Description

Join Torrey House authors Zak Podmore and Ayja Bounous for a short pre-release reading of their upcoming books followed by a meet-and-mingle night of food, drinks, and conversation at Fisher Brewing Company, presented in partnership with Save Our Canyons and Patagonia SLC.

Confluence: Navigating the Personal & Political on Rivers of the New West sets out to explore exploited Western rivers—and some of the most pressing environmental justice issues of our time. After losing his river-running mother to cancer, Zak Podmore disappears into the American West’s iconic canyon country to heal. He kayaks down a rare release of water in the Colorado River Delta, investigates uranium tailings on Ute Mountain Ute lands near the San Juan River, and interrogates the treatment of asylum seekers crossing the Rio Grande. Confluence presents an up-close, personal perspective on our responsibility to rivers and to each other.

Zak Podmore is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in Outside, Sierra, High Country News, and Canoe & Kayak. He lives in Utah where he reports for The Salt Lake Tribune.

From mountain ecology to population pressure, Shaped by Snow: Defending the Future of Winter examines the environmental impacts of the ski industry—even as Ayja Bounous celebrates a legacy of snow and love from a family instrumental in its development. Exploring threats to winter due to climate change, Bounous realizes how deeply her personal relationships are tied to a disappearing season.

Climate activist and third-generation skier Ayja Bounous holds an MA in Environmental Humanities from the University of Utah. She lives at the base of the Wasatch Mountains in Salt Lake City.

This event is presented by Torrey House Press, Fisher Brewing Co., Patagonia SLC outlet, Save Our Canyons, and the Utah Humanities Book Festival. This event is supported in part by Utah Humanities; the Utah Department of Arts & Museums; and SLCo Zoo, Arts & Parks.