The Bindery Guild - by Carrie Kwiatkowski (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A sparkling historical fantasy debut and the next perfect read for anyone who's ever longed to disappear between the pages of a book--for fans of Alix E. Harrow, Sarah Penner, The Lost Bookshop, and The Midnight Library.

Every book is a door. Every binding, a journey...

Books have always been Olive's passion. They're her chance to put herself in the footsteps of thousands of different characters and worlds, all while safe at home in 1910s Seattle, running her father's book binding business in her brother's absence.

But when her father hurriedly locks himself in the shop's supply closet without explanation, Olive's routine is thrown all out of sorts. She unlocks the door. She peers inside. And the closet is completely empty.

Enter Jack Vale, a mysterious, handsome man in old-fashioned clothes who may have the answers she needs to find her father and bring him home. Jack reveals that her father is, in reality, a member of a guild of magical bookbinders that protects whole other worlds. And the beautiful miniature dioramas he painstakingly binds between the covers of books as a hobby? They're actually the keys that allow these binders to step into entirely different realities--alternate universes just as real as Olive's.

A dazzling journey through alternate histories, from Edwardian London to Sarajevo on the doorstep of World War I, The Bindery Guild is a fantastical whirlwind adventure brimming with dark secrets, page-turning politics, and a betrayal that could unravel more than one world.

Review Quotes

"The Bindery Guild is a wonderfully imaginative journey through books and history. Carrie Kwiatkowski's sparkling debut weaves together adventure, bookish wonder, and mystery through time. If you've ever believed you can travel to another world through a book, this fabulous story is for you."--Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of A Time of Witches

"A wonderfully bookish portal fantasy that will delight bibliophiles everywhere... Carrie Kwiatkowski's debut absolutely sparkles--I cannot wait to see what she does next!"--Kate Quinn, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Astral Library

"In Carrie Kwiatkowski's The Bindery Guild, books are both stunning physical artifacts and--like the act of reading itself--portals to parallel worlds, where the familiar becomes unfamiliar, magic is in the air, and lives find unexpected meanings. Olive, our plucky tour guide on this adventure, is an absolute delight! Readers are going to devour this imaginative and endearing debut!"--Matthew Sullivan, author of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore and Midnight in Soap Lake

"A mesmerizing tale of danger, alternate worlds, and the courageous measures we'll take to rescue the ones we love. This one kept me reading deep into the night, desperate to see how it all turned out!"-Jennifer Lundquist, author of The Book of Lost Chances

"In a tale as inventive as it is captivating, The Bindery Guild by Carrie Kwiatkowski whisks readers on a harrowing adventure through magical books, all while exploring the nature of courage, resilience, and social progress. Readers will root for the underdog heroine as she untangles mysteries and explores a multiverse springing from real and fascinating historical events. With its vivid worldbuilding and expert storytelling, this is a novel you won't be able to put down!"--Kristin Judd, author of Witches Three and A Heartbeat at My Feet

About the Author

As a neurodivergent person, Carrie Kwiatkowski has worn many and varied hats. She was the first female (and youngest) bicycle mechanic in her hometown of Astoria, Oregon. She served in the U.S. Navy as an Electronics Technician where she was privileged to live and travel all over the world. One of those locales was the exclusive and remote British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Diego Garcia, a rim of a volcano and naval station smack dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean. She later went on to earn a B.S. in Biochemistry and worked as a forensic drug chemist before pursuing her love of the written word and winning several awards for her work.

Carrie has cheated Death numerous times. Being struck by a metro bus and narrowly missing being shot in the head by six inches were her closest calls. At last count she has three cat lives left. Now she safely writes from her Washington state abode with her greatest loves: her husband, two daughters, and two cats. When she's not concocting crazy story ideas, you'll find her in her ever-expanding garden weirdly obsessing over growing the perfect onion.