Stop by the shop Thursday, April 23rd for an array of musicians performing live at Back of Beyond from 6-9pm. You won’t want to miss this!

Wednesday, May 6th ~ 7PM

Order the book here! 

Thursday, April 16th ~ 4 pm Start Time 

Free to attend. Cash bar.

Order the book here!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Brianna Madia is beloved for her honest and enthralling accounts of life in the wilderness, finding her own way by rejecting society’s expectations, so what happens when she falls in love and has to reset the boundaries of her fierce independence?

Homesick Nomad finds Bri splitting her time between her beloved wild desert in Utah and her boyfriend’s cozy suburban home in the Pacific Northwest, reckoning a new urge to soften into the embrace of the comforts of home with the fear of losing her independence. She’s not only defying convention to prove something to herself or to others—a simpler way of life out in the desert actually brings her peace, as she realizes when resisting “upgrades” to her trailer like running water.

Balancing the liberation of the wilderness with the natural compromises of love, Bri navigates these familiar tensions by embracing her life in its wholeness, richer for both the stability of home and the profundity of wide open spaces.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brianna Madia has lived a life of relentless intention, traveling the deserts of the American West in an old Ford van. She made a name for herself on social media with her inspiring captions-cum-essays about bravery, identity, nature, and subverting expectations. She lives in Utah with her four dogs. Her previous books, Nowhere for Very Long and Never Leave the Dogs Behind, were New York Times bestsellers.

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Wednesday, April 15th ~ 7 pm

Tuesday, March 3rd

Sunrise Ceremony ~ 6:30am ~ Castle Valley Town Hall ~ Bring a breakfast dish to share. Beverages provided.

Author Signing and Conversation ~ 3-5pm ~ Back of Beyond Books

Pre-order The Glorians Here!

About the Book

Whether we believe it or not, rapid change is upon us. I am searching for grace.

In this time of political fragility, climate chaos, and seeking beauty wherever we can find its glimmer, Terry Tempest Williams introduces us to the Glorians. They are not distant deities, but the ordinary, often overlooked presences–animal, plant, memory, moment–that reveal our shared vulnerability and interconnectedness with the natural world. The Glorians can be as small as an ant ferrying a coyote willow blossom to its queen or as commonplace as the night sky. But what they can collectively show us–about the radical act of attending to beauty and carrying forward against all odds–is immense.

Wise and lyrical, The Glorians is a testament to the power of witness, a field guide to finding grace in the unexpected, and a moving invitation to engage with one another and our surroundings with renewed intention. In a modern world filled with increasing noise and anxiety, Terry Tempest Williams offers honest sustenance for the mind and spirit and distinguishes herself again as a trusted voice to whom we can turn to more fully understand our times.

About the Author

Terry Tempest Williams is the award-winning author of over twenty books of creative nonfiction, including the environmental classic, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. Among her other books are Leap; Red; The Open Space of Democracy; Finding Beauty in a Broken World; When Women Were Birds; The Hour of Land; and Erosion: Essays of Undoing. Her work has been translated and anthologized worldwide. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Lannan Literary Award, she is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters and is currently writer-in-residence at the Harvard Divinity School. She divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts and Southeastern Utah.

Tuesday, February 10th ~ 6 pm

Historian Steve Allen will present a slide show covering his many years of exploring the canyon country of Southern Utah. Topics include his family’s history of desert exploration; a discussion of threats to the land, thoughts about the ongoing battles of land protection in Utah, and stories centered on “History on the Ground- Pieces of the Puzzle.”

Steve Allen is a widely recognized expert on the history and pre-history of the canyonlands of Southern Utah. His guide books are considered the “go to” sources for accurate information. Steve’s Utah’s Canyon Country Place Names is a comprehensive and exhaustive two-volume reference work that helps tell the stories of the pioneers who put names on the land. Steve spends eight months a year backpacking and has a home in Durango, Colorado.

Saturday, January 31st ~ 11am-4pm

Books for Tots Program Mission

The Books for Tots program at Back of Beyond Books has been going strong for 22 years! The mission of Books for Tots is to get books into the hands of as many kids in the Moab community as possible. We do this by inviting institutions in Moab who work directly with kids, to come in and hand pick 30 books for their respective libraries and book collections. Back of Beyond Books then invites the community to the bookstore to buy these books as a way of giving and donating to the youth of Moab. The best part of the program is the day we deliver the books to the kids. Smiles abound!

Books will be available for purchase at Back of Beyond Books from November 23rd until the books are gone.

Friday, December 5th ~ 5-8pm

It’s our 35th Anniversary and we’re throwing a party!

Come join us in celebrating 35 years of being Moab’s local bookstore. 

Friday, November 14th ~ 5-7pm

Join Colorado authors Larry Gottlieb and Katherine Knickerbocker as they share the
message and the process of creating their new novel, Secrets of the River: A Parable
for Our Times. Secrets of the River is about a ten-day river trip in the American
Southwest on which five successful city folk have an opportunity to use the many
lessons the river has to offer in their quest for some deeper meaning for their lives. Ask
one of our staff to buy a copy now or reserve one for the event!

Saturday, November 8th ~ 3-5PM

Navajo memoirist Evelyn Begody is a public school educator. She writes about how
she navigated her grief experience after losing her partner of 30 years and how she
lived with her transitioned husband Bo. Her story shows love continues and what this
might suggest about dealing with loss. Her recent second release is about her
education. Similar in the spirit of loss, she penned this during the height of Covid, but
her story remains universal. Please stop by, say HI.

Thursday, November, 6th ~ 5-7PM

Kathryn Wilder will read from her just-released The Last Cows: On Ranching, Wonder, and a Woman’s Heart, which follows her award-winning memoir, Desert Chrome. Both books celebrate Disappointment Valley, a Paradox Basin neighbor to Spanish Valley. Questions will be welcome, and Wilder will sign books afterward.

Saturday, November 1st ~ 5-7PM

Andrew Gulliford is a professor of history and Environmental Studies at Fort Lewis
College in Durango, Colorado where he has been awarded the Roger Peters Distinguished
Faculty Award for teaching, research, and service. Gulliford teaches popular courses on
wilderness, national parks, Western history, and environmental history. He is the author of
America’s Country Schools, Sacred Objects and Sacred Places: Preserving Tribal Traditions,
and Boomtown Blues: Colorado Oil Shale, which won the Colorado Book Award. He edited
Preserving Western History, which was voted one of the best books on the Southwest by the
Tucson-Pima County Library. His book Outdoors in the Southwest: An Adventure
Anthology won the Arizona/New Mexico Book Award in the category of nature/
environment and Best Book on Arizona, as well as the Colorado Book Award for best
anthology. Gulliford edited The Last Stand of the Pack: A Critical Edition, about wolves in
Colorado, which was published by the University Press of Colorado.
His book The Woolly West: Colorado’s Hidden History of Sheepscapes, published by
Texas A&M University Press, was chosen the Outstanding Nonfiction winner for the
Wrangler Western Heritage Awards sponsored by the National Cowboy & Western
Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. It also won the Colorado Book Award for history. His
latest book, Bears Ears: Landscape of Refuge and Resistance from the University of Utah
Press, was a finalist for the Juanita Brooks Best Book in Utah History Award from the
Board of State History at the Utah Historical Society.
Gulliford has had led tours across the West by canoe, raft, horseback, van, cruise
ship, bus/coach, private train, and private jet for the Smithsonian Institution, National
Geographic Society, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Rocky Mountain Public
Broadcasting Service (PBS), Great Old Broads for Wilderness, History Colorado, Canyon
Country Discovery Center, Treasure Box Tours, and the San Juan Mountains Association.
Dr. Gulliford has received the National Individual Volunteer Award from the U.S.
Forest Service for wilderness education, and a certificate of recognition from the Secretary
of Agriculture for “outstanding contributions to America’s natural and cultural
resources.” For a decade he held a federal appointment to the Southwest Colorado
Resources Advisory Council of the Bureau of Land Management.
Gulliford writes columns about the Southwest for the Durango Herald and the
Cortez Journal. With the Durango Herald column “Gulliford’s Travels” he took 1 st place for
a news column in the Top of the Rockies Journalism Contest sponsored by the Colorado
Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Dr. Gulliford also appears in history
programs for “The Colorado Experience” television series produced by Rocky Mountain
PBS.

Thursday, October 30th ~ 5-7PM

Join us for a spooktacular Halloween dog party and costume contest at your favorite indie bookstore! On Thursday, October 30th, from 5 to 7 PM, come to Back of Beyond Books on Main St. to showcase your furry friend’s best costume. There will be a prize for the best-dressed dog, along with candy and refreshments for all attendees. We can’t wait to see you and your pups in their Halloween finest!

Thursday, October 23rd ~ 7pm ~ Star Hall

Saturday, October 4th 11am-3pm @ Back of Beyond Books

Join authors, van-lifers, and husband-and-wife duo Andrew Singer & Sarah May in
front of Back of Beyond Books as they open up their home and their lives to the Moab community. Get a van tour,
your book signed, and bring all your questions (they love to talk travel, writing, healing and of
course—van life!). Andrew is the author of Now Is the Time: A Van Life Road Trip; Sarah is the
author of She Journeys: A Memoir of Heartbreak and Homecoming. Ask one of our booksellers to
buy a copy now or reserve one for the event!

UPDATE: EVENT IS CANCELLED

Local Moab Artist & Author to Host Book Signing and Spirit Creature Readings at Back of Beyond Books

Moab, Utah ~ September 24th 2025 ~ 5-7pm ~ Back of Beyond Books is proud to host Moab native and fourth-generation resident Chrissy Noel Kinslow for a special book signing and interactive event celebrating her new release, Spirit Creatures BIG & Small Medicine Cards.

Created during her journey through cancer treatment, Spirit Creatures BIG & Small is both deeply personal and universally relatable — a playful collection of illustrated creatures carrying messages of healing, guidance, and joy. Now in full remission, Chrissy Noel shares these Spirit Creatures as companions for life’s BIG and small moments.

The event will feature:

• A reading and discussion about the book’s creation
• Free one-card Spirit Creature readings for guests
• A breakout activity designed to spark creativity and reflection
• Signed copies of the book and themed artwork available for purchase

“This project grew out of my own healing journey,” says Chrissy Noel Kinslow. “The Spirit Creatures reminded me to laugh, listen, and keep going — and now I feel called to share their medicine with others.”

Chrissy Noel Kinslow is a fourth-generation woman of Moab, Utah, an artist, author, and cancer survivor. During her healing journey she created and illustrated Spirit Creatures BIG & Small Medicine Cards — a playful yet profound tool for guidance, joy, and reflection. Now in remission with a clear bill of health, she shares the wisdom of Spirit Creatures through books, cards, artwork, and live readings. Her mission is to bring healing, connection, and a little wonder to BIG & small moments in life.

Mirabelle Skipworth and Katelyn Fajardo will be soothing souls and mending hearts in the back of Back of Beyond Books on Main St.

Wednesday, September 17th from 7 – 9 p.m.!! You won’t want to miss this!!

Join us Saturday, August 16th from 5-7pm in the store for a meet and greet with author Kevin T. Jones where he will be signing his latest release “Barbara’s Desert Cafe”.

Join us Tuesday, August 5TH from 7-9 p.m. to celebrate The Monkey Wrench Gangs 50th Anniversary Book Release Party!!

Why, you ask, would I leave the comfort of my own home for this event?

Well…because you can:
▪️Pick up a copy of the Back of Beyonds exclusive version of the Monkey Wrench Gang (get yours while you can, once we’re out, we’re out…)
▪️Enjoy a new in-store display of Ed Abbey-related historical artifacts and memorabilia
▪️Partake in tasty refreshments; and
▪️Commiserate with your fellow humans as to the state of our civilization i.e. be merry!

DO YOU HATE NATURE AND AUTHORS WHO WRITE ABOUT IT?

IF SO, DON’T JOIN US FOR THIS EVENT.

MONDAY, JUNE 2ND @ 6:00PM IN BACK OF BEYOND BOOKS

DONALD CLARK WILL BE SIGNING HIS NEW BOOK “AUTHORS AND POETS WHO CELEBRATE THE EARTH: NATURE’S WRITERS, MENTORED BY THE LAND”

Officer Brody Young of Moab, Utah will be sharing his heroic story of faith and survival with us at Star Hall on Tuesday, June 10th at 7pm. This event is FREE to the public.

Join us for a live music event in the store with Roger Ramsey!

Friday, May 9th @ 7pm

Roger Ramsey is a western-country songwriter based out of Southwest Virginia, by way of the Northeastern riverlands. His songs echo the bygone era of true frontiersmen, encapsulating life at the foot of the Rocky Mountains through rose-colored tones and vaquero traditions. Understated, timeless stories are translated into gentle ballads that speak freely– to those on the open range and within the concrete jungle, alike. While living life on the highway– working as a busker, a chuckwagon cook, and a ranch hand – Ramsey shared his music and collaborated with acts like Amythyst Kiah , Jon Langston , Camp Howard , Adam Bolt and Boy Named Banjo. Now, as a Troubadour of the American West, he seeks to share these stories with others through his guitar and his voice.

Come check out Back of Beyond Books’ booth at the annual Green River Rocks Geology Festival in Green River, Utah!

Saturday, April 5th, 2025 from 9am-4pm

Join us for a weekend of free field trips with Utah’s finest geologists, paleontologists, and archaeological conservationists. Meet the organizations that preserve and protect our public lands while discovering a bounty of rocks and minerals from vendors at our pop-up market outside the John Wesley Powell River History Museum.

Local author Brooke Williams presents his latest book “Encountering Dragonfly: Notes on the Practice of Re-enchantment”.

Wednesday, May 14th @ 7:00PM

Join us for Music in the back of Back of Beyond with D Jean – Baptiste who will be sharing their eclectic array of folk, electronic, and contemporary rock influences to create an electro-acoustic melange of debris and hoarded things from which to draw energy, presented in their most transcendent forms.

Be sure to stop in the store Thursday, May 22nd anytime between 5-7pm for a meet and greet with Roderick Nash! He’ll be in the store signing copies of his book “Wilderness and the American Mind”.

Friday, May 23rd @ 6:30pm

Grand County Public Library

Join author and poet Maggie Dewane for a nature-inspired poetry workshop. Maggie will discuss the benefits of nature journaling and guide participants through using haiku poetry as a tool of nature-based creative expression. By the end of the workshop, participants will have written their own haiku drawing inspiration from their favorite places. Maggie will also discuss her book, Haiku and Hope: 50 States of Climate Change, an exploration of the U.S. — places beloved and unfamiliar — and the changes to our homes we are likely to see, as well as some of the good work being done to combat climate change.

Moab’s Uranium Boom: A Story That Shaped the World

Join the Moab Museum on Monday, March 25, at 6:30 PM at Star Hall as we welcome Tom Zoellner, author of Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World. Zoellner will explore how the 1952 uranium discovery south of Moab catapulted our town into global significance—for better or worse.

This is the first program in conjunction with our newest exhibition, U92: Moab’s Uranium Legacy. Don’t miss this insightful discussion!
Suggested donation: $15 (available online or at the door)

https://moabmuseum.org/events/moab-the-center-of-the-uranium-world-with-tom-zoellner/

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See our latest list of recent acquisitions here.

September 2023 Newsletter

June 2023 Newsletter

April 6 Rare and Collectible Recent Acquisitions list

Back of Beyond Books April Newsletter

December 9, 2022: Author Reading with R.E. Burrillo – The Backwoods of Everywhere

After an upstate New York childhood and a bartending stint in New Orleans’ French Quarter, seasonal resort work led R. E. Burrillo to the desert Southwest, whose redrock landscapes were a source of stability through mental and physical illness. In The Backwoods of Everywhere, archaeologist Burrillo excavates his past, examining Indigenous and tourist cultures, the complexities of American archaeology, and what it means to be a local. In the vein of Bill Bryson, Tim Cahill, and Ellen Meloy, Burrillo’s is a fresh voice in humor-spiked nature writing and cultural commentary.

November 15, 2022: Book Release Celebration of Craig Childs’ Stone Desert

Originally published over twenty-five years ago, Stone Desert brings the wonder and wildness of one of our nation’s most geologically and culturally unique national parks to readers everywhere. With a new introduction by the author, this edition includes Craig Childs’s original journal—written over a winter in Canyonlands National Park and complete with pen-and-ink sketches—from which Stone Desert originated. Join Childs as he hikes the high mesas, navigates the winding canyons, and witnesses the ancient rock art of Utah’s most inscrutable and remote slickrock desert.

October 14, 2022: Suzanne Roberts in Conversation with Amy Irvine

Suzanne Roberts is the author of the award-winning essay collection Animal Bodies: On Death, Desire, and Other Difficulties (March 2022), the award-winning travel memoir in essays Bad Tourist: Misadventures in Love and Travel (2020), and the memoir Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail (Winner of the National Outdoor Book Award), as well as four books of poems. Named “The Next Great Travel Writer” by National Geographic’s Traveler, Suzanne’s work has been listed as notable in Best American Essays and included in The Best Women’s Travel Writing. Suzanne holds a doctorate in literature and the environment from the University of Nevada-Reno, teaches in the low residency MFA program in creative writing at UNR-Tahoe, and splits her time between South Lake Tahoe, California and an old green van named Shrek.

Amy Irvine is the author of numerous essays and four nonfiction books addressing environmental, Indigenous and feminist concerns. She is a contributing editor for Orion Magazine, her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Outside, Orion, Pacific Standard, Best American Science & Nature Writing, and Best American Food Writing. Her first memoir, Trespass, received the Orion Book Award, and the Ellen Meloy Desert Writers Award. Her second memoir, Almost Animal, is forthcoming by Spiegel & Grau in Spring 2023. Irvine, a Mountainview MFA alumnus, lives, writes, and teaches off-grid on a remote mesa in southwest Colorado.

Please join Back of Beyond Books in New Mexico this St. Patrick’s Day weekend!

Back of Beyond Books will be present at this event to sell copies of Brinkley’s new book, Silent Spring Revolution.