Shauna Robinson is the author of Must Love Books, The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks, and The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster, forthcoming in July 2024 from Sourcebooks. Her novels have been selected for the Indie Next List and recognized as Best Books of the Month by Amazon. She received her Bachelor’s degree in English from UC Berkeley and lives in Virginia with her husband and their sleepy greyhound.
Katelyn Detweiler
From the acclaimed author of The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks and Must Love Books comes a heartfelt bookclub read following one woman’s journey to reconnect with her estranged Black family in the south, just as it’s on the brink of falling apart, perfect for fans of The Chicken Sisters and The Last Summer at the Golden Hotel.
One estranged family. One lost recipe. One last barbecue on the line. Mae is about to learn what happens when things go south…
Mae Townsend has always dreamed of connecting with her estranged Black family in the South. She grew up picturing relatives who looked like her, crowded dinner tables, bustling kitchens. And, of course, the Townsend family barbecue, the tradition that kept her late father flying to North Carolina year after year, despite the mysterious rift that always required her to stay behind.
But as Mae’s wedding draws closer, promising a future of always standing out among her white in-laws, suddenly not knowing the Townsends hits her like a blow. So when news arrives that her paternal grandmother has passed, she decides it’s time to head South.
What she finds is a family in turmoil, a long-standing grudge intact, a lost mac & cheese recipe causing grief, and a family barbecue on the brink of disaster. Not willing to let her dreams of family slip away, Mae steps up to throw a barbecue everyone will remember.
For better or for worse.
Praise for The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster
“I savored this heart-warming and delicious tale filled with family roots, twisty secrets, and mouth-watering food! Shauna Robinson taps into the longing we all share to find our people and our place in the world and gives us a soul-satisfying story that will linger long after the last page.”–Rachel Linden, author of Recipe for a Charmed Life
“Hilarious and heartwarming, this book is like a warm drink on a cold winter day. Shauna Robinson stunningly explores our perceptions of family and race, and if what divides us is more important than what brings us together. An indispensable read for anyone who has tried to figure out their place in spaces where they never quite fit, and a beautiful meditation on accepting yourself and accepting the people you love with your eyes and heart wide-open.” –Alex Travis, author of The Only Black Girl in the Room
“A heartwarming story about belonging, family secrets, the breaking of generational curses and forging of new bonds, Shauna Robinson’s The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster will have you reaching for the people you love and holding them close.”–Shirlene Obuobi, author of On Rotation
“The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster is infused with the warmth and humor that readers have come to expect from Robinson’s work. Shauna has always excelled at building worlds that readers want to spend time in, and writing characters they want to spend time with, and the Townsends are her best yet. This book is a moving delight, satisfying as a summer barbecue.” –Eva Jurczyk, internationally bestselling author of The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
“The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster is a heart-felt story of finding identity amidst complicated families and untold secrets. Robinson’s writing brought Mae’s journey to life, a perfect mix of deeply sad moments and laugh-out-loud inner monologue that kept me turning pages well into the night. True to real life, our histories–familial and racial–hold the best and worst of memories. This story doesn’t shy away from hard topics. Rather, it approaches them through a unique, sincere character who wins hearts from the start. More than just a feel-good read, The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster will leave readers cheering for Mae, hoping the best for humanity, and longing for a taste of Southern food! Kudos, Shauna!” –Michelle Stimpson, author of Sisters with a Side of Greens
Sourcebooks
2024
Adult
Fiction
JGLM
From acclaimed author Shauna Robinson comes a bookish, millennial story about a young woman looking to start a new chapter in her life, and in doing so finds a community built around the books we love and the stories we can’t forget.
Who decides which stories are worth telling?
Maggie Banks’s life is a bit of a mess. After losing a job and moving back home with her parents, she’s desperate for a new Life Plan. So when her best friend asks for help running her struggling bookstore in the quaint town of Bells River, Maggie jumps on the opportunity. She doesn’t even like books, per se, but anything’s better than obsessively checking job boards from her childhood bedroom.
It turns out Maggie’s not prepared for small-town life. More specifically, the strict rules enforced by the local historical society: the bookstore is only allowed to sell “classics”. But with a town full of people looking for fresh stories, Maggie knows she’ll have to get creative to keep the store afloat.
And so begins Maggie’s underground book club: fun, goofy, and totally against the rules. Catering to the stories folks actually want to read and making fun of the stuffy “classics”, Maggie falls in love with books and realizes the power stories have to build community. But with a historical society itching to catch her and shut her down for good, and a budding relationship with an adorably strait-laced inspector weighing on her conscience, everything starts to fall apart. And just as Maggie feels herself becoming a part of the community, she unearths a town secret that could ruin everything. She’ll have to figure out what’s more important: the books that formed a small town’s history, or the stories poised to change it all.
A warm, funny book club read about community, finding yourself, and the transformative power of stories, The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks is a much-needed novel perfect for readers of The Storied Life of AJ Fikry and The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
Praise for The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks
“Consider me an official member of the Maggie army! I found myself rooting for every character in this warm, welcoming tale of a woman coming into her own. If you’ve ever found comfort in a book—or a bookstore—then you’ll enjoy watching Maggie discover how powerful the right story in the right hands can be.” –Lucy Gilmore, author of The Lonely Hearts Book Club
“A sparkling bookish romcom about rules just begging to be broken…I couldn’t get enough!” –Abby Jimenez, New York Times bestselling author of Part of Your World and The Friend Zone
“Delightful and deeply felt, The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks is one woman’s instantly compelling search for herself woven into a celebration of how stories enliven and inspire community. It’s the perfect book for book lovers.” –Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of The Roughest Draft
“Shauna writes for the girls without dream jobs, the pandemic babies who moved back in with their parents and are just trying to figure it out, and the extroverts who find purpose in bringing people together. This novel is a book lover’s dream, with subtle social commentary to boot.” –Iman Hariri-Kia, author of A Hundred Other Girls
“The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks is a charming romcom about finding your own path and never being scared to break the rules. It’s also an uplifting celebration of the power of books to change people’s lives. Visit your favourite bookstore, curl up in a comfy chair and savour every word!” –Freya Sampson, author of The Last Chance Library
Sourcebooks
November 1, 2022
Adult
Fiction
JGLM
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill meets Younger in a heartfelt debut following a young woman who discovers she’ll have to ditch the “dream job” and write her own story to find her happy ending.
Meet Nora Hughes―the overworked, underpaid, last bookish assistant standing. At least for now.
When Nora landed an editorial assistant position at Parsons Press, it was her first step towards The Dream Job. Because, honestly, is there anything dreamier than making books for a living? But after five years of lunch orders, finicky authors, and per my last emails, Nora has come to one grand conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist.
With her life spiraling and the Parsons staff sinking, Nora gets hit with even worse news. Parson’s is cutting her already unlivable salary. Unable to afford her rent and without even the novels she once loved as a comfort, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet…and maybe poach some Parson’s authors along the way.
But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author no one can afford to lose is thrown into the mix, Nora has to decide where her loyalties lie. Her new Dream Job, ever-optimistic Andrew, or…herself and her future.
Your next book club read touching on mental health, happiness, and the peaks and perils of being a young woman just trying to figure it all out. Nora Hughes is the perfect heroine for anyone looking to get past their own chapter twenty-something and build their storybook life.
Praise for Must Love Books
“A heartfelt and exciting debut.” –Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six
“A book for book lovers that takes a hard look at the predatory approach of the corporate world with a heroine who’s easy to love and root for. I enjoyed all of the inside look at the publishing industry from the perspective of a young woman scraping together all of her wits just to get by. It’s impossible not to root for Nora!” –Jesse Q. Sutanto, national bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties
“Honest, relatable, and real, Must Love Books is a tender reflection on finding your person while you’re still desperately searching for yourself rolled up in a thoughtful novel about the changing work world.” –KJ Dell’Antonia, New York Times bestselling author of The Chicken Sisters
“With emotional honesty and a surprising wit that I found addictive, Robinson’s debut is everything a book-about-books fan wants in a novel.” –Kelly Harms, Washington Post bestselling author of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler
Sourcebooks
January 18, 2022
Adult
Fiction
JGLM
