuits & Hats • 20% OFF Socks • 20% OFF Camping Gear We also have a BUNCH of shoes and clothes at 50% OFF in both stores.

Come out and enjoy a bit of Pittsboro's downtown charm. This family-friendly event is free to attend. Artisans, non-profits, and local businesses will be out and about as we enjoy some sweet treats. Just a few of the downtown businesses that are usually open on First Sunday: Pittsboro Toys French Connections Reclamation New Horizons Downtown Pittsboro Gallery of Arts Chatham County Historical Museum Welcome Center Studio 17 Deep River Mercantile The Beagle Circle City Books and Music M2 Graphics Carolina Cravings The Chocolate Cellar Oakmoss Screaming for Vintage Would you like to be a vendor at First Sunday? Please fill out an application.

When Emma Skurnick first moved to Bynum, North Carolina she fell in love with a tiny town on the banks of the Haw River. In this place, the shopkeeper knew everyone by name, neighbors would help fix your car, and a glitter-covered giraffe could unexpectedly show up in your yard. Becoming a Local is a collection of stories about this beautiful, quirky spot on the map, with full-color watercolor paintings illustrating every page. Emma Skurnick was born in New York, went to school in California, and ended up – somehow – making art and teaching others to trust their creativity in the heart of North Carolina. Her roots are fully, deeply planted here.

An examination of what algorithmic polarization means for society and how conservative elites use media literacy tactics to spread propaganda The Propagandists’ Playbook peels back the layers of the right-wing media manipulation machine to reveal why its strategies are so effective and pervasive, while also humanizing the people whose worldviews and media practices conservatism embodies. Based on interviews and ethnographic observations of two Republican groups over the course of the 2018 Virginia gubernatorial race—including the author’s firsthand experience of the 2017 Unite the Right rally—the book considers how Google algorithms, YouTube playlists, pundits, and politicians can manipulate audiences, reaffirm beliefs, and expose audiences to more extremist ideas, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Francesca Tripodi argues that conservatives who embody the Christian worldview give authoritative weight to original texts and interrogate the media using the same tools taught to them in Bible study—for example, using Google to “fact check” the news. The result of this practice, tied to conservative marketing tactics, is more than a reaffirmation of existing beliefs: it is a radicalization of content and a changing of narratives adopted by the media. Tripodi also demonstrates the pervasiveness of white supremacy in the conservative media ecosystem, as well as its mainstream appeal, scope, and spread. Dr. Francesca Tripodi is a sociologist and media scholar whose research examines the relationship between social media, political partisanship, and digital inequality. She is an Assistant Professor at the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) and a Senior Research at the Center for Information Technology and Public Life (CITAP) at UNC-Chapel Hill. In 2019, she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on how search engines are gamed to drive ideologically based queries. Her research has been covered by The Washington Post, The New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR, The Columbia Journalism […]

Flyleaf Books is hosting Monica Byrne, in conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson, for a special online event to launch the paperback version of The Actual Star on Crowdcast. To access this exclusive event, purchase a paperback copy of The Actual Star ($18.99 retail price plus tax) and mention in the order comments that you would like to sign up for the online event. We will add you to the registration list, and the link + access password will be sent to you two days before the event. Monica Byrne is happy to sign & personalize copies of The Actual Star. Please use your order comments to specify whether you'd like your copy personalized (and to what name) or just plain signed! Please contact Flyleaf Books at info@flyleafbooks.com with any questions. David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas meets Octavia Butler’s Earthseed series, as acclaimed author Monica Byrne (The Girl in the Road) crafts an unforgettable piece of speculative fiction about where humanity came from, where we are now, and where we’re going—and how, in every age, the same forces that drive us apart also bind us together. "A stone-cold masterpiece."—New Scientist The Actual Star takes readers on a journey over two millennia and six continents—telling three powerful tales a thousand years apart, all of them converging in the same cave in the Belizean jungle. Braided together are the stories of a pair of teenage twins who ascend the throne of a Maya kingdom; a young American woman on a trip of self-discovery in Belize; and two dangerous charismatics vying for the leadership of a new religion, racing toward a confrontation that will determine the fate of the few humans left on Earth after massive climate change. In each era, a reincarnated trinity of souls navigates the entanglements of tradition and progress, sister and […]

The tortured spirits of the dead haunt a Regency-era English manor—but the true danger lies in the land of the living in the third installment in the Lily Adler mysteries, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn. Regency widow Lily Adler is looking forward to spending the autumn away from the social whirl of London. When she arrives in Hampshire with her friends, the Carroways, she doesn’t expect much more than a quiet country visit and the chance to spend time with her charming new acquaintance, Matthew Spencer. But something odd is afoot in the small country village. A ghost has taken up residence in the Belleford manor, a lady in grey who wanders the halls at night, weeping and wailing. Half the servants have left in terror, but the family seems delighted with the notoriety that their ghost provides. Intrigued by this spectral guest, Lily and her party immediately make plans to visit Belleford. They arrive at the manor the next morning ready to be entertained—only to find that tragedy has struck. The matriarch of the family has just been found killed in her bed. The dead woman’s family is convinced that the ghost is responsible. Lily is determined to learn the truth before another victim turns up—but could she be next in line for the Great Beyond? Katharine Schellman is a former actor and one-time political consultant. These days, she writes the Lily Adler Mysteries (Crooked Lane Books) and the Nightingale Mysteries (Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press). Her debut novel, The Body in the Garden, was one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2020; its sequel, Silence in the Library, was praised as “worthy of Agatha Christie or Rex Stout.” (Library Journal, starred review) Katharine lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia in the company of her husband, children, and […]

The first class is to get you started into the world of resin. Since resin can be tricky and it's not a cheap product, its best to learn and try avoiding expensive mistakes. Learn how to use two-part resin with the easy, proven methods of an artist with resin experience. You will be amazed with how you can use resin as a quick and simple way to make unique items. By the end of this class, you will feel confident you have the skills and knowledge to make your own distinctive resin goodies to add to your collection, give to others or even sell!

On a moonlit night in 1889, Iowa farmer John Elkins and his young wife, Hattie, were brutally murdered in their bed. Eight days later, their son, eleven-year-old Wesley Elkins, was arrested and charged with murder. The community reeled with shock by both the gruesome details of the homicides and the knowledge of the accused perpetrator—a small, quiet boy weighing just 75 pounds. Accessible and fast-moving, The Plea delivers a complete, complex, and nuanced narrative of this horrific crime, while shedding light on the legal, social, and political environment of Iowa and the country in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Patricia Bryan is a graduate of Carleton College and the University of Iowa College of Law. She also has a Masters in Tax degree from NYU. Patricia practiced law in New York City for six years before accepting a position as a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1982. For four decades, Patricia has taught classes in Basic Tax, Corporate tax, and a seminar in Law and Literature. She and her husband, Thomas Wolf, are the co-authors of Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America’s Heartland, published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill in 2005 and then issued in paperback by the University of Iowa Press in 2007. Patricia is also the co-editor of Her America: “A Jury of Her Peers” and Other Stories, a collection of short fiction by Susan Glaspell. Patricia’s new book—also co-authored with Thomas Wolf—is The Plea: The True Story of Young Wesley Elkins and His Struggle for Redemption, published in July 2022 by the University of Iowa Press. Thomas Wolf is a graduate of Knox College and the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Tom is also a longtime resident of Chapel Hill. He has been a Vista volunteer, a community college […]