Julie Castillo, author of Eat Local for Less, will be making a number of appearances around the greater D.C. area to talk about local food and sign books. Some of these are classes that may require a small fee. Keep an eye on this post; we’ll be updating it as more events are added.

• Saturday, July 18, 1:00: Class and taste test: The Common Market Co-op, Frederick, MD. Registration required.
• Tuesday, July 28, 7:00: Talk and signing: Smithsburg Library, Smithsburg, MD
• Saturday, August 22: Vendor table: East Texas Book Fest, Tyler, TX
• Sunday, August 30, 10:00–12:00: Demo and signing: Dupont Circle Freshfarm Market, Washington, DC
• Saturday, September 12, 11:00 Talk and tasting: New Dominion Bookshop, Charlottesville, VA
• Saturday, September 19, 1:00: Talk and signing: WordUp Community Bookshop, 2113 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY
• Saturday, September 26, 11:00–7:00: Author tent: Baltimore Book Festival, Baltimore, MD
• Saturday, October 3, 10:00–12:00: Demo and signing: Silver Spring Freshfarm Market, Silver Spring, MD
• Wednesday, October 7: Talk and taste test: Fletcher Library, 100 South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, MD

Today is the official release date for Eat Local for Less. As of today we have e-book editions available for immediate download. These are being offered at $9.99 for a limited price. Buy them here.

Our new book, Eat Local for Less, just got a great review in Booklist, the library trade magazine published by the American Library Association. Here’s the text of the review:

When sidebars—those parenthetical bytes of information—are just as interesting as the main narrative (and sometimes more), it’s almost a guarantee that the content of the whole book will prove mesmerizing. So it is with Castillo’s first full-fledged, non-coauthored book: She’s embraced a topic of much debate, parsed and streamlined it to make sense to the average Jane Q. Consumer. The subject? Food that tastes and smells like it’s straight from the farm: fresh and in-season, without the processed ingredients endemic to many supermarket and restaurant foods today. Truly, the whole world of food is her province; she defines common terms bandied about, whether biodiversity or GMO, and explains not only the history of our eating patterns but also the how-to’s of choosing a farmer as well as the lifespan of local veggies. Her tone is moderate; her attitude, one of rational fact-finding. How could anyone refute such headlines as “Top ten ways to maintain control over what you eat” and “Five drop-dead cheap whole foods”? Simple recipes—one at the end of each chapter, such as the one for 100-clove garlic soup and another for fryingpan chili—convince any nonchef to start firing up the burners. A novel approach to a sensitive topic. —Booklist

The book is officially on sale April 7, but we are shipping orders now. And remember, you can order it from us at 25% off until April 7!

Our newest book, Eat Local for Less: The Ultimate Guide to Opting Out of Our Broken Industrial Food System, is getting ready to make it’s way from the printer to the distributor to bookstores around the country. Between now and its official release on April 7, you can preorder the paperback version directly from our website and save 25% off the cover price. We’ll send you the book as soon as it’s ready, which will no doubt be a week or two before the release date. What’s holding you back? To learn more about the book and order, go here. To read a sample chapter, go here.

We are happy to announce that the final details have been set for the release of our new Ruka Press book, Eat Local for Less. The book will officially go on sale April 7, 2015, just in time for the start of farmers market season. We will begin to accept preorders about six weeks before that. Printed and electronic reviewer galleys are available now from Ruka Press. Please send an email to Ruka Press if you are a book reviewer who would like to receive one. Sign on to our newsletter (up there at the top of the page) to make sure you’re notified about sales and promotions.